I frown a little at Kent, blinking. What? He folds his hands and waits patiently. “What,” I say, hesitating. “What do you want to know?” “Everything,” he says, raising his eyebrows. “I want you to tell me everything he said to you, and everything you said in response.” I frown at him further. “A
I’m slightly shaken by the experience, to be honest – first talking to my father, and then reporting the conversation to Kent. I know that I’m a pawn in their game, but I hadn’t realized that I’d be expected to report, on either side, what the other had said. How do I manage this? I hadn’t lied to
I smile down into my cup of tea, enjoying the fresh herbal scent. My belly is full of scone, and I'm listening passively as Daniel explains the ins and outs of some new philosophical theory that he's learning about for his class. I don't really care about it, but it's nice to hear him think through
His eyes dart around the patio, as if he's looking for someone who is listening. "If I agreed to even think about this," he says, "what would the plan look like?" I bite my lip eagerly. "We could keep it simple, start small. Figure out how to get our passports, or get convincing passports made. Th
Kent comes to my side, grabbing my right arm and pulling it forward as he moves to the other side of the table. He still holds my arm firmly in his grip as he goes, making be bend over the table to move with him – Which, I suddenly realize, is precisely what Kent wanted. When I’m bent at the waist
“What,” he says, bringing his face closer to mine, “did she tell you to do with it?” I lower my voice almost to a whisper, forcing him to lean closer. “She told me to give it to Alden.” I see Kent’s lips curl back from his teeth at that. But before he can ask another question, I continue. “But ob
Kent moves around the table, and to my surprise, he takes a key out of his pocket and slides it under the metal table. A mechanism snaps, and I feel a sudden give to my handcuffs as they are released from the table. Before I can pull away, Kent grabs the chain between the cuffs, taking control of m
A sound cracks through the air and I flinch, realizing – Shit, was that a whip? I gasp and whimper when I hear it again – snap, snap – “I didn’t want to do this, Fay,” Kent says, his voice low and – my stomach twists at the realization – pleased. “But you made me. If you’d only been obedient, I c
My dad greets him with such genuine joy and excitement that it makes my heart swell with joy. They talk for a few minutes about Dominic’s day before dad gives him a little nudge back towards the gate where Kent and I are waiting. Dominic gives dad a kiss before running ahead again. My dad waves to
“Papa!” Dominic shouts, startling me out of my reverie as he drops my hand and darts down the road. I look up, a huge smile breaking out on my face again as I see Kent on the sidewalk just ahead. His back is to us as he speaks companionably with the butcher, a heavy bag of his purchases already hung
As I walk down the street towards the little Italian kindergarten, the whispers start around me, as they always do. I listen to all of them, a big German Shepherd padding quietly at my heels. “Is that her?” “Yes, that’s the one – I heard she was her husband’s mistress before he married her – tha
Both Kent and I laugh, but Don Bianci – across the baptismal font from us – snaps his eyes up, perhaps not liking the joke as much as we do. But I just ignore it, because dad’s right, frankly – and it’s too happy a day to care. After the final blessing everyone applauds Dominic – he likes that, bl
“Well, it didn’t seem to affect your first very badly,” Ivan says with a shrug, peering around Kent to where Daniel is laughing with an arm around Jerome’s shoulders. “So…maybe keep it up.” I smirk, squeezing Ivan’s hand once more before standing and moving to Kent’s side, tucking myself against h
“Hey, gorgeous,” Ivan says, his mouth turned up in a smirk as I cross the churchyard, beaming at him. “Look who’s talking,” I say, laughing and reaching for him when I come close enough. Ivan wraps me in a hug, dropping a kiss to my cheek as I hold Dominic a bit to the side so he doesn’t get squis
He laughs, smiling at me genuinely. “Do I make you nervous?” he asks, blunt. I laugh, unable to help it. “Has no one bothered to tell you, in all these years, that you’re a little terrifying, Don Bianci?” He grins and shakes his head at me. “Well, considering what you accomplished, young lady, I
Two months later, we’re all gathered together again. And it is only with frustration that I see Gio and Janeen standing so close together that their arms nearly brush, even though they’re still not together. I roll my eyes, dismissing the problem for a moment as I move my eyes down to Dominic and
It's an incredible night. Kent didn’t lie, not at all, about the food either. I’m shocked by the mountains of dishes that continue to follow each other, one after another, long into the night. After a few hours of it I just mournfully watch the waiters go by because I couldn’t eat another bite if I