Chapter 223 Not that I Can Enjoy It Anymore Brendan knew she was only compliant for Opheliaâs sake, but the result alone was satisfactory. He asked for a digestion pill and pushed it into Deirdreâs mouth.
He checked the watch on his wrist. It was almost time. âTime to go.â
He wrapped Deirdre in a coat and led her outside. Sam was about to follow too, but Brendan stopped him. âYouâll be staying at home today. Deirdre and I have some private business to attend to.â
Dr. Ginger waited for the two of them to leave before ambling close to Sam and leaning on the bodyguardâs shoulder. He had a cheeky grin on his face. âDo you ever read the room, lad? Canât you tell that these two are going on a date?â
âA date?â Sam frowned. âNo way.â
âWhy not?â Unlike him, Dr. Ginger knew precious little about the coupleâs messy history. Still, as he shook. the hand towel clean, he pointed out, âMr. Brighthall and Miss McKinnonâs relationship might be, uh-hem, complicated. But itâs obvious that their hearts are bound to each other. Misunderstanding is the Devil stopping them, and now that itâs been cleared, itâs just a given that they will start going out on dates again like a lovey-dovey couple, right?â
Sam watched their car disappear into the horizon in a daze.
It felt as though he was the only one who knew things were never as simple as they seemed What was he thinking? What was Mr. Brighthall thinking?
Deirdre squirmed in the passenger seat Brendan was behind the wheel. The journey was unusually long. and Deirdreâs fingers latched onto the edge of her seatbelt as her nerves gnawed at her.
âBrendan? Where are you taking me?â
âYouâll know soon enough.â
She bit her lip. âIs it another pet cafe?â
âPlease,â he snorted, chuckling. âI donât recycle my surprises. Guess again.â
She had no other guesses in mind.
Brendan decided to give her a hint. âItâs a place you really wanted to visit.â
A place she wanted to visit?
Confusion enveloped her. There used to be a motley of places she really wanted to visit. Growing up in the slums had deprived her of many things, including the chance to see what the world was like out there. But now, with her blindness, the outside world seemed treacherous and threatening. She had lost her sight-and lost sight of her dreams.
She shook her head to dispel her daze. âI got nothingâ
Brendan gave her a sideways glance. In her lifeless eyes, he saw⦠nothing.
His brows were furrowed. He turned forward, saw that they had reached their destination, and stepped on the brake. âWeâre here.â
Deirdre could hear sounds even through the window. They sounded loud and joyful. Brendan opened her door, and the revelry hit her like a truck.
She gripped his sleeve hard. âWhere are we?â
Brendan scanned their surroundings and finally decided to give her a direct answer. âAt an amusement park.â
It was one of the places she had always wanted to visit. She longed to enjoy such an experience so much that she had even brought it up to Brendan a few times in the past, but the man had always scoffed at her idea. The only people who would be impressed by an amusement park were kids, he had said. It was a boring place dripping with childish attractions for juveniles.
Deirdre was surprised to hear that this was where he had decided to go. Shaking herself out of her shock, she turned away. âLetâs go home.â
Brendan gripped her shoulder and forced her to turn back to him. âWhatâs the matter? I thought you wanted to come here.â
âI did.â The corner of her lips twitched. âBut that was all in the past.â
She pointed at her eyes. âI canât see anything now. I could be on the Ferris wheel, where the beauty of the city spreads before my eyes, and Iâd see nothing I could be sitting on a roller coaster, having the time of my life while the world blurs and flits past me, and Iâd see nothing. I canât even stand here, alone and unassisted, without being swept away.
âI like being in an amusement park. But itâs not like Iâm capable of enjoying it now.â