Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad
Chapter 219

Slowly, Kent raises his head and meets his son's gaze, but he doesn't say anything. Daniel lets out his breath slowly, beginning to nod.

"I don't want to lie," Kent says softly. "Or to undermine what I had with your mom. She was....my partner and my wife. I treasured her, and loved her deeply, but we were...playing roles that her father picked out for us. We were a very strong match as far as a mafia marriage went, but there was never, between us..."

"I

I get it," Daniel says, raising his eyebrows. "I mean, it's going to sound weird but... is it kind of how I feel about Fay?"

Kent pauses in shock but then laughs, raising his eyebrows as he considers the possibility. "I mean, I was actually attracted to your mother, Daniel - she was a beautiful woman -"

"Okay, yeah," Daniel concedes, "but beyond that. A deep friendship and dedication? Fay - if we were actually going to raise this baby together, we'd be good at it. We'd be a good match - and we love each other. But between us..."

Kent nods, considering that perhaps Daniel does understand it more than he thought he could. Fay and Daniel, after all, were likewise an arranged match between two old mafia families from the start.

"Well," Daniel says, taking a deep sip of his whiskey. "You should probably tell Fay all of this too."

"What?" Kent asks, his brows knitting together. "Why?"

"She thinks mom was your one true love," Daniel says, shrugging and filling Kent's glass too. "She's said it to me, I think more than once."

Kent groans, looking down into his glass before taking a big swig. "Damn it," he murmurs. "I wanted to be done with difficult conversations for the day."

"That one won't be so bad," Daniel says, leaning back in his chair. "Fay's easy to talk to."

Kent pauses before lifting an eyebrow at his son. "Are you implying that I'm difficult to talk to, Daniel?"

"Oh, no, dad," Daniel says sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "You're just the most terrifying person on the planet -“

Kent laughs then, shaking his head and taking another sip before sliding his glass onto the table. "All right," he says, smirking at Daniel now, finally ready to face the other elephant in the room. "So. How's Jerome doing?"

"Oh my god," Daniel mumbles, looking at the glass of whiskey resting in his hand. "I'm not sure there's enough whiskey in the world for this conversation."

"Nope!" Kent says, leaning forward and smacking his son on the shoulder. "I'm all liquored up now. Let's get it all out in the open, kid."

Daniel sighs, shaking his head and still not looking up at his dad for a long time. Kent waits, trying to be patient. When Daniel finally speaks, his words come out shakier than he thought they would. "Did you know already? That I'm gay, before you found out about Jerome?"

Kent lets his hand slide from Daniel's shoulder then as he sits back in his chair, studying his son seriously. "I did," he replies, his words as simple and honest as he can make them.

Daniel stills for a moment and then looks up a bit, but not yet enough to meet his father's eyes. "How long?"

Kent hesitates for a second and then speaks softly. "Since you were a kid, Daniel. Your mom knew too."

"What?" Daniel breathes, his eyes going wide.

Slowly, Kent nods. "She saw it first. That you really liked the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and not for the girl in all the corsets and lace."

Daniel snaps his head up, his jaw open, staring at his father. "Are you...are you serious?"

Kent starts to laugh then, shrugging. "I mean, was she wrong?"

"No," Daniel says in shock, leaning back in his chair and sliding a hand down the length of his face just as his father does, mildly appalled at the idea of his parents having this conversation when he was a kid.

Kent laughs harder now, shrugging apologetically.

"Did she...did she care?" Daniel asks. And then, "...do you?"

"She didn't," Kent says quickly, his words a promise. "And I don't. We were...worried for you, because we knew the world you were going to grow up in wasn't going to be kind to you if that's the way you felt and who you loved. And because we knew you had to marry "It's not your fault," Daniel says, pursing his lips. "I...I get it."

a woman no matter what arrangement you came to with her. We talked and decided not to talk to you about it until you were older, until you came to us. Which in retrospect...was a mistake."

"You shouldn't have to get it, kid," Kent says, raising his eyebrows. "It was my job. I should have been a better dad."

"Well, you've got another chance now," Daniel says, raising his brows at his dad and giving him a little smile. "With the new baby."

"To fuck it up in all new ways," Kent groans, tilting his head back and letting out yet another deep sigh.

Kent feels a touch on his knee and brings his head back up, surprised to see Daniel leaning forward. "You didn't fuck it up, dad," Daniel says softly. "You did your best. We all have regrets. I forgive you for it."

The words...they pierce Kent in a way he didn't think was possible. And despite desperately clenching his jaw, the tears fill his eyes anyway. But Kent forces himself to unclench his jaw and lets the tears flow - just a little bit, not too much. Just a couple, to loosen the pressure.

"All right," Daniel says, laughing a little and leaning back in his chair as he shakes his head in awe. "I think that's enough therapy for one day. Seriously, I don't think I've ever seen you cry - not once in my life."

"Well, don't get used to it," Kent mutters, wiping at his face. But then he looks seriously at his son. "But I'm glad we talked. That we can do more of."

Seriously Daniel nods, raising his glass. "To more chats, and less tears."

Smiling, Kent raises his and clinks it with his sons. Then he shakes out his shoulders and inhales deeply, pleased to be on steadier ground with his kid, who he really does love so, so much more than Daniel can guess. Still.

He needs a break.

And maybe a bit of a laugh.

"So," Kent says, smirking a little. "Which pirate had you glued to the screen, Orlando Bloom or Johnny Depp?"

"Nope!" Daniel says, turning beet read and laughing anxiously. "None of this!"

"Come on, Daniel," Kent says, leaning forward and grinning, teasing. "We're close now, we're open with our emotional lives, like the Thompsons are. We have these chats!"

"We do not!"

"Fine," Kent says, laughing and getting to his feet. "I'll make Fay ask, and then she'll tell me."

"That works!" Daniel says, pouring himself more whiskey. "I think you and I...we might still need a Fay buffer on some subjects."

"A role I'm sure she'll be glad to play," Kent says, turning for the door and waving over his shoulder. "Love you, kid! Good chat!"

"Good chat, dad," Daniel says back, a happy smile on his lips. "Love you too."

Kent wonders if he's hit his two-hour limit as he works his way back to his cabin, blinking a little to clear his head from all the whiskey. Honestly, he had more to drink than he thought he did. But...well, considering that there's nothing else to do all day besides lay in bed with his gorgeous girl...

Kent smirks to himself, thinking it's not so bad.

"Ohhh," he hears someone say, and looks up to see Janeen smiling wickedly at him as she comes down the hall in the opposite direction. "Are we day drinking?" she asks, eager. "Did I miss it?"

"Daniel's still going," Kent says, pointing down the hall towards the dining room. "Though I am tapping out."

"What a baby," Janeen sighs, and Kent laughs, shaking his head. This girl - she's got guts, that's for sure. He supposes he knows now know where Fay got it from. Kent gives Janeen a little wave and continues on his way down the hall. "She's upset, you know," Janeen calls, and Kent turns back towards her with a frown.

"What?" he asks.

"Fay," Janeen says, lifting her chin towards the cabin door. "She had a fight with Jerome. I don't think it's a big deal, just...warning you before you go in. She's all worked up about it."

Kent nods, grateful for the advice and waves to Janeen again as he continues towards the door. What on earth could this be about? Fay and Jerome - they're tight. Hell, Jerome's the first person Fay told she was pregnant.

When Kent presses the door open, his heart sinks to see her curled up on the bed, blankets wrapped around her even though the room isn't cold.

"What happened?" Kent asks, shutting the door behind him and slipping his hands into his pockets, not wanting to move to the bed just yet if he has to leave the room to go punch someone.

Fay looks up at him with sad eyes. "How did you know?"

"I'm psychic," he murmurs, not bothering to go into the details of meeting Janeen in the hall, knowing it will just be a distraction. It's not important how he knows - he wants answers. Fay studies him for a moment and then a tiny smile finds her lips. "You're not psychic," she says slowly, "you're drunk."

Kent laughs at that, unable to help it, hanging his head a little. "I'm not drunk. I don't get drunk."

"Come here," she says, holding out her hands and he goes to her then, sitting on the bed. She takes his face in her hands and studies him. "Okay, now breathe on me, just a little bit -" "What!?" he says, shocked, flinching back. "Fay - I'm not going to breathe on you -"

"Oh, come on," she moans, slumping a little. "I miss the way it smells and could seriously use a drink right now - I don't get to have one for like five more months at least -"

Kent mutters something about her being ridiculous and crawls across the bed to his side, leaning against the pillows and wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her tight against him.

"Tell me," he orders, kissing her head and then taking a deep sniff of her hair, smiling at the familiar scent of her shampoo. God, he was gone for what, an hour? An hour and a half? And he had missed her. How had he survived two months? But he's distracted from the thought when Fay heaves a deep sigh. "I think we need to have a talk," Kent," she murmurs. "About Jerome."