Resent Reject Regret by Aqua Summers

Chapter 884 I Won't Let You Down

The sudden weightlessness bewildered Deirdre. She instinctively grabbed his collar as she grimaced in panic. She could feel him opening a door, and then, silently-she found herself gently plopping on the softness of her bed.

Her surroundings were too quiet, and she could hear her heart racing.

Helplessly, she cried out, "B-Brendan? B-Brendan!"

The man in question planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I'm here."

She withdrew her fingers into fists. "Please, don't..."

The nervous dread on her face annoyed him enough that he snorted.

Please don't'? Really?"

Deirdre parted her lips, but Brendan continued before she could explain herself further. "I'm not an animal, Dee. I'm not going to take advantage of you when you're still injured. I'm only worried about you. Once I finish administering medicine on your injuries. I'll leave."

His movement was so gentle that Deirdre blanked and tacitly allowed him to do whatever he wanted to do.

As it turned out, Brendan did exactly what he said he would. He gently poured some ointment on her injuries and rubbed them carefully, his erstwhile cool hand strangely warm this time.

Deirdre gnashed her teeth and braved through the process, though she would occasionally frown when it hurt. Brendan always caught it the moment her brows furrowed slightly and tweaked his motion to become even more featherlight.

When it was over, Brendan told her gravely, 'The people who did this to you have all been punished... severely. From now on, nobody's going to harm you ever again."

He was serious. It was no lie. Deirdre's mind blanked, and she said, "The most important thing at the moment, Brendan, is finding out whether my mother's alive.

"It doesn't really matter if one of the prices I have to pay is this. I'm used to a life like that," she said under her breath. "What I want in the end is news of my mother, so don't throw yourself in danger for my sake. If you're in a bind, then it frustrates what I want."

Silence befell Brendan gradually. After a while, he asked, 'You're still worried about the company, aren't you?"

She nodded. "Exactly. I don't want you to act like an idiot for the sake of atoning for this or that because the best reparation you can ever give me is telling me, with certainty, if my mother's still alive. I don't want you to lose everything you have or become some image everyone out there spits on for some grandiose reasons like 'protecting me.' You're not some lowlife the board can just look down on. You're Brendan Brighthall! The man who's above us all!"

She had tried to frame her words to signal only tepid camaraderie at most, but Brendan could still detect genuine care and concern from her. His lips curled upward, and he pulled her into his arms. "God, I'm so happy," he murmured. Deirdre was no longer the same woman who would detest him as though he was the plague.

Deirdre stiffened. Then, she frowned. "I wasn't joking, Brendan." "I know. You are worried about me and are hoping that this whole affair doesn't affect me," he replied. He cupped her chin and gazed into her with devotion reserved for a deity. "So, I won't let you down, either. Every move

I made was carefully calculated."

There was a layer of subtext in his quiet boast.

Deirdre's mind blanked at the possibility. She raised her head and asked," Calculated? What do you mean?"

Brendan said nothing. After gazing into her eyes for a moment, he let go of her. 'You should rest. Good night."

Deirdre fell onto her back, but all she could think about was what he had said. He seemed prepared-even as the board was going to unanimously fire him, he did not seem worried at all. Could it be that he had already made his next move, or could it be...

Deirdre woke in the early morning. She hastily put on a coat and got downstairs.

Mrs. Engel was busy in the kitchen.