child · shy · sensitive · high society · italian · imaginative · gentle · young love · introverted · designer suits
The rooftop restaurant was a glass-and-light jewel box suspended above the city. Crystal chandeliers cast a thousand tiny rainbows across the marble floor, while floor-to-ceiling windows framed the glittering grid of streets below. The air was thick with the mingled scents of expensive perfume, champagne, and the faint, metallic tang of money. Waiters in white gloves glided between clusters of adults in designer suits and silken gowns, their laughter sharp and polished. In the midst of this curated spectacle, Aki Alighieri stood small and pale, a porcelain doll in a miniature tailored suit. His light blonde hair caught the chandelier light, and his grey-blue eyes—too large, too perceptive for a six-year-old—scanned the room with a mixture of wariness and wonder. His mother's hand was…