“Here’s the thing. We don’t give a damn who you’ll end up marrying, but since we’ll be staying together for a while, let me give you a piece of advice,” Deirdre said a little apathetically. “Mrs. Engel is going to be your housekeeper and your cook. That means she has plenty of chances to surprise you, don’t you think?”Mrs. Engel caught on. “She’s right, Miss McKinney. Protecting yourself against obvious enemies is one thing, but against someone who you depend on? It would be easy for me to place some pins on your pillow… Or spit in your filet…”Charlene’s expression darkened before the older woman finished. “You dare!?”Mrs. Engel shot a disgusted glare. “What’s stopping me? I’ll quit once Miss McKinnon leaves anyway. You don’t even know where my home is. I am not scared of your petty payback!”Charlene gnashed her teeth for a while before her ire subsided a little. She glared daggers at Deirdre and turned her umbrage back against the latter. “You turn being a doormat into an art
“Where’s Deirdre?”Mrs. Engel’s impression of Brendan had sunk to its nadir. Had he not been her employer, she would have ignored him as though he did not exist. “She’s in her room.”“Hmm.”He sounded so non-committal and nonchalant it irritated Mrs. Engel enough to speak out. “Mr. Brigthall, Charlene McKinney arrived and told me to prepare a guest room for her. She said she’s going to stay here for a few days!”“She’s here already?” Brendan remarked flatly. There was no sign to paint his reaction to lean either joy or disgust. In fact, it sounded as if he had been expecting it to happen. “Her injury hasn’t healed yet, and I’m not usually at home. You should pay some attention to it while you can.”Mrs. Engel was appalled. “And you don’t think this is unfair to Miss McKinnon, Mr. Brighthall? She’s pregnant with your child, sir, while you invite Charlene to stride into a house that belongs to the both of you as if—”“Is dinner ready?” Brendan suddenly interjected. She froze. “Y-
Deirdre emerged from her room, causing Mrs. Engel’s eyes to twinkle before she immediately rushed to greet her. “Mrs. Brighthall! You’re here!”Brendan immediately pulled his arm out of Charlene’s.Charlene glowered. She finally had the chance to be alone with Brendan before this b*tch decided to ruin it! Not that she could point her fingers right now. Deirdre was bearing Brendan’s child. It was only normal that the man was disinclined to show any sign of intimacy with her while the woman he impregnated was standing right there.Thus, Charlene launched back into her well-practiced pretense. “Aren’t you feeling unwell, Miss McKinnon? Why are you here?”Deirdre descended the stairs with Mrs. Engel’s help and curled the corner of her lips. “I got hungry just like you, Miss McKinney. After all, I’m pregnant,” she replied. “Besides, this is your first meal since coming to my house, and it’d be so unbecoming and improper of me not to join in.”Her smile screamed deliberation. She was
Storm clouds pooled around Brendan’s visage almost instantly. He locked his eyes dead on Deirdre’s face, snarling, “How long are you going to act like a brat, McKinnon!?”The commotion summoned Mrs. Engel out of the kitchen. Seeing ceramic pieces bathing in a pool of pumpkin soup on the floor, the good woman immediately tried to de-escalate the situation.“Mr. Brighthall, please hear me out! Mrs. Brighthall had never liked pumpkin soups! I can vouch for that! This is why I made something else for her instead. She’s not trying to make things hard for you, I promise!”Deirdre’s face was ashen and unyielding. “You don’t have to explain anything to that thick skull, Mrs. Engel. I’m always wrong to him anyway!” She sulked.Brendan scowled. His patience was running out. “You’re the one who’s been acting out like a petulant tw*t since you were released from the detainment center!” he thundered. “If anything in this house offends your oh-so-high horses, talk it out like a grown-up! Nobody
All Brendan cared about was the kid Deirdre bore him, right? So what would happen… if Charlene got pregnant too?The young woman thought long and hard about it as she savored her risotto. When she was done, she got up and went for a bath as preparation. Deirdre lay on her back alone and watched the sky turn darker and darker. Sleep came to her like a cascade, but a second after she drifted off, she heard soft noises coming from her balcony. It sounded as if someone was opening her window. She pulled herself up with her palms, but before she could even see anything, the figure that entered her room through the balcony threw their arms around her and locked her in a suffocating embrace.Deirdre froze. Shock gradually displaced her sleep. Then, softly, she urged, “Have you gone nuts?”The first floor did not sound like much on paper, but it was still a considerable height to fall from. The fact that this unhinged man had decided to climb out of his window and into hers as if he wou
Deirdre opened her eyes from the noise and froze. Brendan, too, heard it, but neither of them moved. Someone was knocking, not on Deirdre’s room but Brendan’s. It did not take a genius to know who this not-mysterious-knocker could be, given the timing at late night.A while later, the confirmation came unprompted. “Bren? Bren! Are you asleep already?” Charlene urged.“Now what?” Deirdre asked in an undertone. Brendan was in her room! If Charlene continued to knock, she would soon realize no one was inside. “God, you shouldn’t have come here!”“It’s going to be fine,” Brendan replied calmly before beckoning Deirdre to lean close.Charlene went on knocking for a while despite nobody answering, and she started to grumble to herself. Brendan was famous for being a light sleeper, and he did not usually sleep this early in the night. Even if he did manage to fall asleep, all that noise she made should have woken him! Thus, why was there neither sound nor anyone answering the door?She
Brendan pinched the bridge of his nose as if he was trying to fight back fatigue. “I accidentally took a nap during my bath. What’s the matter?” “Oh, it was nothing,” Charlene smiled. “I was just enjoying a chat with Miss McKinnon.”“A chat?” snarled Deirdre, clearly not in the mood to play along. “I’m not in the mood to engage in brain-rotting chatter in the middle of the freezing night. Miss McKinney, though, spent a good few minutes knocking on your door until everyone in the house woke up!”She turned on her heels and slammed her door shut.Brendan turned his attention back to Charlene. His face was markedly devoid of rage, impatience, or any emotion. Still, his attention lingered on her body for a far longer time than he usually did.“Aren’t you cold?” he finally remarked.Of course Charlene was cold—her getup was scant by design! She did not expect Brendan to take his bath this late into the night either. But since he put it that way… Charlene would not let this perfect ex
Charlene was strangely not irritated at all. She rebutted Deirdre with a cheery smile, “I’ll just take Miss McKinnon’s ornery behavior as good old venting and move on.”Her mood was blazingly sunny. She took up a seat at the side and took her fill of breakfast, spirited, when there was suddenly a series of commotion outside.To Charlene's surprise, Madame Brighthall strutted inside with Brendan at her tail. She rose. “Bren, it’s early! Why are you here?”Brendan shot her a warning glance. Madame Brighthall strode inside hurriedly straight toward Deirdre. She picked up the young woman’s hand and examined it, remarking, “God, you’ve got bonier…”A pang hit Madame Brighthall. “God, that detainment center is just a hotbed for inhumane practices! How could the people working there not try to help? Especially since you’re pregnant!”A wave of emotions washed over Deirdre. She knew Madame Brighthall’s concern and care for her were genuine. “It’s okay, Madame Brighthall. I didn’t actu