Chapter 747


    Chapter 747 Let’s Add One More Stake to This, Shall We?


    For some unknown reason, the uncertain, almost unsettled look on Deirdre’s face summoned a swirl of


    anxiety. He frowned, and his eyebrows locked together into a knot. He could not tell why or where this


    anxiety wasing from, but his gut was telling him that something big was about to happen…


    “Bren!”


    The door to the lounge opened. Charlene sashayed into the room in tailor- made sartorial finery,


    decked in jewelry amounting to more than a million dors in total. She seemed to have made it her


    mission to be the epitome of a wealthy exhibitionistone could see it on her face.


    And her face! The surgery was clearly a sess, judging from her recovery. After leaving the


    detainment center, Charlene had some of her” imperfections” adjusted, and with the right application of


    cosmetics, she was genuinely beautiful in her own way.


    Brendan tossed a nce in her direction and felt a surge of disgust shooting into his mouth. His mien


    was frigid, but Charlene dismissed it altogether with a practiced smile. She stepped forward. “What are


    you watching in this room? It’s our engagement party, dear Bren. Our esteemed guests are dying to


    toast to us outside!”


    She extended her hand to him. He roundly ignored it. “When are you going to give me the video?”


    Charlene’s smile froze for a perceptible second.


    Then the faux grace returned. Only her voice contained whatever remained from her second-long ire.


    “Do you really have to suck the joy out of our special asion like that, Bren?”


    N?velDrama.Org ? content.


    “Look who’sining!” Brendan smirked icily. “As if you’ve already forgotten that it’s the only reason


    you’re standing here today, showing off everything you don’t own to people who could not have known


    better. It’s the only reason you can look the way you look and sate your lust to be Mrs. Brighthall. Did


    you honestly think I would waste my time on you without this thing?”


    He did not mince his words-the cruelty was the point. Anyone would have found it stinging, but


    Charlene was utterly unfazed. She was well aware of her status, desired object, and objectives. She


    was not going to crumble and throw a fit just because


    Brendan was being deliberately caustic.


    “Hmm… Maybe tonight? I’ll send Ophelia’s video to you when this is over. She’s alive and doing well!


    You can see it for yourself.”


    Herpliance was rewarded with Brendan’s silence. He started out of the lounge while Charlene


    followed.


    “Hmm, something’s not fair about this deal, don’t you think? I hand you what you want so easily and


    unreservedly, but you don’t seem to return the favor, Bren,” sheined wryly. “Where’s my mother-


    inw? When is she going to show up? Her absence on a day as important as this one is wrong, don’t


    you agree?”


    Madame Brighthall was not present despite the gravity of the engagement. Brendan had called her


    and, to his mother’s surprise, asked for her attendance.


    Madame Brighthall had repeatedly tried to pry an answer, and when she could not, she sighed in


    resignation. “You know what? Fine. You’re a grownup, and I’m no longer in the business of making you


    follow whatever I find best. You have your own way of cleaning up your mess, and only you know your


    own mess the best. With that said, I reserve my right not to join this. I won’t ept her as my daughter-


    inw. Never.”


    It was not enough to dissuade Charlene at all. After her time in the detainment center, her gluttony had


    grown into something downright monstrous-that brief moment of denial fromfort and status had


    done a number on her appetite. Nobody in Neve should question her identity. Nobody could say she


    was not who she said she was.


    Everyone must acknowledge her the way she wanted. And Madame Brighthall had toe-and be on


    the front-row seat, with the limelight on.


    Brendan turned away from her, his expression even more frigid than before. Charlene broke out a


    smile. “It’s thest of my requests today, Bren dear. Oh! How about… if I add to the stakes?


    “Would you like an audio track of Ophelia’s voice?”


    Madame Brighthall’s appearance at the engagement party was the me that ignited the nation’s


    imagination. Even neighboring cities indulged in the entertainment.


    By the time Deirdre caught the news, every channel and their shows were already talking about it.


    The importance of engagement parties paled against the gravitas of the wedding itself, so Madame


    Brighthall’s absence would hardly seem inappropriate. She was an aging woman with a frail


    constitution who spent much of her time in her garden, after all. It was entirely reasonable for the older


    woman not to show up at a party for health reasons.