In horror, Marina swallowed her saliva. She found the woman's complete lack of respect for the captain a little intimidating. Marina would understand if she didn't appreciate her because she was still new. Mr. Santarelli, on the other hand, is a captain and the ship's owner. Ensures that everyone and everything is safe, and accepts complete responsibility for everything. She couldn't imagine what it would be like if someone did that to her mother or even her father. Margherita took a step forward and opened the cabin's old wooden doors, which made a grating noise every time they were opened or closed.

"Please stick with me. The kitchen is located on the second deck."

Marina couldn't help but wonder as they went outdoors on the main deck, downwards with old wooden stairs, and began going lower towards the kitchen. "For how long have you worked here? Have you learned anything about the sea?" Margherita laughed at her curiosity "I did learn loads of stuff about it, it's very interesting. And I've been here for more than two decades."

Marina stopped her off in the middle of her gasp, "Oh, really? Has it been really twenty years? How did you not grow tired of it?" Marina's pointy nose was mashed against the old woman's finger as she giggled. "You're very curious. If you're interested in learning more about nautical activities, I recommend speaking with the captain." The girl had no intention of conversing with him. When he spoke to her, he seemed arrogant and cocky. She'd rather die of curiosity than ask him a question. They quickly made their way to the kitchen. The main deck was only a couple of short steps away. The kitchen was nothing to be amazed at. The whole room was constructed of wood and appeared to be old and overused. Everything, even the ship, would go up in flames if just one tiny catastrophe occurred. Marina was frightened about that. She had also expected no one to be in the kitchen at this time, but there was one man at the table. Margherita was waved by a dark skinned man with dark brown hair tied in a messy low ponytail.

"Good morning , Margherita. Is everything well?" Even in the morning, he appeared to be a happy man.

He quickly realized that they were accompanied by another individual. "Oh, Is this the woman Gabriel has mentioned?" Marina was becoming agitated by everyone's continual mention of Mr. Santarelli at this time. She let out a small irritated sigh. The man rose from his seat and approached her "Pleasure to meet you, D'Angelo Antoni" He smiled, revealing dimples on both cheeks. The smile was pleasant and affectionate.

"Marina, but I'm guessing Mr. Santarelli already informed you." she said as she held out her hand to him. Antoni laughed "He did, in fact. He actually mentioned you this morning." She rolled her eyes while pinching her lips. He softly took her hand in his and kissed it. "It was a pleasure to meet you." he added, smirking. Marina's face reddened. She was taken aback by the unexpected hand kiss. His enticing and lovely structures had rendered her speechless. This was a usual act by Antoni. He enjoyed tormenting people with his charms and making them laugh. He was particularly fond of their memorable reactions.

"Antoni, leave the poor girl alone."

Antoni rolled his eyes and tightened his low ponytail. As the kind woman asked her to assist her in preparing breakfast, she slowly drew her hand away. Antoni sat down again, still laughing at himself. Marina approached Margherita and inquired, "What are your plans for breakfast? I just wanted to remind you that it's probably best if you don't let me cook just yet."

Marina was given a medium-sized knife with a wooden handle, as well as a lot of vegetables like carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, and so on... Everything has to be cut. The young lady groaned at the fact that she needed to work a lot.The old woman reasoned that it would be better if she taught her how to do simple tasks. It was as if she were demonstrating how to prepare bread with marmalade to a five-year-old child. Marina regarded the knife, then the veggies, with trepidation. She had no idea where to start. She paused for a bit before picking up one onion, deciding that it would be the easiest to cut because all she had to do was peel it with her hands and chop it into small pieces. A tall charming guy with thick black hair slicked in the back and one strand of hair dropping on his face, walked in with the terrifying girl who's glare made your bones shiver, just as she started putting an onion on a wooden chopping board Marina gulped down her spit. 

Unfortunately, her counter faced the dining table where the rest of the staff ate. She was even more neurotic than before, fearful of being judged by the captain and his companion for her folly. When the captain walked in, he appeared to be in a good mood. He waved to Margherita as he looked in her direction. She and Giordana were to him like mothers or aunts, they both acted that way toward him, which he adored. Marina was too shy to return the greeting and continued to cut the onion while looking down. He sat at the table with Antoni and Francesca, two of his best pals who are rarely seen apart. They all act like a family and try to help one other as much as they can. Antoni started cracking jokes as soon as he sat down, and Francesca was already annoyed by his presence. Even this early in the morning, she wasn't psychologically prepared for his god-awful jokes.

The elderly lady approached them and offered every one of them a freshly brewed cup of coffee. Margherita was everyone's favorite when it came to cooking and making coffee. Giordana could cook as well as Margherita, but her cooking lacked Margherita's warmth. She kissed them all on the forehead with a huge kiss. As usual, Mr. Santarelli received additional attention. Antoni gasped in disbelief and out of the blue, demanded another kiss, accusing her of having favorites. She rolled her eyes and stroked her hand through Antoni's hair, admonishing him to be more mature. The image in front, befuddled the young girl looking up at them, melting her heart. She gave them a soft smile because they reminded her of her family. The captain smirked at his good old friend's folly and gave Marina a quick glance. They shared a brief moment of eye contact. He gave her a disinterested expression.

Marina became agitated as a result of her embarrassment at staring him in the eyes. She looked down as quickly as she could after breaking eye contact. The man returned his buddies' stares as if nothing had happened.

Marina began peeling the onion, but she couldn't help but overhear what they were discussing. Francesca had been muttering her name here and there.

"It's only her first day, and she's already willing to give up!" The captain responded to the girls exclamation "What exactly is she up to in the kitchen? I thought I told you to inform her that she needed to clean the decks." He was irritated and frustrated by her.  He didn't want to put his life in danger because of some spoiled Neapolitan girl who couldn't cook. She didn't even bother to look at him; instead, she sat back in her chair and imitated him with hand-talking, telling him that he's bothering her. Antoni, on the other hand, pinched his lips and gave them both a cold stare. When they argued about little matters, they acted like children.

"Why are you two passing such harsh judgments on her? Give her some space. Maybe she will enjoy her time here as much as everybody else." As he exclaimed what he said, he established eye contact with Francesca. She, too, couldn't wait to get off the ship and didn't bother to heed to anyone's commands when she first boarded. The tall man chuckled "Yes, indeed. I'll give her a week at most. She'll lose her mind at some point " The girl, as obnoxious and unconcerned as ever... She leaned against the table, pointing out her index and middle finger and murmured

"I'm going to give her two days. I'm betting forty thousand lire."

They exchanged handshakes while Antoni expressed his disappointment in them. He bet as well, saying how if the girl stays for longer than they expected, all the money goes to him. Marina was completely taken aback by what they were saying. She was so irritated that she lost her focus and began cutting the onion too quickly, which was one of the primary blunders that caused her eyes to wet and she was unable to see anything... She slit her finger shortly after that. As blood began to drip down her finger, she screamed in pain. The sixty-year-old woman raced up to her, panicked, and asked her what the hell had happened. Marina sniffed, her left hand pressing on her right index finger. Margherita groaned, unable to believe she had messed up on such a basic task. Francesca smirked quietly as she realized she was already a failure. D'Angelo became irritated at this point and gave her a chilly look, signaling that she had had enough. Mr. Santarelli got up and headed up to the counter, clearly concerned about what had transpired. Inquiring whether they require assistance. Marina's freckled face was dripping with tears, and she was too humiliated to admit she needed help. Margherita rummaged through the kitchen in search of bandages to help her cover the cut. She exclaimed as she rummaged through the shelf "Please, Gabriel, go get some sea for me. A cup of it will be enough." He grabbed a cup and walked down to the lower deck to fetch some seawater.

Marina was in a bad mood. She was humiliated by her inability to perform even the most basic tasks. She began profusely apologizing to the elderly lady, as well as for damaging the cutting board, which was now covered with blood smudges. As looking at the blood, she widened her thick eyelashed eyes while being remembered the other day. She felt sick remembering Matias, the man who has ruined her life for good. Marina kept breathing heavily, trying to calm down and surpass her emotions. She was told to relax and that it wasn't the end of the world. Margherita was meant to make her infamous homemade veggie soup with grated parmesan cheese on top for breakfast, and she still felt awful for making everyone lose their appetite. She felt humiliated and glanced down. 

"I'm terribly sorry. I became distracted. I couldn't help but be intrigued when I overheard Francesca mention me." She spoke softly in hushed silence. Margherita simply rolled her eyes and couldn't believe of how easily distracted she is. Mr. Santarelli arrived after a few moments. "I've brought you some sea. It'll help with the wound." Marina looked at him perplexed "Thank you, I suppose." She kept gripping onto the towel which was wrapped around her wounded finger. The captain sighed at her rudeness "I'll need to double-check the coordinates. Antoni meet me in the cabin."

"Yes, Mr. Santarelli." Antoni retorted sarcastically.

He sighed and said, "Please. don't call me that."