Chapter 111

There are various ways people respond to betrayal. Cillian had heard of the stories: how people allow it to control their life, leaving a lifelong impression that shapes and breaks their relationships. Many fall into that circle and very few manage to escape from it. Right now, standing in the silence that had settled after Bellatrix had walked out, Cillian wasn't quite sure where he stood in the two. Perhaps he stood on the center line of both, because all he could feel was nothing. He was numb, numb in his heart, but the voice in his head was as loud as ever, meting out the punishment of his stupidity in the form of brutal words that would not have dented his pride in the past, but now, cut deeper than a dagger. Behind him, Regina stood, nervously playing with the tip of her fingers as her eyes darted around his face, trying to catch a glimpse of what he was thinking. She couldn't and that only intensified the amount of panic she was feeling. "Cillian," her voice rolled out in a desp