Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad
Chapter 184

When Daniel and Jerome come home with the news of the sentencing, I don't say much. Honestly, there's not much to say. I had been fairly certain that it would go smoothly - and I've certainly got other things in my mind to worry about. So I just nod to them, and turn back to the paperwork that's spread out all over the table, concentrating especially on the big calendar I've drawn out before me. Because what this sentencing actually gives us, which I've been waiting for...

Is a timeline.

One month. One month of Kent spilling his guts to Ivan (which I'm sure Kent will absolutely hate), and then...we move.

"Okay," I say, looking down at my notes as Daniel and Jerome come over to the table, but before I can say anything else -

My hand flies to my mouth as my stomach turns over.

"Oh no," Jerome says, going tense before dashing into the kitchen, looking for the popcorn bowl that I've been using in emergencies when I can't get to the bathroom -

"I've got her!" Daniel shouts, taking me by the shoulders and rushing me to the half-bath off the kitchen, where I skitter to my knees before the toilet. Luckily, we make it in time for me to neatly throw up my breakfast directly into the toilet. Daniel, ever sweet, holds back my hair and pets my head softly until I'm finished. Then I fall back on my b**t with a groan and he hands me a tissue.

"You okay?" he asks softly, his eyes full of concern.

"Yeah," I reply, sighing and frowning down at my stomach. "Stupid baby."

"In baby's defense," Jerome says, leaning against the door frame, "she's probably really smart."

"Well, then she's just a jerk," I murmur, sighing again and working to stand up as Daniel flushes the toilet. Then he pats me on the back as I reach for the toothbrush and toothpaste I keep in here - I keep a spare set in all the bathrooms now - so I can clean the vomit taste out of my mouth.

As I brush, I stare at myself in the mirror, wondering how the hell I'm supposed to plan everything I need to plan if I'm running to the toilet five times a day, overwhelmed with nausea. There's just...so much that needs to get finished. And with only one month... As I lean over to spit out my toothpaste, I look down at my little belly. "You'd better not screw this up, kid," I murmur. "Or else both of your parents will be in jail. And then you'll get raised by Aunt Janeen and you'll turn out really weird."

I run a hand over my stomach, almost waiting for a reply but...nothing comes. Obviously. So, I just straighten my shoulders, take a deep breath, and get back to work.

The days pass quickly now that we have our timeline. Natalia and Alessi gave us a tearful goodbye and headed back to Italy, promising to come visit when the baby is born. With them gone, and without ever formally agreeing to it, my little household falls into a simple routine. We get up early to share a breakfast together, and then Daniel goes off to work with my father. Daniel always sighs when he comes home because I'm always waiting for him with a plate of food and a notebook. He groans, mumbling something about his second shift, and then he sits down with me and I make him tell me absolutely everything he learned that day - everything he saw, everyone he talked to, everything they said. And then I ask questions, and I make him do it all again. "Why do you need to know this, Fay?" he asks one night, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"I'll tell you when you need to know," I murmur, writing in my notebook and checking the map of international shipping routes that I had Daniel bring home for me. He just sighs, I think a little sick of hearing it, but...well. He doesn't have much of a choice does he?

Janeen, when she doesn't take a lunch shift at the club, hangs out with my dad. Together they keep me fed and hold back my hair when I need to barf. They watch me, and I can tell they're worried, but they don't interfere. Ivan drops in a couple of times a week and Janeen and dad are always kind to him, though Daniel and Jerome are predictably cold - as they've been instructed to be.

Also as requested, Janeen sticks close to my side when Ivan visits, not giving us time alone. Ivan just smiles at me like he knows what I'm doing, but he shrugs it off, giving me my space, letting me know by the way that he looks at me that he's willing to be patient. But what he doesn't know is that I'm counting on that patience. And that eventually, I intend for it to pay off. That it's actually a very important part of my plan.

But even as Ivan is the one with an agenda, Jerome is the one who surprises me. He mostly hangs out with me at the table every day, passively reading newspapers and magazines, fending calls and texts from Daniel and passing me messages when Daniel asks him to. But I take his passive patience as one of his talents - after all, Kent trained him for years to sit quietly while he waited for commands.

But one day, about two weeks into our month-long timeline, as I'm leaning over a map of the local highway system, Jerome's finger suddenly appears in front of me, tapping the map.

"This isn't going to work," he murmurs, his voice sure and kind.

I look up at him in surprise. "What?"

Jerome looks at me evenly and shakes his head. "I see what you're thinking here. It's smart - but you're not seeing...this." And then he traces his finger along the map to point at an intersection that...well, he's right. I absolutely didn't see that - and it ruins all of my plans.

"Oh, crap..." I murmur, standing up straight and putting my hands on my hips, staring at the map as I realize that I have to start all over...

But then I whip my head up and stare at Jerome. "Wait, how did you know that? How do you know...how do you know what I'm thinking?"

"Because," he says evenly, giving a little shrug. "I've been sitting here with you for weeks, Fay. I've been looking at your plans as well. I mean, I've got some gaps in my knowledge but..." he smirks a little, sliding his hands into his pockets, "I've got the gist of it." "Oh," I say, my eyes wide, and then I scowl a little, wrinkling my nose at him. I thought I'd been so secretive and clever. "Well?" I ask after a moment, biting my lip. "What do you think?" Jerome's smirk widens into a big grin. "I think it's going to work."

"Really?" I gasp, my hands flying to my mouth, and then I squeal and throw myself into his arms. Jerome laughs and wraps me in a hug, rocking me back and forth.

"Yeah," he says, giving me a final squeeze before releasing me. "I think that it's...a very Fay plan, which means that not many people are going to see it coming. Of course, it all hinges on..." "I know," I reply, my face going a little pale. "But...I can do it, Jerome."

"You can," he says, giving a little shrug. "But you shouldn't, Fay." He puts a hand on my cheek and looks at me with sad eyes, shaking his head at me. "You should let me do it for you."

"No," I say, instant, shaking my head and looking back at him. "That part...that part's my responsibility. Mine alone."

"All right," Jerome whispers, not pushing me on it. But then he takes his hand away and sighs, stepping back and studying me.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"I just think it's time for you to loop Daniel in a little more," he says, giving a shrug. "After all, he has to do all the stuff with the boats."

I bite my lip, anxious. "You don't think it's too soon?"

"Two weeks, Fay," Jerome whispers, his expression worried now. "It might not be soon enough."

I groan and sit back down in my chair, hard, staring at the paperwork spread out on the table. After a long moment I nod. "Fine," I say, my hand rubbing passively over my belly. "We'll tell him tonight. And then tomorrow..." I look up at Jerome, seeing if he already knows. "Tomorrow we go see...her."

"Yup," I say, taking a deep breath. Because now that I'm getting my team involved? It's no longer just a speculation in my mind.

This is real now. And after tonight, it will have consequences.

"Anything you want me to pass along to Fay, tonight?" Ivan asks as he flips through his notes after a long interrogation session with Kent. He watches carefully as Kent declines to reply, smirking when he sees Kent's shoulders raise in a deep sigh. "Seriously," Ivan says, slapping the notebook shut and leaning back in his chair, looking Kent over from head to toe. "I don't mind. I'll pass on a message - whatever it is you want to say."

Slowly, Kent raises his head to meet Ivan's eyes. He blinks once and just shakes his head at the kid, knowing that he's needling him again. Kent's determined not to let it work, but - as Ivan's said before - he knows his weak spot.

Ivan's mouth spreads into a slow smile. "She's getting bigger," he tells Kent, his voice soft. "Not fat - just...a cute little belly, like she's smuggling a melon under her dress."

Kent's heart seizes when he hears it, and he believes him. Not only does Ivan have any reason to lie but...well, that's how he imagined Fay would look. Keeping his gaze, Ivan leans forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"She's sick all the time now too," he whispers, "just... morning sickness, all hours of the day. And when she runs to the bathroom? Sometimes I go with her. To hold her hair, rub her back...really, anything that she needs. That's what a good guy does, isn't it? He's there for his girl, when she's sick. A good dad, too."

Kent just closes his eyes and looks away. Because even though he knows exactly what Ivan's doing...well, he's right, isn't he?

That is what a dad should be doing for the mother of his child.

And here he is, rotting away in jail.

And there Ivan is, more than happy to take his spot.

"Why don't you let her husband do those things," Kent murmurs, not knowing why the hell Daniel keeps letting Ivan into the house. Unless Fay has a reason for it...

...or Fay is...considering him. Considering Ivan as a real replacement.

But the bare thought of that threatens to crush him, so Kent dismisses the idea.

"Daniel's distracted," Ivan says with a casual little sigh. "Working for Alden now, and he's got Jerome to think about - don't want him getting jealous -

Kent's eyes flash open at this and his head snaps to look at Ivan. What?

"Oh," Ivan says, genuinely surprised. And then Ivan laughs, delighted, as he leans back in his chair. "Oh, you didn't know about that, did you?"