Resent Reject Regret by Aqua Summers novel Chapter 285

Brendan was strapped for choices. This was the only one he had left. “You’re the one who kept her company for the longest time. She would at least grant you the chance to talk to her, I just know it. So please tell her… That if she keeps this up, none of us will be able to save her from imprisonment.”

One more day of Deirdre staying in that cell was one more day of him losing sleep. He could not bear it.

It was as Brendan had predicted. She allowed Sam to meet her.

She was a blind woman who had discarded any care for personal grooming. By the time Sam saw her, her disheveled hair and dirty clothes painted the picture of a mad woman abandoned in an asylum. Sam’s chest hurt.

He picked up the phone, took a deep breath, and began to speak. “Miss McKinnon? Please… Let’s stop this, alright? Of all people, you should know fully well how this might end if you hold on like this. The only result you’ll get is incarceration. And for what?”

Deirdre stared through the window nonchalantly. “If you came here just to talk me into backing down, then goodbye.”

She rose.

With a pang, Sam suddenly blurted out, “I’m sorry!”

She stiffened.

He balled his hands into fists, his heart tortured by guilt. “I knew she was fake too, and yet I said nothing. There were so many times—so many chances to tell you the truth, and I said nothing! I betrayed your trust… and I’m so sorry!”

“But I’ve never blamed you for any of this, Sam,” Deirdre replied evenly. She was so placid, one might wonder if she was just an animated corpse. “You were just carrying out orders, weren’t you? You had no reason to go against Brendan for my sake. You shouldn’t have done that. So, no. You don’t have to apologize. I’m not an unreasonable woman.”

Her answer only made Sam suffocate.

The police officer on duty told her the time was up. Deirdre turned to the phone and finished her thought. “Brendan sent you to talk me into standing down, didn’t he? Then pass my message to him: I know nothing will come out of this fight. I know it is a hopeless, fruitless cause. But I’d rather die in prison than die in his prison. He disgusts me. Breathing the same air with him makes me retch. I’d rather be in jail.”

She spun on her heel and walked away.

Sam returned to Brendan and relayed all of her messages but the last part. He looked down, looking clearly perturbed. Sharp-eyed as ever, Brendan demanded, “What? Are you hiding something from me?”