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

"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

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

Deirdre wrinkled her nose at the smell of the rice porridge. It was infused with a strong herbal scent as if it had been mixed with traditional holistic medicine. The porridge and the herbs were blended together, making it seem like a dark and unappetizing dish."I'm not eating this," Deirdre declared, pushing the bowl away. She wasn't about to fall for Emily's trap.Emily had criticized her for eating greasy and salty food for a long time, but why didn't she say anything at the beginning? It was obviously just a way to take out Emily's frustration on her."Miss McKinnon…" Emily looked hesitant. "You're pregnant right now, and being picky won't do you any good."Brendan also noticed something odd and spoke softly to Deirdre. "Dee, don't be stubborn. You really should listen to Miss Collins. Eat the porridge, and I'll make you something more suitable to eat tomorrow."Deirdre turned her head, considering if she was being stubborn.Emily was just trying to create a rift betwe

Deirdre's eyes were icy as she said, "So, do you mean that you aren't willing to believe in others' feelings, are you?""It is not that I'm unwilling to believe in others' feelings. I'm just very clear about what will happen next. In fact, I'm looking forward to that day. I wonder what else you have after Mr. Brighthall forgets about you."As soon as Emily finished talking, she left without even saying goodbye.Deirdre's face turned pale.What did it mean for her to have anything left after Brendan forgot about her?How could Brendan forget about her?Deirdre didn't know why, but when she heard Emily's confident and expectant voice, she felt a sense of unease that made her heart pound disorderly.Soon, she tried to calm down. Deirdre was trying to convince herself that it might just be Emily exaggerating her words, but on second thought, she thought Emily shouldn't have stayed…The next few days went by smoothly until one morning, Shea entered Deirdre's room without any warni