Mr. Cruz had hardly finished his sentence when a very stormy-faced Brendan threw a punch at Mr. Cruz’s nose. The older man wailed and collapsed on the floor as blood sprayed from his broken nose. That was only the beginning. Brendan’s face had twisted into a vein-popping, nightmarish glower. He grabbed Mr. Cruz by his collar and dished out more punishment square on his face. Every hit was rock solid, and even as blood was spraying, there was no sign of Brendan lessening his force.It happened so quickly that the crowd was too startled to say anything or pull him away. They just gawked at him, though one of them managed to be aware enough to cry out, “What are you doing, Brighthall? That’s Mr. Cruz right there! You’re going to need his favors, right!?”“Since when have I ever needed any f*cking favor from a sh*thead!?” Brendan thundered, his eyes dangerously red. His gaze was so sharp it was like the service end of a dagger, and the man promptly shut himself up, pale.Brendan gav
Deirdre was hysterical. She lunged and pounded her fists on him in a post-traumatic fit. “Are you happy now? Huh? Are you finally satisfied now!? Nothing pleases you more than seeing me humiliated and dehumanized and suffering from a nervous breakdown, doesn’t it, you demon!? If you hate me so much—if you hate me this much—then why didn’t you let me die and rot in prison!? Let me die with my child, and I wouldn’t have to suffer all of your torment for no f*cking reason!”Brendan froze. It felt like a million thorns were stabbing his chest simultaneously, stinging him so much that his teeth chattered. It hurt, yet he could not even garner the strength to voice it. It took him a while to reel out of that pain. He threw his arms around her and squeezed her as tightly as he could, as though he was worried that she might vanish if he did not. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry… I should have protected you.”He was muttering to himself as pain ravaged him.“You’re sorry?” It was a scoff. What an abs
Glenna noticed the coat around Deirdre’s frame and asked, “Hmm. Did you go out with Kyran?”The way she said it made Deirdre think the young woman must have missed out on Brendan. It was a good thing, too—Deirdre would not know how to explain it otherwise.It was a good fib, so she took it. “That’s right. We were having dinner together today, but he had an emergency halfway through and just had to go. So, I called you.”“Emergency my *ss! He shouldn’t even think about leaving someone who has difficulty seeing by the roadside, alone, in the godd*mn night!” Glenna tutted, mildly irritated. “He should count his blessings that I was around. It’d have taken me at least half an hour to reach you if I were at home. That nerve! What if you got into trouble with some local thugs, huh?”Deirdre smiled. “I’m a grown-up, not a kid. I’ll scream if I get into trouble.”“That’s not what I meant! It’s Sigh and Sea itself, girl. I’m saying…” Glenna faltered. Failing to find the right words, she ga
“The bathroom is in the room. Let me show you where it is.”Glenna led her to the room and got her some clothes. After the door was closed, Deirdre closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.The things that had happened two hours ago were still playing vividly in her head. She would never forget the things that those people had done, and it would all come back to haunt her as a nightmare when she slept at night.Her stomach churned as she turned on the shower with trembling fingers. She took off her clothes, and her shoulders were filled with wounds because she had struggled to get free just now. She walked under the shower and began washing her body. She kept rubbing her body and did not stop until her skin had turned red. Then, she put on the clothes that Glenna had given her.When she came out of the bathroom, Glenna was talking to someone on the phone. She looked at Deirdre as soon as she came out of the bathroom and exclaimed, “Oh my gosh, Deirdre, these pajamas look so go
People always said that a leopard couldn’t change its spots. Even though Keith had decided to lay low for a while because of what he had done, he had given in to his desire. One could imagine what had happened to Deirdre when she had fallen into his hands.Declan’s face sank. He instantly understood what Deirdre had gone through. Therefore, he said calmly, “Don’t worry about Keith. I know exactly what to do with him.”Brendan did not say anything, and Declan added with a frown, “Besides, I want to know why you’re letting her order you around like a dog.”Brendan snubbed the cigarette when he heard Declan’s question. However, it took him a long while before he parted his lips and said, “Charlene has Ophelia’s photo in her hands.”“Ophelia?” The name rang a bell. Declan searched his memory for a while before he jerked his head up. “Isn’t that Miss McKinnon’s mother? I thought she was…”“She’s still alive.”Declan was stunned. If his memory served him right, the reason Deirdre hated
Ophelia was dead. There was no way Brendan would lie to her about this matter. But if it was not Ophelia, why would Brendan keep a photo of a woman who looked like her?Deirdre’s heart began to pump faster and faster as an idea began slowly taking shape in her head. “Glenna, can you tell me more about the photo? Can you tell where she is and who she's with?” Deirdre asked.Glenna looked at the photo closely for a while, but she could barely see anything because the photo was blurry. “This photo is weird. It seems to me that she’s in a room or something. She’s sitting on a bed, and there’s no one else in the photo.”“What about her hair? And what is she wearing? Does she have long hair or short hair?” Glenna was startled by Deirdre’s string of questions. She tried to calm her down by saying, “Calm down, Deirdre. I’ll tell you slowly.”“I’m sorry…” Deirdre pressed down her surging emotions and closed her eyes. If Ophelia was still alive, then she could not leave the country any
Deirdre bit her lip tightly. When she came back to her senses, she made another call, typing the phone number in her memory.After a short while, the call was connected and a sleepy voice rang out. “Who is it?”Embarrassed, Deirdre parted her lips and said, “Madame Russell, it’s me… I’m sorry for calling you at this late hour. Were you sleeping?”“Deirdre?” Eilis woke up and sat up straight. “Of course not. I'm still watching TV on the couch. What’s the matter? Why did you call me all of a sudden? I thought you said you were going to Germia soon. Did you have a fight with Mr. Reed?”“No…” Deirdre felt a gush of warmth surging in her heart. Eilis had always cared about her. “Nothing happened between us. It’s just that we were held back by something, so we haven’t departed for Germia yet.”“I see…” Eilis sighed. “Well, on the bright side, it’s good to stay home as well. After all, international calls are expensive. It costs a lot for you to call me like this, and I don’t want you to
“That’s simple. My friend knows how to copy a photo. I’ll get in contact with him now.”“I’m sorry, Glenna,” Deirdre said apologetically. “You've helped me so much, yet I still need you to help me do something at this late hour.”Glenna smiled and said, “You don’t have to apologize to me. You’ve helped me a lot, right? Besides, we’re friends, and as friends, we should be helping each other.” Deirdre, who was touched by Glenna’s words, nodded.She did not sleep well throughout the entire night. However, she still woke up very early the next day.She had not forgotten her promise to Brendan. Brendan was rather impatient as well, as he called her and asked where she was as soon as the clock struck eight.Deirdre told him the address of the neighborhood. Glenna had already gone to work, so she walked to the entrance of the neighborhood alone. As soon as she went out, she captured the figure of a man through her blurred vision.“Where is my suit?” he asked, getting down to business