THE MAFIA’S HEIR

BIANCA’S POV

He didn’t want my boyfriend fathering his child. Those were the only words that kept ringing in my brain even after he left the room. I nestled my head in between my knees as I thought about how nerve racking it was all gonna be in a matter of days. Did Manuel know that the boyfriend in question was none other than his cousin? Finally getting the opportunity to think of Anthonio, I began crying. Through out the time Manuel had been around, I tried not to let a single tear drop. It wasn’t because I didn’t feel worried or scared, it was because I didn’t want to look weak before him. Before them all. Manuel came from an extremely powerful family. Once they realized I was scared and weak, they’d leverage on that to snatch what mattered most to me. My child. What bothered me the most was hearing Manuel say he had taken me, under the instructions of his Nonno. God! Their grandpa was already involved in this matter? This wasn’t good for me. Now that Manuel had literally pulled me out of hiding, there was no point avoiding anyone’s calls anymore. Maybe I should call Anthonio and tell him all he needed to know now. I couldn’t risk him finding out by himself. It was so clear that the Russos were all going to be aware of the recent development soon. Anthonio inclusive.

Looking around for my phone, my brain instantly registered that my phone wasn’t with me. Oh yeah…. I had been on a call with Mila before Manuel had broken into my house. I didn’t remember taking it with me when he took me. I sighed, going back to my previous position of my head in between my thighs. I was fucked for real.

I couldn’t imagine how badly Anthonio would perceive me, when he finds out. He has been the sweetest thing that…. I couldn’t go on with my thoughts as I broke into tears, due to the fear that he’d break things off with me. I couldn’t bear to lose him now.

What would my papa and mama say or think? I had caused them so much worry, on top of the fact that I had literally committed a huge offense. What was I thinking when I left home?! Maybe I should have just found a way to tell them. Maybe things wouldn’t have been so bad now. Maybe…

Yes! Yes! Mila had been on the phone while all the chaos had taken place. She could hear it all. I’m sure she heard me call Manuel’s name. Atleast my parents would have a lead as to where I currently was. Okay! There was still hope.

I folded myself on the bed that feintly smelled familiar. If I could remember right, that was Manuel’s cologne. It smelled nice. Feeling so annoyed at myself that his scent was weirdly the only thing that managed to keep me calm at that moment, I buried my nose deeper into the sheets as my breathing slowed down.

*

I opened my eyes when I felt someone’s hands on my bare arm.

“Hey.” I opened my eyes to see a very unfamiliar lady, and sat up on the bed to get a better look at her. It was very suprising to see her smiling at me.

“Hello.” I muttered.

“My name is Greta. What’s yours?”

“I’m Bianca.” I replied. Immediately, I remembered who she was. Manuel had mentioned her before. That was his sister. And I remembered being glad about the fact that she bore the same name as my mom.

“Bianca are you hungry?” The moment she asked, it seemed my stomach had been reminded that it was supposed to be hungry. It twisted painfully, making me wince lightly.

“Yes.” I nodded.

“That’s great then! I brought you dinner on my way up.”

“Dinner?” I asked, looking around for a window.

“What are you looking for?”

“A window to confirm if it’s night already?” I replied and she chuckled.

“It’s been night for a while now.” She sighed. “You should eat up. Nonno expects you downstairs soon.” Did she just say Nonno? As in Emilio Russo? He was here?

“Y.. yo.. your Nonno. Your Nonno is here?” I asked. She just smiled warmly at me.

“I know he can be quite strict, but he doesn’t bite.” She assured. “I would have really loved to enquire from you, the reason as to which you’re here. But then, I don’t want my Nonno to be displeased. He has asked you join us downstairs later, so I assume he would be the one to let us know what is really happening, soon.” She nodded hopefully. Was I supposed to be hopeful with her? I already knew all she wanted to know. She stood up and began walking away, but stopped on her tracks when she got to the door. “PS: I’m my Nonno’s favourite grandchild.” She grinned, making me chuckle. I couldn’t help the small smile on my face. Was that supposed to be an achievement? Well… maybe it was. Personally, I had always wanted to make my father so proud of me. Lowkey, it was because my sister; Amara had always been his favorite. I wanted to know what it felt like to be papa’s favorite, so I worked so hard in school. Well it because of papa, and also because I wanted to be able to work in Russo, so I could see a certain man. I had gotten my wish and right now, I regretted it.

Looking at the tray of food that laid on the large mahogany desk at a corner of the room, I stood from the bed and went there. Pulling out the seat that was tucked under the desk, I sat down comfortably, and lifted the lid covering the plate of food. The moment the lid went off, the aroma of food wafted through my nostrils and I began salivating. Looking at the food, I knew it was gonna be as sweet as it smelled. I wasn’t wrong. The food was delicious.

In no time, I was done eating and returned to the bed. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door and Greta stepped in again.

“Are you done eating?” She asked, to which I nodded. “Great! Nonno asked that I brought you down.”

“Now?” I asked, my hands shaking.

“Yes, now.” She replied. “Come with me.” She instructed, flashing me an encouraging smile. It actually helped my nerves and I was able to move my legs. I followed behind her silently, as we made our way down the stairs. Once we got to the living room, I saw Manuel standing, facing some people. His family, I guessed. The man and woman I had seen earlier today; Manuel’s parents, were sitted on a two seater couch. I also took note of two identical looking boys who looked to be in their early twenties. Then at the left corner of the room was…. Oh my goodness!

“Emilio?” I called out. I knew it was him, but I just wanted the extra confirmation. The smile on his face made me know it was him. “Emilio!” I yelled in relief as I made my way to where he sat. His arms were open, so I just fell to my knees and hugged him tightly. It felt so nice to see a familiar face. I released a huge sigh, accompanied by tears. And to think I had left the poor man hanging for weeks. He had sent me messages and tried calling, but I never responded to any.

“I’m sorryyyyy…” I sobbed. “I didn’t mean to stay silent at you, I was just so confused and…. scared.” I was mostly confused though. That was the only explanation I could give after I literally ran away from everyone.

“It’s okay my dear.” He carefully pulled away and cleaned the tears from my cheeks. I smiled a little when he patted my cheeks gently. Typical Emilio. He always treated me like a baby. But then, how did he know I was here? Has he been looking for me? “You came for me.” I muttered. But then, where was Manuel’s Nonno? Had he accompanied his friend?

“Nonno what’s happening?” One of the twin boys asked, making me look at him. Why did he call Emilio that? I held his gaze for a while, before looking back at Emilio who looked guilty. Wait a minute. What was going on here? If Greta had fetched me to see her Nonno, and this boy who was definitely her younger brother just called Emilio Nonno, then…. my God.

“Nonno?” I asked, pulling my hands away from his own. “Nonno?” I asked again.

“Nonno.” The boy confirmed my thoughts. It all suddenly began to make sense. The first time we had met. My boss had acted like something was off, I just didn’t think about it this way. All the times he’d relieved me of my duties at work….. That was because he truly had the power to ask that of my boss. And his Rosa…. Our identical eyes. Manuel had said the same about his Nonna. How could I have been so dumb??!! No wonder Emilio Russo suddenly traveled out of Milan the very day I was supposed to meet with him. It’s because he had been with me all along. I tried to make out words, but failed wolfly. My lips quivered in fear when I realized I had told this man everything. Literally everything!! He knew about my initial feelings for Manuel. He knew I was dating Anthonio. Oh my God! Tears clouded my eyes and for some seconds, I lost track of what they had been saying.

“You lied to me.” I was supposed to sound angry, not this way. I sounded weak. To be very honest, I was at this point. His face fell, making me feel bad for a moment.

“Father, can you just tell us what’s happening?” Manuel’s father asked impatiently. “And who is the lady you seem so comfortable around?” I wasn’t suprised at his last question. Every time I have ever heard of Emilio Russo, I heard he was a strong and strict man, even in old age. Realizing whom he was now, I found it amusing that he indeed acted so comfortably around me.

“The young lady is Bianca. And she is a few months pregnant for Manuel.” Emilio replied, making the whole place fall silent. This was really awkward. Now, they all knew I was carrying their son and brother’s child. I could feel their eyes on me. His mom’s eyes even dared to look at my belly.

“But dad, Manuel is getting married in a matter of weeks. As you already know, his bride to be is supposed to be officially introduced to the family tomorrow. Would the event be called off?” His mom asked. What had their marriage got to do with my pregnancy? They could go ahead and get married for all I cared.

“Who said anything about calling off the event?” Emilio asked and her face fell in disappointment. She was disappointed? Weird. “The dinner and the wedding would go on. It wouldn’t be such a hassle to finish planning the wedding with a different bride in the picture, would it?” At his statement, I quickly looked up at him in shock. What did he mean by that?

“Wh.. what…?” Manuel stuttered. I knew that was probably the worst thing he had heard all day.

“The event would hold as planned tomorrow.” Emilio continued. “And Bianca would be introduced to the family as Manuel’s bride to be.” I felt my head spin for a long minute. God, what was happening to me? My heartbeat accelerated and I felt myself lose balance for a second.

“Oh, my goodness! Hold her!!” I heard a feminine voice yell. It sounded like his mom. In the matter of seconds, I felt huge set of hands holding me in place. I opened my eyes to see Emilio standing before me, worry filling his eyes.

“Please help her to one of the couches.” He instructed the person who was holding me.

“Sorry.” I muttered, no longer able to hold the tears back. Seeing it was Manuel who held me steady, I shrugged his hands off my arms. “I am fine. I’m fine.” I insisted. “Emilio, what are you saying?” I asked, my breathing increasing as seconds ticked. He held my hands in his and muttered to me.

“You have to marry Manuel.”

“But I can’t.” I cried. “I can’t, and you know why.” My lips quivered, scared to say what it was in front of his family. I was dating Anthonio. I couldn’t possibly marry Manuel. “Please, I can’t!” I cried more loudly.

“Put yourself together my dear.” Emilio said, making me angrier.

“Don’t sound like you worry about me?!” I yelled out finally. When I had found out Emilio had lied to me concerning his identity, I had easily let that go. But for him to actually ask me to marry Manuel just because I carried his child, even after knowing I was starting to fall in love with Anthonio, was a huge ‘no no’ for me. I knew I wasn’t supposed to yell at Emilio that way, but I couldn’t help it.

“But I do, my dear.” He begged.

“No…” I shook my head at him in disappointment. “No, you don’t. No.”

“Greta.” He called out.

“Yes, Nonno.”Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“Please escort Bianca to the room. She needs to rest.”

Greta walked up to me and held my hands in hers. The genuine sympathetic look she shared with me, made me refrained from putting up a fight with her. She began leading me towards the staircase, and just when I was about taking the first step up, I heard Manuel say the craziest thing ever.

“Nonno please. Please this wouldn’t work out. How do I let Francesca know that we wouldn’t be getting married anymore?”

“No child with the Russo blood flowing in his veins would be born away from this family!” Emilio shouted in anger. I shook for a moment. I wasn’t used to that side of him.

“That wouldn’t be a problem.” Manuel rushed out. “I could speak to Francesca. I could explain everything to her. She wouldn’t mind training him alongside me.”

“What?!” I growled, pushing Greta’s hands off me, and making my way towards her brother. “My child?! You want your wife to mother my child?! Never!!” I was past that pointed of being cool. How dare he? Does he know what it means to carry a child? How dare he think I would gladly give my child to Francesca?

“Bianca…” He tried to speak but I cut him short.

“Shut the fuck up!”

His face hardened at my order and he looked down at me.

“You don’t speak to me that way!” He yelled in my face, towering over me. I could care less because all I really wanted to do was bash his head against a wall.

“Don’t push me!” I screamed back at him.

“No one speaks to me that way!”

“Well, I do.” Emilio calmly said, making him go quiet instantly. “And because of how foolishly you’ve just spoken, come with me.” He muttered in a dead tone. I watched as Emilio walked away, Manuel following him behind.

“Oh my goodness.” Manuel’s mom gasped, rushing towards me. “I’m so sorry my dear. Do not mind what he says.” She held my hands in hers, patting them. All I wanted to do was pull my hands away from hers and yell out so loudly. But all I found myself doing was crying as my shoulders slumped in defeat. “Come here.” She beckoned, pulling my face down to her shoulders, where I rested my face and let my tears flow freely.