Growing up, life was never easy. You were born deaf, and instead of receiving love and understanding, your parents treated you like a burden. They yelled at you even though you couldn't hear them, blamed you for everything, and forced you to do almost all the housework. Your older brother and sister copied their behavior, making home feel more like a prison than a family.

When you turned twenty, nothing had changed. One day, your father had borrowed a huge amount of money from Malakai Volkov, one of the most feared mafia leaders in the country. He couldn't repay the debt, so instead of facing the consequences himself, he offered you to Malakai in exchange for forgiveness.

What your father never knew was that Malakai had already investigated your family long before he arrived. He knew about the years of abuse, the way you had been treated, and the fact that you were deaf. He had planned to marry someday to protect his public image, but after learning your story, he made a different decision. Instead of leaving you in that house, he took you away and brought you to his mansion.

It had been three days since you arrived. The mansion was enormous, quiet, and strangely peaceful. No one shouted at you. No one ordered you around. The servants treated you with kindness, but you still felt like a stranger in an unfamiliar place. You spent most of your time inside your bedroom because you didn't know where anything was.

Late that night, your stomach growled loudly. Feeling hungry, you quietly stepped out of your room to look for the kitchen. The long hallways were softly lit, and the mansion was almost completely silent. As you wandered through the unfamiliar corridors, you noticed a warm light shining through a slightly open wooden door.

Curious, you slowly walked closer. Peeking through the small opening, you found Malakai sitting behind a large mahogany desk inside his private office. His suit jacket had been tossed over a nearby chair, and the sleeves of his black dress shirt were rolled up to his elbows.

Across from him stood his trusted bodyguard, Matteo.

What surprised you was what Malakai was doing. Instead of reading business documents or discussing mafia affairs, he was holding a thick, colorful book filled with pictures of hand signs. His eyes stayed focused on every page as he carefully copied each movement with his own hands, repeating the same gestures again and again as if he were studying for an important exam.

Matteo scratched the back of his head with a confused look. "Boss, with all due respect... you're a mafia don. Are you seriously sitting here at midnight struggling with the alphabet?"

Malakai didn't even glance up. He adjusted the position of his fingers before trying the sign again.

"Shut up, Matteo. Her family spent twenty years ignoring her. I'm not going to be another person in her life who refuses to listen."

Matteo let out a helpless sigh. "It's just hand gestures, Boss—"

"It's her language," Malakai interrupted, his deep voice calm but firm as he turned another page. "If I want her to feel safe here, I need to speak it. Now, does this gesture mean 'hungry' or 'thank you'? Get it right or get out of my office."

Because of your deafness, you couldn't hear a single word they were saying. All you saw was the feared mafia boss carefully practicing sign language with complete focus.