She answered, “He’s my cousin.”The waitress found Deirdre’s answer reasonable. She wrapped her arm around Deirdre’s arm and said, “Does this cousin of yours have a girlfriend? Do set me up with him.”“He does,” Deirdre answered smilingly, afraid that a different answer would cause Sam trouble. The waitress was disappointed. “The piano is here. Someone will tell you when to start performing. I’ll get a move on if there’s nothing else.”Deirdre did not notice the waitress’ coldness because she was distracted by her love for playing the piano. The piano was much better than the one at the cafe, and she attempted to play it. She received quite a number of compliments after a day. She smiled more, and her expression became lively. Sam was distracted by the sight of her and only recovered from the surprise after a while and took Deirdre back to the villa. She asked before she headed upstairs, “Sam, is the light in Brendan’s study still on?”“Yes, it’s on.”Deirdre clenched her fi

“They are cheap.” Deirdre was at a loss for words. She felt as if she was choking on something in her throat. “You’re only going to degrade your status when you wear them.”“That is precisely why you refused to give them to me, right?”Deirdre bit her lower lip tightly. Brendan got up from his seat and wiped away Deirdre’s tears with his hand. He leaned closer to her and said in a hoarse voice, “Deirdre, a person of my status would never care about false things like this. The value of the cufflinks could never affect my status. I acknowledge that I wouldn’t be attracted to these cufflinks normally, but they are highly valuable now because you gave them to me.”When he was done, he kissed her lips. Both of them were burning with emotions. Deirdre’s hands were tightly clasped, her body was tense, and she felt a wisp of gentle affection in her heart. …In the next few days, Deirdre became more and more familiar with the work at the restaurant and she also formed a friendly relatio

‘Now that there’s a customer, he is also here for her.’“Ah, the pianist, huh? She’s busy with her blind date now.”Brendan stopped flipping through the menu. His dark eyes narrowed when he said, “Blind date?”“Yes.” The waitress tittered. “It’s true that she is good at playing the piano, but she’s hideous and blind. No man would ever be attracted to her, so the cleaning lady kindly arranged a blind date for her. Even though the man is seven or eight years older than her, a woman like her doesn’t have many options.”Coldness flashed past Brendan’s dark eyes. The waitress felt a chill down her spine when she saw Brendan’s gaze and forced a smile. “What happened, sir?”“Where is she?”The waitress was stunned. Then, she pointed at the corner and said, “There.”Deirdre and the man were sitting in a blind corner that one would not see without paying close attention to the area. Brendan shifted his gaze to the man. One could totally describe him as grotesque. He snorted. Even tho

“I can go if you’re busy, but can I get your number, Ms. McKinnon? If you have anything else that you need help with in the future… I could…”Brendan clenched his fists tightly abruptly, his veins bulging out of his arms. ‘This man still won’t give up hope?’Furious, he clenched his teeth without uttering a word but glared at Deirdre coldly. Deirdre took a deep breath after sensing the immense pressure radiating from Brendan. She caught her breath before she answered with a forced smile, “I’m sorry. I don’t intend to do that, so I won’t hold you back.”Trevor was obviously dejected but he did not seem to mind very much. “I’m older, so it’s very normal that you’re not interested, Ms. McKinnon. I shall go then.”He walked away swiftly, which was an apparent sign that his ego had been hurt. Deirdre appeared to be overwhelmed with emotions. She would not have spoken so straightforwardly had Brendan not been on the scene. “What? Are you still unable to tear yourself away from him?

Sam escorted her to the door when they arrived at the villa’s courtyard and then drove away. Deirdre stretched out her arms to feel for the sofa when she heard the sound of a light being turned on upstairs. She looked in the direction of the second floor abruptly. She was gauging who it was when she realized instantly after sensing the oppressive feeling they emanated. “Come upstairs.”Brendan spoke in an ice-cold tone. He opened the door to his room, and Deirdre braced herself and walked upstairs with stiff movements. She was flung on the bed by force as soon as she entered the room. The man leaned on her, his cold eyes bursting with terrifying evilness. “Deirdre, do you think that you can lord over me recklessly just because I’ve been treating you well over the past few days?” Brendan spoke in an icy tone. He was furious beyond comparison at the thought of the woman’s smile earlier. “I gave you freedom and tolerated you as much as I could, yet you ended up defending a man

The manager was finally pleased. “I’m very impressed with your work, McKinnon. I hope that goodwill stays.”Dispirited, Deirdre walked out of the manager’s office and stepped into the back of the restaurant. The cleaner had been waiting, so she rose from a crouch and approached Deirdre. “What’s wrong with you, Deirdre? Trevor told me he chose you, but you spurned him in return? Please, you’re not some run-of-the-mill young woman. Don’t you know that beggars can’t be choosers? Seriously, are you really planning to be a spinster for the rest of your life?”Her acrimonious tone somehow paled compared to the vitriol of her word choice. Irritated, Deirdre frowned. “Look. Just because I agreed to meet him, it doesn’t mean I’ll agree to be with him, okay?”“I’m only doing what’s best for you! Do you really think another man would even like you as much as Trevor does? God! He’s used to caring for other people. That’s why he wasn’t bothered by the fact that you’re an ugly blind woman! Lord,

The cleaner had wanted Deirdre to embarrass herself so much that she had made sure to leave a thick puddle of soap powder on her path. Deirdre had always considered herself lucky to be able to work in such an accommodating restaurant, where everyone treated her with kindness and respect, but after today, that opinion changed. She had managed to make a few enemies after all.“It’s fine.” She extended her other arm amid her agony. “Please help me out. If I get changed now, I can still make my shift.”The Good Samaritan was hard-pressed to go against someone so stubborn, so they led the way. The entire session was hell from beginning to end. Deirdre’s right hand could not conjure its usual force to press the keys, and it felt like there was an invisible thorn jabbing her elbow. She knew the customers were watching, though, so she forced herself to play despite the pain. By the time it was over, her back was bathed in cold sweat.Her shift was finally over. Like clockwork, Sam appea

“Do you really think I have no way of checking how long your shift really was?” Brendan raised a voice recorder, playing an audio clip of one of the restaurant workers speaking. “Deirdre McKinnon? She left at around nine,” they said. “I don’t have the deets, but if you’re looking for a pianist for your dining experience, I’m afraid you’ll have to come again tomorrow!”Deirdre’s face turned white as a sheet. She had not expected Brendan to come up with a counter-strategy. The fury in his eyes had only grown exponentially. “I hate being lied to, you know that? So why do you keep pushing my buttons? We’re finally out of the woods with Sterling Fuller, and you’re hooking up with Trevor Carlson now?”Deirdre’s eyes widened. She hardly had the chance to wonder how Brendan had managed to get his name before feeling a force clutching at her jaw. Pain. He bore down on her, his fury oozing out of him like miasma. Suddenly, it was as if they had gone back to that time again—those cursed d

Deirdre nodded, and Brendan—to the young woman’s wildest bewilderment—asked, “Was it bad?”She bit her lip in surprise. “A-Aren’t you mad?”Mad? Of course Brendan was mad. Furious, even. Furious for an entire day. He had been downright apoplectic in the evening, when he’d waited and waited for Deirdre to come home on time. Every second had burned! So what? All that rage had melted away—how could he stay mad after witnessing the lengths this woman would go to just to conceal her injury and the pain it caused her? How could he honestly tell himself that her maddening refusal to be candid was not motivated by her fear of his reaction?“If you could just... If you had just told me frankly that you were suffering from an injury, I would have calmed down much sooner!” Brendan went downstairs and called Dr. Ginger on the phone in the living room. As he ordered the doctor to come as soon as possible, Deirdre quickly protested from the bed. “W-Wait! You don’t need to get Dr. Ginger! It’s

Looking at Deirdre, the doctor suddenly understood why Brendan was so encouraging. Brendan himself did not seem overly emotive, but a closer inspection of his eyes revealed thawed frost and an almost shy smile blooming beneath. “Yeah. I believe you.”Dr. Ginger read the room and knew it was time for him to go.Deirdre went to search for the wooden music sheet upstairs. Halfway through, she stopped on the stairs, turned around, and declared, “For your information, Brendan, there is nothing going on between me and Mr. Carlson. Not today, not tomorrow… and not ever!”She let the handrail lead her back to her room. Behind her, Brendan’s handsome features seemed to soften into a fluffier imitation of themselves under the house’s gentle lighting. Was this her definitive denial of his accusation? This was the same woman who would make a conscious effort to spare him as few words as possible, but now… Look at how cute she was being, trying to explain herself!Deirdre woke up early th