Chapter Thirty-One
Cillian and I had a breakthrough last night, and so much pain had been expelled that I felt a thousand times lighter than usual.
I even woke up with a smile, which was something I hadn’t done in years.
In fact, Cillian had been in the shower when I had awakened, and I ended up joining him, where he proved once more that he owned me, or at least my orgasms, seeing as he’d brought me to two of them before finally turning off the water.
Now, I was sitting on the couch and watching as he and Ciara fought over the last of the donuts.
Their laughter and this lightness on my shoulders were exactly what I’d pictured the day I’d learned I was pregnant.
I could still remember it as if it was yesterday, but unlike the day before, I no longer felt any regrets over the news I had received.
“Your test has come back positive, Miss Coughlin. You’re pregnant,” the nurse at Planned Parenthood had told me.
“Pregnant? I can’t be. Are you sure there isn’t a mistake? Maybe, I’m simply late because I’ve been stressed. I did donate bone mar—”
“Stress is not the cause of the missed cycles. You’re definitely pregnant. Both your pee test and blood work have confirmed it.”
“Oh God. This can’t be happening.”
“Have you given any thought as to what you plan to do?” she’d asked me.
“What do you mean?”
“Although teen pregnancy is common in this country, there are different options available. If you don’t want to keep the child, there’s always adoption or even abortion,” she’d told me.
I’d known in that moment that I could never erase something that was part of Cillian, nor could I ever give his child away, so it left only one option.
Despite telling her that I would be keeping the child, she’d still provided me with literature on all of my options, and only for the first few weeks after my mother and twin died did I even consider anything other than my original decision.
Thankfully, I’d stuck to what I’d always known, and seeing everyone so happy together made me glad I had not changed my mind.
It might’ve taken us a while to get to this place, but all would be better going forward.
Cillian loved me as much as I loved him, and we both adored Ciara, who loved us in return.
A smile tipped my lips as I realized we were now finally going to be the family I had spent that entire summer dreaming we would be.
It hadn’t been easy, especially with so much loss, but true love did prevail in the end.
At least for us, and it was all I had ever dreamed it would be.
“Mommy,” I heard, and at the way she put emphasis on my name, she had to have called me already once or twice.
“What is it, baby?” I asked Ciara as she stood in front of me.
“I sing tonight. Are you gonna watch me?” she asked.
I smiled before reaching out to adjust the long, white sleeves of her shirt before straightening the straps to her pinafore.
The international school she went to required her to wear a uniform, which was something her school in Brooklyn had not.
When she’d first enrolled, Ciara had been displeased that she couldn’t wear anything from the mountain of clothes that Cillian had bought her that first weekend here.
It was only when she saw everyone else wearing the same attire that she finally cooperated.
I glanced at the school crest and noticed something glistening on it. After swiping my finger over it, I realized it had to have been some glaze from her donut. “So you beat your Daddy out for it after all.”
They had been pretending to fight over that particular donut earlier. “Of course, Mommy. I always win.”
I heard a growl come from the kitchen, but when I looked over at him, he was actually smiling. God, how I missed seeing that look on his face. I hadn’t seen it directed toward me since Summit Crest Preparatory days, and they were long gone now.
“I’m going to drop her off at school, then I have a few work things to do. I’ll be back so we can grab lunch together,” he said to me.
“Okay,” I said before handing Ciara her bookbag.
“Bye, Mommy,” she said, then gave me a kiss.
“Have a good day at school. I love you.”
“Love you too,” she said to me, then looked over at Cillian. “C’mon, Daddy. I don’t want to be late.”
“If we are, we’ll blame it on your mother,” he teased.
I gasped. “How is it my fault?”
His gaze darkened as he focused it on me. As he slowly appraised me, I could feel my skin heating beneath my clothing. “My shower ran long because of you.”
I closed my eyes for a nanosecond as memories of being plastered against the tile as he slammed into me came rushing back.
They were so vivid, and I could feel myself blushing as I remembered how I shamelessly begged him to fuck me harder.
Thankfully, I only had one leg on the floor, so he couldn’t see the toes I had curled on the one tucked beneath me.
“You were quite dirty if I recall,” I teased back.
“I still am,” he said, then when Ciara tugged on his arm, he turned away from me. “Let’s go, princess.”
I smiled at them as they left the penthouse, then let out a sigh the moment the door closed behind them.
While it immediately dawned on me that I was, in fact, still a prisoner here in this place, it didn’t bother me as much now as it had even twenty-four hours earlier.
Maybe tonight, I could approach the topic with him again and convince him to agree to give me a bit more freedom.
Cillian was worried about his grandfather, and after knowing the extent of what he’d endured at the hands of the elder man, I could almost understand his fear.
I was not my mother or my twin, and unlike last time, I would know to expect something so I could stay alert.
My family had no idea the evil that had been about to befall them, but I did now.
I also knew what Ronan Brannington was capable of.
What he would learn soon is what I was capable of, and I would surprise him for sure.
Until I had the talk with Cillian, I would abide by his wishes and stay put.
I couldn’t stay idle, though. Needing to share my profound happiness with someone, I went into the other room to get my cell phone so I could call Monica.
The last she had heard about Cillian from me was that he was playing jail warden where Ciara and I were concerned.
“I’m not sure if you’ll be happy for my reconciliation or not, but there’s only one way to find out,” I said aloud as I grabbed my phone and quickly dialed her number.
“Ro,” she said a few seconds later once she answered.
I sighed. “Remember, it’s Reagan,” I said to her, especially as I remembered how hurt she had been to know I had used a fictitious name with her.
It hadn’t mattered that it was the name on my identification or not; she had felt slighted that I had never confessed the truth during the six years of friendship that we’d shared.
“I’m never going to be able to call you that,” she said to me.
“I know. And it’s fine. I called to tell you that I have some news.”
“Are you coming back home to New York City?” she asked, and I knew I was about to dash all the hopefulness I heard in her voice.
“Not anytime soon, I don’t think,” I answered.
“Did the vein in Cillian’s forehead finally burst?”
I busted out laughing at that, especially as I had told her that one day it very well might if he continued to stare at me with such hate all of the time. “No, but my news does involve Cillian.”
“Damn, girl. I wish I had time to hear it. Can I give you a call back in a little while? We can talk for hours then.”
“That’s fine. I need to go get dressed anyway,” I said to her.
“I’ll call you back as soon as possible.”
“Okay, bye.” I disconnected the call, then smiled brightly.
I had literally not felt this joyous since the day I knew Cillian was coming back to school.
The last day I had with my mother and sister.
..So much had happened between then and now.
My life had turned to one of struggle, especially once I’d had Ciara.
I would never regret a moment of that strife though because she had been worth every long night spent worrying about how to pay rent and put food on the table.
I would also not give up a single night spent crying over those very things, either.
Motherhood had made me grow up quickly, and it had been just what I had needed at the time. It also now gave me a different perspective, so even if things didn’t work out with Cillian, I had every confidence that my daughter and I would be alright.
Damn, we’ve not even been back together twelve hours, and I’m already picturing myself alone again.
It was crazy, but weary thoughts like those were hard to turn off.
I hadn’t been able to just enjoy and live for the moment, ever, except for the time I’d spent with Cillian.
When with him, I hadn’t had to worry about helping my mother with school stuff, my own failing grades, or even my twin’s deteriorating health.
I didn’t have to eat and drink certain things while avoiding everything else, never knowing when I would need to be a donor for Rowan.
I didn’t have to worry about staying as close to my mother as possible so I could do whatever deed she needed done.
As stressful as it had been being a single mother with a newborn, even some of those times seemed easier than being a daughter and sister.
Monica would call me soon, and I knew once she did that we would talk for hours. Wanting to get a few things done, I went ahead and returned to my bedroom where I ripped off the sheets and blanket, then brought them to the laundry room, and made up the bed with fresh linens as those began to wash.
I also cleaned up the bathroom, including my palm prints on the glass. When doing so, I had become aroused once more. Cillian mentioned lunch, but I was more in the mood for dessert now. Unfortunately, it would also be a few hours before that could be done, too.
I busied myself for the next half hour by cleaning the kitchen.
I knew he had a housekeeper who came in and did this sort of thing, but I had to make myself useful doing something, or else I would go out of my mind with boredom.
I had no sooner cleared away all remnants of breakfast and was starting to wipe the counter when I heard the doorbell.
No one ever visited us here, and Cillian would have his keys unless...As I remembered the last thing we had been talking about before he left, I grinned. He might have been a tad distracted. Sure that he must have just forgotten something, I strode to the door.
“What did you forget?” I asked the moment I flung it open.
“You’re alive in the flesh, so do you really need an answer?”
I looked at the old man standing in front of me.
Despite his salt and pepper hair and sunken jaw and cheekbones, he was still physically imposing.
He was also very dangerous, and remembering that, my hackles immediately went up.
I looked over his shoulder, hoping to see one of Cillian’s men, but I saw no one, which made me nervous.
“W-what do you want?”
Ronan Brannington regarded me with a look of disinterest before he pushed past me as if he owned the place.
Alarm bells went off inside my head, and as he stormed into the living room, I stayed right there by the door.
I’d heard so much about him, but I had never met the man before.
After learning what I had about him last night, never would’ve been too soon as far as I was concerned.
“You flaunt around here like you’re the little woman of the house. It pisses me off.” I almost asked him what he planned to do about it, but knowing this wasn’t the man to smart off to, I wisely remained silent. “You’ve never been good enough for my grandson, and you certainly are still not.”
This time, I did speak as I pushed away from the door. “Cillian loves me.”