𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐊𝐈𝐃𝐒 - jj maybank

- 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫

𝗝𝗝 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸 played with the food on his fork, turning to Kaz with a confused look, causing the baby to mirror his expression. He wasn't used to such fancy food and he had no idea how he was supposed to eat it. So, instead, he decided to mess around and amuse his son.

Kaci sat beside him, hand on his lap under the table. She didn't really feel like eating — that wasn't what this meal was about. Her eyes flickered away from her food and back up at the powerful man, who sat opposite her, watching the family closely.

Over the night, Kaci had thought a lot about what John B had said to her. It wasn't a usual thing for the two of them to have such a serious conversation, and it sunk straight into both of their chests. In the worst way possible, for probably the first time in his life, John B was right; Kaci did want to give Mikel a chance. Not just for Kaz, but for herself too. She'd lost so much, and, although the pouges were great and she loved the person she was now thanks to them, she felt like she'd lost a big part of herself during it all, aswell.

So here she was. At lunch. In her old home. Sitting opposite Mikel Flores. A bored look on her face.

Almost reading his daughterʼs mind, Mikel cleared his throat, making everyone at the table listen to him. "I can't speak for Luis himself, of course, but from what my eyes have informed me, he and Ward put this whole scheme together," he started off by saying, and Kaci held his strong faze, almost challenging him. JJ looked in between the pair cautiously, one of his hands going over Kaciʼs, which was still on his lap. "They knew I knew, and to prevent me from opening my mouth, they made it seem as though I was the one to hurt Luis — the note in the storage unit, the kidnapping in the Bahamas, what happened to Jordan just before...that was all them, incase the police or you found any evidence. They wanted me to be their fall guy."

"Your eyes?" Kaci asked, rather than focusing on the main point of his words.

"A few members of my inner circle," he answered. "Jack Watts, for an example. Do you remember him, the old manager?"

She nodded, pushing her fish around with the fork as she stared at him. "Yeah, JJ punched him."

"Right. I remember that."

JJ coughed as the manʼs cold eyes landed on him. "I don't resort to physical violence anymore, sir," he said quickly, still scared of his old boss.

"If you act up, though, he might change his mind," Kaci argued, staring at only her father. JJ sent her a small smile, squeezing her hand to try and prevent her from flipping out. He knew it was hard for her to be here today, and that was why he was so eager to come along.

"I'm not the enemy, Mija, I swear to you," Mikel assured her softly, patting a tissue against his lips. "I cannot take back all the years I spent, acting as though you and your brothers were nothing but my future business partners. I honestly thought all I did was right, and I can never apologise for that enough. And Luis —"

"Can we stop talking about him, please?" Kaci cut him off swiftly, the mention of the older brother making her sick, her stomach clenching together in knots.

JJ glanced at her, a sad look in his eye. They hadn't spoken much about that day on the beach, what they did. It was a good thing, and both of them agreed on that. They protected Kaz, and they'd do it a million times again if they ever had the chance.

But Luis was still her brother. He was still the boy she grew up loving, the boy she thought would always look out for her, the boy who betrayed her worse than any other person ever could. It couldn't have been easy on Kaci, JJ knew that, but it was so hard to get her to admit it at times. She found vulnerability uncomfortable and weak, and JJ knew it all stemmed from the man sitting right in front of them.