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The situation is like covering someone’s job for a fixed period and hoping the company will keep you even though you knew they were going to get rid of you at the end of the term.
Why would I think that this would be any different?
Jessica might be a vindictive bitch, but there was nothing she said to me that wasn’t true.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Cillian
Jessica strikes again. This time, she hit way below the belt, then rounded off her attack with an arrow to the heart.
When Seamus reported back that he’d spoken to the Gallaghers and removed them from the roll of investors, I expected backlash from them and Jessica.
The Gallaghers came to their senses and tried to reason with Seamus because they didn’t think I’d react the way I did. Jessica, on the other hand, is a different breed of balls and wretchedness. She saw Chloe and me sitting here and decided to serve up the best recipe to fuck with me.
When I look back at my wife and see the troubled look on her face, I know the message Jessica delivered was definitely received.
She stirred the shit in all the right ways so it would hit the fan and cover me.
Chloe is watching Jessica make her exit. Feeling my eyes on her, she switches her gaze slowly to me, and the pain in her eyes hits hard. I hate that it is there because of me.
I feel worse when she reaches for her little purse and slips it over her shoulder.
“I think… I’m going to stay at my mom’s place for a while.” She stares at the table as she speaks then lifts her eyes to meet mine.
“What? Chloe, why would you do that?”
She pulls in a little breath and looks like she’s trying to keep herself composed. “Let’s not get into that. Especially here.”
She glances at the people at the nearby table who are looking our way. I didn’t even notice we had an audience. And I don’t care.
“Chloe. We need to talk.”
“No.” She gets up and walks past me, following the trail Jessica left.
I follow her and wait until we reach the foyer before I grab her arm and pull her back to me. The only people out here are the concierge at the door and my guards Liam and Ben, but they’re out of earshot.
“Cillian, let me go.” She tries to wrench her arm free of my grasp, but I tighten my grip. “I don’t want to talk here. Or at all.”
“Just come home with me.”
“No. I want to go to my mom’s. I’ll take a taxi.”
“Like fuck. I’m not allowing you to take a taxi. Come home with me.”
“I don’t want to.” Her tone rises, her eyes blaze, and her face hardens. It’s the first time I’ve ever truly seen her angry.
“Jessica said some hurtful things.”
“But she was right. Everything she said was right. She doesn’t need to know about our arrangement to be right. She figured it out, and the stupid thing about it is I shouldn’t even be angry or disappointed. I knew what I was getting into.”
That doesn’t mean she shouldn’t feel either of those two emotions. Both are valid and completely understandable.
“Chloe, I don’t want you to be upset.”
“But I am, and that’s why I don’t want to talk about it. I can’t force you to feel something you don’t feel.”
“You know I love you.” I can’t begin to describe how hard it is for me to say those words. I said them the other day because they were screaming in my soul to come out.
