Page 24

Cillian

After leaving the hospital, I went straight to Bia’s penthouse. I ignored the receptionist who was trying to ask me about Bia.

I stepped inside her penthouse and within a few feet inside, I saw the huge bloodstain on the floor.

“Holy fuck,”

I mumble to myself. With the amount of blood on the floor, it is a fucking miracle she is alive. I look up to the walls, I gently run my fingers over the bloody dents in the wall.

“My strong, brave little lamb.”

“I will find who did this to you, baby.”

I leave her penthouse and head to Brendan’s office. I had him upgrade the security footage around Bia’s place after I found her with Tristan. I hope there is something that can help us identify who did this to her.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Brendan says when I show up to his office.

“I need footage of Bia’s penthouse.”

“Okay? I thought you didn’t want to know anything about Bia.”

“She was attacked last night.”

“Fuck! Is she okay? How bad was she attacked?”

“Bad, Brendan. She lost the baby.”

“Shit, Cillian. Are you okay?”

“Fuck no. I’m drowning in guilt, the amount of blood that was on the floor… What if I have been punishing her and it was never her fault?”

“I told you I didn’t believe she could cheat on you,”

he says as his fingers start typing on the keyboard.

“I’m an idiot.”

“No shit…oh fuck.”

“What?”

I say as I walk behind his desk. I look at his screen and see where Tristan is storming into the penthouse elevator, pissed off. Brendan follows him inside the penthouse, and when his fist flies to her petite face, my knuckles tighten on the edge of his desk. When he repeatedly slams her face into the wall, I start pacing behind Brendan while keeping my eye on the monitor.

My rage becomes overflowing when I see how he straddles her and repeatedly punches her stomach as hard as he can.

“Where is he?”

I sneer. I start imagining the different ways I will be dealing with Tristan.

“I will start tracing his phone and keep tabs on all of his bank cards.”

“Good, go back from the moment I moved her into the penthouse until last night. Check to see if his phone is ever at the penthouse.”

“Got it. Anything else you need?”

“For now, no,”

I tell him as I make my way to the door.

“Boss, a piece of advice.”

“Sure.”

“If you truly want her and not just to fill Meredith’s place, then show her. She will need the support more now than ever but also don’t smoother her.”

“How do I be there for her without smothering her?”

“I don’t have the answer for you.”

“Thanks, I think,”

I tell him before I make my way out of his office.

I drive to Tristan’s house, or old house I should say, since his wife kicked him out. When she sees me standing on the porch, she is shocked and invites me inside.

“I need to know if you have seen or heard from Tristan.”

“No, I told him I would see him in court when he got violent with me after I told him I wanted a divorce.”

“If he was hiding, where would he go to lay low?”

“Maybe his parents' home? But I’m honestly not sure. Why?”

“He attacked Bia last night and killed our baby.”

Her hands fly to her mouth. “Oh, Cillian. I’m so sorry, how is Bia?”

“Thanks, she isn’t taking it too well.”

“Losing a baby is never easy.”

“No, it isn’t,”

I say thinking back to Dillion, my first son.

“I promise if I hear from him, I will tell you immediately.”

“Thank you,”

I tell her before heading back to my car. I drive toward his parents' house; I grew up with Tristan, we were childhood friends.

I knew he was cheating on his wife for years; he told me she knew and was okay with it. I questioned him at the time, but I assumed she was okay because the benefits of being married to a rich man.

But after seeing her reaction when I told her, and how quickly she started to divorce him, she was anything but okay with him cheating on her.

How did I never see how violent he was? He attacked his wife, the woman he supposedly loves and who is carrying their child.

Then the way he viciously attacked Bia because I went after him, destroying him for fucking her. He pisses me off the way he attacked her and hurt her.

He may be vicious, but I’m not called the wolf of the underworld for no reason.

I will stalk my prey until it’s time for me to pounce, and then I will rip out my victim’s throats.

Tristan has moved himself to spot number one on my kill list, and while I stalk, I will be planning a very bloody death for him.

I could burn him, cut him, drown him, skin him, abuse him.

The options are endless, but one thing is for sure, he will suffer.

I call the hospital before I attempt to go to bed tonight to check on Bia.

The nurse assured me she is in the best hands possible.

They said she was pretty upset when the sedation wore off. Cried and asked why they didn’t just let her die.

I have fucked up so badly, I promise both of us right now I’m going to fix it.

I fucked up and I will get on my knees and grovel.

When she is healthy enough, I’m taking a month off of work.

We need a vacation, and we will do whatever she wants.

She wants to travel the world we will, I will take her anywhere she wants. If she wants to stay at home then that’s what we will do.

One thing is for sure, she will never take another step inside her penthouse, and I will be selling mine too.

It’s finally time for both of us to move into our wing in my family’s mansion.

I know my family has missed having her around, and Bia needs people who love and support her.

I toss and turn all night.

I decide to go deal with the hell I’m about to deal with once I tell my parents everything.

Mam is surprised when I walk in after breakfast.

“Cillian this is a surprise.”

“Yeah, I need to talk to you and Daidí.”

“He’s in his office. Is everything okay?”

“I’d rather say it to both of you at the same time.”

“Okay,”

she says with a question in her answer.

Mam knocks on the door, and when Daidí tells her to enter, I walk in behind her. She walks over to him and gives him a kiss on his cheek. Daidí takes one look at me.

“What did you do?”

I sigh, running my hands through my hair, “I fucked up bad.”

“What did you do?”

he asks again but harsher.

“Bia has never been at a retreat.”

“Where has she been?” Mam asks.

“In the penthouse. After she was attacked, we found out she was pregnant.”

“Was pregnant?” Mam asks.

“Yeah, she was attacked again last night in her penthouse, and she lost the baby.”

“Why the fuck was she in the penthouse without any of us around, and where were you?”

Mother demanded.

“I caught Tristan fucking her two months ago, and I was blind in anger, believed she wanted it, and purposely isolated her away from everyone.”

“Are you telling me, after she has felt unwanted and unloved her whole life by her family, you decided to isolate her from the only people have loved her.”

Mam yells at me. Daidí pulls her back when she comes to approach me. I know what was coming, she was going to smack me, not that I don’t deserve it.

I bow my head. “I know, I fucked up bad.”

“Fucking up doesn’t even cover what you did. Where is she?”

Mam snarls at me.

“Still in the hospital, she had to be admitted.”

Then I whisper, “She tried to overdose last night.”

“What?”

Mam asks and the color drains from both of their faces.

“They had to pump her stomach; no one can see her for seventy-two hours.”

“Oh my god,”

Mother says with tears falling from her eyes.

“She is coming back to the mansion,”

Mam demands.

“I am already planning on moving all of our stuff back into our wing.”

“Both of you?”

Daidí asks.

“Yes, I know I have fucked up with her. It has nothing to do with her but me. She got punished because I was afraid to let another woman ruin me.”

“Cillian, you stupid boy,”

Daidí says, shaking his head.

“Bia is nothing like Meredith. She is sweet and kind where Meredith was evil and vile.”

“I know and it’s not her fault. I know I have a lot to prove, but I want to prove it to her.”

“Prove to her what? That you're not as big of a heartless asshole you have been?”

Daidí asks.

“Uh…yeah.”

“So, you only want to prove that you’re not an idiot, not show her how special she is?”

“Obviously that too.”

Mam shakes her head.

“You need to think about what you want. She deserves to be with someone who will love and cherish her.” Mam says.

“Even if that is with someone else,”

Daidí interjects. I jumped up from my seat.

“She is my fucking wife, mine. Any other man who starts sniffing around her will be dealt with,” I snarl.

“Careful, Cillian you're acting like you care for her. We all know you don’t want that,”

Daidí says smugly.

I go to respond about how everyone loves Bia but my phone rings. Usually I wouldn’t answer my phone in the middle of a conversation like this, but with Bia in the hospital, I won’t take any chances.

“I have to take this. I promise I will fix this,”

I tell them before stepping out of the room to answer the hospital's call.

The nurse tells me the results are in and to come to the hospital at my earliest convenience to discuss them. I head straight to the hospital from my parents’ mansion.

I only have to wait a few minutes before seeing the doctor.

“Mr. O’Sullivan, I have the results of the paternity test of the son of Bia O’Sullivan.”

I nod and wait as she continues to talk.

“99.95 percent you are the father.”

FUCK. She was carrying my son all along. I should have been there.

“Thank you,”

I barely get out before I’m rushing into the bathroom and puking my guts out. All this guilt I’m carrying.

My son, my poor son was killed too soon.

I wipe my mouth and flush the toilet before I get ready to open the stall door but then I think how my son was ruthlessly killed.

I punch the stall door twice, leaving a dent the size of my fist.

“FUCK! FUCK! FUCKKKKKKK!” I scream.

“Easy, man,”

someone says from the other side of the door. I stop and take a deep breath. My shoulders rise and fall.

“Open the door, man.”

I’m in too much pain to balk at someone calling me man. The guy takes one look at me and asks, “Bad news?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Thanks,”

I tell him before walking out of the bathroom.