OUR LITTLE SECRET

Part 35

It was a Monday afternoon when Cillian's brother had made the call to admit himself into rehab, and it brought a sense of relief to all of you. Cillian's mother had been distraught over her younger son's behavior and the damage it had caused to both of her children.

Cillian had been discharged from the hospital shortly after a short two-day observational stay and you finally had your post-partum follow up appointments with your obstetrician and gynecologist.

Despite the pain from his broken ribs, Cillian accompanied you to your appointments while your mother stayed at your house to watch Mara. Ove the past 14 days, she had grown quite fond of her and you allowed her back into your life for Mara's sake, albeit with caution.

To your appointment, Cillian walked slowly, careful not to aggravate the pain in his chest, as you carefully navigated the cold and slippery winter pavement.

"You should have stayed at home ," you said, eyeing him with concern.

"I wanted to go with you," Cillian insisted, his grip tightening around your arm as you walked through the hospital doors.

You nodded, appreciative of his support, but secretly worried about his health. The doctors had told him that it would take at least six weeks for his ribs to heal, but he was already pushing his limits.

He was helping you tend to Mara's needs every day even though you didn't need his help . You had become quite independent due to the circumstances, but you knew he needed something to focus on rather than mope around the house.

During the day, he would bring and retrieve the laundry, heat up the bottles, and wind down Mara once she had finished feeding. At night, he would give you a break by getting up for the late-night feed, allowing you precious and uninterrupted rest.

Despite the age gap between you, he was the perfect partner , both caring and supportive. He attended every single check-up appointment with you, and he was always the first to jump in whenever you needed him.

Cillian was the kind of man who would make any woman swoon, with his tousled hair, piercing blue eyes and chiseled jawline. He was both rugged and surprisingly gentle and you knew that albeit everything that happened between you, he was yours now.

"I love you, you know," you told him as you were sitting in the waiting-room where other patients were starring at you both. You had been subjected to a fair bit of criticism by the press lately and, in the past week or so, Cillian had fallen victim to some selfdoubt.

Believing that he was truly too old for you and that you would soon want someone younger than him, someone who could give you more energy and excitement than he ever could, he became rather conscious about many things.

And, even though you had tried your best to reassure him, reminding him of the unbreakable bond between the two of you, he remained somewhat distant, unable to fully shake off the nagging doubt that had wormed its way into his mind.

You almost put it back to the stress of recent weeks and the lack of intimacy since the accident and the birth of your daughter, but you still had your suspicions that there was more to it than met the eye.

As you sat there in the clinic's waiting room, you decided to take the bull by the horns and raise the subject once more.

"Hey," you said softly, placing a hand on Cillian's knee and looking up at him with eyes filled with love and concern. "Are you okay?" you asked, sensing the tension in his body as he stared blankly ahead apparently lost in his thoughts.

Cillian turned to look at you, his piercing blue eyes filled with a mixture of emotions that you couldn't quite decipher. "I'm fine," he said, managing a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.