Madame Brighthall was stunned for a moment before she said furiously, “Where is she? She’s gone, of course! This is the house you share with Charlene. Why would a nobody like her show up at the villa? She left a long time ago!”“Left?” Brendan’s pupils constricted. “She can’t see! How could you just let her leave like that!”Madame Brighthall had been blinded by rage at the time. Now that she realized what she had done, she felt guilty but she still said stubbornly, “So what if she can’t see? She’s not a fool. She’s a grown woman. Can’t she make a call herself or borrow a phone from someone else to call her family or friends after leaving this place?”Brendan felt his head spinning and his heart racing. ‘Family or friends? How could Deirdre still have any family or friends?’Her mother was dead, and the only person she could depend on was Madame Brighthall, who had spoken to her harshly. As for Sterling, she had already been forced to break ties with him thanks to Brendan. She wo
A bucket of ice-cold water was poured all over her face. Deirdre’s opened wide from shock. She realized she could not move. Her limbs were tied.The woman who had woken her up scanned her. Disgust was dripping from her words. “Eew, what the hell? It’s bad enough that she looks like a horror movie—she’s way too skinny and frail to even satisfy a customer! I swear, Mr. Brighthall is unbelievable.”Someone was quick to appease her, saying, “Well, it’s more about doing Mr. Brighthall a favor, right? You know he’s gonna remember this and repay you with lots of goodies in the future, Madam Rouge!” “Pfft. A favor. I’d love to do him a favor, but God! This b*tch can’t even attract a man in heat,” Madam Rouge sneered. Clamping a cigarette between her fingers, she strutted toward Deirdre and frowned. “Holy sh*t. Hell, no! This b*tch is blind!”Deirdre felt a chill crawling up her spine. ‘So Brendan… is the one behind this?‘Has he finally grown sick of me, after all? He has grown weary o
The man’s eyes blazed at the suggestion, but in the blink of an eye, his hesitation stopped him. “Madam Rouge told me never to take it off, sweetheart…”“I-It’s… okay… Take it off… K-K-Kiss me…” Deirdre was slurring through a bloody foam. Her voice was quivering, but to the ears of a red-blooded man in flames, it was as if she was mewing in welcome.She had such a mellifluous voice. A lithe body so fine that her appearance must surely reflect this even if she did not look like a literal goddess. Besides, the mask was starting to get in his way. How could anyone enjoy this without seeing the face a woman made?He yanked the mask away from Deirdre’s face without any reservations. “Here comes the sun, princess!”His gleeful eyes fell upon her visage. The light in the hotel room, dim as it was, hid nothing.He realized he had been lusting after the face of a freak. Her features, in turn, were seared into his eyes. The man cried out and jerked away, losing control of his balance an
Brendan’s mien turned stormy. He espied a bucket of water next to a mop nearby and poured it all over Deirdre’s face. The chill woke Deirdre from her drug-induced stupor. Her newfound sobriety was met with more abuse. “Are you awake now?! I’m your husband! Who else could you possibly want other than me?! Are you really the kind of cheap sl*t who can’t help but spread her legs for anyone with a di*k as long as he’s nice?”‘My husband?’ Deirdre parroted inwardly.Tears welled up in her eyes. She wanted to laugh. For two long years, she had suffered so much because of this stupid title, and what had she gotten in return? This arduous, inescapable hell. This proclamation had ceased bringing her joy. “Yes! I am that kind of cheap sl*t! I’ll let any man screw me! Anyone!” Her knees were wobbling, but she willed herself to stand firm. “Anyone except you, Brendan Brighthall.”“How dare you!” he howled before he raised his hand.Deirdre could feel the breeze of his motion. She then c
Brendan’s temper reached its boiling point. His grip around Deirdre’s wrist tightened like a clamp intended to grind human bones. Fire was burning in his eyes, and if homicide was legal, Deirdre would be dead right there and then.“Congratulations, Deirdre. You’ve really pissed me off!”Pain drained the color from Deirdre’s face. Before she even knew what was happening, Brendan had forcibly trawled her away despite her fumbling, staggering footsteps. He lugged her all the way to his hotel room and chucked her against the bathroom floor. There was not enough time for the pain to subside. Deirdre had barely opened her eyes when chilling water from the showerhead above poured mercilessly over her. The cold was biting, and Deirdre trembled. “Stop! Brendan, stop!”“Stop? Stop?!” he scoffed. Instead of honoring her plea, he lifted her head up so he could spray even more water over her head and body. “How else am I gonna cleanse you of your filth, you wh*re? The last thing I want is sm
Brendan’s other two bodyguards stood behind Sam. They clearly had their own opinions about the entire incident, but even they knew better than to speak loudly between themselves.“What the hell has been up with Mr. Brighthall lately, man? He’s been acting like he lost his soul and his will to live just because a blind-*ss woman went missing,” one of them whispered. He was wearing a look that was not subtle by any means. “You don’t think… he’s fallen in love with that freak, do you?”“Bro, you’re really acting like this couldn’t just be the concern and worry of a decent human being,” the other man replied. “Come on, man. Mr. Brighthall and that freak? It’d be like an elf prince marrying an ogress, bro! Hell, I bet there are ogresses who are even more pleasing to the eye. She looks like a pile of shi—”“Shut uuuuuuup!” Sam suddenly snapped, shattering his self-imposed silence. His eyes were wild with fury. It was genuinely unsettling to see someone famous for being approachable and
Brendan was not going to shy away from a hard conversation. He stepped closer to Madame Brighthall and said, “Do you know what happened to her?”It took all his willpower to suppress his rage. “By the time I found her, she was drugged and set up to be raped under the influence! The aphrodisiac they used on her damaged her body enough that her life is hanging by a thread. She just came out of the ER, but she’s still unconscious!”“What?!” Madame Brighthall cried in disbelief. She then leaped to her feet. “How did that even—? No, who would commit such an atrocity in this age and society? It’s barbaric!”He took a deep breath. “Just because you’re blissfully unaware of it, it doesn’t mean cruelty has ceased to exist.”Madame Brighthall furrowed her eyebrows. “Oh, so this is you looking for someone to crucify, isn’t it? And to you, I happen to be the one who caused all of this, right?” she retorted. “As if that woman wasn’t the one who drove a wrench into your relationship with Charlen
Brendan clenched his fists tightly and replied word for word, “She needs me.” In fact, Brendan felt guilty and rather unconfident when he said it. Deirdre had indeed needed Brendan in the past. Whenever she’d waited a long time for him to come back, she would make several calls to inquire and reluctantly hung up the phone when she learned that Brendan was getting annoyed.However, Deirdre would now leave whenever she wanted. When she had been drugged, she hadn’t even begged for his help but someone else’s. An irreversible change had indeed taken place between Deirdre and Brendan, which made Brendan feel uneasy.“You’re too obsessed with her!” Madame Brighthall felt dizzy. Charlene was dumbfounded for a moment before she recollected herself and supported Madame Brighthall, saying, “Are you alright?”Charlene turned to Brendan and said, “Brendan, stop it. Can you please get out? You know your mother isn’t in good health. Don’t you make her go to the hospital again.”Charlene fe