Page 229 of Kentrell

“So?” Kentrell shrugged like that was nothing but coincidence. “Who suggested that shit?”

“Nobody… it was my dream school,” I said with bite, offended that he’d even suggest otherwise—then it hit me. That was exactly the reaction he was digging for. He wanted me mad. Wanted me defiant. Wanted me to remember who the hell I was before this spiral of doubt started eating at me.

When I glanced back at the screen, he was already smirking like a smug little devil, that look that saidYeah… keep going. You almost there.

“Okay, whatever?—”

“Nah, don’t get in yo feelings now.” He waved me off, shaking his head like I was the unreasonable one. “You not gon’ get mad at me, ma. I’m telling you the truth.”

“I know,” I huffed, still salty as hell but knowing he wasn’t wrong.

“Suck that lip back in before I give you something to cry about,” he snapped, faux-indignant like I hadn’t just caught him smirking at my pout.

“Shut up.”

“No.”

We fell into a comfortable silence after that. Just long enough for me to sit with everything he said. And he wasn’t lying. I chose my college. I chose my major. Nobody influenced my post-grad decisions either. Graduating high school at sixteen? That was all me. Even if I allowed for the possibility that Darius helped cover my room and board or whispered into the right ears at the law department for funding, the work… the grind… the sleeplessnights and sixteen-credit semesters… that had been mine. Every inch of it.

“Okay,” I said finally, exhaling like I was shedding a layer of doubt off my skin. “You’re right, bae. I was overthinking it.”

“It’s okay, bae. Enjoy yo break.” His tone softened instantly like he knew how hard that admission was for me. “They still think you out for the fire?”

I nodded, my chest tightening again at that reminder. Yet another thing he’d been right about. Aside from Darius, nobody in the office—or his family—knew I existed as more than a colleague. To them, I was just another associate on leave, using a house fire as my official excuse for time away.

“When you gotta be back?” he asked.

I smirked, knowing exactly what would come next. “Why? You tryna get rid of me?”

As expected, his scowl appeared like clockwork. “Quit playing with me, Zoe.” His voice dropped, all gruff and irritated as I cracked up laughing.

“Aight,” he muttered after a beat, falling into the same salty mood he’d just accused me of being in minutes earlier.

“Don’t act like that,” I purred, dragging the words out, fully enjoying his petty little tantrum. “I still lo—” The word caught in my throat just before it finished falling out. My heart slammed into my ribs.

“You still what?” His voice dipped low, dark and speculative like he already knew where I was headed and dared me to finish it.

I scrambled for cover. “I’m still your attorney,” I blurted, the lie burning my throat the second it left my lips. Part truth… but still a lie. And that realization stung more than I wanted to admit.

Damn.

He was right about that too.

Lying to him was one of his dealbreakers… and I’d just crossed that line.

“You lyin’ to me?”

I squinted at the screen, leaning in like I could somehow control the narrative with just a stare. Did I have cue cards on my forehead? Was he reading my internal monologue in real-time?

“Was there some new development in the past fifteen minutes that suddenly changed that?” I deflected, lifting a brow and keeping my voice cool.

His eyes narrowed in warning. “Zoe… I’ma fuck you up.”

I cracked up laughing, the guilt twisting with adrenaline as I watched his glare deepen.

“You know exactly what I meant?—”

And even though I laughed… part of me wondered how long I could keep sidestepping the truth.

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