The Substitute Bride: Making Memories Of Us (Lois Stone)

Chapter 90: Was The God Playing Games With Her 

The bullet was removed and Brian would be just fine after a good rest.He lay in the hospital bed, carefully attended to by Anna. Belongs to (N)ôvel/Drama.Org.

"Brian, would you like to tuck into some delicious fruit? Here, let me peel some for you."

"No, thanks." Brian stared into the distance.

Three days had passed and there was still no news of Ayla.

He was consumed by restlessness.

"Brian, are you still concerned about her?"

Anna was aware that Jaime had instructed his men to search for Ayla.

But it was all in vain.

She secretly wished she could ask Brian to give up the search but she remained quiet.She was deeply saddened to see the pathetic state he was reduced to.

"There is still no news about her," Brian said calmly.

Then he stood up and said to her, "Please help me with the discharge procedure."

He wanted to confirm it personally.

Anna could read his mind.She accompanied him to the uninhabited island.

"Mr.Clark, what are you doing here?" asked one of his subordinates.

"Hmm."

Brian acknowledged him with a nod and examined the surroundings.

If only he had acted quicker then, she would not have been shot.

The search and rescue team had combed the length and breadth of the sea, but there was no trace of her.

For five hours he waited with anxious patience.

Darkness enveloped them.

"Brian, if you continue to torture yourself like this, it will impact negatively on your health."

Anna was genuinely worried about his wellbeing.

"Anna, ask them to stop!” Ask them to stop the search!

"Brian felt as helpless and as desperate as a penniless beggar.He cursed.If she was courageous enough to confess her love for him, couldn't she also believe that he would save her? He would save her from Tatum even if he had to give up everything.Even if she had been forcibly injected with drugs, he would help her overcome her drug dependence.

Jaime came over.

"Mr.Clark."

Finally, all of them, as well as the rescue team, left without finding anything.

Lucas looked at Ayla who was still in a coma.

Thanks to Aldo for having secretly called him, otherwise he would have been deceived by Tatum for the rest of his life.

He knew that Tatum would stop at nothing to get everything from Brian.

Aldo knocked on the door and entered.

"Mr.Collins, the doctor is here."

The doctor followed him into the room and said, "Mr.Collins, let me examine Miss Woodsen."

Although the bullet had been removed, she remained in a coma for more than a week.

She was on her deathbed when she was rescued at sea.

After a thorough examination, the doctor declared, "Mr.Collins, Miss Woodsen is physically fine, but she has lost all will to live."

"What do you mean by that? Do you mean that she willfully has no desire to wake up?"

On hearing the doctor's words, he violently grabbed the doctor by his collar and spat venom.

"I command you to find a way to wake her up now!"

She had been in a coma for so long.

Although her vital signs were stable, there was no indication of her regaining consciousness any time soon.

He needed some reassurance that she would awaken soon.

"Mr.Collins, please calm down.Miss Woodsen was not seriously injured.But she was injected with very harmful drugs.As long as she is in a coma, she will not have an attack.However, the minute she awakens, the attacks will recur.This can be life threatening," the doctor said to Lucas.

He wanted him to be mentally prepared.

"I understand," he said, letting go of his collar.

He returned to the room.

How he wished for Ayla to awaken so that her pale cheeks would glow with roses again.

No matter what happened, he would never leave her side.

Finally, Tatum called, "Lucas!"

"Father."

Lucas proceeded to the study to answer the phone.

"Father, what can I do for you?"

"Where have you been? I heard that you didn't go to work.Is that woman the reason?"

After the head-on collision between Tatum and Brian on that day, he was suppressed and suffered in silence.

After a short pause, Lucas thought, 'Apart from Aldo, no one else knows that I secretly saved Ayla.Neither will Tatum know.'

"Father, I have no wish to go back to school.With things being the way they are, it's pointless for me to go back."

The only reason he went on to become the vice principal was so that he could get close to Ayla.Now that she was by his side, there was no need to stay on.

He never truly cared about managing the affairs of the gang in the past.Neither would he be interested in the future.

"Okay! Then come back whenever you are free."

Tatum needed Lucas' help.

He wanted to make Lucas a formidable right hand man by manipulating the feud between him and Brian.

Whilst standing in front of the window, Lucas said, "Father, I need to rest.I won't go back so soon."

He disobeyed Tatum.

When his family came down in the world at his tender age of ten, Tatum had taken him in.

Over the years, he had worked hard, but life brought him much suffering and hatred grew within him like a malignant tumor.

But after meeting Ayla, all the hatred dissolved.

He discovered that he was capable of loving intensely.

Tatum was obviously dissatisfied, but didn't show it.

He must not push Lucas too hard.

If pushed too far, Lucas would not hesitate to leave.

He had grown into an arrogant and independent man.

Besides, he knew what Tatum had done to Ayla, so he needed to tread carefully.

It would be sensible to give Lucas some time and space.

When Lucas was over that woman, he would come back like a puppy looking for his master. Lucas went back to the room after hanging up the phone.

Looking at Ayla he pleaded softly, "You should wake up now.You've been sleeping for too long."

How he longed for her company in the future!

Then, in the middle of the night, Ayla slowly opened her heavy, droopy eyelids.

As she gradually came to her senses, she tried to remember where she was.

The room appeared strange amidst the dim light.

'Where am I?' She turned to face a man.

With outstretched hands, she stroked his hair.

Sensing some movement, Lucas woke up.

"Lala, you are awake! Are you all right?"

She had finally woken up! He summoned Aldo and asked him to pick up the doctor.

Now that she had regained consciousness, she needed a full examination.

"Why are you here? And why am I here?"

She awoke as from a deep trance.

Was she alive? After confessing her love to Brian, she felt no regret even if she died.She felt greatly indebted to him and was prepared to sacrifice her life for him.But now she was alive! Was the God playing games with her?

"Don't worry about anything.Just rest.Does the wound still hurt?"

Lucas asked the servant to prepare chicken porridge for her.

Now that she had woken up, she needed to regain her strength by eating nutritious, wholesome meals.

After examining Ayla, the doctor nodded and proclaimed, "Miss Woodsen, you will be as good as new after a few more days of rest."

Reassured by the doctor's words, Lucas relaxed.

Ayla, however, remained morose.

She had to lie on her side.

Over the past few days, the wound on her back had neither improved nor deteriorated.

She had to take greater care of the wound.

Lucas sat her up and fed her the porridge one bite at a time.

"Please eat more so that you can recover sooner."

However, Ayla had no appetite.She only took a few spoonfuls.

Lucas then fed her the medicine prescribed by the doctor and helped her lie back down on the bed to rest.

Ayla stared through the window at the cold moon.

Her heart was filled with sadness.

She would never be able to erase the memories of what had happened on the uninhabited island on that fateful day.

No matter how unfeeling Brian appeared to be, he always had a soft spot for her.

But even when she had heard him shout, she didn't turn around.

Was it because she didn't have the courage to or because she no longer wanted to be a burden to him?