Outside the restaurant, the dry desert air fills my lungs as I stare down the infamous strip. The city feels endless, nothing more than a mass of neon lights, but all of my earlier excitement at the thought of showing Ciara this place is gone, leaving behind a bitter taste in my mouth.
I fucked up. I shouldn’t have said anything about her father when I didn’t have the guts to tell her the truth. And now I’ve planted a seed in her mind that she won’t be able to let go.
The selfish part of me, the part that wants her love, craves it, wants her to find out, if only to realize I’m not the monster in her story.
Her father is.
Chapter Thirty-Four
CIARA
Ronan’s not coming back.
I sit at the table in the middle of one of the fanciest restaurants in Vegas, trying not to bawl my eyes out as I stare at his empty seat.
Thirty minutes have passed since he went out for ‘some air,’ and that’s precisely how long it takes for it to fully sink in that he’s actually left me here.
I stare at the open menu in front of me, my hands balled into fists in my lap, as I try to drown out the sound of the laughter coming from the surrounding tables. I can feel the eyes of the other diners on me, judging the girl in the fancy dress whose date just got up and walked out without so much as a backward glance.
My vision blurs, and I blink hard to try to stop the tears from falling.
Don’t cry. Not here. Not where they can see you.
But my reality is hard to ignore when Ronan’s seat remains empty, which only makes my eyes sting even more.
How did it all go so wrong so fast?
I press my lips together, trying to swallow the lump forming in my throat as the waiter approaches the table like it’s a bomb that could explode at any moment.
“Ma’am, would you like to order?—?”
“I’m sorry.” I push back my chair and get to my feet. “I need to go.”
He offers me a polite nod and steps aside, though I don’t miss the pitying look he gives me as I pass him.
I keep my head down, letting my hair cover my face as I hurry out of the restaurant.
The dry night air is almost suffocating as I step outside, and I glance around, searching the sea of strangers for any sign of Ronan, but he’s nowhere in sight.
My chest feels like it’s been cracked open, and a sob builds in my throat as I stand outside the restaurant.
He really left me.
I hastily wipe at my eyes as I just start walking. It would be easier to take a cab back to the hotel, but my feet move of their own accord, and the sound of my heels clicking against the sidewalk gives me something to focus on.
So, I walk. And walk. And walk. But even the busy strip isn’t enough to drown out the sound of Ronan’s words playing on repeat in my mind.
You have no idea who he really was.
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
Is there something about my father that I don’t know? Some piece of his life that he kept from me? That Ronan has been keeping from me?
The thought sends a fresh wave of nausea rolling through me, and I have to stop walking for a moment and bend over as I fight the urge to throw up.
Don’t let him do this.
I won’t let Ronan ruin the memories I have of my father.
