Deirdre's gaze turned cold. A layer of frost covered her mien. "Oh, you're telling me all of this because you think your plan has already won, right? You think I can't touch a single hair on your head?"Emily was nonchalant. "Oh, Ms. McKinnon, I can assure you… I'm not in the same league as that idiot Charlene McKinney. I don't intend to give you openings the moment my plan starts getting into action. Go ahead, amass your 'evidence'! You think Brendan's gonna believe you?"Deirdre froze, her teeth grinding against each other. There had been a chance, but Emily… Emily was the one who had forced Shea into admitting guilt! Deirdre clenched her fists as rage rocked her chest. She glared at Emily, who smiled and raised her chin, beaming."What, you want to punch me now?""Punch you?" Deirdre closed her eyes. "As if I'm interested in dirtying my hand!"Emily's face darkened, but Deirdre did not care. Her throwing hands were exactly what Emily wanted. Thus, Deirdre turned on her heels,

Brendan climbed the stairs and returned to his room. Deirdre clenched her jaw and followed suit.When Brendan found Deirdre sitting on his bed after he emerged from the bathroom, wiping himself dry, he knew there was no getting out of the discussion. He flipped his matted hair back and asked, "Okay, what is it?"Deirdre clenched her hands. "Remember how I slapped Emily at the gate of Night City? That was because she confessed to coercing Shea! And that's not all, Brendan. Do you know that Mrs. Engel is innocent? She was threatened into confessing she was the mole! Think about it! If Mrs. Engel was a mole, she would have had ample time to hurt me. She never needed to work with Emily at all!"The room fell into a prolonged silence. Brendan seemed rather unperturbed and unruffled until shades of fatigue appeared on his face. "I see. Okay. Now, time to sleep."Deirdre froze. "You… don't believe me, do you?"Brendan set his towel down, revealing conflict in his eyes. "It's not that I d

"If you care about me, then do what I say. Do not ever have any contact with Emily Collins! "She quit being my doctor, right? That means there is no reason for the two of you to contact each other anymore! You are to treat her like a stranger! And if you need to talk to her, then talk to her only when I'm there with you… and you'll have to report to me before meeting her!"Deirdre's lips were trembling. She no longer cared if what she asked would make her seem unreasonable and preposterous. Brendan's opinion about her was nothing compared to the gravity of Emily steadily taking everything Deirdre had away from her.She would do all she could to unmask Emily. She would show Brendan just who she really was!"Dee." Brendan's frown seemed to be stuck in his forehead. "Why do you hate her so much?"Deirdre smirked. "No reason. I just hate her guts. Happy?"He would not believe anything she said, anyway."The point remains." Deirdre emphasized. "If you care about me, then listen to w

Food was also a great way to bring back the zest and passion in their relationship, especially after both of them had let it cool off on the side for this long.Ophelia was quite surprised to see Deirdre working hard in the kitchen. "Uh, shouldn't I help?""It's fine." Deirdre smiled, wiping little beads of sweat off her face. "I can do these. It's blurry, but it's good enough for me."Realization and understanding shadowed Ophelia's smile. "You hardly cook these days, so… what's up? Got motivated by some celebrity cook on the TV, or are you doing this only for a special someone?"Deirdre's cheeks warmed up a little. "Mom!""I know, I know. My daughter finally learned to put some effort into maintaining a relationship! As a mother who is very in the know, I won't interfere with this very special moment, so I am going to eat out."Deirdre was surprised. "Huh? But where? You don't have to!""I'm going to eat at a nice restaurant, sweetie. I won't stick around to see the two of you

"Where's Mark Engel now?"Deirdre was overjoyed. "He's on his way here! Sam located him and is bringing him to Neve. They should be here by tomorrow!"Brendan grazed the tablecloth back and forth. "Once he's with us, I'll confront Emily personally. She needs to explain this. If it really was her doing, then the people backing her must be very powerful too. I won't let her get away with this!"That was especially since his investigations had revealed no sign of outside manipulation. Deirdre clenched her hands to stop herself from being too excited. "And what about Shea and Mrs. Engel?""I'll compensate them for misjudging them. Shea will return to you, too."Deirdre smiled from ear to ear. Good, good! This way, Emily could never come back again! She knew it—she knew that her determination would pay off!The next morning, Sam called and told them they had both arrived at the station.Deirdre quickly informed Brendan, who ordered Sam to bring the man straight to their villa. Then