05 My driver took me through the secured routes back to my family's compound . Cillian and I met at St. Catherine's Academy - the private school where mob families sent their children . He was the O'Sullivan heir ; I was the Brennan princess . He was serious , focused on learning the business . I was wild , testing every boundary . My parents had me board at school for my protection . Too many enemies would love to take Vincent Brennan's daughter . I hated the cafeteria food and made Cillian bring me breakfast from outside . He'd complain but always came through . Three years of that routine . We chose the same college - not discussing it , just knowing . In that sea of civilians who didn't understand our world , we gravitated together . I brought him every problem . He solved them all without complaint . My mother warned me about depending too much on one person . " It makes you weak , Saoirse . " I'd laughed and told Cillian . He'd set down what he was working on and said , " You think I'm soft ? If I didn't want you , Saoirse , you'd know it . " His feelings were never hidden . I'd known from the start . So I'd taken everything he offered without shame . T After we made it official , he stopped hiding his devotion . With him around , I never had to handle anything myself . My mother said the hardest thing I'd ever done was show up to family meetings . But she was wrong . The hardest thing was discovering the man I loved had married another woman . And I was the last to know . الأنصاحة