Chapter Twenty One

Brielle stumbled and missed her footing in her state of inebriation when Oliver held her and propped her up. All Oliver could do was wear a cold look and frown inwardly. He wanted to be the one standing next to her, the one to hold her steady when she was unstable. Alas, he couldn't. After all, they were in the military now, where a person's demeanor and maintaining the decorum mattered a lot. He didn't care much for his reputation, but he could never risk hers.

Adam cast a sharp and disdainful glance at the crowd at the table before gracefully standing up. As he quietly walked out, his cold look was quite perplexing. Brielle kept stumbling along with the family building on their way back, but Oliver held her steady and helped her onto the sofa, All the while, deep down he still felt indignant. 'Why didn't colonel get promoted?' he brewed some tea for her hangover, lest she wakes up with a terrible headache the next morning.

"Oliver, where is my phone?" She was too busy following Adam along and had forgotten about her phone. With that question, Brielle began groping around for her phone. She nearly fell on the floor from being too drunk. This startled Oliver and he stopped brewing the tea and came over to put her on the bed.

"Colonel, you stay there. I will help you find the phone." Oliver found her phone on the table and went back to brew his tea. When the phone rang, Stephen was dealing with the files in his study room. Without looking at the caller ID, he answered the phone, because that was his personal phone and only a few relatives knew this number.

"Hi. Ariel, you are awake? Ariel?" A dazed and slurring voice came when the call got through. Stephen checked the caller ID in confusion. Surprisingly, it turned out to be Brielle. "Ariel is asleep. It's Stephen." Stephen was a bit angry. Brielle had called him but asked for their son. He didn't know that Brielle was so drunk that she had dialed Stephen's number by accident.

"He is sleeping? Hmmm... Even I should sleep now." Delirious as she was, she dozed off on the couch, without even hanging up the phone. Stephen looked at the phone in bewilderment and found that the call was still on. He said a few words but there was no response. Just when he thought that she must have been exhausted and fallen asleep, he heard a man's voice come through.

"Colonel, drink the sober-up tea before you sleep." By the time Oliver had finished brewing the tea, Brielle was already fast asleep. He put the cup aside helplessly. "Oh, forget it. She would be the one that wakes up with a headache tomorrow anyway." He took her phone to put it on the table, but he heard a man's voice from the phone. Curiously, he put the phone to his ear.

"Brielle, you better explain what's going on now," Growled an angry voice. Stephen was losing his temper. He knew now that Brielle was drunk. But he couldn't believe that she had fallen asleep soundly in the presence of another man. He was quite agitated that she didn't know how to take care of herself. However, he hardly noticed his care and love for her.

"Hello. Our colonel is worse for a drink. So, now is not a convenient time for her to answer the phone. Can you call back tomorrow?" Oliver said, coldly. Soon after his offhanded remark, he felt responsible to clear things up with whoever was on the other side of the phone. After all, the call must have been made by Colonel herself.

"Where are you now? I am coming over." Stephen just spat the words out without thinking much. He was never the kind that bothered to think it what he was saying was appropriate. "We are at the military base in the suburb of B City. Who are you, may I ask?" Oliver replied and finally figured out what was going on. When did his colonel make a male friend that could come over at any time? he wondered.

"I am her husband, Stephen. Give me the address. I am coming over right now." That reply was characteristic of Stephen's nature. He never realized that he had dropped a bombshell, leaving others rather perplexed, but, he was calm as usual.

"What? What did you just say? Can you repeat that?" Oliver stood paralyzed with the phone in his hand. The news was so jaw-dropping that he forgot to organize his words more politely. After all, he had never heard much about the Colonel's mysterious husband. Her husband never appeared. Now, when he showed up, his entrance was both dramatic and unexpected.

"Are my words are so difficult to fathom?" Stephen was enraged. His voice became quite aggressive because he thought Oliver was that handsome man he saw on Ariel's phone when he heard his voice on the phone.

"Em... No, I understand. Let me give you the address." Oliver gave Stephen the address to their place, but his look remained befuddled. Soon afterthought, he regretted having given the address out so easily. 'Is the man really the Colonel's husband? If he is, how come he didn't know the colonel's address?'

Such questions kept troubling Oliver as he grew remorseful with every minute. He was very stupid today. He hoped that this man was indeed Brielle's husband, or he might have made a big mistake.

Without changing his gym clothes, Stephen took the car key and rushed downstairs. On second thought, he ran upstairs again, grabbed something, and then went out. Fan followed his car all the way. He didn't know where Stephen was going, but following him, Fan though was the best way to keep him safe.

Stephen drove hastily. The car shuttled amid the heavy traffic. He bit his luscious lips tightly in anxiety and swerved the steering wheel effortlessly yet skillfully. Finally, the fancy Maybach left the bustling city behind, entering a quiet lane leading to the suburb. Fan trailed him perplexed. He wondered why Stephen had come to the suburb.

At full speed, the car soon arrived at the dorm in the base. But Stephen was stopped by a soldier on duty. That was when Stephen realized the abnormality of his action. He hadn't even noticed that the address was in the military base. He scratched his head in despondency, upset with his strange and unreasonable behavior. However, since he was already here, he did not want to go back without his doubts clarified. So he took out the phone and dialed Brielle's number.

"I can't get in. Come and get me, I'm downstairs," he said. Oliver had just answered the call when he heard Stephen ordering him right away. His voice was even colder than the Colonel. Stephen hung up without waiting for Oliver's answer. Actually, he hung up so quickly because he was afraid of being refused.

Oliver rolled his eyes at the phone angrily. This man was bossy. He wondered what he would look like. Brielle had awoken and thrown up. Oliver let her drink the tea to help her sober-up. She didn't.

Seem to be able to sleep well. Oliver looked at her worriedly, then slowly went downstairs. His delay was purposeful. After all, her husband hadn't appeared for ages. He meant to play rough to this man. He meant to keep him waiting anxiously downstairs to teach him a lesson. Besides, he was not even certain that this man was indeed the Colonel's husband.

Stephen had been waiting for a long time, leaning against the car door. He sighed in relief when he saw a man, dressed like an officer, coming out because he was not the man that Stephen had seen in the photo.

The moment Oliver reached the gate, he noticed Stephen, because of the dazzling car Stephen was standing next to. Oliver looked him up and down and noticed that this man had fair skin and an angular face with black eyes, bushy eyebrows, high nose, and beautiful lips, which showed grace and nobility. 'Oh! No wonder he is so arrogant! He turns out to be qualified to behave like this. His temperament does overwhelm everyone around, let alone the fact that he drove this irrationally expensive car. But why do I feel like I have met him before?' Oliver thought.

"Hello, I am Stephen Chu." Stephen introduced himself first, looking at Oliver's dull expression. "Well. Hello, Mr. Chu! I'm the accompanying officer for Colonel Brielle. You can call me Oliver, could you show me your credentials before I can let you in?" Oliver came to himself and asked professionally. Stephen was prepared. He handed over all the required documents, including the marriage license that he had picked up in the spur of the moment.

Oliver looked them over and was shocked by his identity. 'This man is the renowned CEO of Chu International Group in B City! No wonder he seems familiar.' Oliver had always seen the man's photographs in the newspapers at the Colonel's home. He didn't remember him distinctly because he seldom paid much attention to the finance section. The credentials reminded him of who Stephen was.

'No wonder the Colonel took Ariel to that tall commercial building that day. It turns out to be Chu International Group. I thought Colonel entrusted Ariel to her friend who worked there. I finally understand why the Colonel never tells us who her husband is. It turns out to be the CEO of Chu International Group with a very eminent status.' Oliver was thinking to himself.

He returned the credentials to Stephen, whispered to the soldiers on duty, and took Stephen inside the building. Fan didn't follow them and stayed in the car because the military base was safe and he didn't need to worry about Stephen's security.

"Mr. Stephen, here we are. Do you need me to come along with you?"Oliver asked. Oliver felt no need to go along since Stephen was the Colonel's husband. he still asked out of politeness. "Oh, I will go by myself, thank you." Stephen thanked Oliver and felt sorry for troubling him at such a late hour in the night.

"You are welcome. I will take you to leave now." Oliver turned around to leave, but he turned back suddenly as if he had remembered something important. "Oh! The Colonel has seven days off, beginning tomorrow, she is not required to be in the military campus during this time and free to spend her time as and where she pleases." Oliver thought that he needed to say it suspecting Stephen was expecting to take the Colonel with him, seeing Stephen's luxury Maybach still parked at the gateway. 'Stephen might not sleep here,' Oliver thought to himself.

"Okay. Thank you! Oliver, could you please tell the soldiers on duty that I will be taking the Colonel away after a while." Stephen requested. Stephen had planned on the way here that he would keep her with him for a while to connect with her in the time since he couldn't really figure out how he felt about her at the time. Otherwise, he couldn't explain the reason why he suddenly cared for her.

"They've been informed, rest assured. Our Colonel is entrusted to you now." After saying this, Oliver quickly left. He learned from Brielle that he should behave himself instead of rubbing him the wrong way of finding fault with him.

Stephen pushed the door open and entered. He frowned at the cramped space and looked at the room. All the things were very common but made him feel comfortable and warm. Brielle lay on the sofa dressed in a tidy military uniform. Her face was pink and her eyelashes were shaking slightly. Her delicate and lovely lips grabbed his eyes. Stephen looked away from her face and his face turned red.

This was the first time Stephen looked at this woman so closely and felt close too. He looked at her lovely, sleeping face, smiling, and walking to her. He bent, touching her soft skin, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Unconsciously, he was filled with a deep love for her now.

He scanned the room again and took the mobile phone and put it on the table. He tidied her messy uniform and picked her up. All of a sudden, she mumbled something and buried her head in his arm, then went back to sleep. Such adorable behaviors delighted Stephen. He realized that she looked delicate and even more beautiful when she was drunk and no longer cold.

Stephen picked her up and took her out of the room and closed the door with difficulty. Brielle slept soundly and didn't have a clue of anything. Stephen began to anticipate her reaction the next morning when she found out that she wasn't in her room.

Fan saw Stephen embracing someone and walking out. He walked towards him. The soldiers saluted to Brielle, despite the fact that she was sleeping. They passed unobstructed by anyone as Oliver had instructed the soldiers in regard. Stephen nodded to them in gratitude.

"Who is she?" Fan was confused about the identity of the woman in Stephen's arms. He didn't realize it was his wife since he hadn't seen her in several years. "My wife. Open the door, we are going home in your car, then, call someone and have them drive my car home." Stephen said. Fan was perplexed by what Stephen said, but soon he came to himself and walked out to open the car door. Stephen carefully put Brielle in the car and cupping his hands under her head. He put her head on his lap as Fan made arrangements for the other car to be driven home.