“If getting a lofty gift troubles you, then you can balance the trade after you get your first salary. Buy me dinner.”That was it? A dinner was supposed to somehow be equal to a luxurious piano? Deirdre found the idea wild, though admittedly, she had no other excuse. The reminder of her salary eased her mind a little too, so she agreed. “Okay.”The call ended. She took a seat behind the piano and began to learn the songs on her sheet. As it turned out, Deirdre was quite possibly musically gifted, as it took her only an afternoon to master all but one song on the entire sheet. She was strapped for time to learn the last one, so she took the music sheet book to work. The front-desk girl immediately caught sight of the wooden book. “What’s that?!” She gasped. “Looks like the sort of stuff you’d keep in your cabinet of curiosities!”Deirdre flashed her a smile. “A friend gave it to me as a gift.”“Dang, hon! That’s code for ‘not-your-typical-friend’ if I ever heard one!” the front-d

This kind of humiliation and anger further intensified Charlene’s hatred for Deirdre.“What are you staring at?” scoffed Charlene softly. With hostility, she added, “Don’t forget your attitude when you were trying to date me. You said you could do anything for me. And now you feel sorry for a blind woman? Give her a hard lesson! Destroy that book!”She hated it when she saw the book.Vyn received the command and shot a glance at the others.Deirdre finally found the book. However, before she was able to enjoy this moment of happiness and secure it in her embrace, a seizing force struck her and took it away from her.Deirdre shuddered at the sharp, tearing pain in her elbow. She ignored it and instantly stretched out her hand and implored, “Please give it back to me, please. I will drink the wine in return! Yes, I will drink it!”“It’s too late.” Vyn weighed the relatively heavy book in his hand. Then, he dropped it to the ground. “It’s no longer interesting to see you drinking. T

Brendan’s black pupils dilated as shock churned in him. Meanwhile, complex and intricate feelings filled his heart as though he had just been cut.He had thought she cared only about this music book and the piano. It turned out that she was that invested… just because of him?She had been trying to secure the music book he had given her, which was why she was so miserable that she was sobbing.Something seemed to have struck him, and Brendan picked Deirdre up and walked out of the private room.He put her in the passenger seat. When he fastened his seatbelt, he unconsciously glanced in the rearview mirror and saw a car behind him that looked inexplicably familiar.After taking a second glance, he saw the license plate number and an emotion flashed across his black, frigid eyes. He then made a call.In a washroom located in the private room next door, Charlene was hiding, trembling in fear.While Vyn had been giving Deirdre a harsh lesson, she had unconsciously looked downstairs

She had not managed to protect the music book, which had been torn into two anyhow. It made her feel uneasy, as if its destruction had verified that something was about to happen. Brendan could see that she was sad, so he said, “The music book is not completely destroyed. It was only torn down in the middle. We should be able to restore it if we get a professional to fix it.”“Really?” Deirdre turned around and clutched Brendan’s hand out of excitement but loosened her grip due to the pain. There was a look of anticipation in her eyes. “Hmm.” Brendan stared at her. “When have I ever lied to you?”Afterward, he filled the bathtub with fresh water and left Deirdre soaking while he went outside to call up Sam. “Today’s incident aside, I believe that Vyn has committed quite a number of crimes too. Look into the things he’s done and send him to jail so he can experience some hardships.”Brendan spoke in an ice-cold voice that did not leave room for any resistance. Sam wanted to do

‘You still have me.’In the past, Deirdre would not have been relieved. Instead, she would have been haunted by Brendan’s remark. However, Deirdre lowered her gaze now and felt her heart, which was sealed in ice, begin to crack slowly. She actually found Brendan’s remark convincing; perhaps it was due to Ophelia’s presence that her withered heart had been restored. She had found a way to pursue her dream and she was no longer living like a zombie. Similarly, she would not attach any hope to Brendan, like she had in the past. She felt that her current life was pretty great. Her mother would return to her when her illness was cured, and she would be working in the meantime. That was already enough for her, and she would be able to leave without feeling any disappointment and live a life that belonged to her when Brendan was bored of her. “Hmm.”She answered nonchalantly in a very soft tone, as if the voice came from her throat. However, Brendan managed to hear her reply, which