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

Chapter 92: Their Broken Promise 

Brian held Anna close to his body as he looked at Hayden and his wife, then tuned to Toby and his wife.

There was no more need for him to hide anything.

Besides, he wanted to see how they would react.

"Something bad happened to Lala."

He didn't have to explicitly say what happened to her.

Those words were enough to verify the rumors that had been spreading recently.

After all, Hayden was an experienced and well- informed man.

It didn't even faze him when he heard what Brian said.

On the other hand, Toby was shocked.

Something had actually happened to Lala.

The last time he saw her, she was with Lucas.

But when he heard Brian confirm the news so calmly, it confused him.

Looking at Toby, Molly asked, "Are you worried about her?"

It had been a long time since they had last seen each other.

However, when Brian mentioned Ayla out of the blue, it felt like a stone was weighing down her chest.

Toby shook his head.

"No, I'm not."

He wanted to forget what must forget, but he was having a hard time doing that.

After the brief conversation, Anna and Brian went to their seats to sit down.

"Brian, it seems that Mr.Smith cares about Miss Woodsen a lot."

It never occurred to her that so many people cared about Ayla.

"Don't mention her anymore."

It wasn't because Brian had moved on from her; it was because he didn't want to hear her name anymore.

Ayla was the thorn in his heart that he could never remove.

Anna nodded in response.

Although she understood that it didn't mean Brian had moved on from Ayla, she would rather have his attention all to herself.

If that woman was no longer there, she would be able to stay by his side forever.

Soon, the charity auction started.

Brian sat there, bidding for every item at a high price.

Looking at him, Hayden noticed the strange changes in his behavior.

Holding his hand, Anna said, "Brian, stop bidding."

To her, it was obvious what he was thinking.

He was buying all those things he didn't even want for such a high price just so he could donate more money.

Was this his way of atoning for his sins? It was absolutely unnecessary.

However, she still felt bad for him.

Ayla had changed him so much.

"That sapphire necklace I just bought is for you."

Brian had always been generous to Anna.

After he bought the sapphire necklace for nearly ten million, he gave it to her and wore it around her neck on the spot.

At that time, Molly also wanted to have the necklace.

Sadly, Brian had taken it away.

When he put the necklace on Anna, all the media reporters aimed their cameras at them.

"Honey, isn't it terrible for a man to change his mind so easily?"

Molly said this because she wanted to know whether Toby had changed his mind.She wanted to confirm whether he still loved Ayla, or her, his own wife.

Brian might have loved Ayla, but he was still a man whom many women dreamed of having.It was only natural that he wasn't so devoted to her.

Now that Ayla was gone, he still managed to show his affection to Anna, and even gave her such a valuable sapphire necklace.

"Molly, are you worried?"

Toby looked at her intently.

He owed this woman so much.

Had his mind changed or not? Ayla had disappeared, and there was no information from Brian after he scoured through the island for several days.

Anyone in Brian's position would eventually give up the search and forget her, wouldn't he?

"I trust you," said Molly.

She had loved him her whole life, so she tried her hardest to keep him by her side.

Toby embraced her, but said nothing.

Meanwhile, Ayla was sitting on the balcony of the second floor.

The villa she was staying in was located in the suburban district.

It didn't stand out that much, given that it was surrounded by several luxurious villas, but it was comfortable.

Lucas was busy today.

When she went downstairs by herself, she saw that the servant had placed a newspaper on the tea table.

She casually took it and flipped through its pages.

Seconds later, she saw that the headline was about Brian.

There was a photo of him and Anna, looking affectionately at each other.

The necklace around her neck was eye-catching.

Without her in the picture, Brian and Anna would be happy.

But she didn't understand why he had agreed to meet Tatum back then.

There was no need for them to meet again.

It was good that he never got her back.

Perhaps that was the last time they would ever see each other for the rest of their lives.

Ayla had been staring at the photo for a really long time.

Eventually, Lucas came in and saw her staring at the newspaper absentmindedly.

He deliberately told one of the maids to put it there, so that when she saw the headline, she would finally give up her love for Brian.

And soon, her heart would belong to him.

"Lala." Lucas walked towards her.

"Why are you reading that? Just stop looking at it."

Ayla allowed him to take the newspaper from her hands.

"I'm fine.I've already known that this is how things would end up."

In reality, her heart was aching. She had believed that her love for Brian wasn't this strong, but she never expected that she couldn't forget him.

Gazing into her eyes, Lucas said, "If you want to see him, I can drive you there.You can look at him from a distance."

It was a difficult thing to forget someone.

The more she remembered him, the more likely Lucas would fail to earn her love.

For now, he had to take a few steps back in order to move forward.

Over the past few days, the drugs that had been injected into her body took effect several times.

"No, that's not necessary."

Ayla shook her head.She didn't want to see him anymore.

In everyone's eyes, she no longer existed.

Lucas held her in his arms.

"Are you disappointed, Lala? From now on, I'll always stay by your side."

He decided that he would never let her go because he wanted to be with her for a lifetime.

"From now on? How long do you think I still have left to live?"

A bitter smile appeared on Ayla's lips.

"No matter how long it could be, I'll stay right by your side," Lucas promised.

However, if Tatum found out that she was with him, there was no way that he would let them go.

And if she found out about his relationship with Tatum Green, would she understand and forgive him? He had done everything to hide that fact from her because he didn't want to lose her.

Brian hadn't gone home to his villa for several days.

He had been staying at his office all this time.

There were too many things in his home that reminded him of her.

The flowers she had placed in the living room had now withered.

He had told Maria to throw them away already.

"Brian."

Anna entered his office.

"How about we have dinner together tonight?"

Looking at her, he said, "Let's go to the club together "Why don't you get some rest tonight? I heard from Jaime that you haven't slept for days."

She didn't want him to be stressed out because of being too miserable.If this was his way of forgetting Ayla, how could she help him?

"I'm fine," Brian said with a faint smile.

At night, in the bustling entertainment club, Toby appeared.

"Mr.Clark, can we talk?"

Moments later, he and Brian were sitting face to face in a private room.

"Do you want to talk to me about Ayla?"

He was well aware that Toby was having a hard time forgetting her as well.

"Is there really no news about her? Is she dead?"

It took Toby a lot of guts to ask those questions.

"I refuse to believe that she's dead," Brian remarked.

Until now, he still thought the same.

"But she fell into the sea and there haven't been any leads to her whereabouts, right?" Toby replied. Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

Toby had done everything to inquire about her whereabouts.

The thought that she was truly dead horrified him.

Brian drank the entire contents of his glass in one gulp.

"She did fall into the sea, but I never managed to find her body."

"It's all your fault! You should've let her go.If you had just released her, she wouldn't have suffered like this, and we wouldn't have lost her!"

Toby hated Brian to the core.

This ruthless, cruel man was the one who made Ayla suffer the most.

"Mr.Brown, please don't forget that you're the son-in- law of the Smith family now.There are certain things and people that you shouldn't concern yourself with."

It was true, Toby need not meddle with Brian and Ayla's affairs, let alone judge them.What she said to him was still vivid in Brian's mind.The reason she dove into the sea was for him.

"No matter what happens between me and Lala in the future, my love for her won't change.You are a heartless man.There's no way you'd understand the bond that we've shared since childhood.Back then, we hardly had anything.The only things we had were our sincere love, and our deepest commitments to each other," said Toby.

He believed that the relationship they had was the most meaningful of all.