“Nothing makes a man wanna protect more than his ego, right? Especially someone like Brendan. We can see that from what happened a few years ago. How could someone like that even allow news of himself being cucked to be leaked to the world? It just doesn’t make sense.”The man sank into a pensive silence. The underling was not wrong, yet he could not help but think something was amiss about this entire event—even if he could not connect Brendan to the mastermind. A long beat later, the man finally broke his silence. “Charlene McKinney is not salvageable by this point. Time to use this. Add fuel into Brendan’s chaos.”-Three days later, another story related to Charlene made the rounds. This time, intimate photos between herself and other men were under the spotlight. The leaker had stories, too. While Charlene was “a sl*t”, Brendan was described as someone whose apparent chastity and self-control were completely faked. He had predatory relationships with many minors, the leaker c
“Why hasn’t Mr. Brighthall come out to say anything after three days? Is it not the truth that his fiancee’s been sleeping with other men? The fact that he remains silent even after this discovery makes people wonder if the rumors are true about him doing equally despicable things on his own. Is this him trying to give Charli a second chance because he needs to absolve his own guilt?”“Nobody with a healthy sense of self-worth would accept a partner like this! Does the fact that Brendan can show that he’s someone who’s on the same boat as she is?”Charlene snuck out of the cab and entered the basement parking lot, making her way to the private passage. When she passed an employee by, she removed her mask to show them who she was. The employee regarded her with contempt and disgust, but they pushed the button to the highest floor and let her in silently.She reached the door to his office. Just one second before pushing the door open, she heard Sam shouting at his angriest. “We cou
Charlene hugged Brendan tightly and wept silently. He rubbed her back soothingly.His eyes were nonchalant and cold.“You’re only going through this because of me, aren’t you? With that in mind, how could I possibly sit on my hands while you go out there like that? Especially when the public is at its most merciless? If you go down there and explain it that way, your life will be lost forever.”Charlene sniffled as a twinkle of glee flitted through her eyes. It was just as she had suspected! Brendan would not leave her the moment she shed some tears.“But what are we going to do now? Your reputation… your name… they’re all ruined because of me! I don’t even dare return to the villa, Bren. I don’t know how to stand before Miss McKinnon and listen to her mocking me! I can’t bear it! The guilt… The agony…”“It’s not your fault.” Brendan comforted her. “It will pass.”Not that the journey to letting the entire event go would be easy. While they were locked in a comforting cuddle, B
The man seemed to realize it too, but he didn’t feel apologetic. Nevertheless, he did try to explain in a soothing tone, “I thought Brendan would make you bite the bullet, so I took the risk and did whatever I could so that Brendan had no time to deal with you while I got someone to take you out. After all, I should be giving you something good in return for your work for me.”Charlene wanted to laugh, but she appeared obedient when she replied, “When the incident happened, Brendan was indeed very disappointed in me. But because he still likes me, he temporarily let me stay in the mansion while trying to pour oil in troubled waters to protect me.”Unpredictable emotion was hiding in the man’s eyes when he said, “You should have contacted us from the beginning so we could have stopped the release of those photos at the conference.”Stopped? Weren’t they the ones who had released those photos? Now, they were turning the tables and pretending to be the good guys!Charlene was so furio
If Ophelia was still alive, how could she have been controlled for six long years and yet have been unable to find a way to reach Deirdre?Lost in thought, she didn’t even notice the movement outside the windows. By the time the bathroom door was opened, it was too late.She tried to cover her naked body, but with merely her two arms, she couldn’t cover much.Even though wet hair stuck to her shoulders like glue, Deirdre had striking features, a stunning expression, and snow-white skin tone, which turned rather red as time passed.Brendan’s Adam’s apple moved as he looked at Deirdre’s graceful body. Even if he was a man of honor and integrity, it would be difficult for him to control himself at that moment.He took off his tie, removed his shirt, and squeezed under the showerhead with Deirdre.Feeling Brendan’s burning hot skin, Deirdre was startled and asked stutteringly, “What are you doing?”Brendan increased the flow rate of the showerhead and whispered in Deirdre’s ear, “Di
Brendan saw the entire incident with naked eyes along with Sam.Naturally, Sam was shocked. “Cormac is one of theirs? How is it possible?”Brendan did not speak, but he had already guessed it. Now, his guess had been proven.Cormac was the only one in the company who had connections to the organization. When the person they had kidnapped died in the basement, Brendan knew that there was a spy in the organization. However, the spy was so meticulous that he wasn’t able to find out who he was until Charlene spoke up.Sam was still in shock. “Cormac has been training with us since he was 16 years old. He is not only low-key, but he is also capable. He could easily take over Steven’s responsibilities in just a few days. I thought the spy could be anyone but him…”Leaning back on his chair, Brendan looked into the distance. Sam controlled his complicated emotions and asked, “Mr. Brighthall, what should we do now? Should we stop him?”“No,” instructed Brendan. “I installed a locator i
Cormac didn’t care.“Sam, you’ve been my brother since we were young. You should know that I’m quite weak when it comes to martial arts skills, and I barely made it out by relying on my brain. I won’t hurt Mr. Brighthall, so you don’t have to be so guarded around me.”“You know that we’ve been brothers since we were young? Yet what did you do?” Sam was so furious that his eyes turned red. “Cormac, didn’t Mr. Brighthall and the organization treat you well? Yet, is this how you repay them?!”“You don’t understand,” Cormac said, remaining calm.“I don’t understand?” Sam laughed in anger. “But even though I don’t understand, I know that betrayal is not acceptable. Do you have a skeleton in your closet?”Sam finished by asking a question in an urgent tone.Cormac smiled and looked at Brendan in response.Brendan’s eyes remained calm, his expressionless handsome face neither angry nor disappointed, as if Cormac was a stranger.Cormac signed to himself but said, “No, there are no skel
Brendan’s smile faded, but his attention remained transfixed on Deirdre. “I was just thinking… I’m not that great of a boss, after all.”“Why would you say that?”“Because if I were, if I did everything as well as I could, why would any of my subordinates want to betray me? In fact, he would rather die than let me know anything?”He did not sound too emotive, but Deirdre could hear forlornness and melancholy undergirding his tone.“I admit to being a terrible, unforgivable husband, Deirdre, but I’ve always thought that I was at least good at looking out for my people. But today showed me how wrong I was. I haven’t done anything right at all.” He continued. “My life, the choices I made, might seem brilliant and genius to other people, but in truth, I have nothing.”He sounded jocular, but still… Brendan rarely put himself down. Deirdre could not help but fall silent. Right now, she really wanted to offer him comfort. “Brendan, nobody’s exempted from criticism. Even if God was p