Burned Once, Never Again (Niamh and Castiel)

Chapter 18

The edge of the paper grazed Niamh's cheek and cut across her delicate skin. A thin line appeared on her fair face. Niamh closed her eyes, enduring the pain silently.

Castiel's body stiffened at the sight of this, and he instinctively wanted to step forward.

But in the next second, the frost returned to his eyes, and he forced himself to stop. His gaze was full of dismay as he stared at her.

Niamh opened her eyes.

As she looked into his chagrined eyes, the corners of her lips lifted up. Her smile, with the rain pattering down behind as a backdrop, seemed to carry even more melancholy than his disappointment in her. Niamh smiled without saying a word, and that smile pierced Castiel's heart.

""Why?" he asked.

But what he didn't know was that the moment he asked this question, Niamh was equally disappointed in him.

Niamh turned away and looked out the window.

She listened to the sound of raindrops hitting the maple leaves and the gentle flow of the stream. Once upon a time, she had loved everything here. She had always believed that this would be where she would spend the rest of her life-her final refuge. However, she was wrong. The man who said he trusted her a short while ago was now questioning her about half an hour later.

"What do you mean by 'why'?"

"Niamh!" Castiel's voice wavered.

As he looked at her petite frame and elegant appearance, it stirred in him an urge to hold her close. The veins on his forehead throbbed as a splitting headache took over.

"How could you do this? Do you realize you're ruining someone's life? Do you hate her that much?" Castiel questioned her disbelievingly.

The eyes and legs were of utmost importance for a person to lead a normal life.

Everyone in Greenburg who had worked with the Jamison family remarked that Castiel was a ruthless and unfeeling man. But at the moment, he felt that those words better described Niamh. She was even crueler than any of those things people had said about him. Castiel felt nothing but disillusionment as he stared at Niamh's delicate figure. She wasn't like this She wasn't supposed to be like this. He had thought she was kind and beautiful. So, how could she do something like this?

Niamh didn't turn around. She took a deep breath and said, "Are you sure it was me?"

"What more do you have to say?" With all the evidence laid out in front of him, how could she

Chanté 11!

have the audacity to ask if he was sure?

Did she seriously think that he would still believe her at this point? Those were Ironclad, infallible facts. How could he possibly believe her?

"I have nothing more to say. You can go ahead and call the police," Niamh said.

Castiel was stunned. The coldness in his eyes intensified upon hearing her words.

Did she ask him to call the police because she was sure he wouldn't take action against her?

"You've got some nerve!" Castiel spat and stormed out in anger.

Niamh stared out at the rain.

She watched as Castiel left the villa. He didn't even bother to put on a coat before driving off. As his car disappeared through the gates, the last trace of warmth in Niamh's eyes vanished completely. With Castiel gone, chaos started to break out in the Jamison family.

Niamh crouched down and picked up the scattered papers one by one. They contained records of transfers from the card Castiel had given her. All the transfers were made to her own account. But in reality, she hadn't used that card in a very long time. The money had been transferred in small sums dozens of times. None of the amount was large enough for someone like Castiel to take notice.

To make matters worse, Niamh had a habit of spending large sums when she went shopping. Hence, the transfers of 20 or 30 thousand dollars were too insignificant for Castiel to be alerted. Those who set out to frame her had been incredibly thorough. They had taken into account the timing and even grasped Castiel's inner thoughts perfectly.

Niamh laughed-it was a cold, eerie laugh.

At dinner, Niamh sat alone. Obviously, Castiel wouldn't be back for days.

Arnold asked in his usual formal tone, "Mrs. Jamison, the parcels are still coming. Are you sure you still don't want us to get rid of them?"

"Dispose of them." Niamh's voice was flat and devoid of emotion.

There was no point in keeping them anymore. All she had wanted was for Castiel to be aware of the situation, but the other party had orchestrated everything flawlessly.

Compared to Macy's legs and cornea, the online harassment against her was trivial. It highlighted the stark contrast in Castiel's reaction toward the two incidents. He hadn't taken Niamh's situation seriously. He might have even forgotten about it by now. In her previous life, Niamh had hastily ordered everything to be disposed of because she had been

too scared.

In this life, she could see that to Castiel, this was a minor matter that was so insignificant that it bore no impact. Chapter 18

Renee and Sienna arrived in Maplewood.

Soon after their arrival, a sharp slap landed on Niamh's face.