44. Ravenna
Ravenna
“ R oman and I are doing great, thanks for asking.” Sophia sips her drink.
We’re seated in a quiet little coffee shop in an upscale neighborhood.
It’s that sweet spot in the afternoon when the morning customers have already come and gone, but those in need of an after lunch caffeine hit haven’t come by yet.
“I can’t believe you’re going to be a Junior in college after this summer. Where has the time gone?” I muse.
“I know. It’s kind of crazy.”
Luckily, making small talk with my cousin doesn’t require much effort. On the outside, I’m serene enough, but inside I’m awash with havoc.
Cian’s been a ruthless beast all weekend.
I doubled down to get my point across to him and have been sleeping in one of our guest rooms. What he did to me in the foyer is unforgivable behavior.
I’ve been understanding and tolerant, but he’s way out of bounds if he thinks he can warp our sex life into something dark and twisted.
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.
O n 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.
“Why? Because you?—?”
“I’m not even going to answer that absurd question.” My unrelenting gaze bores into his. “Your behavior is not only inappropriate, but downright embarrassing.”
“What is going on here?” My boss, Ms. Ryan, walks into the office and my stomach sinks. She takes one look at Devlin on the floor, and my deranged husband hovering over him, and calls for security.
“I can explain,” I tell her. “It’s a misunderstanding.”
She nods, as if she already knows what’s going on here. “I know who you’re married to Mrs. O’Rourke. I’m sorry, but for the safety of everyone at this agency, you’re fired.”
I blanch. She can’t mean it. I’m losing my job because of Cian’s jealous actions?
Cian steps forward, all intimidation. “You can’t fire her. Get Connor Bane on the phone, he’ll straighten this out.”
Ms. Ryan isn’t impressed by his attempt to go over her head. “I’ll be sure to have Mr. Bane give you a call.” She turns to me. “You have five minutes to pack your things and leave the premises.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell her, and her gaze softens. She’s clearly sympathetic, even though she’s doing what she has to do.
I grab my stuff from my desk, glaring at Cian when he tries to help. The rest of the office remains silent as everyone gawks at us. I’m never going to live this down. Maybe it’s for the best that I’ll never see any of these people again. It’s too embarrassing.
Head held high, I march out to the bay of elevators.
Cian follows, but I barely spare him a glance.
He’s single handedly ruined not only my day, but my entire work life.
I only got the job here because his cousin owns the place.
There’s no way in hell they’ll give me a good reference after Cian assaulted my co-worker.
Hell, we’re probably going to have charges filed against us. I’m not sure if Devlin’s the type of guy to take a payoff to keep quiet. Will Cian even offer him money? Or will they have another round of this bullheaded insanity in a courtroom?
“I apologize,” Cian murmurs. “This is my fault and I’ll straighten it out.”
“You’ll do no such thing,” I snap at him. “You got me fired. Fired! Because you’re obsessed with the idea of me having an affair with my co-worker. When in reality, nothing has happened with him or anyone else. Ever. Do not talk to me. I don’t like you right now.”
The elevator doors open and I step inside. When Cian attempts to join me, I stop him by holding my palm out and say, “Don’t.”
He grits his teeth, but stays firmly planted on the marble floor as the doors close.
On my way down, I text Finn to have him bring up the car from the garage and pick me up. I haven’t decided where to go yet. Not home. I can’t deal with my home life right now.
After debating about the other possibilities, I settle on one of my favorite coffee houses on the Upper East side. The quiet, soothing atmosphere is exactly what I need as I sip my Earl Grey latte and ponder my marriage, my work, and the future.
Honestly, all of it’s looking rather bleak at the moment.