It was all related to Ophelia.

Brendan had known how important Ophelia was to Deirdre for a long time.

Ophelia had been sick because of Deirdre, so she had carried the heavy burden of raising Deirdre by herself. She had refused to marry again and taken three laborious jobs to make a living.

Deirdre had once whispered to him, “Brendan, you’re the second most important person in my life.”

He had been agitated at the time and he had humored her by asking with a cold face, “Who’s the most important person then?”

“My mother!” Her tiny face had blushed scarlet because she had misunderstood his reaction for jealousy. She had explained herself in a panic, “Don’t misunderstand.”

“What’s there for me to misunderstand?”

Deirdre had chuckled before falling silent. “She has experienced way too many hardships for me, so I would die willingly for her if it meant that she’d get to live to see another day.”

Deirdre had assumed that she was the happiest girl in the world at the time. She had