“Cuore, you are the under-boss of this family. Do you know what that means? You will take over once I pass.” The Padrino of Cosa Nostra fumed in Italian. “I am already 59. My time is almost over.”
I crossed my arms across my chest and sighed, “Yes I know Dad. Please stop reminding me. I’m just trying to say that the family won’t accept me. Firstly I am a woman, and secondly, other mafia rivals will see us as weak.”
“This family will accept you! They voted for you to be my under-boss, why won’t they stand by you once I pass? Rivals will always be rivals. Anger them more, let them underestimate us and try to start a war. They will lose, then that’s one less enemy.”
“It’s clear I’m not ready to take over. I didn’t even see it as an advantage.” I groaned and jerked my hand upwards as if to hit my own face. I then walked over to my Dad and took his hands in mine, “I’m not ready to live on without you.”
He gave me a smile then started coughing. The Padrino had been suffering from emphysema for a while now. It caused a shortness of breath and a mixture of blood and mucus was coughed up. The doctors had said that there was no cure, and the medicine would have just helped ease the symptoms. He was predicted to have a maximum of 5 years left, that was 2 years ago. Then Covid-19 hit and he was infected, it was a miracle he had survived but now the condition of his lungs were worse.
“Do you know why I call you Cuore? It means heart. You are my heart, and I will always be here with you. I believe you will make the best decisions for this family and keep our name honoured.” The Padrino replied and lay back down on his pillow to rest. His heavy breathing filled the room and important members of the family entered. They greeted me then said their goodbyes to the Padrino.
I moved to a corner of the room and gave everyone time to talk to my Dad before he passed. I closed my eyes and thought over the 21 years of my life. He was always there for me and he taught me everything I know. His most important quote flooded my thoughts. In a world full of laws, only the outlaws will evolve.
I didn’t even fully understand what it meant but he always said it.
I looked over to the mirror. An olive tanned complexion, chocolate brown eyes and black hair stared back at me. I always felt I appeared plain, but at least the mustard yellow jumpsuit I wore was a contrast. It showed off my cleavage quite well and had a fun frill from my right sleeve down to my waistline. The white purse I chose matched my wedges, and I had my hair in a side braid.
I need a cappuccino, but it was already after lunchtime so coffee was my only option. It’s an unspoken rule okay. No cappuccino after lunch.
“Cuore?” A deep voice asked which broke my train of thought. I looked at the person in front of me, it was the consigliere. He was my Dads adviser.
“Sorry to disturb you. I just want to let you know that the family has decided the elections will happen tomorrow. We want to have a vote as soon as possible so that the Padrino also has a say.” He explained then nodded and walked away.
That was a good idea, at least then my Dad will see who is left in charge of the family. I hoped the consigliere would remain as my consigliere. He was wise and my Dad trusted him, therefore so did I. The new under-boss would be someone entirely new, many members qualified so it could literally be anyone. Everyone left, so I walked over to my Dad.
“What is the date today?” He asked as I sat on the bed next to him.
“12 May,” I replied after quickly checking my phone.
“Uh perfect. Tomorrow will be 10 years since your mom passed, and the first day of your journey to becoming the most feared Padrino. You know, every day you look more and more like her Cuore.”
Mom. She was beautiful. I was 11 when she was killed by a rival mafia family, she had protected both of us. We went to a cinema to watch marvels Thor (which was epic by the way) and afterwards, a gang had cornered us by the car. Both the driver and bodyguard were killed, and my mom threw herself at the last attacker as he shot a bullet in my Dads direction. If she didn’t stop him then I too would have died that day.
“I hope she is proud of me,” I whispered and felt his hand cup my face.
“I must rest now. I’ll see you tomorrow okay.” He added. I nodded, grabbed my purse and left the room.
I took the Ray-Ban wayfarer sunglasses out of my purse and put them on before I stepped out of my father's manor. My personal bodyguard/driver stood waiting by my car; I owned a light blue 812 GTS Ferrari.
“Ma’am.” He greeted and opened the door for me.
“Alexio please take me to the nearest Starbucks. I need a coffee.” I stated in English while climbing into the car.
“Of course.” He laughed, closed my door then climbed into the driver's seat.
“The attempt to convince my Dad was a complete fail.” I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder. Alexio had been my protector since I was 18. We were very close, he basically acted like my lover. We had the whole friends with benefits thing going on, but there wasn’t anything between us that developed into more than that. Plus most men would want to be with me just for my families power. None of them could be trusted, so at least I had Alexio around to feed my desires.
He was gorgeous! The whole strong gentleman thing was literally his vibe. I often asked him why he didn’t find a wife and settle down already. He was 25, tall and had these green-brown eyes. The colours could be separately seen which made his eyes extremely rare.
“You are the only woman I am loyal to.” Was always his reply. Who would say no to that?
“Alexio will you be loyal to me even when my Dad passes away?” I inquired and sat up. The car came to a stop as we parked along the side of the road. He reached over and took off my sunglasses, then took my hands in his. “My Cuore, I am loyal to you. Not your father. I am loyal to you till the day you tell me to leave. I will always be here for you, in any way you want me.” He softly responded and leaned in to place a kiss on my forehead. “Thank you.” I blushed and pulled him closer to give him a proper kiss. He deepened the kiss for a moment then pulled away. “We can’t stop here for long.” He stated and started up the car. “Can I play some music?” “This is your car. You can do whatever you like.” “Oh yeah, right.” I giggled and grabbed the USB out of my purse. I plugged it in and put it on track 9. Montero (Call me by your name) by Lil Nas X started playing. I sang along to the song while we drove and Alexio joined in.
The bell rang to end this horrific school day. Finally! Urgh, I hate school. It’s so boring and just a waste of my time. I felt so irritated, I just wanted to get home. Everything irritated me; the voice of my accounting teacher, the way my uniform felt against my skin, the pink pencil case full of permanent marker scribbles that the girl next to me had on her desk and the taste of my dry mouth. I craved a sugary drink. The cola refresh in the fridge at home was calling my name.“Taylen, Taylen. Drink me! Drain my blood!” I imagined it saying. It would cheer as I took it from the fridge and twisted open the bottle cap to release the sweet fragrance.I shoved my fat accounting book into my bag and got up to leave. My classmates broke into a loud chatter and all rushed out of the class."Social distancing please!" My teacher yelled then saw me through the crowd. "Taylen Nova, can I talk to you for a second please?" No! I replied m
I touched the bowl and cursed, "Fridge magnets that's hot!" Damn, how could I forget? I grabbed the dishcloth and placed the bowl onto the table. "Weeeeeeeee!" The spice cheered as it fell onto the noodles. I smiled and mixed it all together with a fork. "Hey, Mrs Cheese. Since this spice is cheese flavoured are you by any chance related?" "Why yes, that is correct." She replied. Me = big brains."Snap this is delicious!" I beamed and twisted more noodles around my fork. "Why do you taste so good today?" I asked but the noodles didn't reply. I shrugged and continued eating. "Mr Taylen, please close that fridge." The nanny ordered as she walked through the kitchen. She was half her original size and had a massive bobblehead! I laughed and stretched over to slam the fridge door shut. I looked down but my noodles were already finished. Sadness. The food had gone quiet again, the nanny probably scared them off. Oh well, time to
I picked up my favourite beauty blender and squeezed my BB cream onto the sponge. This golden colour shade matched my skin tone perfectly. I needed to make my Arabic skin glow for the cameras. I had clear skin that still looked young and hydrated, even though I was already 26. I was getting old.“But still so sexy,” I smirked and finished up the last touches to my makeup. Being a male model meant that I had to highlight the features that a camera could not see. Everything needed to be perfect, which it already was. My chocolate brown hair was shoulder length and full of volume. It was healthy and allowed the light to dance on its surface. My facial features resembled the ideal mould of a man. Even my royale beard enhanced how attractive I was.Don’t even get me started on my body. Even Allah will bow down before me. I had toned every inch of my body to achieve the warrior physique and now no one could pass my title of the sexiest man alive. I was decl
"Isla thanks for coming today," I remarked as we watched all the children leave."To be honest at first I was like he wants me to be around children? Then I thought to myself, I get to see my favourite person." She replied and offered me a wink. Isla and I had been good friends for a few years now, I felt like she was the only person that I could spend time with and not feel irritated."It's a pleasure." I laughed."So I need to quickly change out of this," She stated and started walking away. I wonder if she would like to hang out now? I remember the first time we met at a fashion show in Hawaii. The designer had based all his pieces on the element of fire. It was a spectacular event! Isla and I were put together as partners for the couple's outfits, and we just got to know each other better from then on."Tay!" I heard her shout which snapped me away from my thoughts. "Are you coming?"
Mr Nova’s POVI woke up by my desk in a cold sweat. It was still dark outside so I checked my watch. 2am. The page she had written on had absorbed some of my drool. I wiped my mouth and placed the page safely at the back of my journal.That was the first time I had dreamt of Alveera Rose. Now she had even entered my subconscious mind. I remember it was such a calm experience but I felt like I had just awoken from a nightmare. My heart was racing and I felt anxious. To this day, scientists could not explain why we dream. The threat simulation theory suggests that dreaming could be seen as an ancient biological defence mechanism. This would simulate potential threatening events and enhance the neuro-cognitive mechanisms required. Basically, in simple words, it allows you to be prepared for that situation if it were to occur in real life. That was just one of the theories, but it seemed to make sense. I shook my head.
The next few months were full of long days and sleepless nights. The entire team worked on the project and none of them gave up. We got annoyed with each other when we disagreed or the calculations didn’t turn out. Alveera turned out to be the most valuable member of the team. She made sure we all stayed fed, hydrated and got at least 4 hours of sleep a day. She was basically our mother and kept us sane.We had exactly 123 failed test runs, and today felt no different. We had given up on waiting for natural storms and made an artificial method to manipulate the weather. That was a nightmare to perfect. There was a time we couldn't figure out how to make the storm stop and the facility was flooded. Luckily Gazala constructed a water catchment and storage backup plan. We sent the water off to arid areas in Africa. I guess you could say it was a win-win situation. I walked over to Alveera's apartment and knocked on her door. "Taylen my boy, come
Cuore’s povI stirred awake and felt a thin material draped over my body. I shot up and scanned the area around me. I was alone in a small room. It had plain white walls, no windows and one solid metal door. There was also an old wardrobe in the corner next to a basin and toilet. I felt a sharp pain in my arm and noticed I was attached to an IV drip that hung from a hook on the wall. I quickly ripped the needle out and felt a bit dizzy. What on earth was in that drip? I even had different clothes on. I wore a plain white shirt that was full of stains and a pair of black tights. I needed to get out of here. The single bed I was on had a quilt covering it. It was the ugliest thing I had ever seen. Random pieces of material had been sewed together to form a blanket.A gunshot went off in the distance. Where was I? This didn't look like a hospital.I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and tried to stand up. Everything felt like