OUR LITTLE SECRET

Part 21

Several months later...

Eventually, just over three months had passed since your first doctors' visit together and you were now officially 32 weeks pregnant and glowing. You had just passed your first lot of law school exams with flying colors and settled into your new home quite nicely.

Being on your own no longer bothered you and, even despite his newfound relationship with Amanda, Cillian was there for you when you needed him.

In fact, he became even more attentive, understanding that your due date was getting closer.

Much to his girlfriend's dislike, he spent several evenings with you after you finished lectures for the day to help you prepare for the arrival of your daughter.

You were extremely grateful for his support and guidance, especially since you lacked support from your family. Your mother had not spoken to you in six months and neither has your father after he learned what you had done.

You had never imagined that you would end up having a child by yourself at such a young age, but you were determined to give birth to your little one and raise her to the best of your abilities. However, despite your strength and determination, you couldn't help but yearn for companionship.

At times, you missed having someone to share your life with, and it saddened you that Cillian had fallen for another woman.

But then again, you knew that a relationship between you and him would be impossible. After all, he was more than twice your age and you were certain that, at times, he considered you to be immature.

As such, you never showed your weaknesses to him nor did you beg for his attention. You weren't clingy at all and wanted to show him that you could do this on your own if you had to, even if it was a struggle.

Being emotionally intelligent though, Cillian knew that you were struggling at times and he respected you for trying to hide those moments.

Unbeknownst to you, he was impressed by your resilience and maturity, even when you felt insecure about your young age and if it wasn't for Amanda, he knew that he would probably keep you company more often.

Amanda, however, made it difficult for him to visit you more than twice a week and, knowing that she didn't particularly like children, you started to worry about whether she would be supportive of the shared custody arrangement you and Cillian had already agreed upon once your daughter was no longer relying on regular breastfeeding.

After sharing those concerns with Cillian once three weeks ago though, he assured you that, despite her initial hesitations, Amanda had gradually warmed up to the idea of you giving birth to his child. According to him, she recognized that there was nothing she could do to prevent it. She had come to terms with the fact that Cillian truly cared for you and that he was dedicated to raising his daughter together with you and yet, she appeared to be uncomfortable whenever he came to visit you at your house.

One evening in particular about two weeks ago, she called him several times when he was with you, making it clear that she wanted him to return home sooner rather than later.

This happened on a weekend where she had decided to stay at his house for a few nights while his son Max was with Danielle and, clearly, she wanted to make the most of the opportunity to spend time with him alone.

She had been particularly vocal during their argument that evening and, although you hadn't heard exactly what had been said, you sensed that she might have used threats to try to manipulate his behavior.

By the time Cillian had returned to his house that night in order to give in to Amanda's demands, he had barely managed to explain himself without upsetting you however. He knew that he owed you an apology for leaving so abruptly that day, but he was also frustrated with Amanda's controlling behavior.