┌──❀*̥˚──◌─────❀*̥˚──┐

└─◌───❀*̥˚.──◌───❀*̥˚─┘
[italian, english, korean]

⠀⠀⠀⠀VINCENZO CASSANO ANXIOUSLY stood outside of the family home with a bouquet of flowers in his hand, waiting for Imelda to arrive. Her flight landed exactly one hour ago. If his calculations were correct, she should be arriving in the limo shortly. When he found out that she was coming home, he was excited. He was happy to see how she had grown over the years. While he kept in contact with her, he never saw her in person. He took it upon himself to plan everything out to make sure she felt welcome.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ How was he going to greet her?

⠀⠀⠀⠀ What would be appropriate?

⠀⠀⠀⠀ How does one greet someone they haven't seen in over five years?

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Hey, Mel." He practiced but then shook his head. "That's stupid."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ He cleared his throat, holding out the flowers. "Mel! How are you?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀ He shook his head again. As he opened his mouth to practice another line, he heard something from down the street. He looked over to see that the limo was approaching.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ She was here.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ He gulped nervously as his heartbeat started to quicken in pace. There was no time to practice now.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ He rushed over to the limo and opened the door before she could. The girl screamed out in shock when he suddenly threw himself into the car.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Wha– You scared the hell out of me!" Imelda yelled, slapping his shoulder.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Hey, Mel." Vincenzo greeted, holding out the bouquet towards her. "How have you been?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀ A smile made its way across his lips when he saw her eyes light up at the sight of the flowers. She gasped as she took them out of his hand.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Aw, Zozo!" She gushed, wiping a fake tear from her eye. "You didn't have to."

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Still sticking with that nickname, huh?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Until I die." She answered, childishly sticking her tongue out at him.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Vincenzo shook his head before turning towards the driver. "To Emilio's house."

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Yes, Mr. Consigliere."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Imelda furrowed her eyebrows. "Emilio? You're doing business on the day of dad's funeral?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀"It's what he wanted."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Well it was a good thing Imelda decided to get dressed in the airport's restroom before heading over. She had a feeling that she wasn't going to have enough time to get ready for the funeral.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ After that, the two didn't speak much for the rest of the ride. Imelda was too tired from her flight and desperately needed a nap. She leaned her head against her brother's shoulder.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Wake me when we get there."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Vincenzo nodded, telling her to go to sleep.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ It felt like only ten minutes had past before Imelda was shook awake. She groaned quietly, sitting up straight. Her eyes fluttered opened, widening at the drastic change in scenery. She recognized the 'precious' vineyards from anywhere.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Vincenzo got out of the car first, holding a hand out for Imelda to take. She took his hand and got out of the car herself, straightening her dress. Vincenzo's eyes widened when he had to slightly tilt his head up to look at her. He was shocked to see how tall she has gotten over the years. Last time he saw her, her forehead was reaching his nose. Even though she was wearing heels at the moment, the girl tower over him. Ignoring his shocked look, she linked her arm with his. He went poker-faced then started heading towards the stairs that led up to the patio where Emilio sat. The two walked up the stairs in sync.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Imelda couldn't help but scrunched up her nose in disgust when she saw Emilio stuffing his face. Man was eating as if he hadn't been fed in years. She had to fight herself to not say, 'you can slow down. the food is not going anywhere. nobody is going to take it from you.'

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "How can you do business on the day of your boss's funeral?" Emilio questioned with a mouth full of food, not even bothering to look up at the siblings. He waved his hand towards the chairs in front of him, gesturing for them to take a seat. Vincenzo took a seat in front of him, plastering on a fake smile that looked more like a grimace. Imelda took the seat next to him, keeping her eyes on the man in front of them. She couldn't hide the disgust she felt in the moment. He was still going at it.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Her eyebrows shot up when she suddenly felt a nudge on her side. She glanced at Vincenzo who gave her a pointed look.

Fix your face.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ She dropped her disgusted look. Emilio finally looked up from the plate in front of him. He immediately made eye contact with Imelda. The man raised an eyebrow.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Imelda Cassano in the flesh and blood. I haven't seen you in years." He said. "I thought you were dead."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ The girl furrowed her eyebrows in confusion but didn't bother to respond, giving him a simple nod.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Vincenzo took his handy dandy iPad out of his case. He unlocked it then pulled up a document. He held it out in front of the man for him to see.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "This is the last offer from my boss, Fabio."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Emilio glanced down at the document before looking back up at the siblings. He scoffed, taking another bite from his food. Imelda's nose scrunched up again when he started chewing obnoxiously.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "An offer from his grave? Not interested." He shook his head, waving the two off with his fork. "You can take it and leave."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Vincenzo let out a sigh of annoyance before trying again. "Killing union president Carlo to take over the vineyards was a mistake on your part. He was like a brother to Fabio–"

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Whatever the offer is, I won't be accepting it."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Imelda couldn't help but chuckle at his new sense of confidence, gaining both of the mens' attention. From what she remembered, the man was terrified of their father. Now that he was dead, he thinks that the world is his.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "I mean, does it really sound like an offer to you?" She questioned the man, leaning forward. While the smile on her face was sweet, the tone of her voice was far from it. She honestly didn't even know what was going on. She just couldn't sit there and watch this man shit on her father like that. "This is Fabio's last act of mercy to a man that killed his dear friend."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Emilio didn't like that. He slammed his fork down, glaring at the smiling girl.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Are you two here to make a deal or to threaten me?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Vincenzo also leaned forward. "If you sign this now, there won't be any problems."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Get lost!" Emilio yelled, slamming his fork down onto the table. "Go back to your country, you arrogant y*llow and take the black with you. I fought fair and square to take over. The Cassano family has no shares of this place. Get out of here."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Imelda's eyes widened at the man's racism. She balled her hands into fists to keep herself from flipping the whole entire table over. A certain plane that had been flying over the vineyards their entire time there, caught her attention. It was spraying a questionable liquid all over the place. She furrowed her eyebrows then glanced at her brother. He looked as calm as ever despite what was happening. He must've had a plan. He leaned back into his chair.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "You sure you won't regret it?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Regret?" Emilio scoffed, finally wiping his mouth with a napkin. "The Luciano family is backing me up. I'm not afraid to go to war."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ She turned her head towards her brother, pointing at the now flustered man in front of them. "The Luciano family?" Imelda laughed at the thought. As if they had the means to beat them.. Right?

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Vincenzo ignored his sister's remarks, keeping his eyes on Emilio. "Regret is the most painful thing you can experience in life."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Emilio continues to gobble down on his food, ignoring Vincenzo's words.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Emilio, I am here to give you a chance to redeem yourself. Not start a war."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Sure. Whatever. Arigato." He brings his hands together, faking a bow. "You uncivilized y*llow."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Imelda's jaw dropped at this one. At this point, she was shaking in anger. She was about to jump across the table and started going ham on his ass until Vincenzo just calmly placed his iPad back into his briefcase. He stood up, holding his hand out towards Imelda. She took it, standing up from her seat and linking arms with him. The two bodyguards that stood behind the man took out their guns and pointed them towards the two. The two began to walk to the stairs, stopping when they were directly next to Emilio.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Emilio." Vincenzo said. The man looked up from his food. A small smirk made its way on Vincenzo's face when he suddenly switched to Korean. "I will make you pay for disrespecting my sister and my people. You Neanderthal."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Go to hell, you racist bastard." Imelda cursed him out in Korean. Vincenzo smiled proudly at the fact that she still remembered the language despite not having the chance to practice. She had an accent that stuck out in a cute way.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ And with that, the two walked away, leaving the man confused. He stood up from his seat, pointing at the siblings.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "What did you two say to me? Did you both curse at me?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Imelda let out an evil chuckle as the two continued to walk down the stairs. Just as the they were out of the man's sight, the plane circled back. Emilio finally noticed its presence, furrowing his eyebrows.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Why are they spraying pesticides today?" He questioned. "I thought we did that last week."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ The plane sprays the substance over them. Emilio stared at the plane in shock, taking a sniff of his arm.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "That's not pesticides.."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "What did you do?" Imelda narrowed her eyes at her brother. Vincenzo didn't respond, taking his lighter out of his pocket. He ignited it and threw it behind him. The two didn't bother looking back at the flames that started to form behind him. Imelda felt like an absolute badass in an action movie. She honestly wished that someone could've recorded them.They approached the car. Vincenzo held the door open for her, allowing her to go in first. He followed in after her, shutting the door behind him. The driver immediately took off to get them as far away from the scene as possible. Imelda watched the fire spread along the vineyard in amazement.

Boy did she miss being home.

*̥❀*̥

⠀⠀⠀⠀ The two siblings stood side by side in front of their father's casket. Imelda stared down at Fabio's lifeless body with tears in her eyes. She felt like a horrible daughter. How could she let her father die thinking that she wanted nothing to do with him? If only she moved past her pride and spoke to him first, they would've been okay.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "I'm so sorry, pa." Imelda whispered, hot tears racing down her cheeks.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Vincenzo placed a comforting hand on Imelda's back. They both bowed their heads before doing the doing the sign of the cross in sync. Feeling eyes on them, they both took a look behind them to see Pablo. He gestured for the two to join him outside. Imelda looked back at her father for the last time.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Goodbye, Fabio."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Vincenzo grabbed Imelda's hand and pulled her along with him. As they got closer to the man, Imelda's lips curved up to a fake smile. Pablo didn't hesitate to return it, smiling being equally fake as hers.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Imelda!" He greeted. "Oh look at how much you've grown! I see you haven't missed a meal."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Pablo!" Imelda greeted, less enthusiastically. She wasn't even going to acknowledge the last sentence. She knew she gained a lot of weight since the last time they saw her. She didn't let comments like that get to her because she knew she gained the weight in all the right places. Pablo pulled her into a hug to which she hesitantly returned, awkwardly patting his back. They didn't even hug when their father was alive so she didn't know why he started now. He didn't have to put up a façade.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Once the two separated, they all sat down in awkward silence. No one knew what to say. They didn't like Pablo and Pablo did not like them. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of Vincenzo's lucky lighter. Imelda furrowed her eyebrows, tilting her head slightly. If he had that lighter in his hand, what did he throw onto the field? She swore the man had a secret power to spawn lighters whenever he felt like it.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "You could have done that after the funeral." Pablo spoke up. "And you didn't have to take Imelda with you. She left to country to get away from the business and the first thing you do is drag her back in?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Imelda waved him off. "Don't bring me into it."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "It was Fabio's last order. He told me to take care of it as soon as possible." Vincenzo answered.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Even so, burning down the entire vineyard was too much." Pablo said, glaring at Vincenzo with eyes full of hatred.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "He said I could use any means necessary to get it done."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Right. My father always trusted your decisions but never trusted mine."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "There you go again. 'My' father?" Imelda scoffed, rolling her eyes. He always made sure to point out that they weren't related by blood. It was 'his' father, 'his' house, and 'his' business to take over. "He was as much as our father as he was yours. Just because we aren't blood doesn't mean that he didn't love us equally."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "And he didn't trust your decisions because you were always careless when you took care of things. You went against his word that no matter what happens, we don't harm women or children."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Vincenzo, my friend, my brother." Pablo started. "Now that I'm your boss, I'd like to see you more loyal."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Pablo, my brother." Vincenzo smirked. "I'm always ready to show my loyalty to you..." He stood up from his seat. "As long as you deserve it."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Seeing the look in Pablo's eyes, Imelda knew she needed to get her black ass on somewhere. Now that their father wasn't alive to keep the peace, who knows what could happen. She was 100% sure that Pablo was going to try to kill them. Imelda stood up from her seat, pulling her dress down slightly.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Where do you think you're going?" Pablo spat at the girl.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Far away from you." Imelda said. "Now that father is dead, I have no reason to associate with you." She linked arms with Vincenzo.

⠀⠀⠀⠀"Very well. If that's how you feel about your eldest brother, I cannot change that." Pablo spoke nonchalantly. Imelda had to keep herself from scoffing at his words. He is so ridiculous. He has probably been dreaming for the day that his nightmare of a little sister was out of his life for good from the moment Fabio adopted her. "But before you go Mel, I have something to give you."

⠀⠀⠀⠀He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out a big orange envelope, holding it out to her. "It's father's gift to you. It was supposed to be a gift for your graduation in a few weeks but given the circumstances, it seems like now would be a better time."

⠀⠀⠀⠀Imelda stared at the envelope in his hands, frozen. Father already had a graduation gift picked out? How did he know that she was graduating soon? Did he keep an eye on her from afar like Vincenzo did? Did he plan to watch her graduate and possibly reconcile their relationship like she had desperately wanted? Did he miss her as much as she missed him?

⠀⠀⠀⠀None of that matters now. It's too late.

⠀⠀⠀⠀She rapidly blinked away her tears before taking a deep breath as she snatched it from his hands.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Without another word, two siblings started walking away. Pablo watched them with a clenched jaw. Once they were out of his hearing range, Vincenzo turned to face the girl.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "You're coming with me to South Korea."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Imelda stopped walking, shaking her head at his words. "No, I'm not. I have finals and gr–"

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Already have that taken care of." He interrupted her. "Pablo is planning to kill us. He has probably already sent some men to your school to get you when you go back to America."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Imelda let out an annoyed sigh, running her hand through her hair. Her eyes stared at the envelope in her hand as she thought about how her life was running smoothly. Her grades were great, she was weeks away from graduation and now look. Her father is dead and her eldest brother put a price on her head.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Just come with me for a while, then you can go back to your old life after things get settled." He offered. "I just want your near me. I don't want you to get hurt."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ Imelda stared at him, narrowing her eyes. "What are we doing in South Korea?"

⠀⠀⠀⠀ "Getting rich."

⠀⠀⠀⠀ That's all she needed to know.

"I like the sound of that, brother."

✿❯────「✿」────❮✿
Word Count: 2,900 words.

the first few chapters are
the same for the most part.
the official rewrite will begin
after this chapter;))).