Page 66 of Heavy Is The Crown

Krys didn’t deny it. “Most of ‘em, no.”

Kenyatta chuckled. “Good to know I made the cut.”

She ignored that. “How old is she?”

“Eight.”

That made her pause.

After a few seconds, Kenyatta said, “Hello?”

Snapping out of it, Krys replied, “For some reason, I assumed if you had a child, it would be something more recent, like a toddler from an ex that still wanted you back, or a situation where the mother was always trying to reel you back in. But eight? You’ve been at this thing for a minute. I mean…you know…fatherhood.”

That made him chuckle. “Why is that shocking?”

“It’s not. I’m intrigued. Just didn’t picture you as the type to be actively involved, but the fact that you’re not willing to just drop your daughter off somewhere for convenience says a lot.”

Another thoughtful pause of silence.

She finally asked, “You really serious about this, huh?”

“Of course, I am. She’s my child.”

He could sense she was processing everything. She had expected this to be a simple request. But now, she had a new layer of information.

He could hear her drumming her nails against the desk again.

“Alright, then bring her.”

Kenyatta blinked. “What?”

Krys repeated, “Bring her. Your daughter can come too.”

Kenyatta sat forward, brow raised. “Now, I know you playing.”

“Why would I be?”

“Because Krys,” he said, voice slower now. “This is supposed to be pretend, remember? You tryna be a fake stepmom now?”

Krys’ voice laced with amusement. “Why not? You said it yourself, I’m committed to the role.”

Kenyatta stared at his phone, trying to figure out if she was joking.

She wasn’t.

“You sure about that?” he asked. “You know what type of message that’s gonna send?”

He heard the wicked smile form on her lips. “Exactly the message I want to send.”

Kenyatta exhaled, shaking his head. “Man…you really don’t like losing, huh?”

“Not even a little bit.”

He ran a hand over his face, still trying to process. Krys was serious. She wanted him there. Wanted Kaliyah there. This was wild. Krys playing the doting girlfriend and stepmother figure?

If getting people to talk was what she wanted, then this was going to have people talking. And Kenyatta wasn’t sure how he felt about that. But what he did know was this woman was dangerous and determined; and he had no business being this amused by it.

“Alright, Krys. We got’chu.”

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