That was the furthest thing from making love I’ve ever experienced. Even on our strained wedding night he was more compassionate than that.
“Okay, what’s troubling you?” Sophia asks, drawing my attention back to her. “You’re much too quiet.”
I sigh. Everyone thinks my marriage is perfect. I guess I’ve fostered that illusion because most of the time it is great, and I’ve wanted to be a beacon of hope for my cousins. None of them have had easy beginnings to their relationships, but they’ve all seemed to work it out in the end.
I guess Cian and I haven’t gotten to our end yet. We’ve flirted with, but haven’t managed to achieve, our own happily ever after. I’m beginning to wonder if it will happen for us.
“How did you and Roman move past his betrayal?” I ask her. “What he did was… disgusting.” I have a lot more words for it than that, but I figure one is enough to get my point across.
She hums, thinking. “It was. I guess what made all the difference was him facing his demons in the end. He confronted the darkest parts of himself, even though it was difficult for him, but he did it for me. I was worth it to him, for him to go through all of that. If he hadn’t, I don’t think I could have forgiven him. But he put in the effort. He changed.”
“I see.” Unfortunately, Cian has no interest in putting in the effort. He won’t talk to a therapist. It’s like he revels in tormenting himself. I’m afraid his demons have too firm of a hold on him and one day they’ll drag him under. He’s drowning in them.
“Is there something going on with you and Cian?” Sophia asks, cocking her head to one side.
“Yeah, but I don’t think there’s much to do about it.” I wave off her concern. “We just need some time. Everything will be okay.”
“If you say so. Just remember that you don’t have to deal with any of his crap. You’re not stuck with him. If you need a place to stay, or anything else, I’m always here for you.”
“I appreciate that.”
She pats my hand and smiles. “I’m serious.”
“I know.” Knowing that I have her at my back does help lighten my mood. Even so, I change the subject. “Are you ready for Gin’s wedding next month?”
“Yes. But I don’t know why she decided to have it in London. I mean… it’s fake. Why not do it locally? New York has plenty of gorgeous venues.”
I shrug. “Arianna’s planning the whole thing. Since they’re trying to make it look real, I guess that’s a good enough reason for the extravagance of a destination wedding.”
“That makes sense. I’m still worried about her though. She’s in way over her head.”
On that, we can totally agree. Sophia ended up happily married to an Italian mafia man, while Arianna caught the eye of a Russian bratva leader, but sweet Gin has gotten herself mixed up with a man who has the most sinister reputation. Blake Baron has no heart. Everybody knows that.
I’m afraid my youngest cousin will come out of this situation with Mr. Baron utterly destroyed. Surely a brutal man with no heart could never give Gin the love she deserves.
At least we’ll be there to pick up the pieces. There’s nothing else we can do.
On Monday morning, I’ve just returned from grabbing coffee for my boss, when I hear a commotion in the general office area. As I cautiously approach, several of my co-workers shoot me worried glances. That should be a hint as to what’s going on.But I’m still shocked when I round the corner to find Devlin and Cian staring each other down.
My stunned disbelief quickly turns to fury. I’m absolutely livid that my husband has shown up at my work to confront my co-worker.
Devlin turns to me. “You didn’t tell me your husband’s a jealous animal.”
“Don’t speak to my wife!” Cian snarls at him.
“Go fuck yourself?—”
Cian punches him. Even though Devlin’s about the same size, the man’s lived a much softer life than my husband. He goes down like a tower of bricks, out cold.
Gasps sound all around us, but no one dares to intervene. Cian stands over Devlin’s prone form, breathing hard, fists clenched like he’s waiting for the other man to get up so he can hit him again.
I’ve had enough of this.
“Get out of here.” My tone’s deceptively calm. I’m too angry right now to shout. “Go home.”
Cian finally glances at me. “I’m going to kill him.”
“If you ever lay a finger on that man again, I’ll leave you.” I mean every word. Not because Devlin is important to me, he’s not, but because Cian can’t act like this without consequence.
