Deirdre was moved into silence. Her tongue failed her, and it took her minutes to recover her voice finally. “Tobey, I… I’m not worth it.”She did not deserve his concern. She was a hideous, blind, formerly-incarcerated ticking time bomb whose very presence could spell trouble at any time. She did not deserve to be with a man whose life was on the ascent. Tobey’s tone darkened. “Don’t you dare look down on yourself, Deirdre. Or was that a dig at my romantic preferences?”Deirdre fell silent. “You want me to tell you the ugly truth? Okay,” he added. “Truth is, I’m taking advantage of the current you. You’re at your most vulnerable, a lonely soul crying out for companionship and a place to belong. I’m merely seizing this moment. You know why? Because I know that even now, even when it seems like I’m at the height of my life, I don’t measure up to even a fragment of the blinding splendor you used to emanate.”Deirdre had always been their school’s brightest star. Her destitute fami

Deirdre lifted her head and pursed her soft lips into a polite smile. She was mesmerizing. Despite the absence of life in her damaged eyes, something in her face radiated. It summoned a wave within Kyran’s chest so violent that he had to press his lips thin to battle the urge.He extended his fingertip and wrote on her palm, ‘No need.’ Then, a moment later, he wrote, ‘Sorry for last time.’Deirdre stiffened a little, then she understood him. He was talking about their meeting during the musical. He had hurt her forehead.“It’s okay,” Deirdre replied, smiling. “I misunderstood you, that’s all. You just wanted to help. Besides, my forehead was pretty much healed by nighttime.”The man gave no response for a long beat before writing, ‘I’m still sorry.’He knew how uncomfortable Deirdre was when a stranger touched her, so he had been writing on her palm with a tin layer of tissue between his finger and her skin. His fingertip lingered in the middle of her hand before waltzing around

“Well, there you have it!” Deirdre chuckled. “He’s handsome and a friend of Mr. King, which means he’s also rich, isn’t he? Why would someone like that take a liking to a random blind woman in some backwater village? It’s just weird! I mean, I doubt his disability hardly hurt his desirability. I wouldn’t meet his standard even if he lowered it!”“Lord, I swear…” Madame Russell faltered. How was she supposed to tell her about Kyran’s stormy scowl the moment she emphasized on Deirdre being hers?And which handsome, rich Prince Charming would deign himself with menial labor for a woman he just met? Aristocrats like these probably lived their entire lives without ever touching any kind of work tool!“Come on, Madame Russell.” Deirdre cooed reassuringly. She wrapped her arm around the older woman’s. “Mr. Reed accidentally injured my forehead last night, so today, he came to apologize and help to make it up for me. He’s not interested in me, okay? And it’s impossible, too. My conditions a

Few could endure the optics of a bawling old woman. Naturally, some of the bystanders were compelled to mediate.“Come on, Eilis! Look at Mrs. Boebert. She’s so old and can barely walk on her own these days. You can’t possibly think she came to you, despite the difficulty, just so she could slander you in public, right?“Besides, nobody wants an unresolvable conflict among ourselves, right? This is a small place, Eilis. Tell, uh, that girl to apologize and get this over with.”“Amen to that! We are a tight-knit community. We know everyone here, drink the same water, and live under the same sky. It doesn’t do any of us good if the community splits because of something so trivial, right? Something as trivial as picking a fight with a little kid, too! If I may be frank, Eilis, do you really think that young lass is as trustworthy as you hope?”Their comments were like thorns stinging Deirdre’s chest. Eilis, however, was having none of it. “That’s enough!” She erupted in rage.Even

No, it was not because she had the compassion of the Virgin Mary. Nope, it was definitely not because her heart bled for the pitiful and destitute. She only agreed to join the party as a form of thanks. Yeap, definitely as a form of thanks for those two times Kyran helped her. Deirdre had received Tobey’s call by the time she got out of the vehicle. Standing by the roadside, she could not help but note the fatigue in Tobey’s voice, no matter how gentle he was. “Going to a dinner tonight with my mom, Dee?”Deirdre was not surprised that he knew. Madame Russell must have told him. “Yeah.”“Okay. Be careful, please. Don’t drink. If I recall correctly, you aren’t exactly a drinker. Just tell them you’re allergic to alcohol, and they will definitely leave you alone in fear.” Tobey quipped. “Go home as soon as it’s over, please.”“I know, Toby. I know.” She chirped. His voice was reassuring—the way a kind-hearted big brother’s was. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure your mom won’t drink too