Brendan frowned. “No.”Emily leaned against the back of her chair. “Ah, well. This has nothing to do with me, though, does it? But here’s the thing. I always get what I want in a deal. I don’t do second best.”“That’s not a problem,” answered Brendan. “I’ll give you anything I can.”Emily’s voice dropped indicatively. “What if what I want… is you?”Brendan’s eyes turned cold. He deadpanned. A beat later, he finally answered flatly, “You jest.”The severity in his eyes made her heart stop for a millisecond. When she recovered from her trance, she realized her heart was thumping. Wow. That look in his eyes was amazing. She had been so used to being the one ruling above others that she had not felt suffocated by anyone else for a long time. She could not remember the last time someone had managed to make her panic with one glare. “Mr. Brighthall,” she said, pleased. Her eyes were gleaming. “I don’t joke about these things. I’m seriously attracted to you, and I’m sure you’ll find
Brendan clenched his fists. He was strapped with choices. He nodded. “Fine. You have a deal. When is the excursion?”Emily thought for a moment. “I’ll tell you some other time. My dad just left us, see. We’re all grieving, so there’s no way I’d be in the mood for sightseeing. Still, I’ll make it soon. You can hardly wait too, can you, Mr. Brighthall?”“You’re right. Please tell me as soon as you’re free.”He turned on his heels and left without a second thought. Emily looked at his hurriedly vanishing back and the food on the table. Something glistened in her eyes—a thirst for conquest.He felt nothing about her. That woman, whoever she was, must be very important to him…Now she was curious. She paid the bill and hurried home. Her mother, Madame Collins, was all alone in the living room. Seeing her daughter’s return, she frowned slightly. “Your dad’s only been buried for a few days, young lady! How could you just leave like this? Don’t tell me you’re planning to return overse
To people of their standing, a woman’s pregnancy could be lethal news. Nobody would want a b*stard child to inherit their family’s legacy, after all.Immediately, Madame Collins shook her head. “No, no. There are plenty of young, up-and-coming upper-class men who would fight each other for the Collins’ girl. Brendan is an excellent choice for a husband, but his lover is pregnant. I don’t approve of you devaluing yourself.”“Ha! Have you seen those other ‘upper-class men’ you are talking about? A bunch of brain-dead, incompetent, useless hedonists with no talent. They can’t compare jack with Brendan!” Emily rebutted, her grip tightening so much the file crumpled. “They are no match for me, mom. Only Brendan is my true equal!”“But—”“No buts!” A thought took form in Emily’s mind, and her beautiful eyes glinted dangerously. “Well, she may be pregnant… but it doesn’t mean the baby’s ever going to arrive…”“Mom. I need your help.”-Brendan had been very tired since he returned. H
Brendan led the way, and Emily's eyes darkened when she saw that the pastries she had given him earlier remained untouched.But soon, she caught up.“Mr. Brighthall, slow down a bit,” said Emily, who reached out to grab Brendan’s arm. But as soon as she touched him, he forcefully shook her off.Brendan didn’t mean it to be that forceful. Slightly furrowing his brows, he demanded, “Don’t touch me.”Emily forced a laugh. “Mr. Brighthall, is it necessary for you to be so guarded? It’s not like I’m going to eat you or kill anyone. I’m just interested in you. Today’s transaction is purely because you need my help. Your attitude is inappropriate, isn’t it?”“Sorry, I don’t like people touching me,” Brendan apologized as his two black eyes narrowed.“It turns out that you have a cleanliness obsession. I’ll keep that in mind,” Emily said with a faint smile. “Let’s go.”Emily was polite and kept a distance.On the other hand, Brendan was rather embarrassed and tried to ignore Emily when
Deirdre’s mind buzzed as she heard her mother’s accusations.‘Brendan went to buy clothes together with Miss Emily? And they acted intimately?’Mrs. Engel rushed over, not even bothering to wipe her hands. “No, no! There was no intimacy. I think those photos look quite normal. Their arms didn’t even touch. Maybe it was just a trick of angles? Mr. Brighthall has always been very cautious and wouldn’t do something like this.”Ophelia wanted to explode in anger. “Then what about him saying he was going to the office and ending up with another woman? What does he take Deirdre for?”Mrs. Engel couldn’t defend Brendan any further.Ophelia sat down on the couch and grabbed Deirdre’s hand.“Deirdre, tell me, do you really want to be with Brendan? Is he really good to you?”“Mom, he’s very good to me.” Although Deirdre didn’t know what had happened, her first reaction was calming her mother down. It would be meaningless for her mother to know too much because of her poor health.“You’re
Emily pouted. ‘How boring! Someone has already reported it to him so soon.’Nevertheless, she had to keep up the act.“What’s wrong, Mr. Brighthall? Why are you suddenly looking at me like that?”Brendan showed Emily those reports and said coldly, “Miss Collins, I respect you, but that doesn’t mean you can play these tricks on me.”Following that, he turned and walked away.Emily quickly caught up and grabbed Brendan.“Wait for me, Brendan—”“Don’t touch me!”After being forcefully shaken off, Emily’s hand throbbed with pain, and she gasped. She couldn’t maintain her grip on the bag and released her grasp. But she ignored her bag and ran toward Brendan. “Hold on, Brendan, listen to me. This has nothing to do with me. What benefit do I get from this if it spreads?”Brendan finally grabbed her wrist with a powerful grip and glared at Emily furiously.“If Deirdre finds out, I will definitely ensure that you are held responsible for your action.”After speaking, he walked away
Deirdre pretended not to know on purpose.Brendan’s black eyes were dull and lifeless. He wondered whether Deirdre really trusted him or… she didn’t care.At the thought of the second possibility, his heart began to twitch, and he couldn’t stop it.Brendan chuckled as if he was mocking himself. “Deirdre, I’d prefer you questioning and suspecting me. After all, I lied to you. And this is better than remaining silent and not caring about what happened to me.”Deirdre was stunned for a moment and slowly clenched her fists. “Is there no other possibility?”Brendan looked up at Deirdre as she said, “I just believe you.“Brendan, I believe there is nothing between you and Miss Collins. If you had thoughts of marrying other women to strengthen yourself, you wouldn’t have disregarded your reputation in the previous matter.“Since you were just attending a social event, how can that be considered lying to me? You just didn’t go to the company.” Deirdre said in a light and calm tone as
Brendan glanced at Deirdre’s red lips with desire, raised his head, and greeted, “Aunt McKinnon.”Ophelia said, “I saw both of you hugging each other from upstairs. Have you made up with each other?”“Hmm.” Brendan nodded and held Deirdre’s hand. “I explain everything that happened clearly to Deirdre, so she forgives me.”There was no way to tell Ophelia’s mood from her expression, but she cracked a rigid smile as if she was still infuriated by the incident earlier.“Alright then. I can’t meddle with both of you when you’re in a couple’s quarrel. However, I will never let you off if you do a disservice to Deirdre, even if she forgives you.”Brendan’s expression was extremely sincere when he said, “Yes, Aunt McKinnon. Deirdre is everything to me. I swear that I will never let her endure any injustice, and I won’t allow other women to challenge her place.”Deirdre was stunned for a moment while Ophelia did not comment further. She came to stop Brendan when he was preparing to ent