Deirdre’s lips were trembling, and she stretched out her hand with great effort. “Mother, can I… touch your hands?”She knew Ophelia’s hands. They were a pair of old hands covered in calluses that felt very different even at a very young age, especially in some spots. She had not felt out Ophelia’s hands seriously before this but she had grown suspicious after Charlene’s remarks. Maeve’s heart was racing. “What’s going on? What’s going on with you… Deirdre?”“I’m fine…” Deirdre took a deep breath and cracked a fake smile with great difficulty. “I used to hold your hand frequently in the past and I missed doing that all of a sudden. I yearned for the feeling of you holding my hand when you walked me home after school…”“I see.” Maeve smiled, but her heart was still on guard. She had figured out that Deirdre must have noticed something. At the same time that a feeling of uneasiness grew in her, she had no choice but to stretch out her hand. “Alright, I shall hold my little Deird

When those words were spoken, Brendan did not realize what was happening yet. “Money? What money?”“The money I spent to buy the gifts… I don’t have a source of income for the time being, so I spent the money on your ATM card. I’ll figure out a way to pay you back.”There was agitation in Brendan’s eyes. He had never cared less about things like money and he was delighted that Deirdre had spent his money. “Why do you have to draw such a clear distinction?” He then said in an unkind tone, “Did you think I’d care about a few thousand dollars?”Deirdre was silent. ‘If that is not a problem, why did he bring up this issue?’Brendan took a deep breath and got straight to the point by saying, “Where’s mine?“What is it?“You brought gifts for Dr. Ginger and Sam, so do you have one for me too?”Deirdre was stunned upon hearing that. Brendan furrowed his eyebrows, his gaze darkening when he saw Deirdre’s surprised expression. “You didn’t get me anything, huh, Deirdre?”“I…” Deirdre

Deirdre was hesitant. ‘Would I have been unhappy? In the past, I wouldn’t have been happy indeed. ‘Not only would I have been unhappy, but my heart would have bled, and I would have felt suffocated. ‘But how could the all-superior Brendan share the same way of thinking as my past self?’“I’ll think about it.”Deirdre lowered her gaze as she answered. Soon, she heard the pleasant sound of a piano playing next to her. It was apparent that the piano was a high-quality one, and the tune it played was immersive. She could not help feeling tempted. Maeve could see that and said in an exploratory tone, “Would you like to play it, Deirdre?”“Me?” Deirdre was embarrassed. “I can’t. I have very limited skills because I only took lessons for a short while. Besides, I can’t see anymore, so perhaps I have already lost those skills.”“How can you be certain that you can’t do it if you don’t try?”Maeve called over the waiter and asked if they could play the piano. The waiter did not r

“I can give you money if that is what you want, and the villa has never treated you shabbily if all you want is a place to live. But you still insist on going outside and claim that you’re not trying to run away?”Brendan spoke in a stern voice. He got up from the chair, moved closer to Deirdre, and clutched her shoulders. “Deirdre, I spoiled you by letting you go outside in the past few days and you’ve become wildly ambitious. Now you think you’re strong enough to leave?”Deirdre was pinned against the door and felt deeply powerless when she heard Brendan’s furious remark. “Brendan, I’m a living human being. Don’t I even have the right to go and get a job?”“You have to be capable of taking care of yourself if you want to go out and get a job. Could you live through the winter out there without me? I’m afraid no one would know even if you froze to death out there!”Brendan had initially intended to tell Deirdre that the outside world would never tolerate a blind person, yet his re

She had bought him this gift at the very least. Brendan wanted to smoke a cigarette to calm the burning sensation in his chest yet he realized that his hand was shaking. He grasped his hand, the one that was holding the cufflinks, with his other hand and got up to leave after a while. He pulled out his phone to make a call. “Help me look into the Oak restaurant to see if there’s anything fishy about it.”…Deirdre had lost track of time by the time she opened her eyes and saw that the other side of the bed was still neat. She removed the blanket and walked out of the room just in time to bump into Maeve. “You’re awake? What happened? Why are you in such a rush?”“Nothing happened.” Deirdre calmed down. She had assumed that Brendan would get rid of Ophelia since she had offended him yesterday. “Why didn’t you sleep in the room yesterday, mother?”“Ah.” Maeve answered casually, “I felt sick and I was afraid that it might be contagious, so I slept in the other room.”She chan