Mrs. Engel felt as though someone had pressed bristles of needles into her skin. Her face turned pale, and she closed her eyes. "I know you're not going to trust me no matter what I say, Mr. Brighthall, but I have never hurt Mrs. Brighthall in my entire life. She… She's always been so kind to me…"She faltered and turned to beg Deirdre instead. "Please, let me bid you farewell, at least?"Brendan was about to reject her again, but Deirdre took a deep breath and said, "Okay.""Dee?""I'll talk to her somewhere you can see, Brendan." Deirdre comforted him. "And she's right about one thing. She can't really harm me in any way. So, don't worry."Brendan's forehead creased from the strength of his frown, but since this was Deirdre's wish, he ended up letting her have her wish. He shot one last warning glance at Mrs. Engel before removing his coat and putting it around Deirdre. "Talk in some place shielded from the gale. I don't want you to catch a cold.""Okay."Deirdre pulled the
“Keep an eye out on the people around you.”With that, Mrs. Engel let go of Deirdre’s hand and took her luggage. She left.Deirdre was in a daze. Brendan approached her, caressed her nipping cheeks, frowning, and asked, “What did she say to you? You don’t look so good.” Deirdre reeled herself out of her stupor. “I’m fine,” she replied, hanging her head low. “She told me she’s leaving the country with her youngest son.”“Leaving?” Brendan was shocked, but his surprise was short-lived. “Good. At least our paths won’t ever cross again.”“I agree.” She nodded and let Brendan scoop her into the mansion. Deirdre lay on her bed, but her brain was busy thinking about the things Mrs. Engel had said before she left.‘Keep an eye on the people around you.’ That was what she had said, but on who? And why?Mrs. Engel almost seemed too defensive. She left before Deirdre could make sense of her cryptic message, but something about her tone carried a quiet but powerful sense of severity. Mrs
Deirdre knew she was demanding, but Brendan might start accepting Emily into his trusted circle if she did nothing. "You can think of this as me being unreasonable and juvenile. You can suspect me of picking a bone with her, too. I don't care. I just don't want to see you and Emily getting closer."And! I don't want the two of you texting each other, either. I want the two of you to be strangers to one another. If you're talking to her because you're wondering how my recovery is going, ask me instead. I'm going to be the middlewoman between the two of you!"The room sank into a strange, prolonged silence after she finished. As time ticked on, Deirdre felt colder and colder in her chest. Her face became a steely frown. "Oh, is it too much for you, Brendan? Never mind, then. Forget what I asked."She was about to turn away from him when Brendan's arms around her waist tightened.Then his lips merged with hers. They came in strong. Effusive. Like flames. Deirdre also could not handle
The glow in Deirdre's eyes dimmed a little. She thinned her lips. "Mrs. Engel was just saying that so you wouldn't feel down if she said her goodbye.""Goodbye?" Ophelia took a sharp breath. "What?""Mrs. Engel left. Her youngest son is moving abroad, and she's following him. She's been working for so long, so now that her son is willing to provide for her for retirement, she really doesn't have a reason to keep working as a domestic worker.""I… see." Ophelia could not even hide the dejection in her tone. "Well, maybe it's a great thing! Living with her son like that, no longer needing to rise early!""Exactly."Ophelia kept her mood up. "Well, I guess I'll take over Simone's work from today! I'm good at making food and doing chores, too. I know I'm not as efficient and fast as Simone, but I'm close enough if I do say so myself! That will save hiring costs, too."Deirdre froze. "Wait, you don't have to—""Why not? You're pregnant! This will make it easier for me to take care of
The Sullivans were one of the Brighthall Group's partners, so Brendan should likely attend the event as a show of support. Thus, he nodded.Emily smiled sweetly. "They invited me to the event, too! Will you drive me to the venue together?"Brendan frowned and replied steelily, "No. We aren't going together.""Why not?" Emily's expression froze. "You're not going to the Sullivans'?""I'm only going to show up at the end of the event to give them a gift. Are you only going to appear when the event's about to end?"When the event was almost over? No way Emily could afford to go only then! This was the sort of event she needed to expand her connections!Her moping aside, she smiled graciously. "Oh, that's too bad. I was hoping to gain some peripheral attention when everyone's looking at you, Mr. Brighthall. It will really help Collins Pharmaceuticals' business, I bet."She was at least smart enough to make it sound like she was just trying to use Brendan, not because she was vying f
"Wait."Brendan left the kitchen all of a sudden, leaving Emily nonplussed. Still, she did not necessarily find that a problem at first. She simply slowed down in her task while waiting.She then heard someone coming into the kitchen. She turned around and smiled. "Mr. Brighthall, pass me the veggie in the bag!"Her smile evaporated. It was not Brendan at all. It was a short-haired woman she had never seen!Shea nodded and greeted her. "Hey, Miss Collins, right? Mr. Brighthall told me to help you out."Emily's face turned stormy. "Where's Brendan?"She pushed Shea away and looked out of the kitchen, and there he was—sitting in the living room with Deirdre, cuddling and acting all lovey-dovey! God, Emily's offer to help out in the kitchen had ended up giving those two a chance to be lovebirds!Shea sounded impatient. "Oy, can we get this started already, Miss Collins?"Emily seethed. What the f*ck was with her attitude? She was acting as if Emily was some domestic worker under t
Deirdre shook her head. "I don't think she dares."What happened the last time should be enough of a painful lesson for her. Shea calmed down. She had heard about what Emily had done and had been paying close attention to what that woman had been doing. It prompted her to remark, "That Emily Collins smells like a rat."Deirdre nodded and smiled. "Oh, tell me about it," she replied. She looked to the horizon and added, "But she's not gonna be able to do much alone."-The first thing Emily did after returning from the event was to throw her bag on one of her maids' faces before directing her destruction to whatever brittle was lying about.Madame Collins, alarmed, blocked her daughter from causing more damage. "Oh no! Not these babes, dear! Those are antique stuff!"Emily loosened her grip, but it did not mean her rage had necessarily dissipated. "What's wrong, honey? Did someone cross you in that event? Or did some idiot walk all over you? All you have to do is to tell me, an
Emily showed up at the mansion early the next morning. There had been a drizzle at that time, so what was supposed to be an outdoor morning jog became a run on the second-floor treadmill.After jogging for half an hour, Deirdre's face went pale. She got down from the treadmill, panting, but Emily expressed disapproval. "Now is not the time for rest yet, Miss McKinnon. You have half an hour more to go.""But why?" Deirdre wiped the sweat off her face with a towel, thinning her lips. "I jogged for half an hour outdoors, too. What's the difference?"Emily smiled sweetly. "You said it yourself, Miss McKinnon. Jogging outdoors requires only half an hour, but indoors? A treadmill could never be the same as doing it outside, so you need to do more than that."The furrow in Deirdre's eyebrows deepened. "I want to take a short break.""Nope," Emily denied her request instantly. Her smile turned cold. "You're not gonna get your intended benefits this way."Deirdre clenched her jaw and got