The Mafia Boss' Heart

NICOLO sighed as soon as he got out of his car. He looked at the restaurant in front of him. It was one of the most famous restaurants in Italy. And his mother picked this restaurant for him and his blind date. Hindi niya gustong pumunta pero pinilit siya ng kaniyang ina. Hindi naman siya makatanggi dahil nanay niya ito. Yes, he dates, but that was before. Nagbago siya simula nang muntikan na siyang mapikot. Since then, he has changed the way he interacts with women. He doesn't want to repeat what happened to him in the past because he was almost entrapped by a responsibility that was not his. Then that's why he's been distancing himself from women. Fortunately, his father was resourceful, and he wasn’t forced to marry that woman who claimed to be pregnant with his child. He was about to enter the restaurant when he received a call from his father. “Dad?” Pagsagot niya sa tawag ng ama. “Where are you?” his father asked in a stern voice. “Are you out and playing again?” Nicolo sighed. “Dad, you should ask Mom about it.” “Oh,” his father seemed to realize where he was, “then good luck, son.” His father chuckled. Napailing na lamang si Nicolo. “Dad, help me,” Pagmamakaawa niya kahit naman alam niyang hindi tutulungan ng kaniyang ama kapag involved ang kaniyang ina. His father would always favor his mother so much. “You’re already grown-up, Rafael. You should know what you should do in that kind of situation,” his father said in a serious voice. Nicolo just sighed and rolled his eyes after hearing his father calling him by his first name. “Fine,” sabi niya saka tinapos ang tawag. He just shook his head as he entered the restaurant. The restaurant was dim, and many couples were eating inside. He doesn't know why his mother chose this place. After all, it’s just a blind date and no string attached will happen. “Buonasera, Signor,” the waiter greeted Nicolo. Nicolo nodded. “Any reservation, Signor?” the waiter asked. “Under the name of Nicola Parisi,” said Nicolo. “This way, Signor.” “Grazie.” Nicolo thanked the waiter. Nicolo followed the waiter, and he took him to one corner of the restaurant. It was a table for two, and it was already set up. Umupo si Nicolo at hinintay ang kanyang blind date. Fifteen minutes later, a beautiful and sophisticated woman approached him. “She’s beautiful.” He remembered his mother’s words. Indeed, the woman was beautiful. Pero hindi niya gusto ang paraan kung paano ito magsuot ng damit. “Are you Rafael Nicolo Parisi?” the woman asked in a sweet voice but Nicolo knew that behind that sweet voice lies a scheming woman. Napailing na lamang si Nicolo sa kaniyang pinag-iisip.m Tumango siya saka tumayo. The woman smiled again. “Great! I’m Sienna Esposito. Nice to meet you.” Nicolo frowned. Damn! She’s the heiress of the Esposito Family. He could only facepalm. What the hell was his mother thinking? His mother set him on a blind date with a woman he didn’t like. Women in the Mafia are unpredictable. Iminuwestra niya ang kanyang kamay sa upuan sa tapat niya. “Please, have a seat.” When the woman sat down, umupo naman si Nicolo saka tinawag ang waiter. “Serve the food.” The waiter nodded and slightly bowed his head, then left. Nicolo picked up the glass of water in front of him and drank it. Iniwas niya ang tingin sa babae dahil hindi niya gusto ang paraan ng pagngiti nito sa kanya. She was smiling in a flirtatious way. Sorry, Mom. But I’m not really interested in this blind date. He apologized to his mother in his mind. “I’m really happy to have you as my blind date. You’re handsome. I like you. So, want to go to the hotel after this?” Sienna asked while smiling seductively. Nicolo coughed a few times and cleared his throat. Isang pilit na ngiti ang ipinakita niya rito. “Actually, my mom forced me into this blind date. I am not really interested,” he said in a flat tone. Sienna's smile disappeared. “You’re refusing my offer?” she asked in a challenging voice. No man had ever rejected her. This was the first time and she couldn’t accept it. “Yes, I am refusing your offer. Though your offer was tempting. But I’m not a man who would fall for a seductress. Not all men are the same, Miss Sienna. Moreover, I don’t feel anything for you,” Nicolo said in a cold and unbothered tone of voice. That was always his line whenever he had a blind date. And the woman’s line was always the line that he heard from the previous women he had blind dates with. Sienna became red because of shame and anger. Tumayo siya saka nagmartsa paalis. Nicolo's ears clapped, and he was smiling widely because he had succeeded in his plan. But he knows that his mother will surely lecture him and scold him late for what happened to this blind date. Pagkaalis ni Sienna ay saktong dumating ang inorder niyang pagkain. Nagkibit siya ng balikat. It’s not bad to eat alone. “You’re eating alone?” said a familiar voice. Nicolo looked at the person who sat in front of him. He let out a small chuckle when he saw the Mafia Don, Joseph Alejandro De Luca. “It’s you, Don. What are you doing here? Don’t tell me you’re here for a blind date?” he asked. Though he could feel the dangerous aura surrounding the Mafia Don, he didn’t feel scared at all. The Mafia Don shrugged his shoulders. “I am, but I rejected her. She just offered me a tempting service, but I refused. I just want to protect my dignity. Moreover, she’s not my type.” Nicolo shook his head. Itinaas niya ang wine glass na hawak niya. “Cheers to us, Don. We’re on the same boat.” Joseph poured the wine glass with wine and lifted it. “Cheers.” They both sipped their drinks. “I’m hungry. I need to eat,” said Nicolo. Then he looked at the Mafia Don. “Feel free.” Joseph chuckled and shook his head. Mukhang nakalimutan na ni Nicolo kung nasaan sila. In fact, the people around them were giggling, some were giving them weird looks, frowning at them like they did something wrong, and some people were judging them. But some of them are smiling happily as if they were happy for them. Yeah, it was the way the world works. It is full of judgmental people. Pero mukhang wala namang pakialam si Nicolo. “Most of the people who eat here are couples. It was weird for us to eat together.” Nicolo shrugged. “When I’m hungry, I don’t care about anything else.” He said and started eating …uncaring about what other people would say. It was his own business, not theirs. Joseph just smiled. “You would look pitiful if I left you here to eat alone. Okay. I’ll join you, but you have to pay for it,” he said. “I’m being thrifty this year,” he joked. Napailing na lamang si Nicolo dahil alam niyang nakikipagbiruan lamang ang Mafia Don sa kaniya. “Don’t worry. My mother already paid for it since she was the one who set me up for the blind date.” Tumango si Joseph saka nagsimula ng kumain. “By the way, did the Manzo family contact your father?” Nicolo nodded. “They did, but you don’t have to worry, my father was loyal to the alliance of our family.” Tumaas ang sulok ng labi ng Mafia Don. “That’s good.” But as for the two who were the subject in the people’s minds inside the restaurant, they were just concerned about their grumbling stomach. They ate without caring about anyone’s business, and they talked like they were friends. Though they are aware of what other people think of them. But it’s none of their business. After that day, Rafael and Joseph became friends.