Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Father by Caroline Above Story
Chapter 0186

Chapter 0186

I take a deep breath in through my nose, realizing suddenly that even though I've written him off a bit, Jerome is kind of a player in this game. Young, not with a lot of power yet, but that he could make moves, if he wanted to.

"What?" Jerome asks, seeing me study him. "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing," I say, blinking and coming back to the present moment, folding my arms and tucking my glass of orange juice tightly in the crease of my elbow. "So, why are you telling me this? That Daniel called you up because he was pissed, or upset?"

"Because, Fay," Jerome says, shaking his head a little. "He went to you first."

My mouth falls open at this news and my stomach sinks with quilt. "He - he went to my room?"

"Yup," Jerome says, nodding slowly. "Apparently, he and Kent were having a fight when Kent dropped the bomb about knowing that Daniel is. Daniel. And that fight was largely about you, and wherever you went with Ivan, and Kent letting you go. And Daniel went to his room for a little bit to cool down, and then he looked for you all day and he couldn't replace you."

"And I didn't have my phone," I say, groaning as I realize that I really was unreachable, like a princess locked away in the dragon's lair. "I left it in my room..."

Jerome shrugs a little, taking a deep breath and studying me seriously. "Listen, Fay," he says quietly. "I don't know....what's going on with you. And I don't want to tell you what to do. But Daniel - he's important to me do you think that you could try, a little harder, to be good to him?"

"Is he good to you, Jerome?" I blurt out instead of an answer. Because, quite suddenly, it's all I really want to know. Here Jerome is, clearly at Daniel's beck and call, nursing him through his fight with his dad and his inability to contact the girl he's begging to be his fiance, fighting for him. But who is fighting for Jerome?

Jerome's mouth drops open a little bit in shock.

"I mean I continue, lowering my voice so that it's barely audible. "Does it bother you that Daniel went to you for comfort only after he couldn't replace me? That he keeps you a secret? That he - he is pushing really hard to marry me, and not you?"

Jerome shocks me, then, by visibly collapsing a little bit, emotionally. His face falls and he leans back against the kitchen counter, setting his glass of juice down hard and covering his eyes with his hand for a moment. A little sympathetic squeak works its way out of me and I'm quickly at his side, placing my juice down next to his and putting what I hope is a comforting hand on his arm.

"I knew what I was getting into, Fay," Jerome murmurs, still not looking at me. "...I knew. Okay?"

"Okay," I whisper, beginning to pet his arm a little, looking up into his face as he moves his hand away and looks down at me.

"But - can you just try to be nice to him, Fay? He's having...a really hard time with this."

"Okay," I say, nodding eagerly. "I promise, Jerome. I will."

*Thanks," Jerome says, twisting his mouth in a little smile and covering my hand on his arm with his. I smile back, very glad, suddenly, of his friendship. Together, perhaps, we can take care of Daniel as best we can.

There's a noise at the back entrance to the kitchen - where the deliveries are made. I jump a little and Jerome turns towards it. "I'll handle that," he sighs, distracted. "You...go on with your day. I'll see you later?"

"Breakfast at six-thirty," I say, giving his arm one more squeeze and then heading for the door. "See you soon."