Chapter 198 Back to How It Used to Be âThe truth behind ourâ¦?â Brendanâs ire was palpable. âWhatâs that supposed to be?â
Deirdre panicked a little. He knew exactly what she meant and had asked her this question anyway. Ho w was she supposed to answer that?
Brendan closed his fingers around her wrist as his handsome face loomed close to her own. âWe. Are.
Husband And Wife, Deirdre McKinnon,â he stated, prolonging each word. âYou should remember that. Iâm not some polyamorous man loving a harem of women. All y ou have to do is stay in your lane and stop trying to harm Lenaâand I swear, youâll always have a shelter in me.
âItâs not impossible for us⦠to go back to how it used to be.â
Brendan stiffened. Had he really said that? Why would he say that?
Was this his deepest wish after all? To go back to that time?
Deirdre was so taken aback that she could not even reel out of her own shock. His voiceâ
his request- reverberated within her brain like a cursed echo. What was the point of telling her this? Was he trying to explain the nature of his relationship with
Charlene?
She felt like her head was about to explode. The gale was so strong that her headache seemed to puls ate along an unknown rhythm. It was so hard to think in this state.
She closed her eyes and felt Brendan pulling her into his arms. She then felt his coat wrapping her tight . Cold air had ceased to reach her, and it was his scent that surrounded her now.
A sense of discomfort coalesced, and she began to wriggle.
Brendan locked his arm around her waist. âWerenât you the one who asked for my help maintaining this facade?â he stated matterâofâfactly. âIâm not some Aâ
list professional actor, so donât expect me to know what an awardâ
winning performance means. If you really want our act to work, then Iâm gonna have to methodâ
act until youâre satisfied starting today. That way, she wonât be able to sense that anythingâs amiss.â
He made a lot of sense, but Deirdre was still unaccustomed to the intimacy between them. Her voice w as trembling when she said, âJâJust acting like we used to be back then will be enough.â
âAnd when is that?â
Deirdre had to push the next words out of her teeth. âThe two years following our marriage.â
Brendan froze a little. âBut I wasnât treating you right at all back then.â
Hell, he had been genuinely abusive. She had been his sexual outlet, a doll to receive him when he felt like it, someone he could walk away from when he was done. He would come back from work and not
spare her more than a glance before heading straight to his study or Charleneâs room on the second floor. 1 âThat was good enough,â Deirdre said calmly. She had not dared ask for more back then, but now, she would not dare ask for much at all.
Brendanâs eyebrows were furrowed as he scanned the young womanâs apathetic face.
A thought formed in his mind. Could this be it? The chance he had been waiting forâ
the opportunity for things to go back to how they used to be?
âI can do that⦠if I havenât forgotten exactly how I used to treat you back then,â he argued.
âLook. Letâs get inside before discussing this further. Weâll start by having meals together. Youâll remind me.â
It was too cold outside. Deirdre could not withstand it any longer, and in the end, decided to answer his call to return to the house. Dr. Ginger had prepared their meal by that point, so the two of âWhat was it like back then⦠whenever we ate together?â Brendan asked.
Deirdre did not even need to consciously exhaust her memoryâ
it came to her at the smallest of summons. They had never talked. The manâs focus had always been on his papers. The womanâs focus⦠had always been on him.
It used to be a moment of respite and warmthâwhich was why it hurt her like a knife. âI donât remember,â she lied.
Brendan was not in a hurry. âFine, then. You have ten whole days to recall anyway. No rush.â
Deirdre said nothing.
They finished their meal, and she went up the stairs and headed to her room. Before she could shut the door, though, a hand rested on the handle and his towering figure squeezed through the gap and went inside.
He closed the door, and Deirdre felt the air somehow become thinner. She froze before calming down. S respect, so the first thing that leaped to her mind was removing her clothing. She had stripped down to her last article when Brendan suddenly stopped her hand. âWhat are you doing?â
She looked at him unseeingly, feeling confused. âArenât you here for sex?â