Deirdre felt a tinge of sadness upon hearing his words, yet she maintained a calm expression. "If you hate me so much, we do no need to have this conversation, Brendan. Let me go."

They shouldn't have been in such a position. Deirdre struggled to free herself from Brendan's lap, but he held onto her tightly, unmoving.

"Don't leave," he said with a frown, his voice soft. "Stay like this for a while."

Deirdre found his words amusing. "Brendan, you claim to hate me, yet you're embracing me at the same time. Don't you see the contradiction?"

Brendan paused for a moment, looked up into her reddened eyes, and took a step further. He pulled her closer, holding her in a more intimate embrace.

"What does it matter if I'm contradicting myself? As long as it makes me feel better, that's enough."

Deirdre bit her lower lip suddenly. He still had that familiar arrogance, but she glimpsed a trace of the Brendan she once knew. It reminded her of how he had treated her tenderly even when he was u