Chapter 565 Donât Leave Me, Dee For a moment, Deirdre even thought she was touching a block of ice. It jolted her into a realization of what might have happened. Alarmed, she tried to shake him awake.
âBrendan Brighthall, wake up! Now!â
He answered her with a painful whimper. She tried to touch his face.
It was feverish.
There was no way he did not have a fever. The man was already halfconsciousâif she left him like this, the worst could very well happen.
Deirdre felt as though her mind had blanked. It took her effort to wake herself out of her panic and feel her way out of the room. She finally felt the door of her neighbor and opened it.
A stranger opened it with marked annoyance.
âE-Excuse me! I donât want to bother you, but I am blind and need your help. My friend has a nasty fever right now, so can you help me call the front desk so they can send a staff member up to our room?â
Few people could decline to help a beautiful woman in need-especially on something as urgent as this. The stranger called the front desk without further ado and comforted Deirdre. âChill, okay? Itâs easy to get a fever in weather like this. Your friend will be alright.â
After a crude examination, the staff came and confirmed Brendan was suffering from a fever. Unfortunately, there was little they could do given their circumstances.
âThe rain is still pouring out there, miss, and the nearest hospital isnât near at all. If we drive him there right now⦠It might just worsen his condition. My suggestion? Weâll give him some medicine to cool down his fever and turn the AC up. Youâll have to watch over him until morning when the rain should stop. Weâll then send your friend to the hospital first thing. Sounds good?â
Deirdre could only nod. âThank you.â
âJust doing my part, miss.â
The front desk sent warm water and medicine soon enough. Deirdre received them, set them on the table, hesitated momentarily, and began to undress Brendan. She might be too blind to see anything, but she could feel, including his private bits. She could feel everything.
The entire process made her sweat, reminding her in dismay that her shower had been for nothing. She was not in the mood to shower again, though, so she sat on the bedside and listened to the sound of rain outside.
It felt like a waking dream-she was back to those times when she was caring for Kyran.
She snapped out of the illusion and pinched the center of her palm. Since Deirdre knew Brendan was still unconscious, she cast her eyes low and muttered to no one in particular, âYou know, I was seriously musing about leaving you in your fever before I decided to seek help. Iâm blind, you see. And the weatherâs bad. All I need to do is to pretend I have no idea this happened and nobody can blame me for it. Whether you live or die on the next day⦠itâs got nothing to do with me at all.
âBut I couldnât do it, Brendan. Not because I hold even a lick of feelings for you⦠but because I can never be as heartless as you are, no matter how hard I try.â
In the end, she rested her head on the edge of the bed and slept. In her sleep, she felt the man stir and was startled awake. âBrendan?â
âWater.â
His voice sounded weak and almost unreal as if he was just muttering in his sleep.
Deirdre had no reason to doubt his request, though. âOh, youâre thirsty. Okay. Iâll fetch you a glass.â
She rose, her feet turning toward the table. Before she could make her move, Brendan suddenly grabbed hold of her wrist tightly. âDonât go, Dee! Donât leave me⦠Donât leave me, pleaseâ¦â
Deirdreâs eyes widened. Something shot up from her chest to her throat, burning her entrail along the way. The feeling was indescribable.
He called her Dee. Why? How?
He always called her Miss McKinnon or McKinnon. If he ever called her Deirdre, it would be as a snarl. God knew how much distance the man insisted on putting between them or how cold and detached he could be against her. It did not matter if they had been married for two years or had known each other for four years.
He had never called her Dee or used a tone like this! It was impossible!
But now, here he was, addressing her with this intimate nickname with this lovesick tone.
His manner was so natural it almost felt as though he had done it a thousand times. It threw Deirdre into a loop. It bamboozled her.
At that moment, Brendan opened his eyes groggily. In his fever-addled mind, he had returned to those nights when he was confined to his sickbed. Seeing Deirdre by his side confused him further.
He thought he must be playing Kyran now