Resent, Reject, Regret

Chapter 1 That Child Has to Go“Mrs. McKinney? Congratulations! You’re one month along!” The doctor’s excitement only madeDeirdre McKinnon’s face pale. It was as though something had drained every drop of blood from herbody. “Are you, uh, sure?” she asked gingerly. “I’m certain what I had was just gastric pain. I don’t thinka pregnancy would be even possible. Can you just… check again?” “Mrs. McKin

Chapter 2 You’re Too Inferior to Bear Me A ChildDeirdre was stunned. Then, her eyes began to redden. He had found out. He had found out evenbefore he had given her that call. If he had known she was pregnant, why had he not called her out?!Because he had gotten a kick out of seeing that little glint of relief in her eyes twinkling before it died?Because he’d wanted to see that little shimmer of so

Chapter 3 A Laughable MotiveAfter making sure Charlene was okay, Brendan returned to an empty living room. Frowning, he askedSteven, “Where’s Deirdre?” The question threw Steven off. He froze, but before he managed to comeup with an answer, Brendan’s phone rang. It was a call from the old family residence. His mother’slaughter was heard when he picked up. “Brendan, you silly boy! How could you keep such gre

Chapter 4 Miss McKinney Is Awake“No, Brendan! Pleaseeeeeeee! I’m begging you, pleaseeeeeeee don’t!” His lips cracked into a cruelsmirk. “Don’t? Don’t what? Aww, Deirdre, Deirdre, Deirdre. Are you playing hard to get now? How lowcan you sink?” he jeered. He could not care less about how she felt. If anything, hearing her sniffle andwail only frustrated him even more. “B-B-Bren… Please, think of our

Chapter 5 The Divorce AgreementDeirdre’s skin was screaming at being scalded, but nothing hurt more than her heart. Charlene hadbegun to sob, but instead of being pissed off, Brendan winced in a true act of sympathy. It occurred toDeirdre that he did not hate seeing women cry in general. He just hated seeing her cry. Deirdre got toher hands and feet with great difficulty. “It wasn’t… It wasn’t me,” she stat

Chapter 6 You’ll Bear Charlene’s CrimeDeirdre was so happy about this that she almost cried. Gritting her teeth to suppress her pain, shestaggered toward the front door. It opened, its swing slow and creaking. She then looked, and her eyessuddenly glinted. “Bren!” She stepped forward, animated by her excitement. “Bren, listen! There’ssomething you must kn—” “Shut the hell up and follow me!” At th

Chapter 7 This Is GoodbyeBrendan realized, belatedly, that she was referring to his previous request regarding Charlene’s crime.Still, not even the apocalypse could convince him that she meant what she had said about getting outof his life forever. How was he supposed to believe that when this woman had the tenacity andslobbering devotion of a dog in love with its master? She would not leave no ma

Chapter 8 He’s Not Granting Her ClemencyDeirdre froze for a second. She had hardly recovered from the shock when someone stepped forward,grabbed her ankle, and began to drag her on the floor. “What are you doing?! Stop! Noooo!” Herscreams fell on deaf ears. The leader responded with her own irate yell. “That demon-spawn inside yousure doesn’t know when to quit! Does it know it’s been two months al

Chapter 9 You’re FreeDeirdre’s eyes did not focus. They did not react at all. The doctor pressed her lips with a pang of pity.Faced with a woman whose face was in irreversible ruin, the doctor suddenly found it hard to form anywords. “E-Excuse me?” Deirdre asked obviously. “Are you still there, doctor?” She reached out beforeretreating sharply, as if something terrible had unfurled in her mind. Her voice wa

Chapter 10 HeroThe guard took Deirdre to fill in her release papers. Before she was finished, though, she asked,“Excuse me, can you help me make a call?” “Sure.” She recited a string of numbers and waited, but noone picked up. Puzzled, the guard helping her wondered aloud, “Looks like this number belongs to noone, ma’am. Who were you trying to contact?” “Ophelia McKinnon. She’s… my adoptivemother