Chapter 0284

“And I’m still giving everything to the Bianci,” Kent sighs, completely unaware of how jealous I am at the mere mention of his

wife. “Twenty years — twenty years of building everything. And I swear to god — I’m almost out. I’ve almost paid my tab, I can feel

it. Just...a little bit more, and then I'll be free.”

“So, this is the end of it?” I ask after a moment. “The guns? Are the end?”

“I don’t know,” he murmurs. “It’s not like there’s a literal tab, Fay. It ends when I can...substantially make the case for breaking off

the ties. That it will be more profitable for both of us if I stop meddling with crime and actually go legit. And I’ve been building that

case for a long time — I have a lot of investments in tech and real estate, it should all work out. But,” he pauses, turning to me,

“the Bianci’s aren't easily convinced to give up their golden goose, are they?”

“No,” I say, nodding slowly, finally putting the final pieces of the puzzle together. “Which is why they’re pushing you so hard to

marry Natalia.”

“Precisely,” he says, wrapping the arm beneath me a little tighter. “But my marriage isn’t on the table as a bargaining chip this

time. Not anymore.”

There’s a long pause before I ask my next question.

“Is that why you married her, Kent?” I ask, tentative.

“Partially,” he replies after a second, and I think I hear a little relief in his voice to speak the truth.

“Oh,” I whisper, surprised. “I — I thought you loved her.”

“I did love Lenai, Fay,” he replies, and I can feel him looking seriously at me. “I would never deny it — would never want to. She

was incredibly important to me, and a good wife, and a great mom. But it was...complicated.”

“Okay,” I reply, not wanting to push him on this. And honestly, not sure I'll be able to bear it much longer, hearing him tell me

about how much he loved another woman.

“Kent?” I ask after a long moment of silence. He makes a soft noise, urging me to continue. “You are sending guns to Italy now...

but does that mean you aren't involved in the drug trade? At all?”

“No,” he replies, “l don't. I leave that,

ironically, to your father and your boy

Ivan. I was able to convince OB

Bianci’s a longitica®.aG0 hat drugs

are Sie money and the business had

too many eyes on it. And I was right -

there was more to be made from

slower, more subtle businesses. Do

you want me to tell you what those

are?” Please read the original content

at .

“No,” I murmur, letting my hand drift to his shirt, where I idly play with one of his buttons. “That’s okay. Not tonight. But I reserve

the right to ask later.”

Kent murmurs his assent and another moment passes before he urges me on. “What else, Fay,” he asks. “I want this done - I

want peace between us. So, whatever you want to know, ask now — because I don’t have the patience or the nerves to have this

fight again.”

I move closer to Kent then, tucking

my head below his chin, pleased

when he wraps his other arm around

me and holds me close\agaicst him

“oy sie tm voor’ eaiimere now.

But you had to start from scratch

when you got back from Italy,” I say

quietly, thinking aloud. “Was it...was it

very bad, Kent?” I ask. Honestly, I’m

not really sure why I want to know.

But as soon as I ask it, I know that I

need to know what it was like. Please

read the original content at

.

“It was awful,” he replies, resting his

chin against my head as he

remembers it. “Just...scraping on my

knees trying to reignite the

connections my fa ea bynda aking

ingpneniskStolduid trust, gambling

everything on these reckless hits to

build as much power and control as I

could as fast as I could. And all with a

baby at home.” Kent sighs and tucks

his forehead against mine. “It

was...horrible. Some men have a

taste for this world, Fay — I fucking

hate it. I’m just good at it, because I

was trained by the best.” Please read

the original content at

.