Chapter 6

I didn't pull away.

I let her hold my chin and looked straight into her eyes.

I saw my own face reflected in her pupils. Calm. Even faintly amused.

"You tell me," I said.

Ciara's fingers tightened slightly.

Her throat bobbed, as if she wanted to say something but swallowed it back.

She stared into my eyes, searching for an answer. Panic, guilt, anything she recognized.

But she found nothing.

I was just smiling.

In the end, she let go, frustrated, and demanded, "Aren't you getting a little too close to your own spokesperson?

"Lately you've been seeing her more than you see me, haven't you?"

I found it laughable, and the words came out before I thought about them. "I'm busy. Can you stop imagining things?"

The moment I said it, I almost laughed.

I'd just brushed her off with the exact line she used to brush me off.

I waited for her reaction. I was almost hoping she'd recognize the lie and call me out on it.

But Ciara actually believed me.

Watching her turn and walk away, I suddenly found it darkly funny. 'Did she trust me too much, or just not care enough?'

That night, when I went to see Vivian, I got straight to the point. "Tomorrow I'm taking you to meet a big-name director. He's got a film that would be perfect for you."

Vivian looked at me lazily. "You really are the model sugar daddy."

We held each other's gaze for a moment.

I gave a faint smile. "Isn't that a good thing?"

Vivian smiled back and let it drop.

After a while, she asked, casually, "I've got a vacation coming up next week. Still need someone to come with me."

I caught the hint in her words, but I didn't take the bait.

Instead I said, "Have fun, then."

The smile on Vivian's face dimmed for a second, then went back to normal.

A few days later, I went to the hospital to visit a friend.

Passing by the OB-GYN wing, I heard a voice I knew. "Ciara, do you really not want this baby?"

My steps stopped. I turned to look, and there they were.

Neil was clutching Ciara's sleeve with one hand.

Ciara had her back to me, but every word she said carried clearly to my ears. "It has to be aborted. This is just a sugar arrangement. I'll give you whatever you want, but not a child."

Neil looked stunned. He begged her. "I thought you had feelings for me. You said you liked me."

Ciara cut him off, her tone without a trace of warmth. "How much do you want before you'll agree to let me have this baby aborted?"

Neil choked out, "I don't want money. I just want you. I've been with you since I was eighteen. You said you'd be good to me."

Eighteen.

I closed my eyes.

But I had known Ciara since I was eight.

We grew up together, went to school together, and got married.

I had spent nearly my entire life loving her, and twenty years of companionship couldn't measure up to some eighteen-year-old newcomer.

Down the hall, Neil's voice grew even more pitiful. "Is it because of Sean? He doesn't love you the way I do. I'm the one who's been by your side all this time."

"Enough," Ciara cut him off again, irritation flickering across her face.

But Neil grabbed her hand and pressed it against her stomach, sobbing. "I just want a child that shares your blood. Feel it. He's your baby."

Ciara's hand froze.

Neil's crying grew more pitiful.

After a moment of silence, I heard Ciara speak.

Ciara said, "Fine. In a while I'll send you to Havenport. We both need to cool off."

Neil immediately threw his arms around her, laughing through his tears. "I knew you couldn't give up on me and the baby."

This time, Ciara didn't push him away. She hugged him back, softly.

I just stood there, unmoving, watching the whole thing.

The blood in my body slowly went cold.

Something inside me quietly died.

The lights in the hallway were a blinding white, so bright my eyes almost teared up again.

Ciara stepped out of the exam room and turned around.

She froze on the spot.

I was standing right behind her. I didn't know how long I'd been watching.