OUR LITTLE SECRET

Part 58

On the same day, following breakfast with Siobhan and her friends and just after you picked up Mara from your mother's house, you received a text message from Cillian.

"Can I see Mara on Tuesday? I am heading back to Liverpool on Wednesday," he wrote, his words short and to the point.

As you stared down at the screen of your phone, you couldn't help but feel a wave of relief wash over you. At least he was still engaging for Mara's sake even if things between the two of you were strained and complicated.

"Sure. She would love that," you wrote back, adding on a smiley face as an afterthought, trying to lighten the mood, but Cillian's response was, once again, short and to the point.

"Can I pick her up at noon?" Cillian requested curtly.

"Of course," you replied after a moment's hesitation before adding, "Is everything okay, Cillian?"

Cillian didn't respond for what felt like an eternity, leaving you with nothing but silence and the feeling of regret. You couldn't help but wonder if you had made the wrong choice by sleeping with him again. Clearly, things were still not okay between you two, and maybe they never would be.

"I'm fine, Y/N. I'll see you Tuesday," came the eventual reply.

"Will you not be available for our counselling session tomorrow afternoon? It was booked for 4 o'clock," you reminded him, seeing that he must have forgotten about it which, too, was unusual. Cillian was a man of organization and he always marked important appointments like this on his calendar.

"I would prefer to appoint a mediator moving forward and have a proper parenting plan drawn up instead. I don't think counselling is helping," Cillian wrote back dryly, and your heart sank.

Part of you couldn't help but wonder if things would have turned out differently if you had just stuck to your original plan and hadn't given into the temptation to sleep with him again. You had been doing so well with sticking to your boundaries and focusing on Mara's happiness, but now things were even more complicated than ever before.

"Counselling is for Mara's sake. It helps us work together, as a team," you argued, hoping to make him see reason, but Cillian's response was firm.

"I don't think it does. I think it's a waste of time and I would rather focus on having a proper parenting plan in place. I'll pick up Mara at noon on Tuesday. Goodbye, Y/N."

You stared down at your phone in disbelief, your heart racing as you tried to steady your racing thoughts. Cillian was shutting you out, and there was nothing you could do to change his mind.

"Lets just keep that last session please?" you requested, hoping to salvage even a little of the relationship you had with Cillian.

"Fine," Cillian replied and you sent him back a quick and polite "Thank you," before putting the phone away which is just when the doorbell rang and you had to prepare yourself for the inevitable confrontation with Sean.

You had been expecting him after, that same morning, he had demanded to see you so that you could talk. You were certain that he had read the tabloids and had seen the images of you and Cillian from the hotel lobby, sharing a kiss and some PDA, and so he did.

As soon as you open the door , Sean wasted no time in firing on you.

"I knew this would fucking happen Y/N. I fucking knew it," he said, his voice filled with anger and hurt. "And it's all over the fucking internet too. It's so fucking embarrassing for me, you know that?" he yelled, causing his cheeks to redden.

"Sean, please, I can explain," you tried to interject, but he cut you off.

"Explain what, Y/N? How you cheated on me?" he asked, his voice shaking with anger and hurt.