Deirdre remembered. She remembered all of them, and now she returned every single insult he had hurled at her back at him. Brendan had never, in his life, felt more stung by karma. All of the sh*tty things he had said in the past came back to stab him in his chest, drawing blood. He opened his mouth. “I…”Nothing remotely good came out. In the end, he clenched his hands and ended pathetically, “If that’s what you think, so be it.”Explaining himself ceased to be meaningful. He could sense an unprecedented deluge of disgust and hatred from Deirdre. It was like a vortex sucking in any remnant of his strength, and suddenly, he found himself too feeble to say anything more.“So be it?” Deirdre lowered her head. Something seemed to flicker in her eyes. She exhaled a long breath. “Good.”The room was drowned in frosty silence. After some time, Brendan spoke. “I talked to the receptionist. Just give her the number, and someone will call him for you.”“Thank you.”Deirdre marched o
The room was unusually cold, too. Someone had opened the window, or the stench would have been even starker. Deirdre was silent for a bit before she asked, “You were smoking?”“Mm.” Brendan coughed and cleared his throat. Once his voice regained clarity, he ordered, “The clothes are on your bed. Change into them. We should get going.”There was no stylist with them. After changing into her getup, Deirdre let her hair free, where it dangled around her shoulders. Before stepping outside, she put on some lipstick on her lips to look a little more alive.Brendan stared at her. “Did you put on lipstick?”“Yes.” She brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and dodged his gaze. “I can’t possibly see them without makeup, but I don’t know what else to do. Why? Something wrong?”“Everything’s wrong,” he replied brusquely. Stepping forward, he pressed his finger on her supple lips and wiped her effort away. “You did a crappy job.”Deirdre was not at all offended. “Sorry. I was literally
“My mother-in-law hated it. She was very livid and told the gardener to uproot the entire bed. She didn’t instruct them to replace the flowers, though, so no one dared to do anything about it,” explained Laura. “After that, it just… stays barren.”No sooner after she finished, the trio heard the sound of a baby crying. Laura quickly rushed ahead of them into the living room.“Rose was Declan’s mother’s name. It was also her favorite flower, so she used to plant rows and rows of rose beds in the garden. So, the first thing anyone would think about when they look at the roses would be her,” said Brendan, picking up the explanation Laura left off.Deirdre was stunned. “So that’s why,” she muttered. “I still can’t believe the matron of a powerful, elite family could not even stomach the sight of some harmless roses, though.”Brendan snickered. “If she had a bigger heart, Declan’s mother wouldn’t have died.”“Excuse me?”“Nothing. We’re here.”Brendan held Deirdre’s hand and led her
Joy probably sensed the enmity between these two adults. She suddenly balled her fists and bawled loudly, causing Deirdre to panic a little. “Hush, hush. Don’t cry, Little Joy. Joy is happy, isn’t she? Aunt Deirdre is here with you.”Laura led Cillian down the stairs just in time and stepped forward, her arms outstretched. “Don’t worry, Miss McKinnon. She’s throwing another tantrum again, really.”The child’s crying seemed to have spoiled Cillian’s good mood. Irritated, he snarled, “Can you put a cork to it already? This thing doesn’t stop crying, whether it’s day or night! And now she’s throwing a stupid fit in front of my guests? Christ! Take her upstairs! You two embarrassed me enough!”Laura’s face turned pale. She hurriedly apologized and brought the kid with her upstairs. Incensed, Deirdre spoke out. “Mr. King, if I may… Every child cries. It’s a very common, natural thing to do.”“Natural?” Cillian snorted. “A boy would have been less of an emotional nuisance.”Deirdre na
“You’re talking about Joy? She’s fine…”“I’m talking about you,” Deirdre said sternly as she looked at her. “Are you all right?”Laura was stunned for a moment, and understanding soon dawned on her. While she was surprised, she gulped hard and said, “Thank you for your concern, Miss McKinnon, but I… I’m fine. He just has a short temper. But he's actually very nice to me.”“He’s nice to you?” Deirdre fell silent for a moment and asked, “Is this the answer from your heart, Ms. Smith?”Laura was stumped. Seizing the chance while she was tongue-tied, Deirdre said, “Ms. Smith, I don't know what made you give up on Declan and choose Cillian. But I really want to tell you that if you're willing to wait for Declan, he still loves you and will accept you. However, the premise is that you have to come to your senses and help him.”A surge of emotions flitted across Laura’s eyes as she couldn’t help herself and asked, “What’s your relationship to Decky, Miss McKinnon?”“I’m just his friend.
Deirdre knew how expensive this bracelet was by touching it, so she figured she could not accept it. As if he could see through her worries, Brendan wrapped his arm around her waist and collected her hair behind her ear, saying, “This is a gift from Mrs. King. You should just take it.”Deirdre had no other choice but to accept it. “Alright. Thank you very much, Mrs. King.”Mrs. King complimented Deirdre for her understanding and appearance as she guided them to the table. After all of them had taken their seats, Mr. King Sr. asked in a displeased voice, “Where is Declan?”Mrs. King sighed and said, “He probably is staying in his room.”“Nonsense!” Mr. King Sr. smacked the table and continued. “Hurry up and get him down here! We have guests today. How could he hide in his room and not show his face?”Cillian wrapped his arm around Laura and said, “Dad, you should just leave him alone. Declan prefers to stay alone. He might spoil the mood if he comes down to join us.”Laura’s face
Deirdre needed cold water to keep herself awake.She went around groping the wall frantically. Suddenly, she bumped into the cabinet and gasped in pain. Cold beads of sweat were streaming down her forehead, and she felt her head spinning as the sensation of cold and hot assaulted her.It took her a great effort to reach the bathroom. Meanwhile, Declan’s mind was a chaotic mess under the drug's effect. When he saw Deirdre, he had an illusion and stretched his arms to drag her into his embrace. “Laura… Is that you?”-Meanwhile, Cillian was introducing the upcoming projects of his office while extending an olive branch to Brendan.“What do you think, Brendan? These projects are unique to me, even in the whole country. If the two of us cooperate, our companies will be at their peak in the next ten years!”Brendan looked over the projects and memorized them in his heart. He did not answer his question directly and asked, “What time is it now?”“It’s three now.”It had been nearly
Cillian hesitated for a moment before answering, “Miss McKinnon is missing. The maid said she entered Declan’s room and hasn’t come out yet.”“What!?” Mr. King Sr.’s expression changed. Anger began to rise from the bottom of his heart, but he did not dare to make any assumptions. “Maybe the maid misidentified that woman as Miss McKinnon?”Brendan ignored him and rushed toward Declan’s room. He twisted the doorknob, but unfortunately, it did not budge. His face sank, and he growled, “Where is the key!?”They had already prepared the key in advance, and the maid handed it to Brendan. Before Brendan opened the door, Cillian spoke. “Mr. Brighthall, make sure you can keep your calm when you’re in the room. Even if you don’t trust Declan, you need to have faith in Miss McKinnon—”Before he could finish speaking, he looked at the bed and was stunned. Only one person was on the massive bed, and that person was none other than Deirdre. Her eyes were misted over with desire. Apparently, th