The Substitute Bride: Making Memories Of Us (Lois Stone)

Chapter 73: She Was Drunk But Didn't Make A Scene 

Instead of going upstairs to take a shower, Ayla headed for the kitchen.She reached into the refrigerator and took out the dishes for the supposed dinner tonight.

Then, she placed them on the dining table.

"Here you go.Have a taste," she said as she approached Brian.

It was Chinese New Year's Eve, and people were supposed to have a family reunion dinner tonight.

But unfortunately, Ayla was all alone.

As such, she lost her appetite.

While staring at Ayla, Brian also entered the dining room and took a seat.

Then, his eyes shifted to the dishes on the table.

"Did you prepare all of these yourself?" She nodded.

"Yeah, I did.Why? Is there anything you don't like?"

Since she wasn't busy, she decided to make dinner for New Year's Eve.

Unfortunately, she found herself alone that night.

After picking up his chopsticks, Brian tasted the dishes.He looked at her with an impressed look.

"They taste fine."

As she met his gaze, Ayla politely answered, "Enjoy your meal.I'll leave first."

She had no reason to stay in the main villa since he was already home.

"Wait.Who told you to leave?"

A hint of coldness was in his voice.

"Fetch me a bottle of wine."

If she had known that he was going to ask for alcohol, Ayla would have left earlier.

Instead of preparing dinner for him, she would have shut herself in her room.

Unfortunately, it was too late to change her mind.

With a frown, she headed to the wine cabinet.

After getting a bottle and a glass, she went back to him.

"Should I pour you a glass?"

It seemed so natural for him to be served by her.

As such, he nodded at her.

Since his several meetings swamped his schedule, it had been a long time since he had a decent meal.

He decided to enjoy himself tonight with the delicacies and wine in front of him.

While pouring wine for him, Ayla cursed in her thought, 'I hope you drink too much that you'll die.I don't want to see you ever again"

However, when he noticed that the glass was full, Brian told her, "Drink it."

"What are you saying?"

She was dumbfounded by his order.

At first, she thought she heard him wrong.

Drinking that much wine would be too much for her.

She would be asleep almost immediately.

"I want you to drink that glass of wine."

Repetition of his words was Brian's worst pet peeve.

Nonetheless, the woman in front of him seemed so disobedient that he had to tell her the same thing twice.With a confused expression, Ayla shook her head.

"I don't want any alcohol tonight."

The last time she got drunk, she had no idea what she did.She didn't want to get drunk again.

"Why don't you like it? Do you want me to pour that down your throat?"

He grabbed the glass and drank it.Then, he poured it full again.

No matter what happened, he wanted Ayla to taste it.

"Have some.Tonight, you will drink.I will not let you go until you take a sip.Don't worry.Even if you do something stupid, I'll keep it a secret."

He moved the glass a little bit closer to her.

"Just go to the entertainment club if you want someone to accompany you while drinking."

With a scowl, Ayla drank the wine.

"I know it's supposed to be a family-reunion night.Nonetheless, I shouldn't be the one accompanying you."

Brian kept quiet and took another glass instead.

While eating, the two of them sat face to face and shared a conversation.

Meanwhile, Ayia only drank a little.

When she noticed that Brian already had enough, she placed her chopsticks down.She walked to the kitchen counter and prepared him a cup of coffee.

After handing him the cup, she said, "I remember that you like this."

Aside from coffee, Brian wouldn't drink any other beverage that Ayla offered.

They sat comfortably in the dining room.

Finally, the bell rang at midnight.

The night sky was filled with fireworks.

Ayla stood up and admired the beautiful scenery.

As a finale, a huge firework had the brightest explosion in the sky.

Then, nothing else followed.

Despite their beauty, fireworks only lasted for moments.

They were like something precious that people would never get.

For a long time, Ayla had closed her heart from anyone around her.

As long as she remained distant and unattached, no one could emotionally hurt her.

However, the man in front of her had the key to her heart.

He was the one who could make her sad.

Even before she fell in love with him, her heart already had an emotional scar.

"Those fireworks are beautiful.Do you enjoy watching them?"

‘'Well, women like to watch pretty things, right?’' Brian looked at her with a curious face.

However, she shook her head.

"Actually, I don't."

At that moment, he remembered watching the fireworks display on one New Year's Eve with Anna.

She mentioned that the view of beautiful fireworks exploding in the night sky seemed so enjoyable and enchanting.

The event had a sentimental impact on her.

But Brian left almost immediately that night.However, he never expected that he would be watching the fireworks with Ayla now after so many years.

Despite the previous incidents, they could still face each other so calmly.

"Although they are gorgeous, fireworks always disappear in an instant.Their beauty won't last forever."

As she stared outside the window, Ayla realized that many people still enjoyed watching fireworks.She did like them at some point, but not anymore.

Then, he picked up a glass.

After playfully pinching her cheeks, he urged her to drink the wine.

Although she was already a bit drunk at that point, Ayla didn't cause a scene.

When he noticed her dizzy expression, Brian carried her upstairs.

Ayla dared not to refuse him as she already knew that there was no escape for her tonight.

As they entered the huge room, their path was illuminated by a lamp on the floor.

Given the mood that they had, his sexual urges began to tingle.She knew she couldn't change her destiny.

For now, she did not need contraceptives because her body couldn't bear a child anymore.She wasn't sure whether this was good news for him or for her.

With uncontrollable lust, Brian almost lost his mind.

The woman in his arms was so captivating that he didn't dare let go.The longer he stared at her, the more his urges became uncontrollable.

"Hey, Mr.Clark."

However, Ayla couldn't bear the torture.

With trembling lips, she pleaded him to stop.

Nonetheless, he remained unfazed and dared to continue.

All of a sudden, a ringtone echoed from his pocket.

The unexpected call interrupted them.

With reddened cheeks, Ayla pushed him away.

"Mr.Clark, please answer your phone."

A frown flashed across his face.

After putting on a night robe, he finally swiped right on his screen.

"Who is this?"

"Hello, Brian.How are you?"

Anna's voice echoed from the speaker.Immediately, Ayla recognized who was calling.

That voice was something she would always remember.

At that moment, Ayla drowned from embarrassment as she realized how shameless she was.

She felt like Anna was Brian's legitimate wife while she was the mistress.

All Ayla could do was wrap herself with the blanket and hide her face.

"Hey, what's up? It's already late yet you are still awake.Is something wrong?" he asked in his usual calm tone.

As she heard his soothing voice, Anna replied, "Where are you, Brian? I thought you're going to have some business meetings tonight?"

"I'm at the villa right now since my meetings are canceled."

On the other side of the phone, Anna suddenly became bothered.

Brian never stayed in the villa on special days or during festivals before.

Usually, he spent his free time with her in the entertainment club.

However, even though she was at the club, he was spending New Year's Eve in the villa with Ayla.At that moment, Anna recognized how complicated Ayla was as a woman.

"Why are you at the villa? I think it's better if you're here with me."

Since he was abroad on a business trip, Anna had been waiting for Brian.

However, instead of visiting her at the entertainment club, Brian went to the villa and stayed with Ayla.

"Don't worry.I'll visit you there tomorrow.Why don't you tell the others to manage the club for tonight so that you can rest early?"

he coaxed over the phone.Anna's lips curved in a wry smile.

"Brian, you know it'll trouble me if someone else is managing such a big entertainment club.Moreover, the holidays are the best time for business since we have a lot of customers these days."

She was trying her best to improve his business.

However, he replied in a dull voice, "I understand.See you there tomorrow."

After ending the call, a sigh escaped his lips.

Then, he looked at Ayla who was pretending to be asleep under the blanket. All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

"Just sleep here tonight."

At last, her stiffened body relaxed as she breathed a sigh of relief.