All Chapters of The Devil's Wedding Ring : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

"I could help you," Cillian said, his voice a low, steady hum that seemed to vibrate through the very marrow of my bones. "That’s why I actually showed up, anyway."I looked at him, my eyes stinging from the salt of my own tears and the harsh, sterile light of his kitchen. I felt like a bird trapped in a high-velocity wind, and he was the only solid branch in sight. But branches had thorns. "So all you do is save people? Is that what your job is?"Cillian leaned back against the marble island, the sleeves of his white shirt rolled up to reveal forearms that looked like they were corded with steel. "Well, yeah. But not in this manner. I buy companies that are failing. I help companies that are about to fail... or I help fail companies."A cold spike of suspicion pierced through my grief. "So, are you saying you will help my dad’s company?"The question hung in the air, heavy and jagged. It was the only thing that made sense. How could a man like Arthur St. Claire, a man who calculated

The shove against my chest knocked the air from my lungs. The sudden intrusion sent a jolt of panic through me, sharp and unrelenting. My fingers scraped against the sleeve of my dress, grasping for something solid, but there was only the press of bodies and the swirl of cameras, flashes burning against my skin.The voice was close, too close, harsh and unyielding. “Answer me! Why did Jaxson look sad when he arrived at the airport? Something transpired between the two of you, right? Did you send him to his death?”I froze. My knees threatened to buckle, but I didn’t even have the presence of mind to bend them. My body trembled, every instinct screaming to run, to hide, to disappear. My throat constricted. Words lodged somewhere deep and unreachable. Panic clawed through me, a living thing, and I couldn’t do anything.“Move!” a voice barked behind me, rough and commanding. Suddenly, strong hands surged into the space, forcing the assailant back. The body pressed against mine loosened.

Cillian’s eyes collided with mine across the table, sharp, precise, unreadable. Then, almost imperceptibly, his gaze flicked toward Sarah before he shook his head. “Nothing,” he said, his voice smooth and even, but carrying the weight of authority. “I’m Cillian, your friend’s husband. We are going to be married for two years or until your friend finds it convenient to leave me.” “Why are you marrying her?” Sarah asked finally, “You suddenly found a damsel in distress to marry?” Cillian leaned back in his chair, the lines of his jaw taut but relaxed, the way he always carried himself like a man who measured every second of his life. “Well,” he said slowly, almost lazily, “apart from her being a damsel in distress, which, frankly, adds to the intrigue, the calibre of people I manage and the enterprises I oversee… it is essential for someone like your friend to be at my side. Constantly, to strengthen my legacy and to prepare for ownership of t

  "Uh..." I started, the sound dying in my throat as I swallowed hard. He was still standing there, closing the distance between us until the air felt charged with the kind of static that precedes a lightning strike. "You seem not to have thought about it," he said, his voice dropping to a low, melodic hum. "Guess that didn't work then." He leaned in again, and my heart skipped a beat, a frantic staccato against my ribs. Just as I thought he was going to claim my lips again, his hands came around the small of my back, pulling me firmly against the solid heat of his body. He held me there for a second, long enough for me to feel the steady, powerful rhythm of his own heart before he pulled back just enough to look into my eyes. "I will take it slow," he promised, his gaze intense and unyielding. "Until you have another person in the center of your skull." I swallowed again, m

"You don't kill people with wishes, Cillian," I whispered, my fingers twitching under his touch. "If that were true, half of Hollywood would be a graveyard by now. People die because of bad luck, or bad choices, or..." I trailed off, the image of the fireball in the sky flickering behind my eyes. "Or because the universe is just cruel." I can't believe I'm the one giving this advice right now. If wishes didn't kill anyone, then does it mean I hadn't... No, I cursed Jaxson. I cursed him to go and never come back to me unless he was dead.  Cillian's different. He just wished he was the man standing next to me and that was it. I smiled watching him.  Cillian’s grip on my hand tightened, his thumb tracing the bone of my wrist with a feverish rhythm. "You don't understand the weight of a shadow, Valerie. I grew up in one. I learned to want things from the darkness, to covet what belonged to the 'rightful' heir