Chapter Forty Seven

Thomas returned from his reverie and looked in the direction Scott was staring at. he saw Stephen's gloomy look and was quite puzzled by what was happening. "My dear sister-in-law, I am Chloe. So tell me how did you meet my big brother?" Chloe hadn't forgotten about her interrogation and continued to ask Claire questions. Whether Claire was Thomas's girlfriend or not, she felt she had to help him get her. Then Thomas would be too busy dating his girlfriend to lecture her.

Hah! It appeared that Chloe was looking out for Thomas, but the truth was that she was thinking about her interests. What a foxy girl Chloe was. "Well... Chloe. I am not your brother's girlfriend, just an ordinary acquaintance. You can call me Claire. But please don't call me sister-in-law ever again, okay?" Claire knew now what was digging her own grave felt like. Gosh. She was living the consequences of her little white lie. And nobody had let her explain her side of the story.

"Okay, my sister-in-law. Can I hang out with you later?" Chloe said and gave a flattering smile. Saying okay was one thing, but doing so was another. Now she just needed to spend more time with Claire.

Claire was speechless after hearing Chloe's words. Claire became so upset that she huddled on the couch. 'Well, Chloe had said okay and promised never to call her sister-in-law, but then she just did it again. No one should promise not to do something but then do it anyway. And why hadn't Icy Thomas explained the situation to his sister Chloe? Nothing is going on between us.' Claire protested deep down.

Scott now saw through Chloe. She had turned out to be a match-maker for Thomas. But really, Claire was in a way a perfect match for Thomas, since she was passionate while he was cold. They would make a good couple.

Stephen kept drinking with a cold expression. Just when he was about to fill another glass, his hand was grasped tightly by a small cold hand, stopping him from getting more drinks. He slowly looked in the directions of the small hand. It was Brielle, who was still poised and busy chatting with others. She was so detached, and it felt as if the small hand that gripped his was not hers.

Stephen raised his other hand and trie to remove hers but found Brielle grasping it even tighter. Her strength made Stephen smile. Just a moment ago, he thought Brielle didn't care about him. But she had noticed his actions.

Brielle was listening to Chloe's talk with claire, but she was also paying attention to Stephen. When she saw that he kept on drinking, she felt vexed and deliberately ignored him. But when she realized that he had no intention of stopping, she was left with no better choice than to grasp his hand. But she did not look at him because she did not want to draw anyone's attention to him. She just stopped his hand from pouring more alcohol.

Stephen saw her hand and put on an evil smile. He was not angry about her interference. he poured the alcohol clumsily with the other hand and wanted to see what she would do about it.

Their actions were being scrutinized by Scott and Thomas. They just pretended not to see. Finally, they knew why Stephen suddenly became gloomy and upset -- it was all because of Brielle.

Alas! That was the look of a man falling in love. Though Stephen kept insisting that his interest in Brielle was only fleeting, those watching them knew that Stephen was really in love. His abnormal behavior was the best proof of this.

Stephen raised the glass on this lips. When he was about to sip from it, a small hand snatched it away. before he knew what was happening, he saw Brielle drink up all of it, throw him a hard look, and bang the glass on the table.

The loud noise immediately caught the attention of those around. When she had taken his glass, Stephen had frozen for several seconds, stared at her, trying to guess what she would do next. he had thought of hundreds of possibilities but never considered that she would drink up the wine. That was his wife -- so unique. Her strong personality revealed itself, especially when she got angry.

Scott and Thomas were also curious about what Brielle would do with the wine, so they kept a close eye on her. But they never thought that she would take the most direct approach and drink it.

claire was too stressed by Chloe's insistent questions to notice what was happening around her. But she was quite surprised to see Brielle banging down the glass. Brielle to get agitated so easily.

Brielle stared at Stephen defiantly, without caring about the racket she had created. What the hell! How dare he suddenly becomes angry at her and, more importantly, drink so much alcohol.

She did not vent her anger easily, but that also did not mean that she had no temper. She was usually hard on others. She was usually hard on others. For him, the man she loved so much, she always made concessions. But it didn't mean that she would tolerate him for creating trouble for no reason. Stephen should feel lucky that he was not her soldier, or she would have imposed a severe punishment on him.

Stephen was astonished by Brielle's actions. He squinted and looked directly into her eyes, his face putting on an evil smile, his fingers rhythmically tapping the table. Just when everyone thought he would be angry, he smiled and pulled her into his arms. Without the slightest care for what others would think, he passionately kissed Brielle. Then he released his big hands that were holding her. Stephen's kiss did not surprise Thomas and Scott, for they knew that he had never cared about etiquette. he always did things as he pleased. The opinions of others meant nothing to him.

Brielle had not expected this whimsical action at all. She was so embarrassed that she buried her face in his chest. She thought that there was no way for her to show her face in public again. She didn't have to look to know that people around them were all staring at her. Her reputation was again ruined by Stephen Chu.

Claire looked at Brielle curiously, thinking, 'She finally got what she worked so hard for. From the way that Stephen had treated her, did it mean her 12-years-long one-sided obsession for him was finally going to be required?' If that was the case, Claire would be so happy for Brielle, because she knew how difficult Brielle's life was, and she was the only one who knew how persistent and dedicated Brielle's love was.

"Stephen, you're so amazing! You're my idol!" Chloe started to rile up the crowd. She like assertive men. "Girl, you trying to fall in love or what?" Scott asked her humorously thinking that if this was enough to make some her idol, then she would have gone crazy if she had seen how Mr. Chu flirted with other women in public.

"What? How old do you think I am? Why can't I fall in love?" The truth was, not only had she fallen in love, but she also had a one night stand with someone after some drinks. But could she just say that aloud? Certainly not, unless she had a death wish.

"You fell for somebody?" Thomas furrowed his brows and asked Chloe seriously. How on earth did he forget that this young lady over here has already reached the age for love and romance? But when he thought about some other man in her life, a bitterness arose in his heart.

"No, brother I was just joking." Chloe tried to change the subject. As for someone she fell for... There could be one! How about the handsome foreign boy? And because of an exciting moment with him, she had lost her most precious virginity.

"Chloe, do you want me to introduce you to some fine young men?" Stephen knew that Brielle was still feeling too embarrassed at the moment, so he just let her lean on his chest. He then started teasing Chloe.

"Stephen, in this day and age, who starts a relationship with such blind dates? You're so out of sync. Now it's all about chance encounters." Chloe scoffed at the idea, but someone else present in the box felt a bit uneasy. Claire had just gotten out of a blind date, so did this mean that she too was completely out of sync?

"I feel you should ask your sister-in-law about this. She knows all about it." Scott smiled and raised his eyebrows at Claire. "Why ask me?" Right after saying that, Claire wanted to punch her stupid mouth. Scott only mentioned some big sister without naming anyone. Why would she fall for it? Claire blamed Chloe for all of this. That little girl called her sister-in-law all day long, which had distracted her.

Thomas lightly shook the wine glass and looked at Claire through the corner of his eyes. A faint smile appeared on his cold face. 'It seemed that even the smartest person can be rattled by Chloe's insistent pestering.'

"Who else's are we going to ask? Weren't you just on a blind date?" Ha! he had gotten one back for being bullied by her the last time. Finally, Claire was all confused today, so she wasn't able to defend herself with her usual eloquence.

"What makes you think I was on a blind date? Who made the rule that a meeting with a gentleman is automatically a blind date? You're with so many women every day. Does that mean those were all blind dates?" Hm! Although the had tried to exploit her momentary lapse, Claire had held her ground perfectly.

"So, Claire... Are you sure you're not Thomas's girlfriend?" When Brielle heard Claire's retort, she stopped playing the ostrich and pulled her head out of Stephen's embrace, apprehensively asking Claire this question.

'Who told you that I'm the girlfriend of that iceberg? I'm not in so much heat that I need some ice for relief. Why would I be going after him? He's not the kind of guy I am interested in." claire clicked her tongue and looked disgusted. She didn't expect her words would attract a chilling pair of eyes.

"I'm not the kind of guy you're interested in? Then who was it that first leaned into my arms just a while back? Miss Brook, don't tell me you've already forgotten!" His creepy tone was filled with curiousness like that of the devil. The voice pierced through Claire's eardrums, making her instinctively shiver.

"Um... That was an accident! Don't harp on it. I was just throwing that out there." Deep down, Claire, I was so good to you yet you purposefully dug a hole for me to sink into! Don't you know that when the iceberg gets angry, he's even scarier than your husband! Otherwise, I wouldn't have run away so quickly last time.'

Brielle looked at Stephen, bewildered. Didn't he just say that Claire was Thomas's girlfriend? Then why did things seem so wrong now? Stephen was thinking of something else, so he didn't see Brielle's inquisitive expression. He wanted to clarify the rules to Brielle. First of all, she needed to change the way how she addressed people. She shouldn't address Thomas in such an intimate way. Makeover, she should call Stephen "darling."

Thomas did not answer Claire. He simply lay on the couch, still exuding a chilly persona. 'I'm not your kind of guy? Let's see if that's true. You started this game, and once it's begun, there's no stopping it.'

"Thomas, actually you two seem connected in some way! Weren't you two hugging each other so tightly outside this bar last time? Only today, it happened indoors." Scott joked about the two apparent enemies. It was likely that they could get together!

"What? You're saying that old lady from last time was her?" Thomas couldn't stay calm any longer. He hadn't forgotten how that woman had given him a vicious slap, or how she had nastily called him a pervert. Now he realized that the woman was Claire. 'Okay, calling me a perv, huh? One day. I'll live up to that name with her. Otherwise, I won't be worthy of that "Title" she had bestowed on me.'

"Who is the old lady you were referring to? Me? Or your sister? have you ever met an old lady who looked as pretty and charming as me?" Claire got angry, as well, 'Shit! I have the body and the looks. What makes me an old lady?'

"Sister-in-law, I'm not an old lady either," Chloe answered feebly, wondering why she had been dragged into this. Why did Claire call her out? "Uh..." Claire couldn't come up with an answer. She didn't mean that. What was more horrifying was that Chloe was sitting right next to her!

"Cough," now it was Scott's turn to spit out his wine! What a fun family! And they sure were a family! It appeared that things were indeed getting even more interesting!