Deirdre’s cheeks burned. If she admitted to it—well, would it not make it seem like she cared a lot about what Kyran thought of her?The end of Kyran’s lips curled. His sincerity bled as he typed, “I’m stoked to hear that you care about what I think.”Deirdre lowered her head, but no amount of searching provided her any good counterargument. “So? Why didn’t you say anything, then? Unless both Mr. Engel and Mr. King were lying…”“Maybe they were, but what about the man who flirted with you? Do you really think he was lying?” Kyran argued, his eyes nailed to the blind woman’s own. They were unfocused and glassy, but her eyes had always been so clear and transparent.He lowered the phone’s volume. “You’ve always been beautiful, Deirdre. I didn’t react back then because—”Silence. His phone stopped speaking for him. Deirdre had not had the time to wonder what had happened when she felt him slowly inching close. She could feel his breath beating on her. She felt a tightening in her c

’G-Grab Kyran’s arm?’Deirdre lifted her fingertip and realized, belatedly, that she had been sitting this close to him the entire time. She could touch his finger from her end!“You misunderstood, sir. We’re not a couple,” she explained hastily.“Are you sure about that, miss? Because your not-boyfriend has been looking at you with goo-goo eyes the whole time!” The driver teased, laughing. “No need to be shy. I’ve been there. I know what it’s like.”Deirdre froze and suddenly felt a pair of burning gaze landing on her. She lowered her eyes, and suddenly, the man’s fingers walked into hers before depositing a firm, solid object in her palm.Deirdre felt it for a moment before realizing it was a pair of Bluetooth earpieces. Perplexed, she plucked them into her ears and heard Kyran’s mechanical voice, “We’re getting close. Remember to stay close to me.”He had opted to use this method as their means of communication in a crowd, but it also meant that she was the only one who could

Brendan had said something similar to her before. He had even put his money where his mouth was, taking her hand and letting it graze the glass as he described where everything was and how beautiful they were.Anxiety swept across Deirdre like a plague. She forced herself to calm down, reining her mind from wilder and wilder imagination. Kyran and Brendan were not the same! They could not be the same person!“No, I’m good. I’m afraid of heights.”Kyran was silent for a moment. Then, he typed, “Okay, so no heights. What about the carousel?”“Mm-hmm.”Kyran held her hand and led her to the line. Nearby, Freya and her friends were munching on some snacks. Her friend sounded incredulous when she asked, “So, you got fired just like that? Because that Kyran Reed guy said so? What an *sshole! Who the h*ll does he think he is? Is he really that big of a hotshot?”“How was I supposed to know? All I know is that even the director treated him like royalty!” Freya snapped and took a big bi

Despite wearing a mask over half of her face, Freya could tell from Deirdre’s beautiful eyes and her smooth, glowing skin that she was looking at a gorgeous beauty. More importantly, there was no way Deirdre McKinnon, the freak, was this same young woman!Arianne saw it, too. She perused the woman among the line-takers and questioned aloud, “Uh… Is this the freak you mentioned?”“Of course not!” Freya snapped. A flood of shock and anger washed over her. She was shocked to see Kyran seeing another woman and angry that he had only used that ugly freak to reject her advance. She knew it! That freak was a nobody from the start!Kyran had gotten his purchase and returned to the young woman’s side. He shielded her from the crowd’s less gentle pushes with such sweet devotion that Arianne could not stop herself from remarking, “I can’t believe I’m seeing this. Mr. Reed, famous for being reserved and quiet and asocial… Being a sweet, caring gentleman to a woman like that! No way around it,

Kyran’s soft and yearning gaze had never once left Deirdre’s face. He brushed messy strands of hair away from her forehead before finally typing, “Yes. Very good.”Deirdre paused and felt belatedly embarrassed. It almost felt as though she was asking for his compliment.“What do you want to play next?” he asked. “I’m all yours.”She was about to suggest something when she heard the snipping sound of a camera’s shutter. She was sensitive to sounds—the sound of a camera, most of all—and immediately turned to the direction of the sound. Kyran followed her gaze and saw a man taking pictures of them. He frowned.The man finally noticed his more outward display of displeasure and realized his mistake. He lowered his camera and began introducing himself, “Oh, I don't mean any offense! I’m a photographer, and my Spidey-Sense just couldn’t overlook the beauty in the way you two interacted and how generally beautiful the two of you are! So… I guess my job persona took hold of me before I k

”No trouble, darling! No trouble at all!” replied the man, scratching his head and chuckling to himself. “I should be the one to thank the two of you! There’s no way I’m the only one contributing to pictures this good. The models did at least half of the work in this case! Anyway, I should excuse myself. I hope I get an invitation to your eventual, coming-soon wedding!”He bolted away just like that. Deirdre hardly had the time to explain her relationship with Kyran. Sensing the young man’s burning gaze laser-focused on her neck, she apologized under her breath, “He fled before I could explain. Besides, I don’t think he’d trust me if I told him we aren’t a couple.”“I know. That is why I don’t think there’s anything to explain. I like the ‘misunderstanding’ better.”Kyran’s smile worsened Deirdre’s embarrassment. She was starting to feel a little sick in her stomach, too, and before she knew it, her hand was pressing against her belly. The man caught her action and asked, “Do you

Deirdre could feel the woman’s jealousy as though it was a tangible gust. She stumbled backward, but she was too late. The possessed young woman had lunged, and her fingers extended like claws at her mask.Freya yanked it down and revealed bandages covering half of Deirdre’s face. She was almost enraptured—as though she had stumbled upon a secret treasure trove. “I knew it! I knew it! The lower half of your face is not done yet! It’s still as ugly as sin! That’s why you had to wear a mask. You can’t even bear to show it to the world!”Deirdre ignored her provocation. Frowning, she demanded, “Give my mask back.”Freya was too happy as she had uncovered her secret. Mockery and schadenfreude rolled into a single gut punch when she continued. “You really think you’re some gorgeous angel fallen out of heaven, huh, b*tch? Don’t make me laugh! Most of those beautiful masked girls you see on the street actually looked like sh*t when you pull their masks away, anyway. I guess you’re no diffe

Deirdre’s indifference ignited another bomb barrel in Freya. She chucked the mask to the floor, scrunched it under her shoe, and stomped. “You want your f*cking shame-cover so much? Find it yourself! Are you gonna stay in here until you find your mask? Or are you going to give up and let everyone jeer at Kyran when you walk beside him without it?”Freya put her cap back on and hurried out of the bathroom, not giving Deirdre the time to pull her back in.Now left all alone, Deirdre had no choice but to get on all fours to look. The wet floor and its putrid smell made her stomach churn, but she imagined the reception she would receive if she went out as she was and gritted her teeth. She had to continue searching.As she scoured the floor repeatedly, she suddenly heard a mechanical voice from her earpiece. “Are you still in there, Deirdre?”She broke out in a cold sweat. Taking a deep breath, she gnashed her teeth and tried again. A few people entered the bathroom and found her on al

“Kyran…” Deirdre murmured. A warm glow seemed to be enveloping her chest. The corner of her lips curled. “You don’t need to say things like that to make me feel better, Kyran. I’ve gotten used to it. People have been making these comments about me for four years. I know what will happen the moment I step outside looking like this.”“Does it weigh hard on you?”Deirdre shook her head. She used to feel dejected, but not anymore, or she would not have chosen to stay in Alnwick. “If it doesn’t, then why don’t you want to step outside?” Kyran stated matter-of-factly. “The Deirdre I know doesn’t give a d*mn about what the shallow masses think of her. She lives true to herself and is comfortable with herself. All of them were stray characters who wandered into her life only to be forgotten when they were out. So… why is the same girl suddenly afraid of letting them see her now?”Deirdre froze.“Is it because of me?”Deirdre’s pupils seemed to be trembling. She looked perturbed. Freya’s

“So… This is how you spent four years of your life.”Deirdre froze as the voice in her ear continued. “What did you do to deserve this, Deirdre? If only I had met you sooner… If only I had known you sooner. I could have protected you!”Deirdre felt a lump unfurling in her throat. Her body was shaking—pain and self-pity suddenly took the form of a deluge flooding through her veins and breaking into her heart. Her eyes turned red. She thought she had grown accustomed to her fate and was done questioning God’s injustice. She had accepted this as the divine’s inexplicably stubborn grudge against her.And then Kyran appeared and expressed empathetic anguish. He came and showed concern. And suddenly, the agony she had hidden was exposed. Naked.It took her a long time to calm down and fight back the urge to cry. She raised her head and smiled. “Why apologize to me, Kyran? This has nothing to do with you at all! I’m happy just to live a peaceful life here. I want nothing now.“Maybe… May