Thomas returned shortly after, grinning from ear to ear like he'd just done something deserving of praise.Holding out his hand, he handed the tickets to Cillian and Damien, each of them snatched it off his hand, while Bellatrix frowned.She didn't like where this was going. She didn't joke one bit when she said Cillian was unstable, the bastard truly was and now, Damien was going up against him, she couldn't even imagine what sort of scene would break out.And she didn't want to risk it. Damien was an important part of this project, if anything goes wrong, she can practically kiss it goodbye and the small hold she'd gotten on her father's company."Damien," she stepped forward, catching him by the wrist. "It's not worth it, forget it." She shook her head.Damien chuckled softly, gently prying her hand off his wrist. "If it's something that you want, then it's definitely worth it. And besides, I can't back down from a challenge with Cillian, now ca
The ride towards the festival location finally came to an end after an hour and a half.As Thomas opened the door, Cillian was the first to step out. Bellatrix followed next, but just as she was about to hop off the car, a hand appeared in front of her.She stopped and blinked at the hand, brows drawing closer in confusion. Then, she glanced at the owner and like a switch flipped, her expression became neutral the moment her eyes landed on Cillian."I can handle myself just fine," she said and shoved his hand away.That was the first word she'd said to him all morning, but contrary to how Cillian thought he'd feel when he finally heard her speak, it didn’t bring him relief—it felt like a slap laced with ice. Cold and detached.His hand hung awkwardly in the air for a moment before he slowly lowered it, the sting of her rejection settling heavier than it should have.She didn’t look at him again as she climbed out of the car
Back at the resort, Sarah's phone beeped beside her.Placing the magazine she was reading down, she reached for the device and accessed the text message.[Proceed as we discussed.]The simple message from Regina read.Looking at it, Sarah felt somewhat disappointed. She'd truly hoped that their first plan would have worked, that way, Bellatrix would be gone for good.But oh well, it seems like that wasn't going to be possible. And as much as she wanted Bellatrix to completely disappear, they couldn't risk being found out.Pushing the disappointment to the back of her mind, Sarah stood up, a smile slowly dancing along her lips.But still, that didn't mean Bellatrix was safe.She'd just escaped the easier fate for her and unfortunately, taken the road down the hellish path.After tonight, she'll never be able to show her face again.Looking down at her phone, she quickly replied. [Understood.]Once the messag
Bellatrix arrived at the meeting point for the group meet up—the same restaurant where they'd had dinner yesterday.Thomas was already waiting for her at the entrance along with some of the other important employees that were required to be present for the meeting.He bowed as soon as he saw her."Mrs. Laur—Bellatrix," he greeted politely, eyes drifting behind her before he bowed again. "Mr. Laurent."Bellatrix didn't need to look over her shoulder, she heard Cillian's footsteps stop not too far away from her, his presence lingering like the heat of the sun you can never get used to."Did you happen to get your bruise treated yesterday?" Thomas asked.Bellatrix felt her lips twitch."I did." Cillian answered flatly. His eyes drifted in Bellatrix's direction, lingering on her for a few seconds before he looked around. "Is this everyone?""Ah, no, we're currently waiting for Miss Regina and–" Before he could fin
Bellatrix woke up to the faint sound of water coming from the bathroom.For the first minute or so, she didn't move. She stared at the ceiling, with only one thought going through her mind.Her night had been totally horrible.She tossed and turned most of it, Damien's words replaying in her mind like some overheard music that she could seem to turn off. By the time she felt exhausted, truly exhausted, the sky was already dancing with light.And if she was to accurately guess how long ago she'd fallen asleep...She glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand. The white numbers stared back at her; 8:39 AM.That was approximately 3 hours ago.She'd only gotten 3 hours of sleep.Great.Sighing, she pulled the duvet off her body and sat up, leg handing out of her bed. Her eyes travelled in the direction of the couch and she found it empty.No Cillian, just a blanket neatly folded.Her eyes drifted towards the bathroom, then after a few seconds, she looked away, sighing heavily and reac
While Bellatrix forced down her second scoop of food, Damien watched her, eyes narrowed and a flickering of amusement slithering across his expression.Clever, he thought, turning to face his own empty plate. Even though she's lied, she'd manipulated Regina using what she knew would hurt her the most.Recalling the look on Regina's face before she stormed off, he nodded, impressed.It worked like a lucky charm."You're not going to ask why I lied?" Bellatrix spoke softly, her voice cutting through the silence that had placed a veil down between the two of them.Damien glanced at her. Although she wasn't looking his way, he could tell that she was watching, observing and waiting for his answer.He shook his head. "No. Not unless you want me to."She finally met his gaze, staring at him for a few seconds before she looked back at her plate, the corners of her lips tugging upwards slightly."You're good at pretending."He gave a shrug. "When you live in a society like ours, it's a skill