It was by no means serious, but external wounds were usually the most painful type of injuries anyone could suffer. Even a little brush on a gash could make one think a sharp, thin blade was peeling their skin. Brendan took a deep breath to calm himself before finishing the entire glass of water. Deirdre placed the glass back on the table.He took another gulp of breath before stating, “The phone’s in the drawer near the headboard.”Deirdre felt her way to the cabinet near the bed and pulled the drawer out. The phone was where he said it would be—a revelation that surprised her since she had not expected him to make it so easy.Then her surprise faded immediately into the same stony face she had reserved for him since the beginning. “Seems like there’s no more reason for me to be here. Goodbye.”She turned on her heels and started toward the door.“D-Deirdre.”His voice came out almost like a frail whisper. She stopped dead in her tracks but did not spare him a glance. Bren

“I had nothing to do with the abduction at all,” said Brendan. “But you won’t believe me if I say that, will you?”The mirthless self-mockery in his tone was so stark even Deirdre felt her heart droop. Doubt crawled into her chest like an invasion of ants—she clenched her hands into fists as a burst of desire to leave seized her.He was back at it again. Back to that idiotic, wounded, “woe is me” pretense. Would he ever quit!? If she stayed any longer, she might just fall for it and be scammed by that stupid innocent look he was making. “Excuse me.”With that, she marched out of the room. Deirdre helped herself with the help of the wall until she felt her chest finally relaxing and she could breathe again. She closed her eyes.She opened them as soon as she finally regained the strength to stand. Remembering where the elevator was, she headed in its direction. There were others inside, and they asked her where to go. She replied through her pale lips, “The ground floor, thanks.

“Girl, you have no idea!” said Glenna, unaware of anything amiss. She even laughed at Deirdre. “Come on. You can’t seriously not know anything about that, right? Okay, so here’s the gossip. Mr. King and Brendan are actually really close. They’re so close they won’t mind lending underwear to one another if the other needs it.“When Brendan got into this big trouble, Mr. King flew straight home from Germia without any warning that he shocked his own family!”Deirdre was stunned. “When was that?”Glenna made a production of counting on her fingers. “About… Huh, I don’t remember the details, but it’s got to be a year ago or something. Mr. King was trying to establish his footing in the Germian business scene, so he almost never returned.”As Glenna prattled on, the smile on Deirdre’s face died second by second. She interjected, “No, you must have gotten all that wrong, Glenna.”The young woman in question blinked in confusion. She broke out a smile. “Okay, why so serious all of a sudd

Deirdre released her grip, and Glenna rubbed on the sore spots. Too sheepish to look directly at Declan, she gave an awkward laugh and replied, “R-Right! We were… b-both too excited to show off our c-cooking skills.”Declan snickered. “God, what did I do to deserve having two attractive women dying to feed me good food? It’s not even my birthday yet!”Hearing Declan call her “attractive” caused Glenna’s brain to eject everything that had happened between herself and Deirdre just seconds ago. Sheepishly, she announced, “I’ll be in the kitchen!”She brought the bags to the kitchen while Deirdre stood still on her spot, unmoving. Declan considered her as he hung his coat and asked tentatively, “Miss McKinnon?”She raised her head, and he smiled. “What’s the matter? Didn’t you have a good rest last night? You’ve been wearing a long face since I got here.”“I didn’t have a good rest, yeah.” She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down, but Glenna’s words haunted her like a sp

“I was about to go abroad then. At that time, I had decided never to come back, so I used that opportunity to tell him upfront. Told him it’s best we never talk to each other again.”“Then why did you come back? When you showed up when Brendan needed you the most!”“Miss McKinnon?” Declan was baffled by Deirdre’s accusatory snap. Frowning, he explained, “I came back for two reasons. One, I wanted to see my mother’s grave. Two, I changed my mind.”He exhaled a breath. “My mother’s death is connected to Cillian and his mother, Miss McKinnon. I was too young to protect her… I couldn’t save her from them. But now, I’m older. I have more means now. I came back because I wanted to start my business empire here and… avenge my mother.”Deirdre froze. She had not realized that the enmity between Declan and Cillian ran this deep. “I’m sorry, I didn’t…”“All’s good.” He flashed a smile. “I doggedly insist on hiding all of this history from people, so it’s only natural that you knew nothing o

The three of them started eating. Declan was ever the conversation starter while Deirdre gave her inputs, but Glenna was silent throughout. She was suspiciously focused on her fish and chips, except for the odd moments of her scanning Declan through the corner of her eyes. Then, before the man himself noticed, she would lower her head instantly. It happened enough times that the man finally found out. Setting his knife down, Declan asked, “What’s wrong, Glenna? You kept glancing at me. Something on my face?”Glenna sputtered. Strapped with any excuse, she replied, “It’s not your face! It’s, uh, your… hair? It’s, uh, interesting…”“Interesting?” Declan thought for a moment. This was the first time anyone had ever commented something like that about him. “How?”Glenna gripped the edge of her shirt tightly before finally coming up with an answer. “It makes you look, uh, retro.”Declan’s smile froze.Deirdre almost spat out her food.Glenna tried to salvage her answer. “No, I don’t

”Dee…”Glenna’s mouth hung agape in bewilderment. She had never expected someone this gentle and graceful to be so animated by rage and hate. Deirdre’s eyes were beet red, but she reined herself in as much as possible. “Sorry, that was sudden and impolite, but I’m not sorry for what I meant. Whether Brendan lives or dies has nothing to do with me! Nothing! I won’t and will never see him!”Declan scowled. A long while later, he said, “I understand your rage against Brendan, but why… did you say he abandoned you in Cillian’s hands?”“What? He didn’t do that?’ Deirdre laughed mockingly. “On that day of the abduction, Cillian called him and told him to come to get me. Do you know what he did? He just took the ride all the way back to Neve! The only reason I’m alive is that I raked my head to find anything to help me survive! He didn’t care if I lived, so why should I care if he dies?!”“You think… he didn’t care?” Declan sounded thrown off, as if he was on his back foot. He took a fe

Deirdre’s mind went blank. “You know what happened after that, right? Since he had the chance to capture Brendan, Cillian seized the moment. That was why everyone was trying to stop him from going alone, but he was just doggedly persistent. He was so terrified at the prospect of you getting hurt just because he was late for a second.”“No, how could this…” Deirdre closed her eyes, quivering. Myriad emotions crashed onto her—at its core, anxiety.She remembered what he had said when he was in Cillian's house. “So, this is who you think I am? A selfish, cruel man who would abandon you the moment there’s danger?”She remembered what he had said while his life was hanging by a thread as he sat up from his bed. “I’m sorry about the abduction. I should have known better. I should have done more. I honestly don’t know how Cillian knew where you are, and for that, I apologize.”All those words had brought her was burning rage. She had perceived it as Brendan trying to excuse himself with

Unlike Brendan, Deirdre had a heart. She had a soul, too, and none of them were black. It would have been stranger if she had no emotional responses after hearing the truth. “Tomorrow.” She heaved a long, heavy sigh. “Please accompany me.”“No problem!” Glenna threw her arms around Deirdre’s and replied gregariously. “You get a good night’s sleep. I’ll drive tomorrow!”“Okay.”What Deirdre did not expect was that Brendan would call her first the next morning before she was even on her way to the hospital. “It’s just me.”She was stunned for a few seconds. “I… know.”The weakness in his voice was unmissable. He coughed and choked. “Please drop by the hospital. I’ll be heading back to Neve soon.”“Oh.”There was a pause. Then, he said, “Come with me. We’re getting… divorced.”The call ended.Deirdre sat on her bed, her mind blank. She thought this was the thing she wanted so much. Even the mere mention was enough to keep her feet dancing. She was the one who had proposed it,

“No, we wanted this. It was only dragged on by other things,” Deirdre replied flatly. The only thing that really bugged her was that she had misunderstood Brendan, but her feelings about him did not change. “We don’t like each other.”“Huh? Okay…” Glenna was baffled, but she respected it enough. “So… you’re going to leave with Brendan later?”“Yes, but I’ll be back soon.”“In that case, I’m taking you to the ward first.”Before she could even do what she said she would, Brendan emerged from the door in a coat. His face was sallow and sickly—it was clear just how ill he had become. He kept coughing, and his eyes were bloodshot. When he saw Deirdre, his eyes widened a little.Then, a look of mockery shadowed his face. “Time to go, Sam,” he ordered the guard next to him and ignored Deirdre altogether. He brushed past her. Deirdre shuddered. Glenna held her hand. “Dee?”“It’s okay.” This was well within her expectations, so she was not that shaken up either. “Thanks for bringing me