“Kyran, I’m going to sleep.” Deirdre’s heart raced. What if Kyran heard the waitress?Kyran seemed to look over it. “Alright. You rest early. Good night.”“Good night.”The call ended.Deirdre’s frazzled mind calmed down considerably. She pushed open the door and left the washroom, where the waitress led her back. She barely had a second to settle on her seat when Brendan snuffed out the cigarette between his fingers. “The food’s gone cold from waiting for you. I even had to order a whole new course.”Deirdre ignored him, and he somehow did not take any offense to it either. He just let the waitress serve something new. While waiting, Brendan’s interrogation began. “What took you so long? What were you doing in the washroom?”She glared at him coldly. “I’m having my period, happy? I had to be inside for a bit longer. Are you going to take offense to that?”“You always have yours on the 10th day of the month.”Deirdre was taken aback and scrambled to cover her tracks. “That’s Ch

Deirdre was stunned. This was not what she was thinking at all! But before she could explain herself further, a new gale tore through them. Seaside towns were no strangers to strong, chilling winds. Their journey was only 100 meters long, yet it felt like they had lost half of their body warmth by the 50-meter point.Her body shuddered on its own. Brendan felt it coursing through his arm and drew her even more closely into his chest. “About 50 meters left.”They braved the weather. It was as the waitress had predicted—the rain kept getting heavier. Had they chosen to stay inside the restaurant, they would not have been able to come out.The umbrella did a shoddy job of keeping the elements out of them. By the time they reached the car, Deirdre was wet. The first thing Brendan did after getting inside was to turn on the heater before pulling out a towel from the backseat. He passed it to her, stating, “Wipe yourself.”She thanked him out of reflexive courtesy and reached out to the

The door opened, and Brendan stepped inside.His feet shuffled to an abrupt stop, prompting Deirdre to ask, “What?”He turned away. “Nothing.”The couple-friendly hotel certainly had a… design. The lighting was suggestively soft. There was a distinct scent in the air. The ambiance was obvious to any normal adult. As a courtesy of the hotel, clothes of a particular kind were provided on the bed.Brendan could not imagine how Deirdre would look if she put these on…Deirdre stepped inside after him. A thought leaped into her mind. “How many beds are there?”It was bad enough to be stuck in a room with him. Did she have to suffer the pain of being in the same bed just as well!?When things could get worse, they would often do. Brendan’s answer was proof of that. “One.”Deirdre gripped the garment around her chest as it tightened. She felt the compulsion to remind him, “You made a promise. You should stick to it like a real man.”Brendan was already feeling the first wave of desire

Brendan was possessed. His kisses were like a heated iron brand making its conquest downward.Deirdre knew she could not struggle her way out of it, so she… stopped. She turned her head away from him as a tear escaped her eye and disappeared into the sheet. Disgust filled her eyes. “Be quick. Then, tomorrow morning, we’ll file for divorce straight away. After that, don’t you ever show your disgusting face in front of me again.”It was as though she had poured a bucket of freezing water all over him. Any heat he felt was suddenly put out. He stopped, and the woman below him came into his focus. They were so close right now—just skins apart. But the distance between them was so unscalable, there was nothing he could do to even cross it. Her disgust and despair were so overwhelming that Brendan could not even deceive himself into ignoring them.“Tell me, Deirdre McKinnon.” He could not resist resting his head between her breasts, nor could he stop the mocking smile forming on h

For a moment, Deirdre even thought she was touching a block of ice. It jolted her into a realization of what might have happened. Alarmed, she tried to shake him awake. “Brendan Brighthall, wake up! Now!”He answered her with a painful whimper. She tried to touch his face.It was feverish.There was no way he did not have a fever. The man was already half-conscious—if she left him like this, the worst could very well happen. Deirdre felt as though her mind had blanked. It took her effort to wake herself out of her panic and feel her way out of the room. She finally felt the door of her neighbor and opened it. A stranger opened it with marked annoyance.“E-Excuse me! I don’t want to bother you, but I am blind and need your help. My friend has a nasty fever right now, so can you help me call the front desk so they can send a staff member up to our room?”Few people could decline to help a beautiful woman in need—especially on something as urgent as this. The stranger called the

Brendan’s fever had kicked up brain fog. He started wrapping his arms around Deirdre’s waist while an easy, mirthful smile surfaced on his face. He was free and no longer had to pretend to be a b*stard in a suit.“I’m hungry, Deirdre.” He cooed between panting. “Can you make me another veggie spaghetti, like the last time you made me? It was so good! I miss it now.”Deirdre’s face turned white. What did he mean by ‘the last time?' Since when had she ever made him something like that? The last time she did was two years ago! Why would Brendan suddenly care about it now?And the way he addressed her, the tone he was using, why did it feel so familiar? Deirdre felt her entire frame shaking. Her eyes seemed to be trembling in their sockets. The figure of a man surfaced in her mind against her deepest wishes…But that was impossible. That was ludicrous! Absurd!She bit her lips to stay calm. No, whatever she was thinking was absurd, outlandish, and preposterous. And yet, she could no

The nonchalance crushed the emotional storm he himself had created in Deirdre. Balling her hands into fists, she willed herself to suppress the urge not to deck her hand across Brendan’s face.“Your conscience? After all the sins you’ve committed? After all the lives you’ve ruined? And all you get is your wimpy conscience burning a hole in your non-existent soul!? Your conscience is worthless!”There was something unreadable and nebulous in Brendan’s black eyes, but he managed to maintain his caustic tongue. “All that is in the past, McKinnon, so can you stop yapping about it? What do you want me to do? Scrap my knees begging you for forgiveness? Grow up.”“Grow… up?” Deirdre could almost see black spots dancing in front of her eyes. She could not stop herself from sneering. “I guess you’re right. I need to grow up and stop being so naive. How could I possibly demand the great and mighty Mr. Brighthall to beg for my forgiveness? How could I commit the sin of making his conscience sl

It was as if Deirdre had been submerged in freezing water. Not getting any response, the voice continued. “Bren? Are you there?”Still as gentle and chummy as ever. The only thing that changed about his tone was a slight hint of confusion caused by Deirdre’s prolonged silence. She felt as though her chest had exploded. Her eyes were red. It was Declan. It was Declan’s voice!She thought she had mistaken his voice for another, but the second time he spoke dispelled any of her uncertainty. Her brain blanked, and in a fit of anxiety, she accidentally slid the screen and caused the call to end.The heater was working in full force, yet she felt her body ravaged by jolts of chill. Her teeth were chattering. Crouching low, she felt a nest of hornets being unleashed inside her skull, buzzing.What was going on!?Hadn’t Declan said he was no longer talking to Brendan? Had he not claimed that they were now even less familiar with one another than strangers?Then what was with that c

“I know I called him Bren, but it was just a ploy to ingratiate myself with him. It happens when you really need someone’s help. You can’t sound like a belligerent *ss. “You remember what I said just now, right? I asked him if he still holds a grudge against me. That’s really the crux of our disagreement. I hated his guts, so I left. I didn’t try to explain myself or resolve any conflict between us, which caused him to resent me even more. I even thought he hung up on me because he refused to help me.”Deirdre was nailed to her spot. She did remember the words Declan had used. If she was right about Brendan and Declan’s relationship, then the latter would not have said something like, “are you still holding a grudge”, would he?Her expression relaxed. Pressing her lips tight, she asked, “So… you’re in a bind, huh?”“Yeah.”“Is it… serious?” asked Deirdre, concerned. Anything that could make Declan ask Brendan for help must be some grim affair.He was silent for a moment before f

”I don’t think so,” replied Deirdre. “We’ll get to the hospital on our own once he’s awake.”“Sure thing.”Before she left, Deirdre collected all of their wet clothes and asked the staff to machine-dry them. When it was done, she changed into it in the bathroom. She came out just in time to hear a soft commotion from the couch. The man had woken up with a coughing fit. “There’s medicine on the table and warm water. Your dry clothes are on the bed,” she said.Brendan gave himself a moment to reorient himself before he was finally wide awake. “Thanks.”He changed into his clothes and took some pills. Despite how bitter they were, he swallowed them without a crease on his forehead. “You’re coming with me to Neve today.”Deirdre raised her head and stared into his eyes. “Why?”Brendan took a sip of water and met her gaze calmly. “You want your divorce, don’t you? I need to get the documents from home. There’s no way I’m always bringing my marriage license and stuff with me.”She