9 - LUCA

TWO YEARS LATER

"I'm really gonna miss you," said Fizz's wife, pulling him into her arms, and planting kisses all over his face.

"I'm gonna miss you too, baby." Fizz pressed his lips to her forehead.

He gave his children a hug too. He had four beautiful children, two little girls, Annam and Huda, and two little boys, Ali and Shakil.

"Come back soon, Daddy," said his daughter Annam, throwing her arms around his legs.

"I will, baby, I promise," Fizz grinned, and his wife giggled.

I was at Fizz's house, waiting for him to say his farewells to his family, as I stood by the car with my suitcases and his, ready to go to the airport. I was going to go on a flight on my way back to Italy with Fizz.

Fizz finally pulled apart from his family, and made his way over to me, with tears in his eyes. He was a loyal man, and I knew he was going to miss his wife and children a lot. He was a better man than I was ever going to be.

"Take care of him for me, Luca," his wife called, waving at us both wildly as we got into the car.

"I will, I promise," I called back, and Fizz waved back to his family, sobbing as he watched his children fade away as we began to drive.

Fizz let out a deep sigh that he didn't know he was holding. "Here's to a new adventure, brother…" he breathed.

"It's gonna be fine," I reassured him.

I spent the last two years hating myself and despising myself for what I'd become, and ashamed to be my father's son. I didn't want me to carry on in his legacy being such a terrible person. Everything that had happened with the Muslim family getting shot down and my Pops passing away, had left me beyond fucked up for a long time.

For a long time, I tried to put my all into business, and put my all into the Mafia. But keeping myself busy didn't numb the pain, or the empty feeling inside of me. No matter how much money I made, no matter how much territory I expanded. It wasn't enough for me.

It was never enough.

Money truly didn't buy fucking happiness, and didn't fill the void within me, buried deep in my black soul, my shattered fucking heart.

I figured that spending time back in my home country would help me to get my head straight. To forget about business for a while, to forget about my responsibilities for a while. To clear my mind, and get myself in the right headspace. Just needing a break from fucking reality.

Fizz insisted on coming with me, to be there for me whenever I was low. Even after how many times I'd proved I was unworthy of his friendship, he always continued to pull through for me.

I left some of the other men taking care of business back in Manchester, while me and Fizz were away. I didn't know how long we were going to be leaving. Could be a few months, could be years…

However long it would take for me to get my shit together.

I knew that we both sure as hell needed this break.

I needed to find myself a woman too. I knew that things were beyond fixing with Evelina. She'd moved on from me a long time ago, and found herself a new man who treated her right.

The way that I never did.

She was better off without me.

I needed to do something that my dad would have wanted me to do, that my dad would have been happy with. And that was getting married and having a family of my own.

I didn't care to find love, I knew that love didn't exist for criminals like me. I would happily have an arranged marriage and just get on with my life, and try my best to stop sleeping with whores.

I'd been fucking broads countlessly these past few years, but it didn't bring me happiness. No matter how big their tits were, no matter how round their ass was. All it did was give me a temporary high, and then I'd be back to feeling like complete and utter shit the next morning.

I was craving something deeper. A real connection…

And I just couldn't get that from sleeping around.

It was time for a new beginning.