Sam replied, “I’m not very sure.”He was unsure indeed because he had been guarding the door at the time without stepping into the room even for a moment. “Mr. Brighthall talked to the attending physician for a while in the room and left afterward. Why?”Deirdre said with a bitter smile, “It has been close to a week since he last came here.”She had not felt much previously, but the situation was different now. The truth about Bliss’ death had already surfaced, and she wanted to hand the evidence to Brendan so eagerly that she could not wait a moment longer.Sam furrowed his eyebrows, unable to figure out the situation either. However, he tried to pacify her by saying, “Don’t worry, Ms. McKinnon. It’s possible that the company has been busy.”Deirdre did not believe him because she knew that Brendan would still find time to visit the comatose Deirdre on the third floor daily even if he was so busy at work. Nothing could stop him from coming if he wanted to. Besides, it had bee

When Brendan was finally done, Deirdre waited for him to fall asleep before climbing out of their bed with her hand on her waist. He had deprived her of birth control pills, so the only thing she had left to prevent a pregnancy was the primitive way of washing it away. Brendan suddenly opened his cold, black eyes. They zeroed in on her retreating back as a frigid question escaped his lips. “Where do you think you’re going?”Deirdre bit her lip. “To wash.”Brendan smirked. “Really? To wash? Or get birth control pills from the pharmacy?” Deirdre had planned to do that the next day, which was why she froze on the carpet when she was called out on it. Before she could respond, Brendan had yanked her by the arm and pinned her against the bed once more. His eyes were as all-consuming as the abyss, and his lopsided smirk twisted his features completely. “Don’t bother. You’re infertile anyway.”Deirdre was stunned. The assurance in his tone suckerpunched her into a daze. “What’s that

“Saved me?” Brendan’s glare was grim. The words had taken an absurd quality the moment he had heard them escape Deirdre’s lips. “You saved me? When, might I ask?”Deirdre pressed her lips shut in despair. He snickered. “You can’t even save yourself!” he sneered. “For the love of God, don’t ever say something that cringeworthy again. People around you are gonna feel embarrassed on your behalf!”He let Deirdre go. Now that his booze-addled frustration had found an outlet, there was no reason for him to stay.She lowered her trembling eyelids. In the darkness, she dreamed of a blurry visage. A child. She had hoped that, should reincarnation be true, it would become her child again, and she would pay the debt she owed. But now, she wondered if it was just a pipe dream after all.Sam came to visit her the next morning. He noticed the mess, Deirdre’s unmissable fatigue as she lay on her bed, and the telltale signs on her neck and collarbones. It was easy to tell what had happened last

Deirdre was in a daze. They were going to see Brendan’s parents at the old Brighthall mansion? Well. Their relationship was progressing swimmingly, was it not? Was that why Brendan could not imagine how wicked Charlene really was?She snickered self-deprecatingly. “Let’s go back to the mansion.”She doubted that man would skip going to the mansion tonight. Sam heeded her order, and the car was on its way. Deirdre marched inside when they arrived and took a seat on the living room couch. The long wait began.The boredom of waiting could be mind-numbing, Sam knew, so he turned the TV on. The first thing that leaped onto the screen were images of Brendan and Charlene shopping for goodies. Then came the speculations of media talking heads and celebrity gossipers. “The dashing, young CEO of Brighthall Group has been in a very stable relationship with the same young woman for two years, and now, they were caught on a shopping trip together. Is this a sign of a very specific celebrat

Brendan narrowed his eyes as his gaze swept past the woman near the couch. He had never noticed it when she was in his arms, but now, it became impossible to miss—she was almost emaciated after a week. He could see her collarbones heaving in and out just from her effort to breathe. It pissed him off for some reason. “Ignore her. For all intents and purposes, she’s invisible,” he scoffed with characteristic callousness and disdain without reservation. He leaned close to Charlene, his lips inches away from her ears, and added, “Come to my room. Our relationship will be official after tonight...”He did not say it aloud, but it was enough to let everyone in the living room hear it. Deirdre felt a sting in her chest, but it was nothing compared to the biting frost in her heart. She was hardly surprised, though. In fact, she wanted to laugh. Just a few days ago, Brendan had demanded that she bear him a child—and now, after the revelation of her infertility, she had lost her purpose

Deirdre knew what he really meant: a chance to create doubt against his conclusions. Brendan turned on his heel and marched up the stairs while she clambered a little at his force. Gritting her teeth, she finally snapped, “So you’re not interested in the truth behind Bliss’ death! You don’t give a sh*t even if what I’m about to say concerns Charlene! Is that it?!”Just as she had expected, the bastard stopped dead in his tracks. Deirdre was this close to laughing aloud at his absurdity. Brendan’s brows were furrowed. He was practically glowering when he shot daggers at her. “What did you just say?”Deirdre enunciated her every word as she announced, “The homeless man who killed Bliss was controlled by the woman standing right next to you!”Charlene stared at Deirdre in shock, but her bewilderment did little to conceal her scorn. Repeating the same things over and over again, despite seeing no result, had to be the definition of idiocy, right? She could not believe this b*tch w

She directed her attack back at Deirdre with a voice tight with tears. “What the hell did I do to you, Miss McKinnon?! Why are you doing this to me?! If it’s because you love Bren—if it’s because you want to snatch him away from me, then at least fight me fair and square instead of employing all these disgusting schemes to persecute me!”In the past, this used to be the sort of trigger that would kick Brendan’s rage straight to the boiling point. He would have immediately booted Deirdre out of the door right there and then. And yet, today, the man simply stood a step away from her, leveling his eyes at hers without a word. There were signs of conflict in his eyes. There was doubt.Charlene grimaced. The gnawing panic inside her mind had grown to a chomp. “W-What’s wrong, Bren?”He handed the document to her. “See for yourself.”She almost snatched it out of his hand in her franticness. As she read, all the color was drained out of her face. Brendan’s voice, cold and commanding, c

“These are all excuses! Regardless of how badly Miss McKinnon had been treating me, there was no reason for you to harm her!” Charlene’s eyes turned redder as she added, “It’s my own business if she treated me badly. And one day, she’d understand that I’ve had no ill intentions toward her. Now that you have done this to her, how am I supposed to stand firm before her?”“I’m sorry, Miss McKinney!” Greenlee apologized guiltily. “I promise I won’t do it again. I won’t do it again, I promise!”“It’s useless for you to tell me now. The harm you’ve done to me and Miss McKinnon has been done! I’m so disappointed in you…” Charlene was heartbroken. She had victimized herself with just a few words. Following that, she turned to Brendan and choked. “I’m sorry Bren, it’s my fault. I didn’t know that she really had done this kind of thing. I’m sorry for Miss McKinnon. Please punish me. Otherwise, I’ll keep fidgeting…”Brendan frowned, but his tone was softer than ever. "This had nothing to do wi

Charlene no longer expected anything else to happen tonight. She bit her lip and left. However, as she was leaving, her eyes were filled with intense hatred.Damn Deirdre! Deirdre had not only spoiled her good deed, but she had also almost made Brendan doubt her. Charlene was determined not to forgive this b*tch!After Charlene left, the huge room instantly looked empty. Brendan strode away, and when he took two steps down the stairs, Deirdre gritted her teeth and said, “You knew it. You knew that Charlene was related to this matter.”Brendan stopped moving.His frigid face was full of complicated feelings, and his brows were furrowed. He turned and locked eyes with Deirdre. “What do you want to say?”“It’s simple.” Deirdre gritted her teeth. “Are you protecting Charlene just because you love her? Just because she is the one in your heart, you can turn a blind eye even if others are hurt?!”Brendan remained silent for two seconds before he replied with a frown. “What do you want

Brendan dialed the phone number, and when the call was connected, he passed the phone to Deirdre.The doctor sounded very stable as he said, “Miss McKinnon, I understand how eager you are to see your mother. However, because your mother’s heart issue is at a critical junction, it’s not advisable for her to see you. If meeting you affects her emotions, our hard work all this while will be in vain.”“T-Then...” Deirdre asked while biting her lip, “When can I see my mother?”“It won’t take long, Miss McKinnon. Provided that her situation gets better, probably in about a few months. It’d be good for you to see your mother.”“Alright.”After ending the phone call, Deirdre was still in a daze. She had to wait for several months. When every moment of her life was like a year, could she really survive through a few months?Looking at Deirdre's bewildered expression, Brendan couldn't help raising his hand, wanting to stroke the messy hair on her forehead. But before he could touch her hea