Brendan had always been a master weaver of lies. “Declan has an ongoing project in Neve, but his project at Alnwick sets him back from finalizing the deal. I’m going there on his behalf.”Deirdre nodded. A moment later, she declared, “I don’t want to go.”She began to shiver. “There are too many traumatic memories associated with that place. I can’t even think about it without feeling fear. I worry that I might not even be able to sleep once I’m there. It’s that stressful.”An expecting mother’s mental health would always be the top priority. The last thing Brendan wanted was for Deirdre feeling too tense and distressed. The excuse not to go with him practically wrote itself, and all Deirdre had to do was to use it. “So, I think you should go alone. I’ll be fine here. Don’t worry. If you’re worried about me, then give me a call every once in a while when you’re free.”Brendan kissed her hair. “What happens if you accidentally kick the table and get injured?”She laughed. “Kyran, p
Despite being visually impaired, Deirdre could still make out who the figure could be. “Tobey? Is that you?”“Dee!”Deirdre was startled. She scanned around cautiously before continuing. “I thought you said we’d contact each other over the phone! Why are you suddenly here, in person? What if Brendan’s moles—”“Don’t sweat it, Dee,” he replied, smiling. “I would only come here in person after being 100% sure both he and his people were gone. It’s just you and me here.”Deirdre breathed a sigh of relief, though some of her anxiety and paranoia refused to go. She unlocked the door hurriedly and stepped inside. Turning around, she called out to him, “We’ll talk inside.”“I’ll pass.” The young man looked at the mud caking around his soles. “I’ll talk here.”Deirdre stopped by the door as Tobey scowled. “Brendan left for Neve, didn’t he? I saw the news. He’s engaged to some woman named Charli McKinsey!”A beat later, Deirdre answered him placidly. “You’re right.”“That crazy b*stard!
For some unknown reason, the uncertain, almost unsettled look on Deirdre’s face summoned a swirl of anxiety. He frowned, and his eyebrows locked together into a knot. He could not tell why or where this anxiety was coming from, but his gut was telling him that something big was about to happen…“Bren!”The door to the lounge opened. Charlene sashayed into the room in tailor-made sartorial finery, decked in jewelry amounting to more than a million dollars in total. She seemed to have made it her mission to become the epitome of a wealthy exhibitionist—one could see it on her face. And her face! The surgery was clearly a success, judging from her recovery. After leaving the detainment center, Charlene had some of her “imperfections” adjusted, and with the right application of cosmetics, she was genuinely beautiful in her own way. Brendan tossed a glance in her direction and felt a surge of disgust shooting into his mouth. His mien was frigid, but Charlene dismissed it altogether wi
This time, however, the elusive Madame Brighthall made her appearance. Anyone who could read between the lines knew what that meant. And so everyone began to treat Charlene as the confirmed Mrs. Brighthall. Charlene had achieved her objective. Deirdre switched off the TV, hung a coat on herself, and went upstairs to her bed. She placed her hand on her abdomen and lay on her back for a while before finally falling asleep. As her dream slowly coalesced, her phone suddenly rang from beside her head. She was startled awake. Feeling for her phone, she pressed the answer button and asked raspily, “Who’s this?”“Dee.”Hearing Kyran’s voice drew Deirdre out of her sleep, though not necessarily out of her dream. It felt as though she was back in those days again when Kyran was just Kyran. But if it were a dream, then why did she feel a chill crawling up her spine?She steeled herself as best she could. “Kyran? Are you finally finished with your work?” “Mm… Hmm…” He sounded drunk. His
“That’s more like it,” Deirdre said quickly, relieved. He believed her now, did he not?Dread refused to leave her alone. She had thought that with everyone leaving the compound, Tobey could come right at her door and still be relatively safe. She was wrong—Brendan had somehow made her neighbor his mole, too. The only small solace was that the neighbor did not recognize Tobey.Deirdre bit her lips tightly. She should insist on bringing Tobey inside the next time. “Dee.”She snapped out of her thoughts. “Oh? What’s the matter?”“I want to go home. To see you.”Deirdre was stunned. She chuckled. “Alright, it’s a little too late for jokes now, Kyran. There’s no flight coming home right now, and you’re not driving in this state. What you should do is rest. Go to sleep.”“I could always ask someone to drive me home.”“Nope, that’s still dangerous to my liking. I won’t be able to sleep knowing that!” she said, doing her best to assure him. Brendan finally relented. “Okay. But only
”Hello!”“Someone’s very chipper today.”It was prudent of Deirdre to have stopped shy of calling out Tobey’s name, or Brendan would have immediately caught wind. “Did you guess it was going to be me?”Deirdre gripped her fork tightly. “Who else could have called me?”He laughed. Deirdre heard the sound of the airport announcing boarding time for a specific plane and froze. “Where are you?”“Aww… You heard that?” Brendan sounded a little disappointed. “It was supposed to be a surprise, but I guess the announcement had to come at the worst possible timing, huh? I’m coming back from Neve.”Deirdre jumped to her feet, her chair falling behind her. “Why are you suddenly coming back? You said your trip would take three days. It’s only the second day today!”“You’re the reason, Dee. What else could it be?” He chuckled and lowered his voice. “I hate every second of being here. I just couldn’t stop myself from thinking about you and our child. Besides, I don’t feel safe leaving you al
Because they were to leave by cargo ship, they couldn’t take their car with them. Therefore, Tobey had to park the car at the roadside, which was quite far away from the pier.To avoid letting the cat out of the bag, they ran immediately after getting out of the car and tried to board the cargo ship before 11:00 a.m.In addition to the strenuous exercise, Deirdre had not slept for a night already. Hence, she felt her lower abdomen aching.Covering her lower abdomen, she felt a stream of heat under her body, along with a sharp pain.“What’s wrong, Deirdre? Are you tired?”Deirdre shook her head with her face white as a sheet.“Endure a bit. The cargo ship won’t wait for us. We’ll be fine as long as we get there,” comforted Tobey.“Okay.” Deirdre nodded. She didn’t tell Tobey about her body’s condition. As time waited for no man, she stretched herself to the extreme and paced forward until she finally got to the pier.She heaved a sigh of relief when she felt that her lower abd
“Well, let’s just submit to fate.”She had no other choice because this was her only chance to escape. She was willing to die instead of returning to Brendan.“But! But—““Tobey, there is no but.” With downcast eyes, Deirdre said, “I know you well. Once I told you I’m pregnant, you’d have scruples and may not even have let me on the ship for the fear that I may have accidents on the ship. However, you don’t know Brendan. This is the only chance I can escape!”“Oh, dear…” Feeling distressed, Tobey said, “But what if something happens to you?”“No, it won’t.” Deirdre smiled. “I felt pain just now when I bled, but I’m a lot better now.”Tobey took a deep breath. “Hold on, let me talk to them. Since you’re pregnant, you must not be harsh to yourself. Even if we have to pay extra, you’ll have a room to stay.”-At that moment, Brendan rushed to the mansion. The door was opened, and he could smell Deirdre’s scent, but none of her clothes and belongings could be seen.Deirdre’s belon