3

Since Rian didn't seem to mind that I would drink to myself back here, I took the bottle of sparkling wine again, drank several sips from it and then sat down on the nice, warm lawn to stroke Nero's black fur and to stretch my face towards the sun, which was nice and warm and tingled on my skin.

A thousand thoughts raced through my mind as I kept hearing laughter and loud voices from across the villa. The clearest thought was that at first it felt really heroic to do something so selfless for someone you love. But now, here alone on the meadow, I really realized what I had actually done with my life.

After all, this was my wedding and nobody even seemed to care who I am or where I am...

Maybe I could just disappear and no one would notice...

Again, frustrated by all this, I reached for the bottle, but suddenly Nero, who was resting his head on my lap, nudged my arm lightly, so that I stared at him in amazement.

"You're right," I rolled my eyes, breathing heavily, and put the bottle back in the meadow next to me.

The next few years would surely be difficult enough. Far worse than today and if I were already addicted to alcohol, then it would certainly accompany me the whole time and I didn't want that...

I dropped onto the lawn, stared up at the cloudless sky and then closed my eyes after a while until Nero suddenly sat up and I raised my upper body, curious about his behavior.

"Your things are here. We're leaving now."

It wasn't Rian, but his huge brother, who purposefully came running towards me.

"Where is he?" I then asked confused and braced myself with my hands in the grass to get awkwardly back on my feet.

"Already driven. I'll take you with me."

My jaw dropped in disbelief at his words. It didn't surprise me that he certainly wasn't interested in me at all, but at least he could have let me know that he wasn't taking me with him. What a great wedding where the husband just bolts!

Without saying anything to the giant, I walked past him and through some remaining party guests until I arrived in the large entrance hall, where I immediately raised my head again to admire the mighty chandelier...

"What are you dawdling around for?" the guy made a fool of me and I exhaled annoyed, crossing my arms to look at him questioningly.

"What's your name, anyway?" I asked him, not even answering his previous question.

"Odran", it came coldly from him and he already opened the front door to make it clear to me with a gesture of his hand that I should run ahead.

I glanced down at Nero, who was sitting quietly at my feet, and then ran with him, head held high, past Odran, where my eyes immediately fell on the many sports cars.

Odran ran past me to a red speedster, but before I could follow, I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder and winced slightly from the touch.

"You must be Keeva, welcome to the family," the guy said and pulled me tightly into his arms, where the smell of strong alcohol and perfume immediately hit me. "I am Senan."

He broke away from me again and then crouched down smiling to greet Nero in a friendly way. His dark brown hair fell slightly in his face. His outfit, which consisted of a black tank top and light-colored jeans, didn't fit at all for a wedding and even so, he didn't fit with the other suit wearers here.

He had black tattoos all over his neck, reaching down his arms to his hands. I'd spotted Rian's too, but this guy also had lip and eyebrow piercings.

He must have been wrong about the villa.

"Senan!", the giant shouted from the car and immediately the brown-haired man in front of me got up again to give me a fleeting wink before turning to Odran. "Leave your brother's wife alone and see that the guests leave slowly. We have to hand over the villa tomorrow."

My eyes fell on Senan again... So he was also a brother of Rian. While you'd expect Odran to have black hair and a brown suit, Senan didn't look like a mafia at all. More like a go-getter who would like to cause trouble.

"You know what! You can serve the fucking victims here yourself! I'll drive Keeva," Senan grinned and then squeezed the car key in his hand and a white Mercedes blinked up right in front of us.

Odran came back to us angrily, standing right in front of his brother. "Oh yeah? I don't think Rian would approve of that if you were near her!" the giant growled, but Senan didn't seem to have any fear or respect for him.

"He can't care, after all he drove around having fun with one blonde, so I don't think he cares. You probably didn't notice the Doberman. How do you think they're supposed to fit in your narrow Porsche?"

What kind of blonde?

The two continued arguing right in front of me, but I stopped listening. While I didn't give a damn about what Rian had with whom, it was still hurtful. I too had my pride, even though I didn't have much money or reputation...

Feeling that Rian apparently didn't want Senan to drive me, I smiled at Odran and linked my arm with the brown-haired man next to me.

"You can tell Rian that Senan will drive me if he is even able to answer his cell phone," I said with a grin and then ran to the Mercedes together with Senan, while Odran remained completely perplexed.

"I already like you," he whispered, holding the car door open for me to fall into the black leather.

Finally, Nero hopped onto the back seat and off we went..

I couldn't help but give a last triumphant wave in the direction of Odran. He looked just too adorable with his stunned look!

***

While soft rock music echoed through the car, the sun was slowly setting and the wind blew through my hair through the open window, I kept glancing at Senan, who, in contrast to me, seemed really deeply relaxed. He nonchalantly steered the car with one hand while holding a cigarette in the other. The smell bothered me a little, but it was his car, so I could hardly forbid him to do it. A quick glance back at Nero told me he didn't like the smell either, because he had his head stuck out of the open window.

I didn't want to break the silence between us, and I didn't know why he insisted on driving me, but I couldn't bear to drive in silence through this unfamiliar area anymore.

"Why wouldn't Rian like it if I was near you?" I asked him and watched him curiously as he grinned and played with his lip piercing.

"Because he doesn't think much of me," he said, amused, and I immediately took a closer look at his face.

Unlike Odran, Senan didn't have a single scar. Either Senan was lying to me, or Rian disliked Odran even less.

When Senan suddenly looked over at me and our eyes met for a second, I turned away shyly and nervously played with the ends of my brown hair.

"I'm just his half-brother. In the end, they both don't think much of me and I'm just tolerated as the bastard of the Gallagher family," he then added, and that made me realize why he didn't look like them at all his brown hair and dark eyes.

His gaze met mine again and I suddenly saw sadness in his eyes. Sure he wanted to be accepted and accepted, but I could only imagine how they treated him. Had experienced it first hand today how Rian dumped me, even though we had just got married.

"Who wants to be one of them?" I smiled to cheer him up and he immediately showed his playful grin again.

We didn't talk much for the rest of the drive, except for trivial stuff. For example I found out that he could tattoo and pierce himself and I told him that I was passionate about drawing and had a keen interest in filming fantasy which only made him chuckle stupidly.

Excellent! I already knew more about him than about my husband. What absurd shit...

Then, after reading a sign saying 'Portmarnock', I remembered being here before.

This place was no more than 25km from Dublin and was known for its oh-so-great golf club and lovely velvet beach which although beautiful never seemed to be busy.

"So here we are," Senan said, tearing me out of my thoughts.

Since it was already dark, I didn't see much except what the street lamps and the headlights of the car revealed to me... and that was enough to amaze me.

Here one house was more beautiful than the next and we stopped at the back of a multi-story mansion surrounded by a high fence.

There were two armed men standing in front of the big gate, who intimidated me just with their black attire and gloomy looks.

After briefly greeting Senan, the gate opened and we drove up a wide driveway bordered on one side by a carport where several cars were parked. In the darkness I couldn't take a closer look at any of them, but my eyes fell on the brightly lit front door, which was made of dark wood and went well with the white facade.

"Odran doesn't seem to be here yet," Senan murmured and then got out, which I did after a moment's hesitation.

"You seem to like it," I heard Senan then and looked over at him as he grinned at me and at the same time let Nero out of the car. Only now did I notice that my mouth was slightly open, which I immediately closed to roll my eyes slightly.

"As long as I'm in peace and can go home soon, it's just a longer vacation for me," I replied, still hoping that Rian would soon get into politics and would no longer be able to use me .

Nobody could have guessed that things would turn out differently...

"Let's hope so," he replied and then walked past me to the front door. "I'll show you everything first."

With Nero at my side, I slowly followed him and I was already standing through the front door in a large room. Rather, a huge room.

To the left were several indoor plants around a large leather couch, with a television in front of it. At first glance it seemed really cozy with the bright carpet.

The rest of the room featured dark hardwood floors, as did the open plan white kitchen that was to my right.

It was really modern furnished and from it you had the perfect view of everything down here. I was really looking forward to being able to cook properly, because in our caravan it was always pure chaos due to the lack of space and the interference of my sister.

Now she had the kitchen to herself...

I took a few steps to the kitchen island and watched Senan fill a bowl with water and give it to Nero. "Would you like something to drink?"

I was far too excited for that, so I shook my head no and made my way to the large dining table across from the kitchen, which had four chairs on each side.

That was all, because at the back there was only one staircase that probably led upstairs to the bedrooms.

"First impression?" Senan wanted to know and I didn't want to come off as if I were a poor girl who was totally blown away by all the wealth here.

"It's acceptable," I said unimpressed and remembered Rian evaluating me with the same words. A stupid grin formed on my lips, which shocked me and destroyed it immediately. Did just a fleeting thought of him make me smile???

"Acceptable?" Senan laughed, taking my hand to lead me to the window behind the dining table. He skilfully pushed one open and stepped out into the darkness with me.

He let go of me and stepped aside to flip a switch.

Immediately, several warm lights came on, giving me a view of a pool, the water made beautiful by the underwater lights.

"Okay, that's really impressive," I smiled, and padded forward a few steps to crouch. I let my hand wander through the cool water and meanwhile looked at Senan, who sat down next to me.

"Now close your eyes and listen carefully," he grinned, and I immediately felt uncomfortable. When men asked you to close your eyes, that never meant anything good. He was also so close to me that I swallowed hard and looked away from him, only to then close my eyes.

For a millisecond nothing happened at all. I just felt uncomfortable and kind of like I was in a dream until I heard exactly what he meant.

The soft lapping of the waves made me smile, and in complete surprise, I opened my eyes again and stood up to look straight ahead across the pool.

It was dark and yet I recognized the bright beach below.

Yes, that would be a really nice vacation...

"What are you doing here?!!"

Or not.