Mafia Bloodlines

Chapter 5

Nikolai 's pov

I stepped out of the car and onto the driveway. It had been weeks since I'd last set foot in this house, and I wasn't sure I was ready to face what was waiting for me inside.

One of the guards, Tez, handed me my bag and nodded in greeting. "Welcome back, Mr. Bukhari."

I nodded curtly and took my bag from him. "Thanks, Tez. I'll see you later."

As I walked towards the house, I couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. My father, Vladimir, was going to be furious with me for staying away so long. And my stepmother, Klara... well, let's just say we didn't exactly get along.

I pushed open the front door and stepped inside, calling out to let someone know I was home. My brother Ivan appeared in the foyer, a look of surprise on his face.

"Nikolai! Welcome back, bro. We weren't expecting you. I thought you were going to stay out of the city for a bit longer."

I shrugged, dropping my bag to the floor. "I decided to come back early, deal with our father's tantrums."

I walked into the dining room and my eyes scanned the table where my family was already seated. My father, looked up at me, his expression stern. He looks grumpy.

"How nice of you to join us, Nikolai. You do know that we call them family dinners for a reason, showing up to the dinner is  important" he said with his voice dripping with sarcasm. Urgh I knew I should have stayed for a couple of more days away from this house. Everything in here suffocates me, especially Papa.

I shrugged, taking my seat next to Ivan. "Sorry, I lost track of time. I am here now so let's all carry on with our lives. Carry on eating, it's not like you were waiting for me anyways."

"It's okay, dear. We're just glad you're here now." Klara said with a smile . Of course she had to say something, always rallying  behind her husband.

I nodded in the hopes that she wouldn't try to talk to me anymore. My eyes kept drifting to my father. It was like he had forgotten all about our mother, about the life we used to have. I wonder how  he does it, pretend like she never existed.

My brothers, Ivan, Luca, and Valentino, were all chatting and laughing with our little brothers and Klara. I felt a pang of resentment towards them too. Why couldn't they remember ? Why couldn't they remember our mother the way I did?
Don't they feel that something is missing?
I guess I'm the only one with a void .

The dinner conversation was stilted, with Klara trying to make small talk and my father dominating the conversation with stories about business as usual. As the dinner drew to a close, my father stood up.

"Nikolai, can I have a word with you?"

I nodded, feeling a sense of trepidation. What have I done now? I wasn't even mean to Klara this time I tried to behave.

I followed my father out of the dining room, leaving the rest of the family behind. We walked into his study, the door closing behind us with a soft click.

"Do you hate me?" my father asked, his voice low and menacing.  Well that I did not expect, straight to the point I see.

"You've been distant, this has been going on for years now and I thought you would grow out of it but you aren't " he went on to say.

"Nothing's going on, Papa.  Why would you think I hate you, I mean you've given me no reason to, right? "I shrugged and played it cool. If he really wants to do this now then let's do it.

"Is this about her? I know you were very close with your mother and you must miss her is that it?" He asks. I don't even like the way he talks about her.

" You can say her name, Anastasia Bukhari, my mother, your wife and yes it is about her and you. I hate that we all have to wake up and forget that Mama was a part of our family. You excel in that department Papa but I cannot. I do not wish to pretend that we did not fail her. I cannot forget her, I see you have, Valentino, Lucas ,even Ivan has also forgotten her, that's my problem." My eyes were blazing with intensity as I confronted my father, you could not miss the bitterness in my tone.

" I told you to never take her name in front of me. I made that very clear Nikolai and you would do well to remember your place . You will not question my decisions and with your problem I fear I cannot help you son." He said as his voice rose, he was losing his cool.

"What difference does it make. You never loved her anyways," I say and thereafter I felt a searing pain as my nose met with his fist.  Son of a bitch, he broke my nose. I lift my head and look straight into his eyes as I clench my fist together, I could feel my anger boiling over. His eyes blazed with fury and I wasn't going to back down.

" Nikolai, stop! Calm down, the both of you need to calm down. Were you hoping that beating each other up would fix things? Don't be ridiculous Nikolai you are not going to hit Papa." Ivan said as he arrived just in time and quickly held me back. His voice cut through the chaos.

Ivan's words were like a splash of cold water,
I glared at my father one last time before saying,

"One of these days you  won't be so lucky, old man."