My Second Marriage with the Mafia Kingpin novel Chapter 543

Chapter 543: Past Time

June was someone Ashley had almost forgotten existed.

She hadn’t heard from him in a long time, and the last time they saw each other, a lot had happened.

On the night of Tommy’s attack, she heard that June and Isabella had gotten into a minor accident. That was why Marshal rushed into the country just to check on the scratches his beloved daughter had suffered.

All the while triggering the incident himself that nearly took Tommy’s life.

Still, seeing June in the middle of everything happening now, Ashley couldn’t help but wonder what the man wanted.

"That guy..." Red narrowed his eyes at the bench where Ashley and June sat.

Ashley considered June a friend from her past. So, whatever reason the man had for suddenly appearing before her, she was willing to lend him an ear.

Hence, here they were in a park near their office.

"That person is really the madam’s friend?" Khan stood beside Red at a distance, his gaze shifting between Ashley and June.

Red cast him a side-eye. "That’s what she said."

"But that’s not what I’m asking." Khan turned his head toward him. "What do you think of him?"

"What I think doesn’t matter."

"It does if you’re the madam’s right hand," Khan returned knowingly, arching a brow when Red stared at him.

Red clicked his tongue and ruffled his hair before setting his eyes on the two people seated on the bench.

"What do I think?" he hummed, shoving one hand into his pocket. "I don’t like the guy. From the first time I saw him... there was just something off about him, you know?"

Red paused, narrowing his eyes as his gaze settled on June’s back.

"He always knew that helping her escape back then would only make things worse for her, but he kept encouraging it anyway. Or rather, he never even bothered thinking of a better way."

As someone who had been tasked with looking after Ashley and dragging her back every time she escaped, Red had seen more than most.

Of course, back then, he hadn’t liked the fact that Ashley was stubborn and reckless. He and his crew were basically babysitting someone who was supposed to be an adult.

But in hindsight, Ashley had every reason to want to leave.

At the same time, June hadn’t exactly been helping her.

"Maybe it wasn’t intentional. Maybe he was just shit at planning." Red shrugged. "But even a child would know that if the first three attempts failed and you genuinely wanted to help someone, you’d change your approach. You’d come up with something better."

He looked at Khan knowingly. "But that wasn’t what happened."

Khan rocked his head, understanding Red’s impression of the man.

"But if he’s the madam’s friend..." he trailed off, looking toward Ashley and June. "I’d like to trust that there’s a reason she considers him one."

Red snorted.

"Everyone around her in the past was either exploiting her or taking advantage of what she wanted. And it’s not like she didn’t know." His expression hardened slightly. "If anything, she... always looked the other way."

Red and his crew knew that better than anyone.

When things had finally gotten better between Ashley and the crew, one of the first things she had done was stop looking away.

It was her first real step toward confronting one of her worst habits—tolerating people she knew weren’t good for her simply because some part of her wanted to believe otherwise.

"Maybe. Maybe not." Khan nodded, his eyes returning to the bench. "But you trust her now, don’t you?"

Red rocked his head, humming. "More than the word yes could explain."

*

*

*

Meanwhile, Ashley and June sat in complete silence in the middle of the park.

He occupied one end of the bench while she sat on the other, leaving an arm’s length of space between them.

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