?<strong>Chapter 569:</strong>


    They turned their attention back to their game. When Allison’s scissors won over Ken’s paper, she tilted her head with a satisfied smirk. “So, Ms. rke, will it be a dare this time?” Ken asked. “I’ll choose truth. It’s time for secrets to be exchanged,” she said, eyes locking with his. This time, she would reveal her own.


    “I’m aware that you have feelings for me, Ken. But when I first aligned myself with the Lloyd family, my motives were far from innocent. I wanted to use you as a way to investigate my mother’s disappearance. Even helping Lorna wasn’t purely out of kindness.” The air thickened as Allison decided toy everything bare, for she knew that some secrets were bound to be revealed.


    “From the beginning, our interactions were calcted, full of hidden agendas. My goal was to earn your trust and get closer to Kinslee. I believed that if I could cure her, I’d gain ess to information about my mother.” Their rtionship had always beenplicated, underpinned by a silent, unspoken understanding that nothing was ever straightforward.


    “So, you see, I’m not the good person you might think. I’ve walked in dangerous circles and kept secrets that would make anyone shiver.” She had lived a life teetering on the brink, always one step away from the edge.


    Anyone else might have felt a shiver run down their spine at such a confession. But Ken’s eyes remained steady, without a flicker of shock or doubt. There was no trace of anger at being misled, no hint of betrayal in his gaze.


    “I know,” Ken said with a steady gaze, a flicker of something deeper in his eyes. “People like us don’t get close to others without a reason. You’re here hunting for clues, and I’m here because, well… I like being around you.”


    Their eyes met, the silence between them thick, almost palpable. Ken’s gaze held steady calm, probing, yet earnest.


    “And besides, I’m not exactly a good person.”


    Ken had earned his way through both thewful and thewless, ruthless enough to survive either. Yet, Allison had never glimpsed that darker side.


    Threats, coercion, even murder. Others carried out those tasks, but the decisions, the iron hand — those were his. He had once lived with the constant scent of violence, like a specter lingering over him, refusing to fade. So, when it came to bloodstained hands, who among them was truly innocent?


    “No need for games,” he said quietly, stepping closer until she could feel his breath ghosting over her skin. “I’ll just tell you the truth. When I got out of that wheelchair and chose to save you, regardless of whether my secret would be exposed, it wasn’t a strategy. It was instinct. As for what we’ve been through in the Burned Inds… after nearly dying, it left me with nothing but the memory of how I surrendered everything just to keep you alive. In the underground racing scene, I blocked the shrapnel from the explosives, and all I remember is the fear. Instinct made me want to keep my distance. But, God, it’s more than that. That raw surrender made me realize I have feelings for you. Call it love, or something else entirely — I only know I can’t imagine a life where you aren’t part of it.”


    His darkshes shadowed his eyes as he sank to one knee, cing himself on level with her.


    “Ms. rke… that’s all because I care for you.”


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