Brian had been sitting in the entertainment club, drinking as much as he could, but he was still
sober.Anna came in and quickly took his glass away.
"Brian, you must stop drinking."
Because of Ayla, he had been drinking here every single night, so the wound on his arm wasn't getting
any better.He didn't take any medicine nor did he dress his wound.
All he did was drink and smoke till he passed out.
If he carried on like this, his body would eventually give up on him.
Leaning against the sofa, Brian said, "What are you doing here? I'm not drunk."
Right now, he just wanted to forget everything.
Unfortunately, it didn't seem like he could do it.
"I know you're not drunk, but you've drank so much, and that wound on your arm is serious.How long
do you plan to go on like this? When you gave up on looking for her that day, didn't you convince
yourself that she was dead?"
Obviously, Anna could see the despair and dejection in his eyes.
Even if Ayla wasn't there, she couldn't seem to take her place.
No matter what she said, Brian wouldn't listen to her.He didn't say anything else.
It was he who pushed Ayla away.
That woman had always been afraid of him, so she never dared to admit how she felt for him.
He was the one who kept pushing her into desperate situations.
When it was three in the morning, Anna finally drove him back to the villa.
"Anna, you can go home! Jaime will pick me up tomorrow morning."
Brian stood on the balcony of the second floor, looking at the backyard.
It was her favorite place to stay, and it was also the same place for her to miss the baby he had killed.
Now, he had truly lost everything.
He had never cared about anything since he was a child, but now that he had lost her, he finally
realized that he wanted to keep her by his side.
Through Lucas' care, Ayla quickly recovered and her wound had healed.
She was finally able to get out of her bed for a walk, but he still didn't permit her to move around too
much.
"Lala, you're awake."
Lucas entered her room and noticed that she was standing in front of the window absentmindedly.
"Well, the weather is good today," Ayla said calmly as she turned to him.
"In that case, Jet me take you out for a walk!"
Lucas grabbed a coat and put it on her.
Carefully, he helped her go downstairs and walked her towards the garden.
There, she sat on a chair, basking in the sun.
"Mr.Collins, thanks for saving my life."
In all honesty, he wasn't fond of her strange behavior these days, but he didn't want to force her.
He wanted to give her enough time to accept him.
"When you thank me like that, it makes me feel like an outsider."
A bitter smile appeared on Lucas' face.
He and Ayla had met a little later than Brian.
Was that the reason she hadn't developed any feelings for him?
'No! 'He was a man, willing to fight to the end to get what he wanted.
"I didn't expect that I'd survive," said Ayla.
Her despair was taking away her motivation to live.
"You will always survive."
Lucas felt it was lucky that his boat had sped up on time.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been certain of her survival.
'Could I? Could I really live a peaceful life after everything that has happened?' Ayla thought inwardly.
Sadly, her heart now belonged to Brian, and it could no longer be redeemed.
In silence, they sat together.
A servant made two cups of tea and served it to them.
"Lala, have some mild tea.Strong tea isn't good for your wound."
He was going to consider every aspect of her comfort and recovery.
Ayla didn't refuse.She reached for the cup, but the moment she held it, her hand suddenly lost its
strength.
The cup fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.She began to tremble, and her face turned pale.
"Lala, are you okay?"
Lucas could tell that her drug addiction was taking effect, so he held her tightly in his arms.
"No! Don't touch me! I might end up hurting you!"
Gradually, Ayla's grip on her consciousness faded.She knew that it was because of the drug addiction.
Even if she survived this endeavor, she would still suffer for the rest of her life because of this drug.
Lucas picked her up.
"You'll be fine."
Then, he took her back to her room.
"Does it hurt?"
"Ouch! It hurts!"
Ayla huddled up because of the pain, but Lucas kept holding onto her.
"You'll be fine.Just endure it."
Even though he was the one who said those words, even he, himself, couldn't believe them.
The relapse caused by her drug addiction would just become more frequent and serious, but he
couldn't use any drug to relieve her pain.
If she took any more of those drugs, it would only speed up her death.He wanted her to live for a long
time.
Moments later, Ayla fainted due to the pain.
Lucas embraced her.She was suffering because of him.
This all happened because he trusted Tatum too much.
Back then, no matter how she would've despised him, he should've appeared to save her from her fate.
He helped Ayla lie down on the bed and tucked her under the quilt, hoping that her pain would soon
dissipate.
He would rather bear all of that pain than see her suffering like this.
It was already afternoon when she finally woke up.
Noticing the anxiety in Lucas' eyes, she said, "I'm fine."
Although her voice was weak, she still tried to smile to ease his pain.
"Yes, and you'll still be fine in the future."
Lucas stared into her eyes, nodding firmly.
However, Only Ayla, herself, knew that her body was nearing its end.
Eventually, her life would be drained from her little by little as the relapse from the drug consumed her.
Meanwhile, Brian and Jaime were sitting in a coffee shop.
"Mr.Clark, Tatum has hidden himself.We've already dealt a lot of damage to him last time.I'm sure he
won't do anything bad to us for now," said Jaime.
Although, he believed that saying all of that was a little too late.
If it weren't for Ayla, Brian wouldn't have attacked Tatum so soon.
"It's too late," Brian said, sipping his coffee.
He had tasted enough bitterness after losing the woman he loved.
"Mr.Clark, do you still miss her? I heard that you had let go of Arlene.Will you also let Clayton go?"
Jaime was worried about Brian.
Because of being a successful businessman, he must be ruthless and mustn't show any signs of
hesitation nor weaknesses.
Unfortunately, Ayla became his greatest weakness.
Jaime prayed that he wouldn't have to face such a terrible predicament again.
Brian put down his coffee and said, "She paid with her life."
What he meant was that he no longer cared about his grudges against Clayton, and no hatred was
more important than Ayla's death.
His wretched hatred was paid with two lives.
One was his unborn child's, and the other was Ayla's.
At this point, Jaime didn't say anything else.
Eventually, Brian would forget all about her, and he would be back to who he must be in the future.
Later that day, dressed in black, Anna came into Brian's office while he was busy at his desk.
"Brian," she greeted.
"You're here.Have a seat! I still need half an hour."
He just raised his eyes to glance at her for a moment, then he went back to his work right away.
"I'll wait for you to finish."
Anna came here because she received a call from him.
He had asked her to accompany him to the charity auction.He must've gotten over Ayla! At the charity
auction, Brian and Anna arrived, hand-in- hand.
On such an occasion, running into Hayden and his wife, Toby, and Molly was a norm.
"Mr.Clark, long time no see.Isn't Mrs.Clark with you today?"asked Hayden.
There was a reason he asked that question.
He had heard that something had happened to Ayla before he could find out more about her origins.
"No, she isn't," Brian replied indifferently.
Hayden paid far more attention to her than he did.
He remembered when Jaime told him that Hayden was conducting a thorough investigation of Ayla's
life.
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