To Kill a Kyng

Lie

Sometimes in the comfortability of our own addictions, we forget that we have a purpose. Bravery is a choice, risk is the price, and freedom is the reward. Many humans find themselves impoverished in a world where risk pays for everything and doubt will take you nowhere, not willing to, or even unable to pay that price in order to protect a house built of straw and ego. What we fail to see is that those who take several losses will always win in the end. Those with everything to lose have more to gain than those with nothing.

"Does it ever run across your mind that perhaps this isn't such a good idea anymore?" Luca asked me as I flipped through the pages of a book I picked up.

"What isn't a good idea?" I asked, my voice tinged with a subtle edge of defensiveness.

Luca's gaze bore into mine, a mixture of understanding and frustration. "You know what I'm talking about, Kaoir. The whole reason you're here in the first place," he stated, his words cutting through the evasive dance I had been performing.

Stopping in my tracks, I looked up at the ceiling for a moment, as if seeking guidance from the indifferent universe. The blank expression on my face betrayed the internal struggle that I had been desperately trying to avoid confronting.

"Why are we talking about this?" I deflected, attempting to steer the conversation away from the uncomfortable truth.

"Between you and me, you know you don't really want Kyng to get hurt," Luca persisted, his words a gentle but firm push to acknowledge the consequences of my actions.

I shook my head, a subtle sign of both denial and frustration. "Well, unfortunately, I have a track record of not getting the things I want. Besides, you know Kyng getting hurt isn't my intention behind all of this. But whether it was Kyng or somebody else, the outcome would be the same," I explained, my shoulders slumping under the weight of my admission.

"But it doesn't have to be that way, and you know that," Luca pressed on, refusing to let me escape the gravity of the situation. I huffed deeply, the tension in the air thickening.

"I don't understand how. I also don't understand why you're having the change of heart. We both know what I came for, what's different now?"

"You're growing an attachment to Kyng, as he is to you. Why don't you just ask him to help you take down your father? You don't have to take everything on alone all the time," Luca suggested, his words carrying a genuine concern for my well-being.

"Alone is all I know, Luca," I quickly defended, my walls instinctively rising. "He helps me, then what? My father is dead, and I'm still here."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Luca countered, his voice gentle but insistent.

I scoffed, the weight of my past decisions pressing on me. "This is no way to live. I was serious about my future. My mother never wanted me to be in this kind of situation. She never wanted me living a life this dangerous, and she'd never want me to be a murderer, let alone purposefully lying in bed with one. Unfortunately, I've already let her down in both of those fields. I don't want to anymore."

"All I'm saying is, why run away from what's making you happy?" Luca questioned, his concern evident.

"Temporary happiness isn't worth giving up a brighter future. You think I want to be in my forties moving drugs and dead bodies while simultaneously trying to make sure I pick my daughter up from school on time? How the hell could I even have children like this?" I stressed, the thought of perpetuating the cycle of my own tumultuous upbringing making me physically sick.

Luca hummed in understanding. "I get it, Kai. I hope you don't regret this."

The heavy silence in the room was broken by the soft click of the door, signaling Kyng's arrival. His tall frame filled the doorway, and his eyes immediately caught mine, searching for an explanation in the tense atmosphere. Gino followed behind him shortly after, his sharp gaze assessing the situation with a discerning eye.