Sixty

Isabella sat at the bar in a fancy restaurant, several empty wine bottles lined up on the table in front of her. Her face was flushed, and her smile grew thinner as time passed, but Nicholas, sitting beside her, was becoming more worried. Isabella wasn’t the type to get drunk often, and this time, she had gone way beyond her limit.

"Isabella, that’s enough," Nicholas said gently but firmly, trying to take the wine bottle from her hand. "You've had too much to drink."

Isabella chuckled softly, though her laugh sounded bitter. "Not enough, Nicholas. I... still want to forget, even if it’s just for tonight."

Nicholas quickly grabbed the bottle before Isabella could pour more wine into her glass. "You're not going to solve anything by getting drunk," Nicholas said patiently. "Come on, I’ll take you home."

Isabella shook her head slowly, her face looking tired and disheveled. "I don’t want to go home. I don’t know what I’ll do if I go home."

Nicholas looked at her with concern. He understo