My Second Marriage with the Mafia Kingpin

Chapter 341: A perfect candidate for Ashley’s next husband.

"Hahaha! So he ended up helping you both?" Julius laughed as he walked alongside Ashley and Lucian.

His laughter settled, and he turned to Lucian with a smile. "I’m glad to hear you’re doing fine."

Ashley and Lucian studied Julius, who looked like he hadn’t slept in days. While the couple appeared fresh-faced with their futures suddenly looking up, the dark circles under Julius’s eyes made him look like an oversized panda.

"Thank you," Lucian said, nodding at him.

"Julius, are you alright?" Ashley asked. "You look like you desperately need sleep."

"Ahh... is it that obvious?" Julius laughed, then sighed in the same breath. "I know. I really should."

A cloud of gloom settled over him as his thoughts drifted back over the past few days. He was exhausted. Disappointed. And above everything else, frustrated.

Ashley and Lucian exchanged a glance. Lucian shrugged while Ashley leaned toward him and lowered her voice.

"Did you know? This guy is a cop," she said, pulling back with her face scrunched up and a meaningful nod in Julius’s direction.

Lucian blinked. "I know."

"What?" she stared at him. "Why didn’t you tell me?"

"I didn’t think it was important."

Ashley narrowed her eyes at him. Then again, of course, Lucian would have looked into everyone in Primo’s orbit. Not just the teachers and students, but the parents too.

"Sometimes hiding in plain sight is the best hiding place," Lucian murmured, dipping his head close to her ear. He drew back with a subtle smile and a small wink.

"Gosh," she muttered.

They turned their attention back to the gloomy Julius. Part of Ashley felt genuinely sorry for him — she knew his low mood was, in a roundabout way, because of them, even if Julius hadn’t pieced that together yet.

"There, there." She gave his back an awkward pat. "Whatever it is, I hope things turn around for you."

Deep down, she wished the exact opposite.

If Julius was thriving at work, it meant Dominion was suffering. There was absolutely no world in which she could sincerely wish Julius professional happiness when it would come at the cost of her organization — or worse, her husband.

Julius sighed and managed a small smile at them both. "Thank you."

"We mean it," Lucian added, drawing both Ashley’s and Julius’s attention. "I do hope things work out in your favor eventually."

No way. Ashley shot her husband a sharp look, but Lucian kept his eyes on Julius.

Julius smiled wryly and chuckled. "Well, thanks for that. I just think I might —"

"Please don’t tell us any more," Lucian said.

"Huh?"

Lucian smiled. "I heard you’re a cop — an important one. So please don’t say anything further. There are probably things you shouldn’t be telling us."

"..." Ashley deadpanned, glancing between Lucian’s profile and Julius’s mildly startled face. "Yes. Please don’t tell us anything."

"Right," Julius chuckled. "There are certain things I can’t share with civilians — for your own safety."

More like for his own.

Ashley was slightly disappointed, but she understood Lucian’s reasoning. Right now, Julius was just a parent — Elliot’s father. The three of them were nothing more than parents whose children attended the same school.

Extracting information from Julius while he remained oblivious to who Lucian and Ashley really were didn’t sit right. They could exploit him. They simply chose not to.

Would they regret it?

Definitely not.

They could deal with him if necessary.

The trio carried on with their respective shopping. At some point, Ashley excused herself, having spotted something in another aisle.

"So everything is looking up for you now, right?" Julius asked, glancing at Lucian as he dropped some snacks into his cart. "With Raka involved, I imagine there’s nothing left to worry about."

Lucian set a box of cereal into his cart and looked at Julius for a moment. "Are you married?"

Julius blinked. "Huh?" When Lucian held his gaze without elaborating, he nodded slowly. "Yes."

"Is she alive?"

Julius’s confusion deepened. "Yes?"

"Are you divorcing?" Lucian narrowed his eyes. frёeωebɳovel.com

"What?" Julius was momentarily speechless. "Of course not. My wife is just busy, so I handle the smaller things at home to take some of the load off her."

Lucian exhaled with visible relief. "I see."

"Why were you asking?"

Lucian paused, giving Julius a measured once-over. Big frame. Decent face. Solid career. And the badge on his chest — colorful, if he were in uniform.

A perfect candidate for Ashley’s next husband.

His eyes sharpened at the thought. "My wife will never remarry," he said, seemingly out of nowhere. "She promised."

With that, he pushed his cart and went to find Ashley.

Julius stood rooted to the spot, staring after him.

"Huh?" A storm of question marks filled his head. "What’s wrong with him? Is he still on medication?"

He scratched the back of his head and let it go, getting on with his shopping. Eventually, the three of them crossed paths again at the checkout, exchanged some light conversation, and parted ways outside. They loaded their groceries into their respective cars, and just as Ashley and Lucian settled into theirs, a honk came from Julius’s car.

He was waving as he pulled slowly out of the lot. The couple waved back, barely suppressing their smiles.

"What’s with him?" Ashley muttered, shaking her head. "I wonder what his reaction would be if he ever found out we’re his natural enemies."

Lucian didn’t answer immediately, watching Julius’s car pull away. "He’d lock us up."

"..." Her expression soured as she turned to him. "And you’re smiling about that?"

"It’s rare to meet a cop as clean as him." Lucian gave her a knowing look. "People like him make me believe there are still good ones out there — people who hold justice above everything else."

Running Dominion had exposed Lucian thoroughly to how deep corruption ran in the world. Most ordinary people had no idea that organizations like theirs existed, or that the shadowy dealings they only saw in films were very much real. Dominion alone had cops, government officials from multiple departments and countries, politicians, and businessmen on the payroll.

Julius was the rare exception — the kind who didn’t move for money. Many had tried to buy him. Every one of them had ended up behind bars.

Ashley’s shoulders softened. "Ha. I suppose you’re right." She smiled. "Anyway, let’s go home and share the good news."