Oppenheimer

Part 21

Being blackmailed like this by your godmother Cara was not what you had expected and, at first, you didn't believe that there was anything on the tape she had handed to you. You called her bluff because you didn't know how she could possibly have obtained a video like this of you and Cillian.

But, when she showed you some snippets of the video which she claimed she had, you realised that she wasn't bluffing at all. She had caught you and Cillian in a very compromising position and you were concerned that a tape like this would, indeed, ruin not only your but also Cillian's career.

Cara's argument was that, if the relationship between you and Cillian was to be exposed in any way, people might think that he was chosen for this role by your father not on his merit but due to the fact that he is with you. This, in turn, would give the movie a somewhat bad reputation.

In addition, your godmother Cara knew very well that age-gap relationships such as yours were frowned upon and, in her view, it is arguable that, if you were known to be together, Cillian may lose support for the movie as an actor. In Cara's mind, it was most preferrable if he remained single, drawing different kinds of crowds to the movie with his bachelor standing. Ever since playing Thomas Shelby in Peaky Blinders, he gained a huge female following and being with you could potentially change this.

You knew that Cara had no real intention to expose you in any way, especially not with a sex tape like this. But you also knew that she was used to getting her way and you also believed that she would be true to her word. She had threatened you and Cara's threads were never to be taken lightly.

The sex-tape itself would make Cara millions of dollars and this wouldn't be the first compromising tape she had released. Rumours had it that she was involved in a few scandals like this, protecting her clients by blackmailing others. But then again, these were simply rumours and it was your parents who never believed them to be true.

Could it be that your father and mother had been fooled by her for all these years?

***

Unsure about what to do next and where to go from here, you packed up your things and sat down on the sofa with a cup of tea.

Tears were streaming down your face and you started feeling hopeless. You couldn't risk your career which you had worked so hard for and you most certainly couldn't risk a scandal like this. It would affect not only you, but also Cillian and his sons. He still hadn't finalised his court settlement with his ex-wife. In fact, he hadn't even finalised his divorce as it was impossible to divorce one another until you had been separated for a total of two years in the Republic of Ireland.

With that in mind, you were worried about how far Cara would go with this tape and felt as though you weren't really left with a choice. You needed to do what she had demanded from you. You needed to end it with Cillian and resign from your position on set. But how?

By the point you made this decision it was already 10 o'clock and Cillian had already attempted to call you twice, and so had your father. You were late for work and this, in itself, was unusual.

"Where are you? Is everything okay?" Cillian asked when you finally picked up your phone on the third call and, by this point, you had to hold back your tears again.

"I am not coming to set Cills" you told him with a heavy heart and some regret.

"Why? Are you okay?" Cillian asked concerned. He could already tell that something was wrong. You weren't yourself.

"Yes, I am. I am resigning. I've been offered a position at UCLA for the four weeks before I move to London" you lied, intending to simply hang around at the laboratory on campus to make the time go by quickly before you were set to move overseas.