Page 65 of Kingpin's Secret Baby

Achilles watches me a beat too long, those obsidian eyes stripping me bare. “You're lying.”

“Am I?”

“Yes.” The word cracks like a whip. “You haven't given up on her. You're flaying yourself alive instead.”

I pivot toward the window where rain needles the glass. Can't face that surgical scrutiny- not when it might expose the raw truth. “Maybe I am. Or maybe I'm finally accepting what everyone's been telling me.”

“Which is?” His shadow looms across the wall, relentless.

“That some things aren't meant to be fixed.” The words taste bitter on my tongue. “That sometimes, no matter how much you want something, it's better to let it go.”

Achilles is quiet for a long moment before shifting in his chair.. “You know, I've been thinking about what happened. About my part in all of this.”

I glance at him, surprised by the admission.

“I was so focused on protecting her,” he continues, leaning forward, “that I never stopped to consider what she actually needed. Maybe if I had...”

“We both made mistakes,” I say quietly. “We thought we knew what was best for her.”

“And instead we drove her away.”

We'd both tried to control her fate- Achilles by sending her away, me by trying to force her to be with me. And in the end, she'd chosen her own path. Away from both of us.

I move to the window, watching the rain streak down the glass in thin, restless rivers. “It doesn't matter now.”

“Doesn't it?”

The sound of rustling fabric draws my attention. I turn to see Achilles reach into his jacket and pull out a small piece of paper. He places it on the desk, but doesn’t slide it toward me.

“The information's here if you want it.”

I stare at the paper, my heart hammering against my ribs. Such a small thing to hold so much weight.

“I won't use it,” I tell him. I should let this go. I promised myself I would, though every fiber of my being wants to snatch it up.

Achilles nods once, like he expected that, but something about the look in his eyes tells me he doesn’t quite believe it.

He stands, sliding his gloves back on with slow, deliberate movements. “You’re a stubborn bastard, Piers.”

“Takes one to know one,” I mutter, but my heart isn’t in it.

He exhales, shaking his head. “You’re sure about this?”

I meet his gaze, my voice steady. “Yeah.”

Achilles studies me for another long moment. “Keep it anyway. Just in case.”

He straightens his jacket then turns for the door.

“Achilles,” I call just as he reaches for the handle.

He pauses, looking back.

“Thank you… for letting me know.”

He nods once, then slips out, leaving me alone with my thoughts and a piece of paper I won't let myself read.

Not yet, anyway.

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