Chapter 12

Bellatrix, completely unaware of the storm brewing within Cillian or the fact that he was watching her with a darkened gaze, allowed Damien to help her out of the car. The moment her eyes landed on the reporters, her first instinct was to look away. She wasn't particularly a fan of large crowds and more importantly, she had a phobia for flashing lights. During the times she accompanied Cillian to other events as his assistant, she had only endured it because it was him. But now, she couldn't help but shrink back a bit. Perhaps coming here wasn't the brightest idea. "Is everything okay?" Amidst the shutters of the camera, Bellatrix heard Damien ask. Due to the height difference, he had leaned down a bit, his lips mere inches from her ear, his voice low and soothing. Much like how they had done with Cillian, the reporter's exploded, snapping pictures like hungry dogs. Bellatrix frowned at this and her hold on her clutch tightened. But she forced herself to seem unaffected. "Ah, yeah, it's just...I don't like being photographed." She responded as normally as possible. However, Damien had caught a second of vulnerability. He stared at her for a few seconds, eyes searching her face, then suddenly, he smiled, soft, teasing and most of all, genuine. "Don't worry, you'll be fine." He assured her. "These reporter are only trying to get a scoop of the hottest cake. After all, you look so stunning that they can't take their eyes off of you. Of course, I'm also just as intriguing." Hearing this, the slight discomfort that had settled over her was replaced by a soft laugh, earning yet another smile from Damien. "Come on, let's head in. The flashes would be less in there." He said and after getting a nod from Bellatrix, the two of them made their way in. As they walked, all sorts of whispers floated around, but none of them mattered to Bellatrix. Her mind, at current, was fixed on one thing, the one thing she had thought about until stepping out of the car. That was, how would Cillian react when he saw her? He didn't know that she was going to be here, so if he saw her, with Damien nonetheless, would he be angry? Would he ignore her? Would he even care? Just thinking about it made a knot form in her throat and a heavy sigh escaped her lips before she could stop it. Suddenly, she felt a pair of long fingers wrap themselves around her upper arm. Before she could even glance over at who it was, she was yanked backwards and immediately, her eyes met Cillian's familiar dark ones. For a second, it felt like she had forgotten how to breath. Only when she felt his fingers tighten around her arm, did she grimace, sucking air in, in the process. "Cillian," she began, but was cut short when he tightened his grip on her more. "What the hell are you doing here?" Cillian questioned, his voice rough and cold. Hearing this, the slightest hint of pain rose within Bellatrix. But she dismissed it and forced herself to look him dead in the eye as she responded. "I was invited," she said, her voice matching his. "Invited?" Cillian parroted and as if on cue, Damien appeared by his side, seizing his wrist and prying his hand off Bellatrix's arm and moving her behind. "There's no need to manhandle a lady like that, Mr. Laurent," He scolded in his ever casual tone, but something in his eyes didn't quite fit that tone. Seeing this, or rather, seeing Damien in general, Cillian's expression darkened and his eyes narrowed into a sharp glare. "You again," He spat, taking an intimidating step closer. Although Damien was tall, Cillian still managed to tower a solid inch above him. "I've heard an awful lot about your promiscuous personality, but tell me, do you enjoy messing around with married women?" Damien's brows shot up in amusement at this. "That's one hell of an accusations to throw around, Mr. Laurent. But then again, aren't you doing the exact same thing," His eyes immediately fell on Regina who stood close by. His gaze lingered and under the unfamiliar stare, Regina suddenly felt uncomfortable. When Damien saw her squirming slightly, he scoffed and turned his attention back to Cillian, asking, "Who are you to judge me?" "And who are you to speak to me in such a manner?" Cillian snapped back. Quickly, Damien held his hands up, feigning surrender. "Please Mr. Laurent, don't be offended by my shallow words. I was simply just pointing out the fact that it's not good to be a hypocrite when you're doing the very thing you're preaching about." "Except," leaning in closer, he said in a whisper, for Cillian's ears only. "You want to deny having a wife. If you don't want her, I'll happily take her." Taking another step closer, Cillian equally lowered his voice as he said. "Whether I want her or not, that's my business. And I'd advice you mind yours, before I make you regret not doing so." He sneered, however, Damien seemed unfazed by his words and even chuckled. "Oh wow, such a scary threat. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have feelings for her." "Feelings for who?" Cillian snapped. "Do you think someone as shallow and vulgar as her can evoke even a drop of affection from me? Dream on! I can never love a woman who spreads her legs like a common whore at the slightest attention from a man." Those words...now those words were said a little to loud. Loud enough Bellatrix, who had been standing a little distance behind Damien, to hear. Her breath hitched the moment the words registered and her heart plummeted against her own will. That was what Cillian truly thought of her, a common whore? Was that why he thought she’d be an easy use for a substitute, yesterday? As her hands balled into fists, her vision became blurry. But Bellatrix willed the tears away, biting hard on her lips as she remained there. Cillian eye's, seconds after those words had been said, flickered in her direction as if suddenly remembering she was here. Seeing her stare at him with a complex expression, Cillian felt an inexplicable feeling wash over him. But he did not feel the need to take back what he had just said. After all, he was right. Even now, she was here, proving that those words were true. Just because Damien had given her attention, she accompanied him here, without a care what others would say. The more he thought about it, the more his blood boiled. Damien however, simply shook his head with a sigh. "You really should learn how to speak well in the future, Mr. Laurent, perhaps then–" Before he could even finish his sentence, Cillian closed the distance between them and grabbed his collar. The very next second, his hand was in the air, but before it could make contact with Damien's jaw, he felt a small hand grab his wrist. Snapping his head in its direction, he was met with Bellatrix's gaze and she shook her head. This further angered Cillian. How dare she stop him from teaching this rascal a lesson. How dare she openly take his side in front of him. "Let go," He hissed, attempting to pull his hand free. However, Bellatrix held her ground and tightened her grip. "Don't do this, Mr. Laurent," She began, keeping her tone as professional as possible. "You're in a public place and your company's anniversary is today, hitting someone will only create a bad impression. Please behave." She said this, not as a worried wife, but as a secretary advising him. However, her words had the opposite effect on Cillian. "Behave? Me behave?" He questioned, his voice low and dark, his gaze filled with anger. "Has it now gotten to that point? Where you speak to me in this manner, because of this man? Fine then, let's see, if I beat him to a pulp, who'd dare open their mouths and question my actions. Now, let go." With that, he tried to shake her hand off, but Bellatrix refused, gripping his wrist tighter. This only further angered him and before Cillian knew it, he exploded. "I said let go!" Without one violent shrug, he sent Bellatrix stumbling backwards and unlike the previous times, she wasn't able to regain her balance. In the blink of an eye, she crashed into the pyramid of champagne glasses and its entire content came raining down on her!