บททั้งหมดของ The Devil's Wedding Ring : บทที่ 81 - บทที่ 90

His voice loud enough for me to hear. He turned to me, his eyes dark and warning. "I mean it, Valerie. No drama. No scenes. Buy your toys and come home."I climbed into the back of the SUV, Jane sliding in beside me. As the gates of the Vance estate groaned open, my heart began to pound against my ribs. I looked at Jane, her face unreadable behind her own glasses.We were out.The cit blurred past the tinted windows, a vibrant, chaotic world that I hadn't touched in months. The sun was hot, the air thick with the smell of exhaust and street food, and for a moment, I felt a dizzying sense of freedom. But then I looked in the rearview mirror and saw the two SUVs trailing us, filled with Cillian’s killers instead of bodyguards."We're going to the boutique on the island," Jane whispered, leaning in close so the driver wouldn't hear. "The one with the back entrance through the tailor's shop. Sterling knows."I nodded, clutching my handbag. Inside was the phone, the screen dark but ready.

My heart seized, skipping a beat before slamming against my ribs with a violence that made me lightheaded. I tried to speak, but my throat was a desert, my vocal cords constricted by a primal terror."You think I let you go shopping for the baby without my eyes being on you?" he continued, his tone conversational, as if we were discussing the weather rather than the imminent execution of someone who has become more than a nurse to me, "You think I’m that careless?"The lead guard, the one with the scar, stood behind Cillian, his face a mask of shame and fury. He had clearly been reprimanded for the slip-up, and I knew he would be looking for blood to redeem himself."Cillian, please," I finally managed, my voice cracking. "Lower the gun. You're making a scene. People are watching.""The doors are locked, Valerie. The cameras are on a loop. No one is watching except for me," he said, his thumb brushing the hammer of the weapon. "And I have no intention of lowering the gun. I have ever

"What?" The world didn't just stop...it fractured. The sounds of the city, the shutter clicks, the low hum of the wind, all bled into a high-pitched ring that vibrated in my skull. I stared at him, my hands still bunched in his coat, my knuckles trembling."Sarah?" I whispered, the name tasting like ash. "You... you were in love Sarah?"Cillian didn't flinch. He didn’t even look ashamed. He looked at me with a clinical sort of pity, the way a scientist might look at a dying specimen under a microscope. He reached up and slowly, deliberately, uncurled my fingers from his lapels."Why are you so shocked?" he asked, his voice smooth, devoid of any jagged edges of guilt. He smoothed the fabric of his lapel where I had wrinkled it, his movements precise and insulting. "Do you still have some leftover feelings for me, Valerie? Some lingering hope that this was all leading to a grand romance?"He let out a short, dry sound that might have been a laugh if there were any humor in it."There's

"Sure," Jane said, her voice a fragile anchor in the quiet room. "I will make sure to find her for you."She slipped out, and I was alone again with the sunlight and the crushing weight of my own thoughts. I exhaled, a long, shaky breath that felt like it was carrying the last of my composure with it. I looked at my reflection in the vanity mirror across the room, I looked like a ghost haunting my own skin.I stood up, my legs feeling like lead, and walked toward the wardrobe. I was reaching for the handle of the closet when my phone began to vibrate on the nightstand. The screen lit up with a name that made my pulse spike: Sterling.I watched it ring. I didn't reach for it. Cillian’s words from the street were hovering in my head like slow-acting poison. “You trust too easily... Imagine what a man like Sterling will do with you now that you've given him everything he needs.”I swallowed hard, watching the call time out only for it to start buzzing again immediately. Then, a message n

"Where is she?" I asked slowly taking a deep breath, "Is she in the country?"She nodded her head, lowering her voice, "She's in the country, at Cillian's old house." "Old house?" Panic began to settle into me. "Why? What is she doing there? Is she locked up? Did something happen?" Jane's hand reached out to grab mine, "I clearly told you this before even though you didn't believe me. I don't want you to, I seriously want you to question everything around you.""What are you insinuating?" "I told you about Sarah but you didn't...""Don't move there, that's not what I asked you to do. You don't get to badmouth Sarah or say ill things about her." Jane swallowed, "Alright.""Did you happen to find out if she's locked up, if she's okay, does she need help?" "She doesn't need help. She's living fine.""Fine? How?" "Did it ever occur to you that Sarah betrayed you? That Sarah maybe working with Cillian?" "You don't get to say that Jane!! Don't make me walk you out of this room! There