Semua Bab Ruined By Desire : Bab 11 - Bab 20

The villa felt different now. Not warmer. Not healed. Just… quieter. The kind of quiet that follows a storm broken branches still scattered, puddles still reflecting gray sky, air thick with the memory of thunder.Sofia had returned two days after the confrontation. Not with open arms. Not with tears and hugs. She came back with a single suitcase, eyes red but dry, voice flat when she said, “I’m staying in my room for a while. Don’t knock unless the house is on fire.”Luca respected it. He cooked meals she barely touched, left notes on the counter“ Food in the fridge. Love you.” and spent hours in his study staring at spreadsheets he wasn’t reading. Valentina stayed away the first week. She texted Sofia once: “I’m here when you’re ready.” No reply.Then one evening, Sofia knocked on Valentina’s apartment door.She looked smaller. Hair in a messy bun, hoodie swallowing her frame, eyes swollen but steady.“I’m not forgiving you yet,” she said before Valentina could speak. “But I need to

Weeks blurred into a strange, suspended rhythm.Sofia came downstairs every morning now. She didn’t speak much at first just nodded when Luca set a plate in front of her, accepted the coffee Valentina poured without comment. But she stayed at the table longer each day. Five minutes. Then ten. Then twenty.She started asking small things.“Dad, you still running in the mornings?”“Yeah. Five miles. Same route.”“You should change it up. You’re getting predictable.”Luca gave a small, surprised smile. “Maybe I like predictable.”Sofia rolled her eyes. But she didn’t leave the table.Valentina watched from across the island. She didn’t sit with them every time some mornings she stayed standing, hands wrapped around her own mug, giving Sofia space. But Sofia began glancing at her more often. Not with anger. Not with warmth either. Just… acknowledgment.One Tuesday, Sofia looked up from her phone.“Val. You still working at that café downtown?”Valentina nodded. “Yeah. Double shifts mostly

The pancake breakfast became a ritual.Every Saturday morning, Luca stood at the stove flipping chocolate chip pancakes while Sofia sat at the island with her knees drawn up, scrolling through her phone but actually watching him. Valentina arrived at 9:30 sharp, carrying fresh orange juice from the corner store because Sofia had once mentioned she liked the pulp.No one commented on the routine. They simply showed up.Sofia spoke more now. Not full conversations, but fragments.“These are better than last week,” she said one morning, poking at a pancake with her fork.Luca’s shoulders relaxed a fraction. “I changed the batter ratio.”Valentina smiled into her coffee. “She noticed.”Sofia glanced at her. “I notice everything.”The words weren’t sharp. They were just honest.After breakfast, Sofia usually disappeared upstairs to study or call Mia. Luca would clean the kitchen while Valentina dried dishes. They didn’t touch. They barely spoke beyond “pass the sponge” or “the blue mug is

The botanical garden outing became the new Saturday ritual.Not every week, but often enough that it started to feel like something they could count on. Sofia would suggest a place—sometimes the glasshouse again, sometimes the riverside park, once even the old flea market downtown where she used to drag Valentina to hunt for cheap jewelry. Luca drove. Valentina sat in the back. Sofia rode shotgun. They kept the radio on low, windows cracked, and no one pushed for conversation that wasn’t ready.The orchid Sofia had given Valentina thrived on the windowsill of her tiny apartment. Valentina watered it every morning, talking to it sometimes in the quiet hours before work. It felt like a living promise.One Saturday they went to the city museum. Sofia wanted to see the photography exhibit. They walked the halls slowly, Sofia stopping at every black-and-white portrait, reading the little cards out loud. Luca and Valentina stayed a few feet behind, never touching, never speaking unless Sofi

The days after the first therapy session felt different. Not magically healed, not suddenly easy, but… shifted. Like the air in the villa had changed pressure, making it a little easier to breathe.Sofia went to school the next morning without the usual heavy silence. She said goodbye to Luca with a quiet “See you later” instead of just walking out. She texted Valentina a single emoji a small green sprout with no explanation. Valentina stared at it for ten minutes before replying with a heart.Luca threw himself into work during the day but came home earlier than usual. He didn’t hover. He simply made dinner simple pasta with vegetables because Sofia had once said she liked it when he cooked without trying too hard. Valentina arrived for dinner three nights that week. She sat across from Sofia, kept her hands visible, and spoke only when spoken to.Therapy homework arrived via email from Dr. Ramirez: each of them had to bring one positive memory of the three of them together to the n