Chapter Forty Eight

The enjoyable evening passed quickly. When they stepped out of Sexy World, it was already past midnight. Thanks to extra drinks with Claire and her friends, Brielle was seriously drunk. She was now leaning on Sptehen's arms, and the alcohol painted a pink hue on her cold face.

Chloe was not a good drinker, but she only had a little, so at most she was tipsy. She held Claire's arm tightly, determined to take her home as her real sister-in-law. "Miss Brook, can you still drive?" Since Brielle was drunk, Stephen thought he should take care of her wife's good friend. After all, Claire had drunk quite a bit as well.

"I'm fine. I'll get a cab home." Claire was not someone eager to prove herself. She would not fool around with her own life and others' safety when she had consumed alcohol.

"Scott, you take Chloe home." As Thomas spoke, he pulled Chloe away from Claire and pushed her towards Scott. "Why am I taking her? You're not going back?" Scott was confused, 'Where the hell was he going?' "Let's go! Let me take you home." Thomas didn't answer Scott. Instead, he took Claire's hand and walked to his own car.

"Thomas, really I can get a cab on my own. You don't need to take me home." Claire wanted to pull back her hand, but she realized that Thomas was holding it tightly, leaving her with no chance of getting away.

"Shut up, I said I am going to take you home, so I'm going to go just that. What are you so afraid of?" He forcefully opened the passenger side door of the car and pushed Claire in. Thomas felt that he had been acting weirdly enough tonight and that he was too impatient to listen to her.

"Tsk! What should I be afraid of? I'll let you drive. You don't bite, anyway." Claire coldly muttered. Someone had volunteered to be her chauffeur for free, so there was no point in making a fuss about it.

"If you aren't afraid, then just shut it." Thomas glared at her ferociously and started his car, quickly driving away. "Stephen, tell me do you think there's really something going on between those two?" Scott's eyes were filled with curiosity while his imagination had started to run wild. "You should ask them! They will surely tell you what you want to know." Stephen held the petite lady in his arms and didn't know what to do. He figured that he shouldn't let her drink anymore.

"Scott, do you think my brother likes my sister-in-law?" Chloe asked hesitantly. If it were true, then she would be in luck. Her future days would be much better without all the scolding from her brother.

"Ouch!" Scott patted on her head, "You've been calling her sister-in-law the entire night, and you finally remembered to ask that!" Scott didn't know what to do with this ridiculous girl. She had been chasing Claire for the whole night and calling her sister-in-law. yet, only now, she thought about asking in her own brother liked Claire. Scott gave up.

"Let's go, too." Seeing Thomas's car gradually disappear into the night, Stephen was lost in his own thoughts. The view stirred something inside him. "Mr. Chu, is Mrs.Chu drunk again?" Fan came by as soon as he sent Ariel home. he was a bit surprised to see Brielle in Stephen's arms. It seemed to him that Mrs. Chu was drunk all the time.

"Yeah! She can't really drink. She just had a few." Stephen found it funny that Brielle bumped into fresh trouble almost every day. She knew that she couldn't drink, yet she had downed so many glasses with that crazy Claire. Fortunately, she was on holiday, otherwise, she would have a serious problem tomorrow. What would she do? Just show up hungover in front of the soldiers?

Fan opened the rear door of the car, knowing that his young master wouldn't be able to drive, and so he had to escort them back. Stephen carefully helped Brielle into the car. he then followed in and held her in his arms again. She didn't react at all, silent like a declawed cat, sleeping comfortably.

Luxury cars swiftly zipped through the streets. Dazzling neon lights flared up in the night. Refracted through the car windows, the psychedelic colors turned the midnight city into a mesmerizing scenery.

Claire cautiously took off her high heels and tiptoed upstairs, fearing that she would wake up the sleeping lion and lose any chance of escaping. "Click the dark and dim lobby instantly transform into an extraordinarily brightly-lit area. Claire turned back, a bitter expression on her pretty face. The first thing she could see was the furious face of her father.

"Aha! Dad, you're not in bed yet!" As she spoke, she turned and steppe downstairs, constantly glancing behind William Brook, in the hope that someone would be there to save her. 'No need to look. Your mom's asleep. Now tell me what happened tonight." William felt quite hopeless about his only daughter. This girl didn't have the tenderness and care that a woman should possess. At her age, she never brought back a boyfriend. he had to go out of his way to set up blind dates for her. yet, somehow, she managed to piss off the other party every time.

"What do you mean by what happened? Nothing happened! No earthquakes, no tsunamis. Your wife is still safe and sounds asleep at home. What could have happened?" But claire knew something was wrong, 'That arrogant man has surely ratted on me to my dad. This is just so miserable! What time was it now? And father was still up, waiting for me! What's the point of all this?'

Claire Brook, stop with the nonsense. Tell me, in detail, where did this boyfriend of yours come from?" William suddenly shouted, his face stern and uncompromising. How could he not know how good this girl was at deflecting questions? But he wouldn't let her succeed tonight. She had to confess.

"Dad, you have slept too much. Who has a boyfriend? Don't tell me mom has a man behind your back." Claire smiled obsequiously, but her words were aggravating enough to make the dead spin in their graves.

"You brat, now cracking jokes at the expensive of your own mother! If some people were to walk in now, they might even believe it!" Sarah Li was drawn in by their argument. She looked drowsy and one could tell that she was indeed asleep, but her sleep might not be as sound as Claire had claimed.

"Mom, please just take your darling to bed! Don't let him stand here this late." Claire was relieved when she finally saw her mother, Sarah. Everyone knew that her father loved her mother very much and Claire's mother doted on her profusely, which was why she was so wayward.

"Hey little girl, don't annoy your father, or I won't ever take your side. By the way, who was that boy tonight? Your boyfriend? How about asking him to have dinner with us next time? Why don't you introduce him to us? That way, your father wouldn't try to set you up on blind dates all day long." Sarah pretended to be angry and poked Sarah"s head with her finger, but her voice was very tender. Sarah was middle-aged, but she was still very attractive.

"My lovely mother, it's late. I want to sleep now. I don't want to wake up with dark circles tomorrow morning." Claire grabbed Sarah's arm like a little kid and kissed her. Sarah smelt the booze on her breath.

"Oh my! How much wine did you have?" Sarah pushed Claire away in disgust, and thought, how come the older she gets, the more bothersome she becomes? "Not much. I didn't get drunk. Brielle was the one who got drunk. I got her drunk on purpose." Claire hiccuped. She was mad at Brielle because Brielle was dishonest with her. That's why Claire deliberately got Brielle drunk. She knew Brielle couldn't drink too much, but her husband was also there. Didn't they realize that alcohol can be an aphrodisiac? She was trying to help them, and let them have a chance to get laid!

"What? Are you still in touch with Brielle? How's she doing now? W haven't seen her for the longest time. How about asking her to have dinner with us next time?" Sarah felt sorry, thinking about Brielle. No one could imagine that Brielle, a girl who was nothing short of a beautiful princess would be treated like a slave by her step-mother.

"My dear mom, why do you always want to invite people to have dinner with us?" I am really exhausted right now. Can we talk about this later?" Right now, Claire just wanted to take a shower and go to bed. That way she would be active and ready to hang out with Brielle tomorrow. Claire had thought her mother was her hero, but she was way more annoying than her father.

William didn't utter a word when Sarah was present, because he knew it was useless to say anything in front of the two women. After all, women made all the rules in this house. Then why bother to say anything?

"Oh, you silly girl, fine, just go but don't forget tot ell me tomorrow." Since Claire was tired, Sarah was reluctant to ask her again. Anyway, there would be plenty of time tomorrow. "Thanks, mom. Hey dad you'd better take your wife to bed!" Claire said and made faces at her parents. Then happily she ran upstairs.

"Look, at your baby girl." William helplessly looked at Claire and said to Sarah disappointedly. he hadn't asked the most important questions yet! And Claire just slipped away like that. "That's your daughter too!" Speaking of their baby girl, William couldn't do anything to hurt her either so he couldn't blame Sarah alone.

"Forget it. Let's go to bed! We can talk about it tomorrow." Looking upstairs again, William reluctantly guided Sarah to their bedroom. It was a beautiful night where the air was filled with a faint fragrance of flowers. Stephen held Brielle in his arms and tenderly put her on the bed. When he was about to leave, he heard her mumbling.

"Stephen... you... you jerk." Brielle was murmuring in her sleep. She threw aside the quilt that he had put on her and then she went back to sleep. Stephen curled his lips, and thought, how angry is this woman tonight? He couldn't believe that she was scolding him even in her sleep. he hasn't accused her yet. How could she scold him first?

When he thought of it, he smiled and came close to her lips. he kissed her hard on the lips. He was reluctant to stop kissing her until she was hurt. He gently touched her lips where the teeth-marks formed, and then stood up contentedly. He just stood there and gracefully started to unbutton his shirt, which he later threw on the couch. After that, he took off his trousers and walked towards the bathroom in a pair of sexy briefs. how could she scold him first?

Stephen had a handsome face, wight-pack abs, perfect pecs, and was extremely well-built, which made him all the more desirable. he turned on the tap, and the cold water immediately sprinkled on his hot body. Stephen was an easygoing person and lived as he liked. he never thought that he would fall in love with a woman one day. But now, Stephen couldn't help gazing at her, touching her, and being jealous because of that one name. yes, he was jealous, and so he kept drinking until he was totally drunk, trying to comfort himself with alcohol.

Stephen wanted to find out if Brielle loved him or not, but he didn't know how to say that out loud. he was afraid to hear the answer, so he forced himself not to think about it. Stpehenruffeled his short-hair, trying to quit thinking about all this. He turned off the tap and wrapped a bath towel around his waist. Then, he walked to the bathtub and poured water into it.

Byt the time Stephen got back, Brielle was sound asleep, with no sign of waking up any time soon. "Babe, wake up let's take a shower before you go to bed." Stephen gently held her up and smoothed her messy long-hair.

"No... I want to sleep. I... I feel so dizzy!" Brielle murmured. Her cold voice turned soft now. "No, take a shower first, and then go to bed." Stephen insisted, and held her up again. "But I don't want to move." After Stephen's long and persistent efforts, Brielle finally woke up a little bit but she wasn't sober because she had too much to drink tonight. Her soft body leaned on his bare chest. Smelling a familiar fragrance of jasmine, Brielle took a deep breath and held a comfortable position in his arms.