Chapter 644: Chapter 645

Chapter 645 It’s Simple, Really "I was about to go abroad then.At that time, I had decided never to come back, so I used that opportunity to tell him upfront.Told him it’s best we never talk to each other again."

"Then why did you come back? When you showed up when Brendan needed you the most!"

"Miss McKinnon?"

Declan was baffled by Deirdre’s accusatory snap.

Frowning, he explained, "I came back for two reasons.One, I wanted to see my mother’s grave.Two, I changed my mind."

He exhaled a breath.

"My mother’s death is connected to Cillian and his mother, Miss McKinnon.I was too young to protect her...I couldn’t save her from them.But now, I’m older.I have more means now.I came back because I wanted to start my business empire here and...avenge my mother."

Deirdre froze.She had not realized that the enmity between Declan and Cillian ran this deep.

"I’m sorry, I didn’t..."

"All’s good."

He flashed a smile.

"I doggedly insist on hiding all of this history from people, so it’s only natural that you knew nothing of it.But since you’ve misunderstood me, I thought it was time to let it out of the bag.As for the angle with Brendan, though? That’s patently false.I haven’t been talking to him for so long already, or you would have heard of me while you were his wife, right?"

Deirdre closed her eyes as she debated in her mind.

Declan was right about one thing—Brendan had never mentioned him before.

Deirdre and Brendan may be more strangers than husband and wife, but there was no way she would have missed Declan’s name.

"Well...Glenna said...Glenna said the falling-out was a hoax! How do you explain that?"

Deirdre finally came to her real point of contention.Her face was pale from suppressing her emotions.

"She’s Fionn’s childhood friend, so she must have known a lot of things.And there’s no reason for her to lie to me."

Declan finally understood the reason behind Deirdre’s behavior.

"No wonder you're acting strange today.Glenna told you something, and now you’re struggling to make sense of me and Brendan’s affair."

"The reason Glenna said it was just a hoax was simple."

Declan said placidly, "I told Fionn to say that."

"But why?"

Deirdre demanded hastily.

"It’s simple.I was trying to hide the fact that Brendan and I weren't talking, so I told everyone it was just for show.That way, Cillian would be too uncertain about our relationship to want to hurt me," explained Declan.

Amusement cropped up on his smile.

"Unfortunately, Brendan was not having it.He hated me way more than I expected.He told my family the truth pretty straight-up.As for Glenna...Well, I haven’t had the time to explain it to her, have I?"

"Oh.That’s all?"

Deirdre felt her heart finally sinking into some semblance of peace until, suddenly, she raised her head.

"Why doesn’t Glenna know about Kyran?"

Declan placed his cup down.

"That was me, too.Kyran’s pretty prone to sickness, so he’s constantly homebound.The fewer scandals he could potentially get into, the better.No one wants to live with a family who keeps whispering behind their backs, right? Hanging out with the b*stard son of the Kings just isn’t something to be proud of."

‘So that's why.’ Deirdre released her hands as the storm in her chest slowly died.She calmed down.

Some parts of his explanation seemed a little weird, but the whole thing made sense in its entirety.She wanted to believe it.She wanted to believe Declan.She wanted to think that Kyran would never lie to her.

"I'm so sorry.I really jumped to conclusions."

Declan was not worried at all.

"Anyone in your shoes would have done that.It’s okay."

It was then that Glenna showed up and told them the food was almost ready.

Deirdre rolled up her sleeves and went to help out.

Less than half an hour later, three plates of classic beer-battered fish and chips made their way to the table.