She hesitates, then nods, setting her book down beside her. “Just tired.”
“You’ve been tired a lot lately.” I watch her face closely.
“I’ve had a lot on my mind.”
“Talk to me.” I dig my thumbs into the heels of her feet, eliciting a quiet moan from her lips that has my cock twitching in my pants.
Ciara’s eyes flicker, and for a second, I think she’s going to shut me out, but then her shoulders sag as she looks at me. “There’s something I haven’t told you.”
My body stiffens. “Okay...”
“It’s about Callum… The day we left for Vegas, I went over to the house to speak with him, and he said something to me…”
She takes a deep breath, and I have a feeling I’m not going to like whatever she’s about to say, but I continue massaging her feet, letting her know that I’m still here no matter what.
“He said he was planning something that could get me out of this marriage.”
I freeze.
“But I don’t know what it is, and I don’t want out of this marriage,” she says hurriedly, a panicked look in her eye. “But he wouldn’t listen, and I didn’t want to tell you until I knew for sure what it was. Ever since I found out he knew about our father, we’ve barely spoken…”
I grit my teeth, fighting the urge to explode. The old Ronan would have lost his shit at what he just heard, but I’m trying to be better, for Ciara.
“You should have told me sooner.” I keep my voice even despite the ringing in my ears.
It seems Callum McCarthy is becoming more of a pain in my ass with every passing day.
She fiddles with the hem of her t-shirt. “I know. But I was afraid of how you would react. I didn’t want you to think that I didn’t want to be married to you anymore.”
“How the tables have turned,” I tease, trying to lighten the mood, though what I really want to do is storm out of here and put a bullet between Callum’s eyes.
“It turns out I quite like having you around.” The corners of her lips twitch, though her eyes still have a haunted look. It’s clear this information has been weighing on her mind for a while.
I reach out to cup her cheek. “Thank you for telling me. I appreciate your honesty.”
Relief floods her expression, and I’m glad that some of the weight on her shoulders has lifted by coming clean about her brother’s intentions.
But I am feeling anything but relief.
If Callum is planning something, it’s time we stop watching him and start preparing for a direct strike.
We can't afford to be cautious any longer, not when he’s trying to interfere with my marriage.
Chapter Eleven
CIARA
I didn’t thinkit was possible to feel guiltier for keeping this pregnancy from Ronan, but it turns out I can.
It eats away at me as I watch him leave the room to take a shower.
The way I went on and on about being afraid to tell him about Callum because I know how much he hates me keeping things from him, when I’m holding onto an even bigger secret…
I press a hand to my lower abdomen, half-expecting to feel something even though I know it's way too soon.
A heavy ache of dread presses down on my chest.
I had to tell Ronan something. I couldn’t keep going when I saw that look in his eyes, like he was starting to lose trust in me. So, I gave him a half-truth, feeding him something small to keep the peace, because telling him I was scared to talk about Callum was easier than the truth.
