Brian's room was reeking of alcohol.
Did he drink again? She didn't smell the overpowering alcoholic odor coming from him when they ran
into each other at the restaurant earlier.
"I'm home." Ayla timidly approached him.
"Hmm," Brian grunted.
Based on the look on his face, he was probably furious.
He had told her not to get too close to other men, and today, she had dinner with Lucas, but all Brian
did was to grunt at her and nothing else.
Ayla moved her lips, but she ended up not saying anything.
Should she explain to him why she was late tonight? Or was it even necessary to do so? He saw it with
his own two eyes.
An explanation probably wasn't needed at this point.
Just like her situation with Toby in the past, Brian believed what he saw, and there was nothing left
needed to be explained to him.As soon as she turned around, he stopped her.
"Aren't you going to explain yourself?"
Was she not even going to try to defend herself? When Ayla turned back to the man, she noticed that
he was no longer sitting on the sofa and drinking.
He was now standing close to her.
"If I tell you my side of the story, would you even believe me?"
"I won't know until I hear it."
If Brian was being honest, he wasn't going to believe her.
To him, being ignored was unacceptable, and so he wanted to hear an explanation.
"Then there's no need to speak."
Ayla saw it in his eyes that he wouldn't believe her, so she'd rather not waste her breath.
Holding her chin with his fingers, he asked, "Do you know who exactly this Lucas is?"
"I don't know."
She had never been one to pry into other people's private lives, not to mention that she considered
Lucas as a friend, but no more than a friend.
"If I tell you that he's wealthy, would you go with him?"
Although the Collins family had fallen from grace, they still had several properties left.
That was why Brian was Curious of the reason Lucas applied to be the vice principal of a school.
The salary of this position wasn't that big, and he didn't seem like he lacked money.
Upon hearing Brian's question, Ayla asked, "Did you have him investigated?"
"I didn't need to."
What he actually wanted to know was why Lucas approached Ayla.
"No matter who he is, I have nothing to do with him."
After saying that, she turned around and walked away.
Brian leaned against the sofa, holding a glass of wine.
Seeing Lucas hold her hand really made him jealous.
He couldn't stand the idea of anyone getting their hands on anything he owned.
Even if he had abandoned it, he still wasn't willing to give it to anyone else.
He would much rather see it destroyed than land into someone else's hands.The following day, Brian
was sitting in his office.
Jaime said to him, "Mr.Clark, the leader of the TH Gang came to this city before on his private plane.He
probably didn't want anyone to find out that he's back.”
Leaning against the sofa, Brian answered, "He's finally going to make his move, isn't he? Last time, we
interrupted his trade.He's definitely going to hit us back for that."
His expression didn't deviate from his normally cold face.
"Mr.Clark, he just visited here for one day and left right afterwards.He must've been here to see
someone, not to do business."
Jaime believed that this person visited by the TH Gang leader must be so important, given that the
leader came to see him personally.
"He's a greedy man.Are our goods safe?"
The TH Gang had never gotten along well with Brian's group.
However, if they hadn't provoked him over and over, he wouldn't have been so ruthless to them.
Jaime nodded.
"There seems to be no problems recently.Tayson is guarding the goods well."
But for some reason, Jaime was worried.
Brian didn't really care that much about the goods.
To him, money wasn't an object, but he was absolutely not going to let the TH Gang rob him if they
tried to do so.
"As for Ayla, it seems that Mr.Hayden Smith still hasn't found out anything about her."
Jaime never imagined that there would be no traces about a woman's identity.
Clayton said that his dead wife adopted Ayla from an orphanage, but he didn't mention which
orphanage she came from.
Moreover, Jaime had checked all the orphanages he could find, but there was no record of adoption on
the exact date Ayla was adopted.
Perhaps Clayton had lied to him.
Or maybe her identity was just that mysterious.
"I see.I understand."
Brian nodded in response.
Someday, the truth would come to light.
He was Brian Clark, and there was no way that he would be defeated because of a woman.
Sitting in the library, Ayla was flipping through a book, but she wasn't actually reading.
She was restless because of Brian's behavior last night.
Why did she even give a damn? Was she starting to care for him because they had been together for a
long time? When she gradually moved on from Toby, her heart was lost in Brian.
It must've been five or six minutes since Lucas stood before her, and yet she still hadn't noticed.
"Lala, do you happen to be thinking about me?"
He put the warm milk tea in front of her.
Ayla looked up at him and saw the gentle smile on his face.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to bring you a cup of milk tea."
He then pulled a chair and sat next to her.
Right now, the library was open.
The second he sat close to Ayla, they quickly aroused people's attention.
Immediately, she stood up, and stammered, "I...there's something I have to do."
"Oh, don't worry about it.It's not a big deal! Just sit with me for a while."
Lucas held her hand.
"Drink some milk tea first."
Ayla sat back down, and said, "Please try not to get too close to me."
She was warning him to stay away because the image of Toby being tortured by Brian was still fresh in
her memory.
And now, Brian had investigated every detail of Lucas' background.
Cross-legged gracefully, Lucas looked at her and asked, "Lala, are you worried about me?"
Ayla wasn't the only one who knew what kind of person Brian was, Lucas also knew him.
"You think too much,"she remarked.
Then, she held the milk tea and looked at him.
"Am I overthinking? Although, it's not a lie that I have a crush on you."
Lucas stared back at her with a piercing gaze that almost seemed like he wanted to know what was on
her mind.
However, Ayla thought that he was jesting.
"Don't mess with me.I think with your good looks and deep pockets, countless women will throw
themselves at you."
If she still had a heart, she might've fallen in love with him.
But now, it was highly unlikely.
"I'm not kidding."
Lucas held her hands again; tighter this time.
His sudden transition into seriousness alarmed Ayla.
"Mr.Collins, need I remind you that we're in the library?"
She was trying to tell him that there were a lot of people in here, and that he had to pay attention to his
behavior.
Although this day and age was no longer ancient times, she was still a married woman.
This could ruin his image in other people's eyes.
"I'm not worried about them.I'm telling you the truth, so please think it over."
Lucas looked at her with a smile.
Ayla turned her head away.
Was he confessing his love to her? This man was far too excellent, and she didn't deserve him at all.
Besides, she was no longer capable of becoming a mother.
Her only choice was to be shackled to Mr.Clark for the rest of her miserable fe.
"I will wait for you."
After saying that, Lucas walked out of the library.
Ayla felt the jealousy and disdain of the women who were watching them.
It was easy for him to win a woman's heart, but she didn't have those kinds of feelings for him.
The best that she could offer him was friendship.When Ayla walked out of the school gate, she saw a
familiar red car in front of her.
If her eyes weren't deceiving her, then that car was probably Molly's.
Did Molly come to see her? But she hadn't gotten in touch with Toby for a long time, so Molly had no
reason to see her.Seconds later, Molly got out of the car.
She was dressed in a light-colored fur and a pair of white knee- length boots with high heels, and her
wavy hair made her look captivating as she strutted forward.
Her appearance was enough to make any man fall in love with her at first sight."Miss Woodsen, I didn't
expect to run into you here after such a long time."
Molly looked at her indifferently, as if nothing had happened between them in the past.
Ayla nodded at her.
"Neither did I."
Now that they had run into each other, she figured that Molly actually came here to see her.
She also wanted to know how Toby was doing, but after seeing the smile on her face, she gathered
that they must've made up and their relationship was going steady.
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