WHISPERS IN THE DARK

Chapter Fifteen

**Callie’s POV**

Mal had begun to notice my increasing distance, but I couldn’t help it. It had been three weeks since I last saw Callan, and it consumed my thoughts. The nightmares had returned, and I couldn’t let Mal see me like that.

For the past three weeks, we’d been searching for any trace of Callan or Dominic, but they had vanished after the incident at Dominic's house. Business had returned to normal, and the counterfeit money had stopped flowing through our system.

My father, Mal, and Ryan were attributing our lack of leads to Luca still being locked up. They were pressuring me to decide his fate, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. We had left him in the old gardener’s huts, guarded and chained to the wall. I provided him with food and water daily and convinced my father to extend his chain so he could reach the bed and bathroom.

I was just drifting off to sleep when Naomi, Steph, and Leigh burst into my room. “Let’s talk wedding!” Naomi said excitedly as she jumped onto my bed beside me, followed by Leigh and Steph. I groaned but smiled, my heart fluttering at Naomi’s enthusiasm. It was something she had sworn she’d never do, yet here we were, planning her big day.

“Ryan and I decided we want to get married at his home in Belfast,” Naomi squealed, her excitement palpable. Leigh quickly typed it into a spreadsheet labeled ‘Naomi’s Fairytale.’ “You’re going to love it. It’s a beautiful farm with horses, goats, and ducks!” she added, making me laugh as I covered my ears.

Leigh added “farm style” to the spreadsheet and asked Naomi if she had pictures of the place. Naomi pulled out her phone and shared photos of Ryan’s modern farmhouse surrounded by mountains and green fields. She paused at a picture of a pond with a wooden arch under pink cherry blossoms. “It’s perfect, right?” Naomi whispered, her eyes fixed on the image. We all agreed, and Leigh asked Naomi to send it so she could include it in her plans.

By midnight, we had planned much of the wedding. Seeing Naomi so happy made me feel guilty; I didn’t want her to face any backlash when I told Mal that I was behind Heather’s warehouse attacks. I knew Ryan would understand that Naomi had no idea.

Naomi had settled on red and black for the color scheme and had decided on a date after checking with Ryan. “I’m glad the hard parts are over,” she sighed, flopping against the headboard. “We still need to plan the hen party,” Steph reminded us, raising her eyebrows.

Steph announced that the planning was up to us and left for bed. “The weekend after we arrive in Belfast?” Steph suggested, looking at Leigh and me. We agreed and decided to start planning the hen party the next day.

After another hour of chatting, Leigh and Steph headed off to bed. I turned off my bedside lamp and quickly fell asleep.

The next morning, I woke up sweating and shaking from a nightmare. I glanced at the alarm clock—eight a.m. I grabbed my phone and saw a message from Naomi:

“If you’re not awake by ten a.m., I’m coming to get you. Ryan let slip to our mother about the wedding plans, and she wants us to go dress shopping. You’re my maid of honor, so you have no choice. This is your pre-warning. Love yah.❤️x”

I groaned and put my phone back on the bedside table. After a quick shower, I dressed in comfortable clothes: black high-waisted shorts, a black-and-white checkered crop top, and black Nike trainers. I pulled my long hair into a messy ponytail and grabbed my phone before heading downstairs.

As I entered the kitchen, my phone dinged with a new message from Mal. I sighed, opened it, and read:

“My love, I’m sorry for being overprotective and suffocating. Can we talk, please?”

This was the tenth text from Mal this week, all asking the same thing: “Can we talk?” I needed space to think and thought I’d made that clear. I started to type:

“We’re going out for drinks tomorrow. If you’re there, we can talk. This is on me, not you.”

I hit send.

“Up early?” Naomi sang as she entered the kitchen. I put my phone on the counter and poured myself coffee. “The sun woke me up,” I replied with a laugh.

Leigh and Steph soon joined, followed by my mother. “Good morning, ladies. Are you ready for an exciting day?” she asked, trying to perk us up. We all smiled, dreading the shopping trip. My mother persisted, promising cocktails and snacks. Those words were all we needed to find motivation.

We followed my mother to the car and drove to the massive shopping center. With six floors and numerous stores, it looked quiet as we entered. “Smoothies first?” Naomi suggested. We agreed and ordered from a stand. My mother insisted on covering the cost, making us all laugh.

After our smoothies, we headed to the first store—a shoe shop named ‘Shoe-z-it.’ I laughed at the name but quickly fell for a pair of stunning black heels. I showed them to Naomi, who agreed they’d be perfect in red. The shop assistant found a similar red pair, and Naomi decided to get them for her bridesmaids as well.

We left the store with our new shoes and moved on to dress shopping. After hours and several stores, my mother suggested a break. “Let’s eat and rest,” she insisted. Naomi agreed, and we headed to a restaurant.

I accidentally bumped into someone on our way, apologized, and continued. At the restaurant, we ordered cocktails and steak pies. After our meal, Naomi suggested trying the second floor of the shopping center for more dresses.

We finished our desserts and drinks and headed to another dress store. As I browsed, I saw Olivia outside, looking angry and upset as she ended a phone call and stormed off. Naomi approached, and we resumed discussing the wedding.

Steph found beautiful black chiffon dresses for the bridesmaids. Naomi loved the idea of adding a slight red tint to the skirts, and the shop assistant agreed to make the alterations. We left the store, paid, and arranged to collect the dresses later.

The drive home felt longer than the trip there. We were exhausted and relieved to arrive. We said our goodnights and headed to our rooms. At ten p.m., I was ready for bed. 'Shopping really takes it out of you,' I thought with a smile as I changed into pajamas and drifted off to sleep.