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"𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐖𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬"

The next morning was a breeze. My body shifted to the side, my muscles loosened and untangled, and my consciousness gradually awoke.

I took a few moments to acclimate to the brightness in the room until exhaling a breath of relief.

I brush my hair out of my face with my hands before taking a look around the room. My thoughts converged, and I was immediately reminded of the previous night. I almost wanted to smack my stomach for releasing a small butterfly feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Roman didn't appear to be in the room at the moment, so I got up and removed myself from the bed and rose upwards over the ledge.

I stumbled over to the bathroom, shut the door, and proceeded to the toilet to relieve myself. After that, I grabbed the hotel's extra toothbrush and toothpaste and brushed my teeth before splashing water on my face.

While stepping back out, I dried my face with a towel and ran my fingers through my hair, attempting to make it look less like a birds nest.

As I opened the door, my gaze was drawn across the room to a bent over figure. Roman was leaning down, placing some belongings into a bag; he was, by the way, completely shirtless.

I sighed and leapt back onto the bed which caught his attention as he stood up straight and turned to face me.

"Morning, Agnello," I greeted with a small smile.

"Ella," He said coldly before returning to his bag. It was then that I noticed my own bag beside him. He must have gone and taken it out of my room.

He tossed my bag in front of me, "We're going out for breakfast."

"Really?" I said, gleaming. Anything that had to do with food made me instantly happy.

He hummed deeply as he picks up a shirt and effortlessly lifts it over his head, his bare chest was now covered and I pouted inwardly.

I got out of bed, pulling out my change of clothes and proceeded towards the bathroom. After closing the door, I switched on the shower and began to remove my clothes.

After a good twenty minute shower, possibly the shortest I've ever taken, I changed and lightly combed through my hair.

I exit the bathroom walking over to my bag and stuff my dirty clothing inside before closing it up. Roman was on his phone in the small sitting area, his bag propped up next to him as he typed away.

He looks up as he senses my presence, our gazes connecting for a brief moment before he glanced away and steps away from the wall, tucking his phone away and lifting his bag over his shoulder.

I walk up to the front door and open it, holding it open for him, and he thanks me with a nod. The door closed and we both descended the hallway.

Looking to my side, I saw Roman extend his arm towards me, silently telling me to give him my bag, and I placed my heavy duffel bag into his hands.

I give him an appreciative smile, he merely looks to my lips and moves his gaze away. We silently made our way into the elevator and down to the lobby.

A car was waiting for us both at the front, and I climbed into the back seat as Roman loaded our belongings into the back. When he returned, he climbed into the vehicle and sat across from me as the car took off.

We soon pulled up to an IHOP not far from the hotel we were staying at. Both of us exited the car and entered the restaurant.

As we stepped in, Roman's arm slid around my waist, surprising me slightly. I looked up to see him looking like his usual self, emotionlessly staring at the lady who approached us.

"Is it just the two of you today?" She says nonchalantly as she picks up two menus.

"Yes," I reply.

She turns and motions us to follow her, we walk behind her as she leads us to a booth in the far corner, up against the window.

I slide into the booth and sit across from Roman; the lady lays the menus on the table and informs us that we will be served shortly.

I take my gaze away from her and towards the menu. I glanced at the options carefully before deciding on a stack of chocolate chip pancakes.

Looking across to Roman, I noticed he was on his phone, which made me frown.

"What did you chose?" I ask him.

He looks up quickly, his eyes catching mine for a single second before returning to his ringing phone, which he answers and places to his ear while he pointed to one of the food items.

When I looked over at it, I saw that he had picked regular waffles. I look aside and begin tapping my fingers along the wooden table, nodding to myself.

When I heard him begin to talk fluently in Italian, my ears perked up.

Lord save me.

Another thing my father insisted Nico and I do was learn a variety of languages. All of the languages I spoke fluently were Italian, French, Russian, German, and Japanese. As a result, it was simple to translate when he began speaking.

But, respectfully, I did not listen. A waiter approached us, it was a boy of age or slightly older, his hair was ruffled and reddish, and his eyes were cast down on the iPad in front of him.

When he arrived at our table, Roman was still on the phone, so I figured I'd just tell the waiter his order.

"Hello, what can I get you?" The boy said casually before looking up and catching my eyes.

I give him a friendly smile and tell him both of our orders. He jotted it down on his iPad before returning his focus to me.

"Is that all for you today?"

I nod and he gives me a subtle wink before telling me it'll be out soon and walking away.

I take a long breath and lean back into the seat, my gaze returning to Roman. He'd just hung up the phone as I did, placing it on the table and running a heavy hand through his locks.

He looks back over at me and I tilt my head at him.

"Everything okay?"

I watch him nod as he relaxes in his seat, and I begin to gaze around the restaurant. A small family sat in front of us, while an old couple sat a few seats away, leaving only Roman and me in the back row.

"Can I ask you something?" I murmured, returning my gaze to his.

He looks into my eyes and shrugs, "Depends,"

I grimace and purse my lips. I lean forward on the table, my arms crossed, and my gaze fixed on him.

"How many people have you... eliminated?" I asked him with care, being careful not to use the wrong words. I was truly curious since I hadn't yet seen him in action or even if he eliminates a lot.

I know it was odd but my mouth moved on its own at times.

While he stared at me, a glimmer of amusement flickered across his bland expression.

"That's a conversation starter." He mumbles to himself, plainly amused.

I roll my eyes and click my tongue while tilting my head as I wait for his response.

"Well?" I say raising my eyebrows.

He shakes his head and turns his attention to his watch.

"Lost count," He replies flatly, and I nod briefly, my gaze still fixed on him.

I watch his eyes flash back up to me, he leans up a little, propping his forearms onto the table while he tilts his head at me with a teasing smirk, "Do you know how many?"

Pursing my lips, I lean closer towards him, my eyes staring into his, even though our height gap was still a mile apart while sitting down.

I raise my hand in front of him and signal for him to lean down; he rolls his eyes and leans down.

"Forty-nine," I whispered when I leant in close to his ear.

Before I could lean away, he had adjusted his head so that it was just in front of mine. My gaze shifts from his eyes to his lips several times while we were only centimetres away from connecting.

And before I could grasp what was happening, he leant in close, filled the gap between us and pecked the corner of my lips, sending goosebumps rushing all over my body.

"Cute," He murmurs, moving away and leaning back against the seat, smirking faintly.

I do the same, inhaling deeply and nervously playing with my hands.

"What's your favourite colour?" I blurt out.

He raises one of his arched eyebrows, "Red," he replies.

"Do you have a specific red or is it just normal red?" I add, staring up at him.

His lips twitch at the sides while he leans forward again, "Crimson,"

"You?" He asks and I smile brightly.

"Purple," I answer, "or, to be more specific, Lilac."

He hums, "Suits," he said and looked away from me.

I was grateful for the waiter when he arrived and delivered our food; I was starving. The boy set the plates on the table, and I reached for mine.

"Thank you," I said, looking up at him with a smile. He returns the smile, his gaze travelling to my body for a split second before looking away.

"Just let me know if there's anything else I can get you, and I'll be at the front," He added, his gaze fixed on me.

Before I could answer, Roman had beaten me to it.

"We're fine," He says coldly, a little more coldly than normal.

When I turned to look at him, his typical glare was fixed on the boy, who simply nodded and went away, the faint fear in his eyes visible.

I look at Roman, who has taken his plate of waffles in front of him and fixed his cold eyes on it, and I smiled smugly.

"Why are you staring at it as if it's trying to murder you?"

He looked up and shoved the plate away from him, "This is diabetic,"

I giggled at his ridiculous statement and the way he treated it as if it were a disease.

"You asked for it," I shrug as I dig into my warm pancakes.

He slumped against the seat and stared at me, making me feel a little uneasy.

"I feel weird with me just eating," I mumble while swallowing a piece of my pancake.

He doesn't answer just briefly studies me with his eyes as if I were some muse and he was the artist.

Sighing, I cut a piece of my pancake and poke it with the fork, then lift it in front of him and place it near his mouth.

"Open," I order, causing him to slightly narrow his eyes before rolling them and bite into the pancake.

I give him a sweet smile and repeat the process with him a few times.

I sat entirely satisfied after some time had passed. I spoke with Roman how I normally would, and he asked me a few questions about what I wanted to do after college. I told him that I wanted to pursue a career as a painter or have my paintings displayed in various locations around the world.

I already had an Instagram account dedicated to my paintings, but it was solely to display and exhibit my work. I'd say it's moderately successful; I have over eleven thousand followers, so that's something I guess.

I also told him about Nico and me maintaining some of our father's businesses around the United States.

Roman paid more attention than anyone else I've ever told about my interests. Of course, I had my best friends, but they'd known me my entire life and were well aware of my pursuits.

So I believed they don't want to listen very often, but Roman listened intently to every word I said, humming and nodding at some parts while keeping his eyes on me the whole time.

I had made the call to head out, Roman had paid despite my protests but he doesn't take no for an answer; unfortunately for him, neither do I. So, when I got the chance, I had slipped him a twenty without him noticing.

We had gotten back into the car and our driver had started driving back towards my place.

We sat in silence for the entire car ride; I was exhausted from eating, and Roman didn't seem to be the type to strike up a discussion.

Throughout the drive, I kept glancing at him, our eyes continually meeting and forcing me to glance away shamefully.

When I peered out the window after the driver had driven up outside my house, I saw the regular guards stationed outside.

I looked over at Roman as the driver went out to get my baggage.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow," I whispered, a slight smile on my face.

He locks his gaze on me and leans forward, causing my gaze to wander slightly away from his. I watched as he leant in near enough for his lips to graze against mine.

Our eyes held contact for a split second before they broke as he leant his lips towards my cheek and pressing them against it.

I groaned inwardly at myself when I felt warm heat spread across my cheeks. Butterflies filled my stomach while he pulled away and leaned back with a faint smirk.

"See you tomorrow, Ella," He said lowly.

I turned away from Roman and slid out of the car, stepping onto the pavement and walking towards my front door without looking back.