The Devil's Wedding Ring のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 71 - チャプター 80

I nodded, feeling the weight of the phone in my pocket. Once I was fully dressed and draped in the heavy coat, I felt a strange sense of resolve. I walked downstairs to find Cillian already waiting by the foyer. He was on a call, his voice sharp and impatient as he barked orders about a merger. He didn't acknowledge me with words, but his eyes tracked my movement from the stairs to the door.He ushered me into the back of the black SUV. The interior was plush and silent, the windows tinted so dark the world outside looked like a faded memory.As the car pulled away from the estate, Cillian remained on his call, even as he spoke about stocks and dividends, his hand dropped to my thigh. It wasn't a gentle touch, it was an act of possession. His fingers rubbed the fabric of my dress, raking over my skin in a slow, rhythmic motion that made me want to jump out of the moving vehicle. I twisted my body slightly, trying to pull away, but he only tightened his grip, his thumb pressing into m

He smirked, a cruel, knowing twist of his lips that made my skin prickle. "Bastard? I'm not the only one who is a bastard here," he whispered, his voice like silk rubbing against a raw wound. "But it seems like you have zero knowledge about yourself apart from the fact that you grew up as a St. Claire. You know nothing, Valerie. You know nothing apart from what you were told."I swallowed, confused...what is he talking about? He freed me and came around to look at me. "See? This is why I don't want to have a child like you," he sneered. "A child that knows nothing but trusts so blindly in everybody that tickles her fancy."My breath twitched, "That you're a bastard and have no sense of origin apart from coveting what belonged to other people doesn't mean everyone has the same trait as you." "Oh really?" He jabbed back, his eyes narrowing. "Ever asked your mother if you were the biological child of your father?""I don't need to ask," I snapped, though a cold shiver began to crawl do

"Val..." Jane called before I felt her palm, warm and steady, patting over my back as I emptied everything in my stomach into the bowl. "It's okay... how could you eat so much..." she murmured, but she didn't stop, rubbing my back gently in rhythmic circles until the spasms finally subsided and I felt a sudden, hollow calm in my stomach.I leaned back, my strength evaporated, and sat down on the cold bathroom floor. Jane reached over and pressed the flush, I watched the remnants of my defiance swirl away in a blur of water. "I think I need to heat up a bottle of milk for you," she said, looking down at my pale face. "It will soothe your upset stomach.""Thank you..." I whispered, curling up into myself right there on the tiles. I didn't budge. I stayed there, listening to the hum of the mansion, feeling the cold air of the room hit my damp skin.She hurried out and returned a few moments later, handing me a glass of warm milk. "Take this, you will feel better."I gobbled down the mil

My breath seized immediately. My mouth sealed at that spot almost immediately and he smiled seeing the effect of what he said had on me. It was a victory for him, a quiet confirmation that he still held the remote control to my emotions.That's so like him. That's the typical Cillian I'm getting used to, the man who doesn't just cut you; he finds the exact spot where you’re thinnest and presses his blade there."You're growing more brazen since I employed her as a nurse into this house," he said in a way that made the hair on my arms stand up. "You speak to me anyhow, you talk as you wish... she's going to leave this house. I don't tolerate interference in my home, Valerie, especially not from someone who encourages your delusions."My lips trembled immediately. My mind raced, stumbling over the implications. If Jane left, my eyes were gone. My ears were gone. The bridge I had built to the outside world, to Sterling, to my escape, would crumble before I could even set foot on it. What

"You need a nurse, all of a sudden? You want a new nurse?" He asked as if he couldn't believe his ears that I'm standing beside him to talk about a nurse that we dismissed from the conversation over an hour ago. "You heard me loud and clear, why are you making me repeat myself?" I fired back, my voice echoing off the high ceilings of the living room.Cillian’s eyes narrowed, his expensive fountain pen pausing over a legal document. The group of men around him sat in a silence so thick it was suffocating. "You want to fire the woman you just threatened to kill yourself over an hour ago?" Cillian asked, his voice dropping into that dangerously smooth register that always felt like a velvet noose. "Make up your mind, Valerie. It’s becoming hard to keep up with your erratic whims.""I didn't say I want her out of the house, I just simply need a new nurse." I corrected it. "Who told you I want her out, I just need a new nurse." "A new nurse? Why? At least, I need a reason for a sudden c