Chapter 7

Before Bellatrix could react, she felt herself being ripped out of Damien's arms and shortly after, her back slammed into a familiar chest. Although she couldn't see his face, she knew who the body belonged to, after all, jf was the body she had dreamt of night after night and the voice that followed shortly after, edged with a venomous calm, was a testament of that. "What the hell is going on here?" Cillian repeated, his voice lower, harsher. Bellatrix didn't need to look back to know he was glaring at Damien. Instead, she focused on getting out of his hold. However, just as she took a step back, Cillian grabbed her wrist, pulling her back to his side. "You," His eyes bore into her, flickering between the lines of silent anger and possession, while his grip tightened. "Stay." Stay? Was he treating her like some kind of obedient dog? Bellatrix felt a spark of anger and her eyes narrowed into a weak glare. However, before she could do anything, Cillian turned his attention back to Damien. "Last I checked Mr. Walker," He began, his voice seething low. "The only business between you both is a contract finalization. So tell me why the hell, you'd spend the night together." "Why we'd spend the night together?" Damien parroted, giving a simple shrug despite the glare aimed his way. "Perhaps," He began, pausing as he leaned against his car, a sly smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. "Because your wife enjoyed my presence so much that we both lost track of time." Cillian's eyes twitched at the insinuating of Damien's words and Bellatrix winced a bit when his hold tightened, but he paid no mind to her. His full attention or rather, his full glare, was aimed solely at Damien. "What?" Damien questioned. "Did I say something wrong? I mean, it's not my fault that she's bored of you. Perhaps you should consider focusing on your wife instead of being so indecisive. Maybe then your body would be stronger—and your wife would be satisfied.” "You..." Cillian began, the veins at the side of his neck bulging with every passing second, and his hand tightened even more around Bellatrix's wrist, the grip verging on pain. Then, he laughed. It sounded short and clipped, and most of all, fed up. "You're a real piece of work, aren't you?" He said, the amusement in his voice forced, yet laced with the unmistakable edge of his irritation. "It's no wonder why Alve Enterprise keeps getting into all sorts of trouble.” The amusement drained from Damien's face, and his smirk flattered. Without giving him time to recover, Cillian added. "Leave. I'm not longer interested in cooperating with a problematic company such as yours. Just get out before I lose my and make you end up regretting your entire existence." "You..." Now returning his glare, Damien took a step forward. However, before he could reach him, Bellatrix suddenly stepped in front of Cillian, her eyes narrowed and her lips set into a thin line as she stared at Damien. "Enough." She said, "I don't care what your problems are, just take your fight somewhere else. I've got a damn headache right now and watching two grown men fight like babies isn't making it any better. But, if it fills any of your egos, I'll consider cheering on you from the sidelines when the time comes. Now, behave." The silence that followed was deafening. Both men stared at her, Damien stunned by the sudden display and Cillian, well, as usual, His expression was unreadable, but the way his eyes bore into her almost made Bellatrix regret her choice to speak up. Almost. After a while, Damien was the first to speak, "Glad to see you're still in high spirits." He said, flashing her a brief smile. "I'll get out of your hair while it's still good." With that, he turned and returned to his car. He climbed in and started the engine, however, before he drove off, he rolled down his window and called out. "Bella, I'll see you around." And with that, he drove off, but his words and the way had called Bellatrix lingered, making Cillian's jaw tick. Without giving her a chance to protest or even speak, he turned around and before Bellatrix knew it, she was being pulled along, the strength in his grip nearly making her stumble over her own feet. "Wait…Let go, Cillian." She demanded, trying to yank her arm away, but his hold was like iron and the way he was walking made it difficult to catch up to his pace. "Cillian, I said—" She was in the middle of her sentence when Cillian suddenly shoved her inside their house. She stumbled a bit, but thankfully, regained her balance before she could fall. In a split second, she whipped around to face Cillian, glaring. "You..." She began, but just as she was about to say more, Cillian spoke up. "Tell me, did you really sleep with that bastard?" He questioned, stalking towards her with a predatory stride, his gaze darkening and the corners of his mouth twisting down into a grimace. Bellatrix was momentarily shocked by his words. However, the moment she recovered, she retorted. "So what if I did? Isn't that what you wanted?" Reaching into her hand bag, she pulled out the brown envelope containing the contract, shoving it in his direction. "I've kept to my own end of the bargain, now keep to yours. Make the payment." Cillian stared at the document for a second, then, without an ounce of hesitation, he smacked it out of her hands, rendering Bellatrix speechless. However, shortly after her shock slowly morphed into anger, but just as she turned to glare at him, a gasp escaped her lips when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into him, his grip tightening as she tried to pry his fingers off her. "Stop this. Let me go." She demanded, her voice as firm as possible. But Cillian didn't listen. His mind was consumed with the words Damien had said. They replayed in a haunting circle. The very next second, without warning, Bellatrix felt his lips crash down on hers, fierce and punishing. For a second, she stilled, unsure of how to process what was happening. The moment Cillian felt her struggle ease, he took that as a good opportunity and attempted to deepen the kiss. When Bellatrix felt his tongue poking about her mouth, her struggle resumed. Her hands found their way to his chest and began pushing desperately to put some distance between them. On the inside, her heart was pounding not just from resistance, but from something traitorous inside her that wanted this...that had always longed for this. Because despite everything, this was the first time Cillian had ever kissed her. And she hated that even in the slightest bit, she liked it. However, this was not the kiss she wanted. The kisses she wanted should have been filled with love and affection, not anger and possessiveness. That wasn't love and she didn't want that. "I said stop!" With all her strength, Bellatrix shoved him, the force did little to separate them and because of that, Cillian could easily grip her chin. "Stop?" He questioned, his gaze turning terrifying once more. "You want me to stop now? Why, because you've grown tired of me?" A smirk graced his lips, the very same ones that had kissed her hungrily just seconds ago. "Well news flash, Bella," his voice dropped with venom as he used the nickname. "No matter how you treated me now, I would not divorce you—not unless you die." His words were a direct punch to her heart and Bellatrix felt it become heavier than it already was. Suddenly, the sound of his phone interrupted the moment, cutting through the tensed air like an overly sharpened knife. Cillian didn't immediately go for his phone, he allowed his gaze to linger, almost as if he wanted to be sure that his words sank in. Then, as he pulled it out of his pocket, Bellatrix caught a glimpse of the person calling. Regina. The name pulsed on the screen like a brand searing into her soul. Cillian glanced at the screen and once again, his expression became unreadable. Without another word, he stepped away and stormed out of the room. As soon as the door slammed shut behind him, Bellatrix staggered back against the wall, her legs weak, breath ragged. She closed her eyes, and after what felt like forever, she let out a long, trembling sigh. How were things seemingly becoming more complicated?