Resent Reject Regret by Aqua Summers novel Chapter 408

Deirdre’s indifference ignited another bomb barrel in Freya. She chucked the mask to the floor, scrunched it under her shoe, and stomped. “You want your f*cking shame-cover so much? Find it yourself! Are you gonna stay in here until you find your mask? Or are you going to give up and let everyone jeer at Kyran when you walk beside him without it?”

Freya put her cap back on and hurried out of the bathroom, not giving Deirdre the time to pull her back in.

Now left all alone, Deirdre had no choice but to get on all fours to look. The wet floor and its putrid smell made her stomach churn, but she imagined the reception she would receive if she went out as she was and gritted her teeth. She had to continue searching.

As she scoured the floor repeatedly, she suddenly heard a mechanical voice from her earpiece. “Are you still in there, Deirdre?”

She broke out in a cold sweat. Taking a deep breath, she gnashed her teeth and tried again. A few people entered the bathroom and found her on all fours, so one of them asked kindly, “Hey, are you looking for something? Want us to help?”

Deirdre looked up, and one of the women screamed, “Arrghhhhhhh!”

The crowd’s fear and terror were palpable enough that Deirdre quickly cast her face down as quickly as she could, shielding it from any more prying eyes.

She panicked. After apologizing as much as she could, she shrunk her neck into her collar, hoping to block her face, and felt her way outside through the wall. There was still one last wall blocking the entrance from the public, so she hid there, shivering. Forcing her voice not to tremble, she asked, “K-Kyran, are you there?”

His reply was instant. “Yeah.”

A moment later, he asked again, “What’s wrong? What’s keeping you inside?”

Deirdre touched the lower half of her face. The ragged edge of her scars, the coarseness of her unhealed injuries—they pricked her fingers all too vividly. She could imagine just how much unkind attention it would attract.

“I… I need more time. Can you please help me buy a new mask?”

There was no reply for a moment. Then, he said, “Sorry, Deirdre, but I can’t leave you here for the time being. There are too many people here, and you had one stalking incident before. It’s too dangerous to leave you like this. I just don’t… Don’t want to lose you again.”

“Again?”

“Yes. Again. The last time, you formally rejected me and returned to the hotel. I couldn’t sleep that night.”