“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
Deirdre suddenly understood. She quietly boarded the car and fastened her seat belt.While the car was moving, Brendan was continuously coughing. Sometimes, it became so intense that he seemed to be coughing his lungs out.Even Sam couldn’t stand it and suggested, “Mr. Brighthall, shall we get some medicine from the pharmacy?”“Just drive the car.” Brendan gave the most indifferent reply. “Don’t waste time. We have to go back as soon as possible.”Sam had no choice but to speed up.The moment they arrived at the airport, it was boarding time. Sam gave Deirdre a flight ticket and said, “Miss McKinnon, do talk to the flight attendants so that they will lead you to your first-class cabin.”What did Sam mean?Deirdre was startled. “What about you two? Are you not boarding the plane?”“Of course we are.” Sam hesitated before he added, “It’s just that the first class has the last seat available, and Mr. Brighthall and I are taking the business class.”What a coincidence!Deirdre fe
Fortunately Deirdre didn’t have to go in.After unfastening the safety belt, Sam asked, “Mr. Brighthall, may I know where the documents are?”“I’ll get them,” said Brendan.“I’ll go. It’s cold out there. Moreover, I’ll be faster.” Sam tried to stop Brendan.After a sudden pause, Brendan said, “The marriage certificate is under the pillow in the bedroom.”‘Under the pillow?’Deirdre fell into a daze and quickly recovered her senses, but she kept feeling numb in her chest.To think that Brendan actually kept the marriage certificate under the pillow.Why?Deirdre was very confused.When they registered, Deirdre carefully wrapped her marriage certificate with a cloth while Brendan simply threw his on the coffee table in the dining room and sneered so much that he didn’t even feel like taking a second look.He had been tolerating the marriage from the start. The marriage certificate was just a tool to divorce one day, so it stood to reason that Brendan should have put it away in