Chapter 17
Deirdre started a new life away from her parents and their financial support but free to fulfill her heart's desire. She moved to a new place and got a job. Her house, even though it was so small that could easily fit in the living-room of their villa, was enough for Deirdre because it was only hers. Since she loved nature and taking care of plants, she enrolled to the university in order to study ecology, studies that her parents considered them to be unnecessary. For the first time in her life, she made her own decisions without anybody interfering with it. The only person she kept contact with was Patrick, whom she met with regularly but she never saw Paul again. She didn't even know where he was and perhaps it was for the best. Their separation was a huge mistake, a mistake she would never make it right. They would never be together again, so she should accept it and move on.
Almost a year had passed when something unbelievable happened: She found love again. It was not the same like with Paul but she was in love. He was a nice young man, who one day arrived as a customer at the flower shop she was working and immediately showed his interest in her. Their relationship was ideal at first but soon that changed. When Deirdre found out she was pregnant, that's when the problems started. His parents forced them to get married but this kind of marriage could never work. Just two months before the baby was born, her husband left her and Deirdre found herself in a very difficult position. Unemployed, pregnant and alone. Swallowing her pride, she went back to her parents asking for some kind of help but her expectations were too high. They refused to even listen to her and Deirdre saw once more that she had nothing to expect from her parents. At least she had her brother's support, the only person who helped her stand on her feet. Patrick was the one who drove her to the hospital, he was the one who bought all the necessary things for the baby in the first couple of months.
Deirdre was glowing when she had her newborn girl in her arms. This baby was the best accomplishment of her life. So what if the baby's father wasn't ready for the responsibilities and obligations that came with a family? So what if Craig and Renée didn't want anything to do with their daughter since she left home? So what if their hearts didn't soften by the news of her pregnancy and they didn't even want to see their grand-child? Deirdre, from the moment Penny came into her life, had the whole world and nothing was greater than her little baby girl.