Chapter 526 Did You Smoke?
Deirdre was all smiles and joy, her tone playful and adorable. But Declan sniped a concerned glance at Kyran and
saw an icy visage shadowed by guilt. His eyes were so hollow and devoid of light they could have belonged to a
corpse.
“Let me do the honors, Miss McKinnon. Kyran’s a little tired from the drive.”
She stopped, stunned for a moment, and smiled. “Well, I won’t say no to that. Thanks!”
Declan rolled up his sleeves. “Pleasure’s all mine. Working in the kitchen could probably help me sober up.”
He stepped into the kitchen and began looking. He found it easily enough, but as he passed it to Deirdre, she
thanked him and asked, “Did you really drink?”
He paused. His smile became a little mechanical. “What do you mean?”
“You don’t smell like you had booze. You smell like cigarettes.”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtDeclan sighed in relief. “No, I drank. The smell probably left on the journey, and then I smoked a cigarette outside.
The smell must have covered it up.”
“Huh?” Deirdre hummed noncommittally. “I get the necessity of social events with customers and clients, but I sure
hope you’d drink and smoke less, Mr. King. Those things don’t do your health any good.”
“I know. Honestly? I don’t even like those poisons. It’s a sometimes–thing.”
The two of them had small talks like that while they worked in the kitchen. Declan helped Deirdre lay it out on the
table when the meal was ready. The young woman said, “Time for dinner, Kyran!”
There was no answer.
Declan scanned the living room and found no sign of him. “The man told me he didn’t have enough rest yesterday,
so I guess he must be taking a power nap upstairs. I’ll get him.”
“No, let him be.” Deirdre looked at the stairs and said. “Let him rest. We can always reheat dinner later. We’re not
in the middle of the summer, so I don’t even have to store them in the fridge.”
In the end, the two of them had dinner together. It seemed ennui spurred Declan into a conversation machine
because he and Deirdre had a very lively conversation involving all kinds of topics. The only thing he would always
pivot away from, though, was Eastegene.
“That day when I was abducted… You didn’t quite manage to settle back in Eastgene when it happened, right?
Sorry. You had to rush all the way back here because of it.”
“Nah, it was nothing,” replied Declan, smiling. “I don’t want to stay in that dump, and you gave me the perfect
excuse to hightail out of there. But well… Now is not the time to talk about that. We should eat!”
When the meal was over, Declan took dishes duty upon himself. Deirdre got up the stairs, ready to take a break
when she passed by Kyran’s room. She knocked.
It took him a long while to answer the door. As soon as it opened, a smoke wave crashed onto Deirdre’s face,
causing her to stiffen. “You were smoking?”
“Maybe a little,” he replied.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmNo, it was not ‘a little‘. That much Deirdre could tell. The stench was so thick it came not from him but the entire
room.
Baffled, Deirdre asked, “Why? Bad mood?”
Chapter 526 Did You Smoke?
He realized he could not look into Deirdre’s crystal–clear eyes and let his gaze settle on the floor.” Nothing. I’m just
a little… tired, so I was hoping nicotine could keep me up.”
Deirdre frowned. “If you’re tired, the right thing to do is to sleep. Quit smoking. It’s terrible for your health.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He chuckled lightly. “I guess I’ll go to rest. You get an early rest too.”
Deirdre nodded and turned away before, suddenly, Kyran stopped her. “Deirdre?”
She turned around, nonplussed. “Yeah?”
His eyes bored into hers. “Good night.”
She flashed him a smile. “You too.”
She returned to her room, took a shower, and lay down on her bed. The way Kyran said his goodnight was
… strange. It felt unusually loaded, as though it crawled out from a place of anguish.