OUR LITTLE SECRET

Part 67

After you left, Cillian had to continue working for the rest of the afternoon, which included shooting two scenes with Annabelle who, after all that, behaved professionally during the entire day, keeping her interaction with Cillian outside the scenes to the bare minimum.

Whether she got the message or not was, however, unclear when, just as Cillian was about to head back to his unit, Annabelle stopped him.

"Cillian," she called, her voice a little emotional. "Just wait a minute," she said, gesturing for him to step into a more private location, away from the hustle and bustle of the set.

Cillian sighed before nodding and following her, wondering what could possibly be so urgent that she needed to talk to him privately.

"Look, I don't want to stand between you and Y/N in any way, but I feel as though she does not like me and I wonder whether, maybe, you told her that...," Annabelle said softly, her voice hesitant and uncertain.

Cillian sighed heavily, running a hand through his already disheveled hair. "I did not," Cillian interrupted her before she could even speak the words. "And I would prefer if you did not either," he then told Annabelle, who sighed.

"Cillian, we already agreed that we would keep it a secret, and I do stand by my word. I just wasn't sure whether you told her that we had a fling in the past. I guess I just wanted to clear the air a bit," she said, trying to let him understand why she was reacting.

"Like I said, I didn't tell her," Cillian reiterated, shaking his head. "And she does not dislike you, Anabelle. Y/N and I have had our struggles as you know, and she is just being cautious. That's all," he suggested, thinking back to how protective and untrusting you had been ever since he cheated on you.

"Well, you cheated on her, so I don't blame her," Annabelle then chuckled, her eyes filling with sympathy.

Cillian's eyes narrowed, bristling at the implication of her words. "And neither do I, but that's all in the past now. I made a mistake, and I have no intention of repeating it, so let's just let be, alright?" he responded , trying to keep his frustration in check.

Annabelle nodded, holding her hands up in surrender. "Okay. I am cool with that," she said sincerely before preparing herself to leave. "I just wanted to make sure that you didn't tell her because, if she tells anyone else that we slept together, it could really screw up my career," she explained, still sounding a little flustered.

Cillian simply nodded in response, knowing that Annabelle had a valid concern. "I got to go now and see Mara before she goes to sleep," Cillian finally said, glancing at his watch.

"Alright, go and be with your family," Annabelle replied kindly but with a wry smile before parting ways with him and Cillian smiled back and then walked away.

When Cillian arrived at the apartment, he was met with the sound of laughter and the scent of something delicious wafting in the air.

"Hey," Cillian said, walking into the kitchen and wrapping his arms around you from behind.

"Hi," you replied, smiling warmly at him over your shoulder before standing up on your tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek.

He leaned down to kiss you properly, making you blush as Mara came running towards the both of you.

"No kissies," she cried, playfully pushing herself between you two.

Cillian laughed and picked Mara up.

"But I love giving mama kissies," he then chuckled before pressing a kiss on to Mara's cheek as well, causing her to giggle even more.

Cillian then put Mara back on to the floor as you continued dinner preparation.

After a little while, you took a break from cooking and poured yourself and Cillian some drinks, before settling down on the sofa, Mara crawling onto your lap and snuggling into you.

"You know what?" you asked, looking at Cillian with a small smile playing on your lips.

"What?" Cillian asked, turning his gaze on you, a soft smile playing on his lips also.

"I am glad that we got back together. It's so nice being a proper family," you said, your voice filled with emotion as you looked at Mara, who was now playing with a toy on the floor.

Cillian nodded, his gaze never leaving yours. "It really is," he agreed, reaching out to take your hand in his. "I'm sorry for everything that happened in the past. I never meant to hurt you or Mara."

You smiled softly at him, squeezing his hand reassuringly. "I know that. And I forgive you," you told him sincerely. "But I want to make one thing clear Cillian. I won't ever forget being hurt like this, and if you slip up again, I won't hesitate to leave and find someone who can treat me right. I won't put up with dishonesty or infidelity."

Cillian nodded, understanding the seriousness and determination in your tone. "Y/N, I would never do this again. I promise," Cillian added, looking into your eyes so deeply that you could see the sincerity and regret etched across his face.

You looked into his eyes, searching for any sign that he might be lying, but you saw none. Cillian had always had a way of convincing you with just his eyes, and now as he held your hand tightly, you felt a warm wave of emotions wash over you.

"Good," you eventually nodded, feeling reassured. "Let's eat then," you then suggested as you felt your stomach rumble, realizing that you had not eaten anything since breakfast. Cillian nodded, and he watched as you got up from the sofa and walked over to the kitchen.