His Mafia Prince
Chapter 167: The Perks of Being an Adonis

Chapter 167: The Perks of Being an Adonis

(JERICHO)

The smile on his face fades. He pulls his gaze away from mine and he begins to push the stroller again. His face is stony. I kick myself for making him fold at my flirtatious tone. I should have known better to not spook him, but he is so damn hard to resist.

Despite the way he just folded, I still want to know more about him. I certainly need to keep my questions and comments friendly. If I intend to keep Wesley around me longer, then flirting with him is out of the question. For now.

I clear my throat and ask what I think is a fairly safe question. "Why did you decide to become a Manny?"

"I love kids." He responds immediately as he smiles at the snoozing baby. "They bring me a lot of joy."

I pick up a white rose from a nearby bush and tuck it behind my ear. "I see." He smiles at me and my pulse speeds up. I’d love for him to smile at me like that more. "So, how long have you been a Manny?"

"Six years."

"Really?" I scowl. "That’s a long time taking care of other people’s babies."

"I guess," he shrugs.

I glance at him and notice how his jaw tenses. "I’d think you’d be about ready to settle down and have your own family."

"I guess." He avoids my gaze. "I suppose that’s mostly true for omegas my age."

"But not you?"

"No." he shakes his head softly. "Not me."

My curiosity peaks especially because of how he is giving me sneak peeks of the information. I need more information. But I know to not push him too hard to tell me stuff. Then again, I worry that I won’t find out information if I don’t push him. "Why not you?"

"Why do you want to know?" he stops in his tracks and turns to face me.

The way he suddenly gets defensive surprises me. "I’m just curious."

He studies me for a moment, as if he is trying to gauge whether I’m worthy of his explanation or not. Eventually, he responds quietly. "If you must know, I can’t have kids of my own."

His statement shocks me and I frown. "No? Why not?" He is the perfect specimen of an omega and I find his answer hard to believe.

"Because I’m a defective omega." He swallows bitterly as pain flutters through his eyes.

The pain in his eyes bothers me and I find myself putting my arm around him. On a usual day, I wouldn’t be as empathetic, but something about his pain disturbs me. I feel him tense beneath my touch, but he doesn’t move away. "What do you mean you’re defective?"

"Well, it’s kind of personal." He says in a hushed voice. "I’m not trying to be rude, but this is really hard for me to talk about.

"I know. I’m sorry." I withdraw my palm from his arm. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. Sorry again for butting my nose where it doesn’t belong."

For a stretch, he is silent and I don’t think that he is going to answer me. He then swallows thickly and says, "I was born with a defect that prevents me from having babies of my own. I can’t get pregnant." From how his voice wobbles, it is obvious that he is feeling emotional. "And the doctors say that... even... even if I get pregnant, 1 might not be able to carry it to term successfully."

"Shit, Wesley." His pain is so raw that it is hard to ignore.

His bottom lip trembles. "Heartbreaking as it is, I can’t do anything about it. I have accepted my fate. Taking care if other omegas babies make me feel at ease. It helps a lot."

"I get it, it makes perfect sense." I don’t know that in his place, that response would be satisfying enough for me. But I don’t want to say something that might end up making him feel worse.

His eyes are red and bloodshot as he lets out a tearful laugh. "This is why I don’t like to talk about that stuff. I get all emotional.

He looks sad and gutted at the moment. I feel horrible for pushing him to tell me about it. I didn’t really take time to gauge whether it was appropriate or not. I wrap my arms around him. I feel a sudden instinctive need to comfort him. I hate seeing him this broken. "I’m so sorry, Wesley." I can’t help but comfort him, purely as an alpha.

At first, he stiffens at my touch, but eventually, he seems to relax into me. The way he leans into me makes my heart ache even more. The fact that he is letting me comfort him makes my heart warm. I like the feel of his body in my arms, and his scent. The heat of his body turns me on. I can’t let him know that. Right now, I’m only hugging him because I want to soothe him. Not because I’m a horny perverted alpha.

"I’m sorry." I rub his back. "It’s so cruel that you’ve dealt with that hand."

"Yeah." He sniffs and pulls away, rubbing his eyes roughly. "It does suck... but... but I have kids to take care of. They help me to fill that void, you know?" he talks bravely, but the pain in his pretty green eyes is hard to miss. It doesn’t take a genius to know that having his own kids can’t compare with fitting in and out of the lives of kids who can never truly be his.

"They are lucky to have you in their lives." I say quietly. "I mean that, Wesley."

He smiles at me gratefully. "Thanks, Jericho. He sniffs then begins to push the stroller again. "There are people out here with problems worse than mine. At least I love my job, right? Many people hate theirs."

I nod and walk beside him. "Like me for instance." I laugh. "I’d give anything to not work for the Triple Triads."

"Really, you have no interest in the family business?" he asks, sounding skeptical.

"Not really. I just enjoy the money, and the fact that people respect me because I’m an Adonis. But never once have I fancied the violence and potential danger." I shrug. "I can get a table at the restaurant whenever I want. But I could be poisoned at the same restaurant because people hate my family."

"Yea, I suppose that is true. When in the syndicate, one can never be too careful." He clears his throat. "I mean... you know... from what I’ve heard of the Mafia."

"Of course." I tug the bloom from behind my ear and begin to pull off the petals one by one. "Have you worked for mafia affiliated families before?"

"No." he answers immediately, sounding a bit harsh. "I...uhm...I prefer working for regular families instead. Like you said, violence is common when a family is involved with the mob. I prefer to live a quiet life."

I glance at him and notice how his jaw clenches. "Then why did you take on this job if you hate working for mafia families?"

"Honestly?" he sighs. "I felt so bad for Arlo. It’s obvious that he is so overwhelmed with the job and the baby. I just wanted to help him.

"That’s sweet of you." I murmur. "Not so many people would care about others like that."

"That’s the truth." He says gruffly. "Kindness, true kindness is a hard thing to come across these days."

"I know."

"But you have been very kind to me though." He glances at me. "Twice now."

I let out a gruff laugh. "Don’t let anyone know about that though. Not that they would believe you anyway. People know me as someone who is very self-centered." I flick the flower in my hand and toss it away. "It’s not even undeserved, honestly. I know that I can be very selfish."

"At least you know that about yourself." He frowns. "You can’t fix what you can’t admit."

"Honestly, I don’t think that I need to fix myself. I can be selfish because I always know that I will get a pass." I meet his gaze. "See, the perks of being an Adonis."

"That’s very candid of you." He narrows his eyes. "I don’t see many people who brag about being an asshole."

"Whoa, that’s not so nice of you." I force a smile even though he just called me a jerk to my face, and I don’t like it. Nobody dares to call me out on my behavior. Sasha picks on me a lot, but only because he wants me to involve myself in the family business more. He doesn’t care that I’m selfish. Sasha himself is selfish. All Adonis men are.

"Sorry." He sighs. "That was rude of me."

"I have my good sides, you know."

"I know." I smile tentatively. "I’ve seen them."

The little smile that tugs at the corner of his lips once again warms my heart. What is it about Wesley that has me smiling like a fool? We barely know each other, but in a way, I feel like we have known each other for years. "I could be an asshole, that I know, but not to you." I say softly.

"Why not?" He frowns.

"I don’t know. You seem to bring out my better side." I avoid his gaze now that I’ve mentioned that out loud.

"Maybe I’m a delight too." He smirks.

Our gazes meet and we smile at each other. I’m more than certain that there is spark between us. Ever since I met Wesley, I have been intrigued. I was angry when Sasha breached the idea of staying at Miles while I learned about the ports.

But now?

Even wild horses can’t drag me away.

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