Brendan calmed down a little and took the phone. “I’ll get it fixed.”A change finally shadowed Deirdre’s frozen, mortified face. A flash of surprise briefly lit up in her glassy, unseeing eyes before she hung her head and whispered, “Thank you.”It came from the bottom of her heart. The phone meant way too much to her.Brendan could only laugh at himself. He was pushing her to be closer to his own alter ego! Even if… he had always been like this.The waiter quickly brought a dry towel and coat. Brendan took them and wrapped the coat around Deirdre’s head, making sure that the bitter cold would not get to her. And that was the last of any softness in his expression. Almost immediately, he scanned the surroundings with a piercing, vindictive glare. “Who was it? Who did it?”Someone among the crowd said, “She probably fell inside the pool by herself, right? I mean, she can’t see. I wouldn’t think it’s that surprising.”“Yea. It’s a given for someone like her, right?”Brendan kne

“Either you jump, or your family business is wiped out of the face of this city. Your call,” Brendan sneered. He pulled Deirdre even closer in his arms and smirked. “I bet someone who knows I’m a Brighthall would also know who I am, right? I can destroy a small-fry company with a snap of my finger, so maybe don’t try my patience.”“N-No, Mr. Brighthall! No!” Zinerva pleaded, alarmed.Deirdre had almost died just now because nobody helped. Judging by Brendan’s tone, nobody would dare to even rescue Zinerva unless he allowed them to! “I can’t swim, Mr. Brighthall— I’ll die if I go down there! Please, show some mercy! It was just an accident!”Brendan’s tone was as frigid as permafrost. “Three. Two.”Zinerva’s lips trembled. Everything she had worked hard for—her image, her reputation, everything—was going to ruins. If news of this got out… she would become the joke of the circle. She could kiss her dream of becoming a socialite goodbye!But Brendan would punish her family’s company

“Thank you.” Deirdre pulled her collar taut around her neck and cast her eyes to the floor. Her voice was soft. “For both helping to repair my phone and saving me from drowning.”Brendan was far from a good, decent man and was no stranger to all kinds of unforgivable transgressions. But at the very least, Deirdre’s gratitude was sincere at this moment. He had saved her life.“It’s nothing.” Brendan considered the young woman’s pale, half-traumatized mien and fought the urge to just pull her into a comforting cuddle. “Don’t worry about it. Anyone who dares to touch a single hair on your head will all get it. If everything goes exactly as I thought, Zinerva Cole’s life in Eastgene is finished.”Deirdre couldn't care less. Neither did she try to talk Brendan out of it. She simply nodded and said, “Okay.”“Get some rest,” he said as she started toward the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”Deirdre was taken aback. Raising her head, she blurted out, “Wait, did you—”“My room is next door.

”What is it for? To call that man?”Deirdre did not try to deny it. “I haven’t been in contact with him for a while by now, and with my phone going awry… I worry that he might try to call me and get no answer. So, I thought I had to call him first. Tell him I’m doing fine.”Brendan’s thoughts began to clash with one another. The phone he used to roleplay Kyran was damaged as well when he dove into the pool. If Deirdre called it now, Brendan could not answer it. And Deirdre would definitely begin to imagine paranoia-fueling scenarios.He turned to the bellboy. “It’s alright. You can go now.”The bellboy stiffened a little. “Uh, what about the phone?”“Take it away.”Deirdre’s eyes trembled. Grabbing Brendan’s robe by his collar, she protested. “No, don’t do this. Just this one call, Brendan. One call. I just need to tell him my phone is busted. Please…”He frowned. “Have I ever stopped you from talking to that man, McKinnon? I’m not trying to drive a wedge between the two of you.

“Say if I choose to replace this phone with a new one… Do you sell the same model?”The owner shook his head and gave a helpless smile. “You’re asking me for an antique of a bygone era. The type that’s only good for calling and texting and… nothing else. We don’t sell them anymore—nobody will buy them.”Disappointment clouded Brendan’s eyes. To a blind woman like Deirdre, a phone with fewer functionalities might be more helpful than the new-fangled stuff on the market. Besides, if he replaced her phone right now, she would have to relearn how to use it. She would not even know which button to press.“Fix it. I don’t care how much it costs. I just want it fixed.”“Whoa. Are you serious?” The owner was taken aback. This was an answer he did not expect at all. Still, he recovered from his shock quickly. “Okay, then. I’ll do my best. Leave it here with me. I’ll call your number when it’s done.”“Thank you so much.”-Even a full night’s sleep did not manage to repel Deirdre’s headac

Brendan shot her a sideways glance. Deadpanned, he asked, “And how did you guess that?”“I knocked on your door a while ago, and no one answered, so I went to ask the front desk,” answered Deirdre candidly. “She was the one who told me you went out last night.”Brendan shut his eyes tiredly. “That’s true,” he said flatly. “I went out.”Deirdre sank into silence. She looked at him, her confusion growing as seconds crawled. Was he not going to explain himself? Explain why he went out?She took a deep breath and asked, “The receptionist said you were looking for phone stores. Now, why would you do that?”He rested for a bit before twitching his lips into a smirk. “What answer are you hoping to gain, McKinnon?”Deirdre was stunned. “Do you want me to say, ‘Oh, I went to look for a phone store late at night for your sake? Because I don’t want you to be sad anymore?’ Or do you expect me to say, ‘Because I really care for you!’, hmm?”Deirdre was hard-pressed to answer him. If anythi

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