Chapter 27
Louise Adkins felt like she had thrown caution to the wind tonight.
She had lived here for over half a month, yet Brian Francis had never touched her.
Although Brian meant to wait until after marriage to touch her, these days, she had a lingering worry; it might be better to make things official sooner rather than later.
She couldn’t believe that despite her intentionally alluring demeanor tonight, he managed to maintain self–restraint.
Brian’s brow slightly furrowed, yet his gaze remained indifferent without the slightest change.
“Brian…” Louise seized the opportunity to hook her arm around his neck, her eyes glazed as she leaned towards him.
Brian remained motionless, yet his b*dy visibly tensed for a moment. “Louise, you still have a wound on your waist. It’s easy to strain it like this.”
His voice was calm, devoid of any hint of desire, as if his sole concern was for her waist injury.
“Don’t leave, stay with me… Brian, don’t you want me?” Louise disregarded all boundaries and clung to him. Moving closer, she used a seductive tone, ‘Brian, please don’t go, okay?”
“Louise, you’ve had too much to drink,” Brian’s gaze darkened as he grabbed her wrist.
Louise’s heart sank, she thought,
‘Drank too much?
‘So, he still refuses to sleep with me?‘
He forcibly removed her hand from himself, placing it on the bed, and tucked her in with the blanket. “I’ll stay here with you. Go to sleep.”
Having been handled this way, Louise lacked the courage to push further, it would only make her appear undignified.
Seeing she hadn’t opened her eyes, Brian sat for a while before getting up and quietly leaving, treading lightly.
Louise opened her clear eyes as the faint sound of the door closing echoed.
After showering, Brian lay in bed but couldn’t fall asleep for a long time. He couldn’t fathom why, even though he hadn’t slept well in the past few days at the office, tonight was no different despite returning home.
After tossing and turning for two hours, Brian got up, went downstairs to the liquor cabinet, grabbed a bottle of alcohol, and took a big gulp straight from the bottle.
The intense alcohol spread down his throat, yet he seemed oblivious to the taste as he gulped down another large mouthful.
Soon enough, he had managed to consume nearly half of the alcohol in the bottle.
His eyes appeared somewhat hazy, yet his mind seemed to sharpen further amidst the alcohol haze.
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Brian stood up, intending to head back to his room to rest, but his steps, as if under some mysterious influence, veered toward the direction of the first–floor corridor.
As he pushed open that door, suddenly he snapped out of it; he thought, ‘Why on earth had I ended up in Grace Sherman’s room?‘
Goodness gracious!
Brian was about to close the door when he noticed the medicine bottle on the floor. He had picked it up from the trash can that night. It seemed that after their argument that day, she had left without tidying up her room.
The blankets lay haphazardly on the bed, and he could almost envision her struggling against him, resisting with all her might as if it had just happened.
The fragments flashing through his mind ignited a faint anger within him.
Suddenly, he strode forward and forcefully yanked her belongings from the bed, throwing them onto the floor before storming out and slamming the door shut.
His commotion startled the nearby butler, Melvin Duncan.
Melvin got up, came out, and saw Brian heading toward the living room, seeming to know what had transpired. “Mr. Brian, if you’re missing Miss Sherman, just bring her back.”
“What are you talking about?” Brian’s brow furrowed, and his expression darkened as he looked at him.
“Didn’t you just go to Miss Sherman’s room? If you miss her, take the initiative to bring her back. She’ll be delighted,” Melvin replied.
Brian chuckled coldly “Melvin, are you trying to read my mind now?”
“Not at all,”
“Not at all,” Melvin hastily replied, feeling flustered.
“I have no feelings for Grace Sherman, and in the future, Melvin, mind your own business! This is the second time I’ve warned you!” Brian declared sternly
Melvin watched his departing figure, not daring to say anything further.
He walked towards Grace’s room, turned the doorknob, and found the bedsheets all over the floor.
Melvin sighed, squatting to gather the bedsheets and taking them to the laundry room. Pouring Grace’s preferred detergent into the washing machine and starting it, he sighed again, muttering to himself, “Young people nowadays, why are they so ambiguous in their words and actions?
“Neither of them can pretend not to care.”
The next day, Brian got up early and went to the company.
Louise Adkins got up and glanced at his bedroom, recalling the scene from last night where she had desperately tried to entice him, but he remained unaffected.
Her fingers clenched the door handle tightly, the tips turning white as she took a deep breath.
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“It’s fine, she thought, ‘last night was because I was drunk. Starting today, I’ll act like nothing from last night ever happened.”
She remained graceful and polsed in front of Brian Francis, the Louise Adkins as always.
After having her meal, she noticed Melvin Duncan, the butler, outside hanging clothes to dry.
Louise walked over. “Melvin, did Grace Sherman mention when she’ll be back?”
“Miss Adkins, I’m not aware of that either, Melvin replied respectfully, pausing his actions.
A gentle breeze blew by, and suddenly, Louise caught a whiff of a fragrance in the air.
Her expression paused, and she looked at the bedsheets before her, walking closer to them to sniff the fabric carefully.
She thought, ‘How come this scent is so familiar?‘
“Melvin, whose bedsheets are these?” she asked.
A glint of sharpness flashed in her eyes, and Melvin swiftly considered his response before replying, “I brought out the bedsheets, Miss Adkins. Is something the matter?”
Louise furrowed her brow. “It’s nothing: I just find the scent very familiar. Melvin, what kind of laundry detergent do you use? It smells a lot like perfume.”
“Oh, I can’t recall the brand. Miss Adkins, perhaps the familiar scent is because occasionally Mr. Brian’s clothes are also washed with this detergent,” Melvin responded.
With Melvin’s explanation, Louise finally recalled that she had smelled this fragrance on Brian during their previous
encounter.
‘So, it wasn’t perfume, but laundry detergent after all, she thought.
Louise felt relieved.
During this period, she had been resting, and the progress of the decoration in their new house had been forced to halt. Louise realized that she would be getting married in just over two months, and the urgency to complete the decoration of their new house swiftly struck her.
Louise had scheduled a meeting with the designer further to discuss the decoration plans for the second floor.
Grace Sherman was ready for discharge from the hospital. Justin Vance accompanied her to complete the discharge procedures, advising her on some pregnancy precautions. He arranged for a car to drop her off at the hospital entrance.
During her days at the hospital, she felt both liberated and relaxed. She was starting to feel reluctant to return home.
She intentionally called Melvin to inquire whether Louise was at home. If she was, Grace planned to delay her return until the evening, aiming to avoid encountering them for one more day.
Melvin informed her that nob*dy was at home, prompting her to instruct the driver to start the car and return.
Soon, the car arrived at the Francis estate.
Spotting her from a distance, Melvin set aside his tasks and greeted her. “Miss Sherman, you’ve finally returned.”
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Grace noticed the bedsheets in the courtyard and asked, “Melvin, why did you wash all of my bedsheets?”
Melvin smiled and replied, “I didn’t know when you would return. Worried they might gather too much dust if left for long. I washed them for you. By the way, Miss Adkins seems sensitive to the scent of your laundry detergent. She asked me about whose bedsheets they were.”
