It actually felt… upsetting.

Now that she thought about it, Brendan had always treated Charlene well. Had that woman not disappointed Brendan as much as she did, she would have become Mrs. Brighthall, no contest.

“Are you cold?”

Brendan stopped the car next to her and opened the door. Deirdre sulkily went inside and leaned her head against her seat. “If I tell you I’m tired, can I not go?”

Brendan said nothing for a long beat before starting the engine. “Sorry. Please be a little patient. I’ll drive as quickly as I can.”

He turned up the heater, and yet it did not dispel her nipping annoyance. When she was the one who became the victim of someone's scheme and subsequently lost her eyes and child—all of which was worse than whatever ordeal Charlene had gone through—Brendan had never thought of coming to see her.

Sure, Steven Young had duped him back then. He was none the wiser. But what he was doing today proved that he could have always gone to see Deirdre while she was in pr