Chapter 283 Letâs Pretend None of This Happened, Okay?
Deirdre remained still as a statue until his yell stirred her. She raised her head and stared at him with what had once been lively, blithe eyes but were now soulless and dilapidated, like two broken mirrors found buried in a casket. Her surface calmness belied intense hate.
âI donât care.â Her voice cracked and croaked, as her throat had fallen into disuse since she had stopped talking. Her words vaguely resembled a vitriolic jab. âDo you really think I give a damn, Brendan? Itâs just incarceration. Itâs not even my first rodeo, can you believe that? Been there, done that, Iâm used to it. I can live in prison again, but youâ¦. Youâre not getting away with this. I wonât let you!â
A deluge of hate broke out of her eyes like a dagger going through Brendanâs chest.
âHow could you destroy yourself like this, Deirdre?! Because of revenge? What about your dreams?
Your future-â
âMy future is already in ruins!â She howled, eyes forward, tears pouring out. âAnd you caused it!â
Did his cheeks not burn in shame when he brought up her dreams and future? She was talented.
Musically gifted! Even if playing for a large crowd in grand halls was beyond her, she could have been good enough to work as a music tutor at an academy. She could have lived with her mother just like that, happy and content.
But he had taken everything from her. Her eyes, and then her mother, the only family she had! And now, the same bastard who had ruined her life had the audacity to wax poetic about her future?!
âC-Calm down, D-Deirdreâ¦â Brendan pressed his palm against his abdomen hard and took a deep breath. He flattened his lips in effort until they turned pale. âC-Calm down and t-think. You donât have hard evidence to prove your accusations. You donât have the wealth to fight the Brighthall family. There are only two ways out of this r-right now, and thatâs incarceration⦠or working with me. We can settle this in private. Itâll be like⦠l-like nothing ever happened.â
âLike nothing ever happened?!â Deirdreâs eyes turned blood-red. Tears were welling up in them. âMy mom is dead, Brendan. And youâre asking me to pretend that didnât happen?!â
âI-I was just as surprised to hear about her death! She was already unstable back then. It didnât matter how much I tried to prevent it! I didnât expect her to jump from the third floor-â
âSo you chose to deceive me and get some f*cking stranger to impersonate her!!!â Deirdre shrieked in hysterical rage. She sobbed, her sickly frame quivering with spasms. âWhy would she even kill herself if you hadnât forced me to go to jail back then, Brendan?! You donât understand-youâll never understand.
Because youâre a privileged piece of sh*t living in luxury and wealth since you were f*cking born! Youâll never understand the anguish of realizing youâve been deceived all along, that your only family died in agony while you were blissfully duped! You should f*cking go to hell!â
Brendan closed his eyes as a wave of vertigo assaulted him. He opened them again. âYou love me, do you?â
Deirdre froze. Tears seemed to have crystallized on her cheeks.
âIf you can forgive me⦠If you can be with me again, then it will mean I still mean a lot to you. I know that Opheliaâs death was a hard blow to your life, but you canât b-bring back the dead, Deirdre. All we can do is look ahead and soldier on⦠And Iâll be good to you, I promise. You can be Mrs. Brighthall forever.
âJust⦠Let us pretend none of this happened, okay?â
1 Deirdreâs eyes widened.
She could not believe the crap entering her ears.
What. The. F-
It was like a bomb had detonated inside her head. Her chest felt mangled, and the pain was unbearable. She clenched her teeth.
She grabbed the chair next to her.
She then swung it forward, where Brendan would have been.
He jerked back, and the chair crashed onto the window between them. A crack formed.
He stared at its jagged scar, his eyes quivering. He would have been in big trouble if this glass had not existed.
A sharp, hot jolt of pain screamed from his abdomen, He looked down and realized his own blood had stained his palm vermillion. Apparently, his knee-jerk reaction to Deirdreâs sudden burst of violence had torn his wound asunder.
The cops watching them came next. They barged into the cell and pinned Deirdre to the table.