Abelin's hand halted midair. His heart sank, and he felt somewhat hurt. It seemed as if Holly was trying to push him toward Zenia.However, he composed himself quickly and casually replied, "She's like a relative to me. Even though she looks feminine, she's actually a tomboy—she doesn't need me to take care of her."Zenia gave Abelin a sidelong glance. "You should do what Ms. Sinclair said. Just take care of me instead of wasting your words."She then picked up the wine decanter and filled Holly's glass halfway with red wine. "Have some wine, Ms. Sinclair."Holly replied, "Thank you."Zenia then poured some wine for Abelin. She sulkily poured him a full glass on purpose, murmuring, "This will teach you a lesson!"Abelin picked up his wine glass and gave Holly a toast. "I'm happy that you're here to celebrate my birthday."Holly smiled and replied, "I'm happy, too."Their eyes were rimmed red despite their cheerful words. They felt bittersweet, as if they were almost separated b
After that, Holly hastily turned around and stumbled toward the door."Let me walk you out." Abelin stood up and reached for her arm. His palm was burning, making her shiver involuntarily.As if electrocuted, Holly pushed his hand away and exclaimed, "No need!"She immediately realized that she was overreacting. She apologized, "I'm sorry. It looks like I had a little too much to drink."Abelin replied, "It's not your fault. Zenia admitted that she had mixed absinthe into the red wine. I'm intolerant of absinthe, so I'll have a reaction when I drink it. I didn't expect you to be intolerant of it as well."Holly was stunned. "What's absinthe?"Abelin said, "It's a type of liquor with an aphrodisiac from overseas that has a numbing effect on the cranial nerves. Apart from causing drunkenness, it also has a certain hallucinogenic and stimulant effect."Holly smiled helplessly. It was her first time drinking such a liquor—she wasn't even aware that it existed.She originally had a
Even though Holly couldn't see the man's face clearly, she was familiar with that tone. It was Bryce—no one else would talk to her like that.Holly wanted to retort back, but she was too uncomfortable to do so. She said nothing else and just buried her face in his chest. An arm was loosely wrapped around his neck to make sure she didn't fall.Bryce was upset yet heartbroken upon seeing her reddening face. He frowned and adjusted his arm around her legs before walking toward the door.Zenia hurriedly jogged over and opened the door for him. "Please head back safely."Bryce eyed her and coldly questioned, "Did Abelin spike her? Where is he? I thought he was a gentleman, but how dare he do such a horrible thing to Holly?"Zenia panicked when the misunderstanding grew bigger. She hurriedly waved her hand and said, "No! It's not his fault! It's me. I'm the one who did it."Bryce frowned. His gaze grew harsher as he looked at her disdainfully. "Are you crazy? What did Holly do to you f
Bryce cradled the back of Holly's head and pulled away slightly from her lips. He looked into her eyes and asked, "Do you know who I am?"Holly hummed softly before reaching forward to kiss him once again.Bryce turned his head away and asked stubbornly, "Who am I?""You're… Bryce," Holly slurred.Bryce felt much more at ease after knowing that she could still recognize him despite being out of it. He tapped the tip of her nose and said, "I'll give you credit for that."Holly grabbed onto his shirt and leaned into his embrace, wanting to kiss him again.The car hit the brakes suddenly. Holly's body jerked backward and fell off Bryce's lap.Bryce hurriedly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his embrace.Holly couldn't control the surge of nausea in her stomach after the sudden jolt. She ended up vomiting on Bryce's shirt.His entire body was soiled with a mixture of fermented food and alcohol-laden fluids. The nauseating stench akin to the sewer permeated the
After Bryce was done feeding the hangover cure to Holly, he proceeded to clean her up. He helped her brush her teeth and even wiped her face, as if he were taking care of a baby.Holly couldn't sit still when he was tending to her.One moment she was knocking over the mouthwash cup, and the next she was touching Bryce's face, then kissing him, pulling at his clothes, grabbing him, and scratching at him. She also wrapped her legs around him and refused to let go. She even splashed him with water.Bryce wasn't expecting Holly to be this difficult when she was drunk. There were times when he was tempted to knock her out.However, he recalled the way she had to bear with everything back when she took care of him. He decided to repay her kindness and let it go.After a while, Bryce finally finished cleaning Holly. He carried her back to the bedroom and placed her on the bed. He then leaned down to kiss her, feeling the passion reigniting within his body.Just as he was about to adva
Bryce tucked her hair behind her ears and gently said, "Be nicer to me."Holly raised her eyebrow slightly. "How do I do that?"He got closer to her and placed his forehead against hers. Then, he said with a lazy tone, "Come back to me."She stared at his dashing nose and smiled faintly. "There must be a catch, right?"He looked back at her with a clear gaze. "There's only one, and you know it. You can only pick one of us."She went quiet. Without saying anything, she gently pushed him away and got out of bed.Holly walked to the door and turned around to scan the wall. There used to be a wedding photo there. Now, there was nothing at all. She smiled subtly. On one hand, there was the marriage that had hurt her a lot. On the other hand, there was the man who had saved her.There was no way she could choose between a dead relationship and a favor she owed. It was just too difficult.Holly walked out of the bedroom. Since she was in her pajamas, she went to the dressing room to
Holly left the house and got into the car. While she was on the road, Abelin called her. "I'm sorry about last night. It was Zenia's fault. She's been living with us since she was a girl. She's the youngest in our family, so she's pampered a lot and can do whatever she wants.""It's alright.""Everything happened too fast last night. I'll treat you to a meal next time." Since Holly was planning on giving him the flutes, she accepted the offer.…That weekend, they met at Rev, which was located in the biggest building in Jardington. Abelin picked the place. Most of the patrons there were couples.As they sat next to the window, Holly thought about when Bryce brought her here for the first time, and she couldn't help smiling. Then, she returned to her usual self soon after that.Holly opened the lockbox and placed it in front of Abelin. "Every year, I would buy a flute as your birthday gift. I had never been able to give it away in the past. Now, I can finally do it."He looke
Abelin looked back at Sherry with narrowed eyes. His calm gaze was full of suppressed hatred. He never did anything to her, but that didn't mean he didn't hate her. That fire almost killed him, and he could never forget how painful it was to have his skin burned by the raging flames.He quickly recomposed himself and calmed down. Then, he said to Holly, as if nothing had happened, "Let's go."Holly was stunned for a moment. Just as she was about to walk, Bryce called her, "Holly." His voice wasn't loud, but he sounded firm. It felt like he was commanding her. Holly knew he wasn't letting her go. She hesitated for a while and said to Abelin, "You should go first." Abelin shot a glance at Bryce, hinting at the latter not to put her in a spot. Then, he left with the lockbox with those 12 flutes inside.Sherry quietly watched the strange interaction between the three of them. Although they didn't talk much, she figured they had a complicated relationship. She smiled and invited