Chapter 608


    Chapter 608 You Were Smoking?


    The room was unusually cold, too. Someone had opened the window, or the stench would have been


    even starker. Deirdre was silent for a bit before she asked, ‘You were smoking?”


    "Mm." Brendan coughed and cleared his throat. Once his voice regained rity, he ordered, "The


    clothes are on your bed. Change into them. We should get going."


    There was no stylist with them. After changing into her getup, Deirdre let her hair free, where it dangled


    around her shoulders. Before stepping outside, she put on some lipstick on her lips to look a little more


    alive.


    Brendan stared at her. "Did you put on lipstick?”


    "Yes." She brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and dodged his gaze. "I can''t possibly see them


    without makeup, but I don''t know what else to do. Why? Something wrong?”


    “Everything''s wrong,” he replied brusquely. Stepping forward, he pressed his finger on her supple lips


    and wiped her effort away.


    "You did a crappy job."


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    Deirdre was not at all offended. "Sorry. I was literally doing it blindly."


    Brendan cast his eyes to the floor. "Give me your lipstick."


    She passed it to him, and the man began to work. He cupped her chin and tipped it higher before


    grazing her lips with its rouge tip. Steadily, he worked with the precision of a surgeon until a gradient of


    red materialized.


    The intensity in his gaze was starting to send shivers down Deirdre''s spine. It was only when his phone


    rang that she had the opening to move, opting to cast her unseeing eyes down to the floor frantically.


    "Are you done?"


    Brendan stopped. ‘Yes. Let''s go."


    The call came from Wynne, who had been waiting for them downstairs. Seeing Brendan and Deirdre,


    he eagerly stepped forward and greeted them. "Mr. Brigthall! Miss McKinnon! I''m Mr. Cillian King''s


    assistant, Wynne. The weather''s too cold to stay out here for long. Pleasee inside.”


    Brendan helped Deirdre into the car and took his seat. Wynne started the engine and added, "Sorry for


    keeping the two of you waiting. Traffic is terrible today.”


    "We''ve only just gotten ready," Brendan replied nonchntly. After watching the road the car took for a


    while, he asked, "Aren''t we heading to Southmont?"


    "The family doesn''t stay there anymore, sir. Mrs. King said the family should stay somewhere new and


    fresh, so they bought a new ce in the city."


    "I''m sorry?"


    Wynne forwent details. "She believed a house that old would only be haunted sooner orter."


    Brendan nodded, but he knew it ran much deeper than that. An old mansion was the pride of many


    long-standing elite families, a symbol of their longevity and history. The real reason Mrs. King insisted it


    must be haunted was that the death of Den''s mother haunted her. She needed this change of


    location.


    The house was not too far from the hotel Brendan and Deirdre were staying at. Half an hourter, they


    arrived at their destination. Even before Brendan got out of the car, Laura was already waiting by the


    door with a face brimming with smiles.


    "Wee, wee! Gillian''s upstairs, choosing our wine for the day. Wee to our home, Mr.


    Brighthall, Miss McKinnon!"


    Her hands were sore from the nipping air. When Deirdre got out of the car, the young woman reached


    out to hold her, and the former immediately shuddered at the temperature.


    "Oh, I''m so sorry!" Laura apologized and pulled her hand back. Deirdre shook her head.


    "You''ve been waiting out here for a while now, haven''t you? Aren''t you cold?"


    Laura smiled. "Oh, it wasn''t that long!"


    It had to be at least ten minutes, and Cillian had left his wife in the cold while he himself enjoyed the


    warmth of his abode. The callousness of it all pressed against Deirdre''s chest and stoked a small fire in


    her. Brendan would not have done something like that, even in the past.


    The three of them walked side-by-side as they made their way to the entrance. Brendan could not help


    but notice a barren patch at the right side of the fountain, which shed with the surrounding area.


    "Was something nted there?”


    Laura froze. She turned to see if Wynne followed them. When she saw he was not, she answered, "It


    used to be a bed of roses.”


    Brendan fell silent. It was Deirdre who continued the conversation out of curiosity, "What happened to


    the roses?"