THE MAFIA’S HEIR

MANUEL’S POV

“What?” She whispered in disbelief.

“Yeah. That was the reason I had always hated him. Anthonio had let his jealousy make him do something as wrong as that.”

“That’s truly sad.”

“It was. Not just for me, but for the entire family. It took days for Nonno to get resuscitated. When he finally came around, I hadn’t been around the hospital premises. So you can imagine my shock, when I returned to find everyone looking brighter, and telling me that Nonno requested to see me.” I sighed. This was the part of my story that I always dreaded. Whenever I thought about it, I felt cold shivers all over my body. “My father patted me on the shoulder and encouraged me to go in. He muttered into my ear to remain quiet and not breakdown, no matter what Nonno said to me. When I got into the room, the first thing that happened shocked me to no end.”

“What happened?” She was very curious to know what.

“He threw a glass vase at me.” I muttered, blinking my eyes a couple of times. I still didn’t believe Nonno had tried to hurt me in such a manner.

“Oh no!” Bianca gasped and flung her palm across her lips, her eyes widening in shock.

“I hadn’t even seen it coming, and managed to dodge it by just a stroke of luck.” I revealed, and she released a sigh of relief. “Not withstanding, the vase had shattered against the wall and a small piece of it had flown towards me and gave a cut on my forehead.”

“Jeeezzz!”

“I know, right?! After hearing the noise of glass shattering, the rest of the family pushed the door open and rushed into the room. As soon as they realized what had just happened, Nonno barked at everyone to leave. They all adhered, though my father remained there, looking at my bleeding head in shock. Nonno repeated his words and asked Dad to leave, but the man stood his ground. I remember him telling Nonno he wasn’t going to let him harm me. That was when all hell let loose. Nonno yelled out in anger, asking if I had been so considerate after pulling his wife to Russia, where she died and was buried in a cold island, like a woman without love or family.”

“He had said a lot of things I really cannot recall. Dad had broken down midway, and was pretty much crying. That was when Nonno said the words that shattered me, and I quote. ‘The same way you have deprived me of my soulmate, may you be forever deprived of yours’. ‘You will never find love, because you are not deserving enough, to have that in your life’. ‘You would live all your days without love, and die without love in your heart’.”

“Oh God!” Bianca let out a whimper as she shook her head, refusing to believe that Nonno had indeed said all of that to me.

“Then amidst my teary eyes and regrets, he asked me to leave, and that he never wanted to lay eyes on me ever again. Of course, I scampered out of his room, knowing fully well my Nonno had just disowned me.”

“Oh my God.” Bianca whispered and hugged me tightly, making me pause for a moment. “The fright that would have put in you as a mere teenager.”

“For real. I was so scared, but tried not to show it. Even after I had successfully ran out of the hospital with Alexander following me behind, I refused to let my tears drop.”

“Nonna was literally my favourite person as well, and I had just lost her. My young heart truly couldn’t bear the thought of another loss. Being disowned by Nonno, simply meant that I was going to lose my family as well. Even up until today, it’s so suprising how I had been able to hold on without crying. Alexander and I got home and no matter how much he tried to make me speak, I couldn’t utter a word. I was still in shock.” I swallowed. “Later that day, Dad and the rest of my family returned home. Mom was literally devastated, and the twins were just looking at everyone in confusion. Alexander asked Greta how things had gone, and that was when she revealed that after I left, Nonno had another attack. Even after he had just disowned me, I was so scared to lose him. I knew I wouldn’t be able to bear the guilt if he died, and my extended relatives were going to cast me out of the Russo family for real. Greta went ahead to confirm that they had stayed back at the hospital until he became much stable again. I looked at my father who looked like a complete opposite of his usually composed self. Deep down, I knew it wasn’t the best time for him to talk about anything. But then, I still hoped he could say the least word to me.”Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

“When I saw him walk away with my mom in tow, my heart broke all the more. I wondered if they had actually decided to do as Nonno had done. To disown me as well. Alexander hugged me and told me everything was gonna be fine. That day, he didn’t return to their mansion, he remained with me in my room. I had stayed up all night, not able to sleep because of I was scared for my fate. Very early the next morning, Dad came knocking on my door. I stepped out and he took me to the balcony in the living room. He told me that sadly, he hadn’t been able to sort things out with Nonno because he collapsed. Then he asked me to do exactly as Nonno had asked. To leave. I was so scared, I quickly told him I had nowhere else to go, but he hugged me and told me I was going to enroll in the military academy sooner than expected. He said he wasn’t going to let me go to Miami, and asked if I would love to return back to school with Alexander. It truly seemd like a nice idea. Indeed, it was what I had always wanted. But the difference was that I was leaving without trying to amend things with Nonno.”

“Father convinced me to leave, and that whenever Nonno was ready to see me again, they’d send for me. That was how I enrolled for the academy and returned back to Moscow with Alexander. We had both trained for 6 years, but in all those years, I had never for once returned home alongside Alexander for the holidays. For 6 years, I awaited Dad’s message for me to come back home, but never received it. Apparently, after I graduated with flying colours from the academy, Alexander insisted we traveled home together. I was a bit hesitant, so I refused and asked him to return to Italy without me. I stayed back in Moscow, at the home of a friend whom you’d already know by now.”

“Alexa.” She muttered, and I nodded in agreement.

“I had remained with Alexa’s family for over 3 months, before Dad finally called me and asked me to return home for the leadership training every grandson was supposed to have with Nonno, before taking over their father’s part of the Russo empire. It was time for me to step up to my father’s position as CEO, but I had to undergo my training first.”

“So you finally got to see Nonno? What was his reaction?”

“Nothing.” I shrugged in honesty. “When I had showed up at home, my siblings and other relatives were definitely excited to see me. My father insisted that I started my training with Nonno immediately, as he wasn’t always in Milan anymore. I already knew that ever since Nonna died, he permanently moved to Sicily. The next day, I showed up at Nonno’s penthouse and he treated me like he would a complete stranger. He was on first name basis and it hurt me so much.” I clenched my jaw. “Nonetheless, I remained faithful in attending my short sessions with him. Slowly, I started to get used to be around him, despite the fact he was yet to losen up around me. On a certain day, he put a call across to the head manager of M. RUSSO, telling him I was very ready to take over as CEO. Had he stopped at that, I wouldn’t have thought much about it. But then, he had taken his time to emphasize on how brilliant and dedicated I was, asking the manager to be of great help when I finally started working. Without thinking my actions through, I chuckled in happiness and called him ‘Nonno’. I was like, ‘Thank you for all the positive compliments Nonno’. His countenance changed almost immediately.”

“What did he say?”

“That I still do not have the right to address him as that. And that he would never forgive me.”

“No.” She sighed.

“You can imagine.” I chuckled dryly. “I felt the pain of 6 years just weigh down on me. I had been alone and grieved for 6 good years, but it didn’t make the slightest difference to him. He still didn’t regard me as his family.” I shook my head in displeasure as I recalled the incident. “So after my training session was over that day, I drove all the way to the cemetery. I had visited Nonna’s grave immediately I returned to Italy, and I found myself going back to the cemetery over and over again. Once I got to the cemetery, I laid on the gravestone that had been carved out in honour of Nonna. I just knelt down there and remained unmoving for hours. I wasn’t saying anything, but I hoped she could hear my heart cries. I just wanted her to make everything right again. After staying there for hours, it’s started showing signs of a heavy rain. I walked out of the cemetery and made my way into the car. My heart had been so heavy, coupled with the heavy downpour which started after I got into my car. I didn’t realize when an incoming vehicle was coming at me in full speed, and drove into it unfortunately. The next minute, I blacked out.”

Her eyes were literally wide. She held onto my hand more tightly, and shook her head vigorously.

“I’m here and alive.” I whispered, wanting her to feel better.

“Wha…. how?” I felt sad to see her eyes were clogged with tears. “How were you….?”

“Someone saved me.” I supplied. “I remember opening my eyes to see a younger version of Francesca hovering over my face.”

“Francesca?”

“Yes. Francesca had been the one who saved me. A Ferrari. It was too unbelievable. Nothing was stopping her from just taking advantage of the opportunity. It was later on that I even realized she had made sure no one including her father, had an idea she had rescued me. I woke up in the office of a vet.”

“A vet?! What happened to a hospital?”

“She claimed the veterinary was closer to the site of incidence, and she was too scared I’d die before we got to the hospital.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. And also, Doctor Larry would have been in trouble.”

“Doctor Larry.”

“Yes. That’s the name of the veterinary doctor who saved my life. He only had a license to treat animals, not human beings. So he would have been in trouble if I insisted on going to the hospital after I became conscious. And to be honest, he had done a very good job in resuscitating me. I would have been quite the ingrate if I turned on him after he saved my life. So that was how I remained in the veterinary, and Francesca nurtured my wounds for a few weeks, until I was finally okay to go home to my family who all thought I had died.”

“They thought you had died?” Bianca asked in shocked. “I can’t imagine how much tension would have been in your family.”

“All they had seen was my destroyed car in the middle of the highway. You can imagine the speculations around my missing body. They had even put up a search as well.”

“Very much expected.”

“It was quite a relief when I returned home after 3 weeks of being missing. Thankfully, they were yet to carry out a funeral. But then, before Francesca had let me go, she made a request.”

“What request?”

“She said she had fallen in love with me, and wanted us to be together. I truly hadn’t been suprised because through those weeks, we had bonded really well. Though I didn’t really see her in such light, I only saw her as a friend. Most of all, I was wary because our families didn’t see eye to eye.”

“I assume you went ahead to date her then?” Bianca muttered dryly, making me smile.

“Yes. But I didn’t do so because I loved her equally. I sincerely just did so, because I felt indebted to her for saving my life, despite being my family’s enemy.”

“Makes a whole lot of sense now. I understand why you said you never really loved her.”

“Hmmm.” I nodded, bending my face to hers. “But I’ve ever truly loved you.” Slowly, a smile made it’s way to her face and she sighed in satisfaction.

“I love you so much.” She sighed contentedly.

“I love you too my pretty head.”

*

*

“Don’t do that now!!” She giggled as she ran around the bed. “Please!!!”

“I would still get ya! Come here!!” I mimicked the voice of a clown. She was about taking to her heels again, when I jumped like a monkey and grabbed her by the waist. We both fell onto the bed and she let out a whimper. “Did I hurt you?” I quickly asked, palpating her tummy in worry.

“Got ya!!” She giggled and made to stand from the bed, but before she could even do so, I pulled her closer by the waist and proceeded to tickle her sides.

“Hahahahahhah!!!” She released a bout of laughter, before inhaling deeply and begging me. “Please Manuel. Please let me go.”

“What did you just call me?” I frowned, not relenting from the sweet pressure I put on her sides.

“Sorry!” She choked out in between laughter, making me chuckle. “I meant ‘baby’! Baby please let me go!”

“But you know that would never be possible my pretty head.” I laughed and released my wicked grip on her. “It’s you and I forever.” I sighed and fell to the other side of the bed.

“Oh, God!” She exhaled and turned her head to look at me. Suddenly, her face took on a serious expression. “Thank you.”

“What?”

“You have made these past few days so wonderful for me.”

“It’s only been 6 days my love. We have forever to go.” I grinned. Never had I ever imagined being so enthusiastic to live the rest of my life for another person. Now, all I really just wanted to do, was anything that would make my wife happy. I guess the fear that came with the thought of losing Bianca had changed a lot about me, without me even realizing it. We had both bonded a lot during these past few days, and Nonno’s mansion seemed like the perfect vacation spot for us. I guess we were finally having that honeymoon we never had. Just then, my phone rang out and I released a frustrated sigh. I hated it whenever my personal time with Bianca was interrupted. Nonetheless, I stretched my hand and picked up the phone from where it laid. It was Alexander. Now I didn’t feel as upset as I had been initially.

“Alex!” I grinned.

“So I take it that you and Bianca are not returning home anytime soon?” He asked, making me roll my eyes. The call was on loudspeaker, so Bianca could very much hear all Alexander was saying.

“Are you missing us?” I teased. “Moreover, Bella is there for you.” I released a chuckle that turned into a frown when he remained silent.

“Alex?” Bianca was the one who spoke this time. “Don’t tell me you are yet to go get your wife from our home?”

“It’s funny you’re not even home, but already tired of having her at your home.” He chuckled humourlessly.

“Now, that’s unfair. How could you have left her for so long?!! It’s already getting to 3 weeks. I thought we agreed you were gonna go for her 3 days back?”

“Well, I didn’t find it in me to do so anymore.” Alex muttered. Why had he chosen to punish himself this way? We all knew how much being away from Bella had affected him. Why couldn’t he just….

“Alex you have to forgive Bella. She is your wife! The mother of your child. Do you know all the emotional trauma she has been going through?”

“I’m glad you both are fine and happy. I was just calling to check on you both.”

“Don’t change the subject Al…” Bianca was still calling when he disconnected the call. “Did he just hang up on me?” She had this look of disbelief on her face. “He needs to know that to be finally okay, he should be willing to let things go. He’s just left poor Bella hanging onto hope for weeks now. I feel for her.” She looked so worried.

“Calm down.” I sat up on the bed and rubbed her arms. “All Alex needs is just time. Do you know the trauma that comes with finding out the woman you have cherished for years had been fooling you?”

“When you put it that way, it sounds like she didn’t fallen in love with him after all. I can see it in her eyes, and even you cannot deny it. Most importantly, she never cheated on him with the Tiwin guy.”

“Tawan.” I corrected, and she just waved it off. My wife could be so funny atimes.

“Talking about time, I think you have taken as much time as you need. It is also time for you to settle your issues.”

“With who?” I frowned, not liking where our discussion was headed.

“Nonno and Anthonio.”

“Wh….”

“And before you decide to protest, I would love to make it known that whatever had ensued between you and them, isn’t something that can’t be forgiven.”

“Well…” I pouted. “About Anthonio, he sure does deserve my forgiveness. And I am willing to forgive him because if we are being honest, I also never made the best decisions as a teenager. But when it comes to Nonno, it’s him who hasn’t brought himself to forgive me.”

“Then why not make him?” She sat up as well, and held my hand in hers. “Your Nonno loves you.” She whispered, looking into my eyes. “You may not know, but he is your biggest supporter. He has always wanted nothing but the best for you.”

“And how do you know that?” I sighed.

“For starters, I am currently the most important person to him. But he thought you worthy enough to have me. Nothing was stopping him from making me marry Anthonio instead.”

“He just didn’t want things getting complicated.”

“Did he also beg me to never leave you, when we all thought you had cheated on me, just because he didn’t want to complicate things?” She asked, making me go speechless. He did? “He did.” She nodded, reading my mind. “And that was because of how much he wanted the best for you. You may have wronged me, but he was ready to punish you as much as neccessary, just so I wouldn’t leave you. Please you have to settle your differences with him before we leave Sicily, my love.” She pleaded, giving me those puppy eyes. I knew I couldn’t turn her down then.

“Fine.” I muttered. “I would do as you wish.”