Love, Lies and Billionaires

“You’re kidding, right?” Maren asked, holding the glass a little too tightly so that her fingers began to turn red.

“I mean, there’s no point trying to lie anymore, is there?” He replied, his eyes moving to her fingers on the glass and back to her face. “I admit I did know your father!”

“And you’re saying my father was a dangerous man?!” The glass shattered all over the ground and the liquid splashed along with it.

“Hey hey, calm down” he was already in front of her and gently opened her hand, which was clenched into a fist to let the remaining glass fall out.

Maren’s face just stood frozen and she let him pull her away from the glass so he could clean it up and also clean up the cuts the glass gave her on her palm.

“Your dad wasn’t a dangerous man. He was involved with dangerous men,” he explained, cleaning the wound with disinfectant on a cotton wool.

Maren just watched him, not knowing what to make out of what he’d been saying for the past twelve minutes.

“Your father, just like you, was a very ambitious man who wanted more wealth than he could acquire. So he came to Leonid Ivanov, my boss and predecessor, and pledged with everything he had to be loyal to him”

“Who is Leonid Ivanov?” She managed to ask as she slowly raised her eyes from her palm to his face.

Kendrick paused at what he was doing as both of them locked eyes and held it for a while.

He finally gave a silent sigh and shifted his gaze back to her palm. “Leonid was one of the most feared mafia bosses in Russia. He was often called (Sukhoy) for his ruthlessness and no one dared cross paths with him.”

“So you can imagine the shock I felt when Mr Sharppe walked into his office and made such a pledge”

“His own future blinded him, that he forgot to read between the lines of what he was actually getting himself into.” He was now done with the cleaning and was putting away the equipment while Maren watched.

“Leonid found his guts pretty interesting and decided to give him a chance. He gave him a year to show him what he’d got. He gave him everything to set up his company from the pathetic business it used to be.”

He walked over to the minibar and took down another glass of wine and a glass for Maren.

“While I watched it all play out from the shadows, I trusted none of them. Your father was a cunning man, but Leonid was smarter and knew all his tricks. ”

“Eight months into the period of the trial, your dad began taking secret steps, which displeased Leonid and they began to have issues from time to time.”

“Of course, Leonid noticed and got angry. Your dad was called to order and given another chance, but I guess he was already so engrossed in it that he went back after a while.”

“Then, the part which you noticed began to happen. Leonid began little by little, taking what he’d given him. A lot transpired between them behind closed doors, which I wasn’t involved directly in.”

“But as the story went, Mr Sharppe had challenged Leonid and, being the man he was, he sent his men to kill your father. His locket was like a prize along with every other thing he had left, which Leonid took,” he concluded and took a mouthful of the wine.

Maren was speechless and just stared at Kendrick. She stared so deeply into his eyes like she was expecting a spear to tear through the window and pierce his heart.

“I know it is hard for you to believe but honestly I also was rooting for your dad when I first saw him but I guess you can’t trust everyone”

The silence lasted for almost a minute until Maren slowly turned away from him and gave off a scoff.

Kendrick frowned and tilted his head at her. “What was that?”

She chuckled, but it wasn’t just a chuckle. It was a mixture of mockery and bitterness. “Oh Kendrick,” she said before lifting her head to meet him.

Her eyes were now a little darkened and a little wet beneath, but a small smile played at her lips.

“You must think I’m a fool, right?” She began as she ran her fingers through her hair as if for support.

“What are you talking about?”

She scoffed again. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, Sukhoy.” She spat, her face getting a bit more serious, and so did Kendrick’s at the mention of that name.

“You know, I did a little research of my own before coming down here just to know if my mom was actually wrong about you.” She stood up from where she sat and strolled towards the sitting room part, then turned to him and folded her arms.

“Yes, my father had come to Leonid for help. Yes, he’d been greedy and got Leonid angry. But Leonid died before my father did!” She half yelled.

“This made you his successor and with that anger, you killed my father!”

Kendrick maintained his composure and just watched her as she spoke.

“It was a little hard to obtain because everyone was so scared of the great mafia lord Kendrick Harding. Leonid was a kinder person than you are. You never like him for that and never wanted him to forgive my father.”

“They both called a truce before he died and you hated it. It’s not completely confirmed, but they said you were the one who killed Leonid, you monster!”

Her eyes were beginning to tear up and despite trying to force it back in, it still rolled down her cheeks. “You killed my father to prove a point, Kendrick, and then you took everything from us after his death”

“God, I hated my dad so much after that, but that was because I didn’t know all this then.” Her voice was beginning to crack.

“And then I came down here to at least hear your own side of the story and maybe forgive you but you didn’t tell an ounce of truth” tears now cascaded down her cheeks.

“You’re a liar Kendrick! But what was I expecting? You’re Alexander’s brother, after all,” she sniffed. “I thought you were different. I thought I could trust you, Kendrick.” She shut her eyes in pain.

“Did you think saying I love you was going to compensate me for killing my father?”

“Hey, hey-”

“Don’t you dare come close to me!” she interrupted as he’d stood up from his sitting position.

“Look, you’ve caught me. I lied about all those things, but what I didn’t lie about is that I love you and I’m sorry. I honestly admit that I was so full of myself and I wasn’t thinking straight, but that was before I knew you were his daughter”

“When I found out, it was already too late, Maren, as the years had already passed. The only thing I left for your dad was the company and when I found out that you’d assumed it through those letters I sent, I had to back down”

“When I was sure of your location, I told myself I was going to tell you everything and hoped you’d forgive me but when I finally got to know the sober part of you, I couldn’t bring myself to do it because I was so crazy about you” he confessed.

“After that night at the bar I looked for you and that was when I found out you were Mr Sharppe’s daughter and that was when I had the entire plot and the story about the locket, in case you wouldn’t remember me-”

“Alright stop, that’s enough!” She screamed. “I really don’t want to hear it. You can save that shit for when you’re dead cause that’s the next time I want to see you,” she said angrily.

She picked up her things and turned to him after wiping her eyes. “You’re just as fucked up as Alexander.” She turned the handle of the door and walked out, but then turned around. “Goodbye Kendrick”