Pretending to Be an Untouchable Crime Boss Chapter 42: Friends forever

Marcello was just a friend to Jas, a very good friend and the only one he truly trusted.

They beca friends during the one year Jas spent at university.

Both of them were the kind of guys who struggled with their future, unsure of what they wanted to be.

Their only option was to study, but getting into university on a scholarship ant they had to maintain high grades. When their grades started dropping dramatically, they were faced with a harsh reality, they had to pay a lot of money to keep up, money they simply didn’t have.

Marcello was the kind of guy who laughed even when everything was falling apart.

He accepted his fate with a grin, pretending it didn’t bother him. And people like that, you had to pay attention to them.

Because beneath all the laughter and easygoing attitude, the pain was there, buried deep. And when it built up too much, when there was no more room to hold it in, the floodgates would open, and emotions would collapse.

Jas, on the other hand, wasn’t like that. He didn’t just accept failure, he owned it. He knew it was his fault. He knew he had ssed up, big ti.

Their shared struggles beca their bond. It was what connected them.

Two ssed-up guys. A friendship that would last a lifeti.

So they spent every remaining ti together, pushing each other beyond their limits, trying to escape the cycle of failure. But in the end, it wasn’t enough.

They dropped out.

That was when they made a promise, to work, save up, and get back to university. To prove to their families that they weren’t failures. To take a step toward a better life.

For Marcello, that ant finding whatever job he could to scrape by.

For Jas, fate had other plans.

A simple job at a coffee shop beca the first step, not to a better life, but to a bloodstained one.

Jas never forgot the look on Marcello’s face when he told him he had found a job.

"A coffee shop?" Marcello laughed. "Man, you? Serving lattes and smiling at custors?"

"It’s not that bad."

Marcello shook his head, still grinning. "You? Not that bad? Co on, you barely have the patience to deal with , and I’m your best friend."

"It’s just a job. A way to keep busy, I guess." Jas said smiling.

"Yeah… I get that." His voice had lost so of its humor, turning quieter, more thoughtful. "You ever think about what we’re doing, man? Like, what’s the point of all this?"

Jas glanced at him. "You an… university?"

"Yeah. Life. Everything." Marcello waved a hand vaguely. "I an, we’re just barely scraping by. Even if we make it through this degree, what’s next? More struggling?"

Jas didn’t answer right away. He had thought about it too, late at night when the weight of everything pressed down on him.

"Guess we just keep going." Jas finally said. "What else is there?"

Marcello huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, just keep going. Keep pretending like we got it all figured out. Man, I swear… sotis I think the people who just give up have it easier. Just say ’screw it’ and stop trying."

Jas frowned. "That’s not you."

Marcello smirked, but there was sothing tired in his eyes. "Yeah? And what about you, Jas? You got so master plan you’re not telling about?"

Jas scoffed. "If I did, you’d be the first to know."

Marcello sighed, rubbing his face. "Damn, man. We really ssed up, huh?"

Jas didn’t answer. They both knew the truth.

Two guys, broke and barely holding on, trying to find their place in a world that didn’t seem to care whether they made it or not.

But at least they had each other.

Marcello let out a long breath, then turned his head to Jas. "You ever think about running away?"

Jas raised an eyebrow. "Running where?"

"I don’t know. Anywhere. Sowhere where no one expects anything from us. Where we’re not just so guys trying and failing to make it."

Jas thought about that for a mont. The idea of leaving it all behind, no responsibilities, no expectations, no disappointnt. Just freedom. It sounded tempting. But at the sa ti, it felt… empty.

"Nah." Jas finally said. "Running doesn’t change anything. We’d still be the sa ssed-up idiots, just in a different place."

Marcello chuckled. "Yeah… figures you’d say sothing like that." He rubbed his hands together. "Damn, it’s late. You working tomorrow?"

Jas nodded. "Yeah. Morning shift."

Marcello snorted. "God help the custors."

Jas smirked. "Shut up."

For a while, they sat in silence, listening to the faint sounds of the city.

Then Marcello spoke again, quieter this ti. "You ever wonder if we’re gonna make it, man?"

Jas could have lied, told him they’d be fine, that everything would work out. But Marcello wasn’t the kind of guy who wanted lies.

"I don’t know." Jas admitted. "But if we don’t… at least we tried."

Marcello nodded slowly, as if turning those words over in his mind. Then, after a long pause, he grinned again, punching Jas lightly on the shoulder.

"Yeah. At least we tried." Marcello leaned back on the beanch, stretching his arms behind his head. "Man, sotis I think about what it’d be like if things were different. Like, if we had rich parents or so kinda golden ticket. You ever think about that?"

Jas scoffed. "What, like being born lucky?"

"Yeah. Like… waking up one day and not having to worry about rent, grades, or if you can afford lunch tomorrow."

Jas stared at the sky for a mont. "Can’t miss what you never had."

"That’s so depressing shit, man."

Jas smirked. "You asked."

Marcello shook his head, grinning. "Yeah, yeah. But still… would be nice, wouldn’t it?"

Jas didn’t answer right away. He’d never let himself think about a life that wasn’t this one. Because what was the point? Dreaming about what could’ve been didn’t change what was.

"You ever gonna give up?" Marcello asked, his voice quieter this ti.

Jas turned his head toward him. "Are you?"

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "No. I don’t think I know how to."

"Then neither do I."

Silence settled between them again, but this ti it felt different, heavier, but solid, like an unspoken promise.

Marcello reached for the last cigarette on the table.

He took a slow drag, then offered it to Jas.

Jas hesitated before taking it, inhaling deeply.

Marcello grinned. "We’re gonna be fine, man."

Jas looked at him, at the way he said it, not like he believed it, but like he needed to say it out loud just to keep going. He didn’t say anything back, just took another drag and passed the cigarette back.

Marcello let out a slow breath, watching the smoke swirl upward. "You ever wonder what we’re really doing here?"

Jas leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. "What do you an?"

He flicked ash into the tray. "I an… this. The late nights, the stress, the barely scraping by. What’s the point? What if we’re just wasting ti?"

Jas was quiet for a mont before shaking his head. "I don’t think it’s a waste."

Marcello raised a brow. "You actually believe that?"

Jas shrugged. "I think… as long as we keep going, it ans sothing."

Marcello let out a soft laugh. "Damn, that’s deep."

They sat there in silence for a while, the only sound being the faint hum of traffic. It was monts like these that made everything feel less heavy, like as long as they had each other, they could keep pushing forward, even if the road ahead was unclear.

"Hey, Jas?"

"Yeah?"

"No matter what happens, don’t turn into one of those assholes who pretend they never struggled."

Jas scoffed. "You think I would?"

Marcello grinned. "Nah. But if you ever do, I’ll co back and kick your ass."

Jas shook his head, a small smirk tugging at his lips. "Noted."

Marcello closed his eyes. "Good."

This was their last real conversation before Jas Bellini beca the ruler of the city. Before the na carried weight, before it was whispered in fear and respect.

After that day, life pulled them in different directions.

Marcello got a job in another state, working long shifts just to get by.

Jas… well, Jas walked a path that led him sowhere else entirely.

They didn’t see each other for a while.

Not until Jas Bellini had beco the boss of the city.

And when they t again, Jas wasn’t the man Marcello had known.

The friend who once laughed with him over late-night als, who complained about exams and the weight of the future on their shoulders....he was gone.

In his place stood soone colder, sharper. Soone whose presence carried an unspoken authority, whose eyes had seen too much, whose silence was heavier than words.

Marcello looked at him, searching for the traces of the man he used to call his best friend.

But Jas Bellini had beco sothing else.

Marcello forced a grin, the sa easygoing smile he always wore, but even he couldn’t hide the slight tension in his eyes.

"Long ti, huh?" He said, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Guess you’ve been busy…."

"You shouldn’t be here."

Marcello scoffed. "That’s how you greet an old friend?" He gestured around. "What, your new life doesn’t have room for the past?"

Jas exhaled slowly, glancing away for just a second, just enough for Marcello to catch it. That hesitation. That crack in the armor.

"You have no idea what kind of life this is."

Marcello tilted his head, eyes narrowing. "Then tell . Because all I see is a guy who used to be my best friend, now acting like a stranger."