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

Chapter 98: Wait For Your Love 

Brian didn't say anything.If he couldn't make her happy, he shouldn't give her false hopes.However, he allowed Anna to hold onto a bit of hope in deference to her persistence.

Two years had not erased his love for Ayla, and neither was Anna's love for him.

Anna was wearing a light purple evening dress, and he was wearing a black suit.

At the dinner party after the fashion show, the two of them were the highlights of the evening.

Yareli kept staring at them, and said, "Mr.Clark, I'm so glad that you could come."

There was a faint smile on her face.

With the development of Brian's major cross- industry venture across the world, the partnership of their two companies would also develop further.

Yareli had chosen Ayla to be the domestic designer sent by Starlight Fashion Hub.

"You're welcome, Ms.Evans.It's my honor to attend such a high-caliber fashion show," Brian said with a polite smile.

"By the way, Ms.Evans, those last few sets are quite good.Are those your new designs?" asked Anna.

Coincidentally, Linda came over.

Anna's words displeased her.

Yareli had arranged Ayla's works to be the show's finale to attach great importance to Ayla herself.

"Did you like them, Miss Anna? But those clothes were designed by our new intern designer.The style might be great, but the colors don't match well."

Based on Linda's tone, she was obviously envious of Ayla.

"Is that so? Well, everyone has different tastes, right?"

Anna rolled her eyes at Linda.

Despite having met several times, they still hadn't gotten close to each other.

"You do have a unique taste, Miss Anna."

Linda grabbed a glass of wine from the waiter's tray.

"Ms.Evans, has Wenny left already?"

She was worried that Wenny might steal her thunder.

A good fraction of the attendees were amazed by Wenny's design, which made Linda feel bad.

"Wenny's not feeling well, so she wasn't able to attend, " Yareli replied.

"Anyway, please attend to Mr.Clark." She didn't have the time to look after so many guests.

"Ms.Evans, carry on with your work," Anna said to her.

She then looked at Brian and said, "Brian, why don't we take a seat over there?"

After they had seated themselves, he started drinking.

"Brian, please don't drink too much."

Anna could tell that something was bothering Brian ever since they got here, and there was only one reason he could be this unhappy.

Meanwhile, Ayla was sitting in the car as Lucas drove her to the riverside.

They stood by the river, letting the cold breeze of the night blow past them.

She didn't have to say anything for he understood how she felt.

Brian's presence had deeply upset her.She had chosen to avoid him because she still loved him, and she knew that she still hadn't moved on from him.

As she stared at the river, Ayla crossed her arms.She had believed that after two long years, seeing Brian wouldn't affect her so much, but alas, her heart was racing.She felt uneasy, terrified, and her heart was in disarray because of him.

Brian and Anna attended the company's fashion show.

He only accompanied her to take a look.

Over the past two years, Ayla hadn't paid much attention to any news about him.

Sadly, she still hadn't forgotten him.

"Lala." Lucas took off his coat and put it on her. This content belongs to Nô/velDra/ma.Org .

"You might catch a cold," he said.

Brian's abrupt appearance made Ayla restless because she still loved and cared about him.

She was truly a faithful woman.

Back then, she was even willing to surrender her life for him.

Even if he never said that he loved her, she was still fiercely loyal to him.

"How is he, Lucas?"

It took a lengthy silence before Ayla finally mustered up the courage to ask Lucas about Brian.

'With Anna's help, Brian is probably living a good life.'

"He's still with Anna."

This meant that they were on good terms.

Although Lucas didn't have to explicitly say it, his words still saddened Ayla.

"I see.Then he should be fine," she said casually.

When she was in the Clark family's villa, Anna and Brian had a special relationship.

Anna even warned her not to hurt him if she didn't love him.

However, when Ayla finally fell in love with him, they got separated, and their child got aborted.

However, her love never wavered, so she wasn't afraid.

She was brave enough to love, and she boldly proclaimed it.

She wanted to let Brian know how much she loved him, but in the end, her confession was what drove her further away from him.

It was a lie when she said that she wasn't hurt.

When Tatum had locked her up in his villa, her freedom had been taken away and every day she suffered in pain.Despite all of that, she never felt desperate because her heart and her love for Brian kept her going.

"You still love him, don't you?"

Lucas could tell by the tone of her voice that she still loved him, and it broke his heart.

After all these years, she still hadn't accepted his love.

"Lucas, did you know? Sometimes, I thought that if I had never been adopted by the Woodsen family, if my father never forced me to marry Brian, and if I had left with Toby, perhaps everything would've been different."

Ayla had been thinking about a lot of things.She was an abandoned child.She didn't have any parents.

Before she could even understand anything, her foster mother, Marlene Evans, died.

All she could remember about her was that Marlene had been very good to her.

That woman always carried her around and lulled her to sleep.

But later on, after Marlene died, she was thrown to the backyard and a servant looked after her.

Other than being permitted to go to school, she was basically a servant and was tasked to do a lot of housework.

She even had to wear Arlene's old clothes.

At school, even though she was the Woodsen family's daughter, Ayla only ate simple vegetables and stale bread, while Arlene enjoyed delectable meals.

There was a major difference on how they were treated, but Ayla never once complained.

She always felt grateful and fortunate enough that she was alive.

Looking at her, Lucas said, "Lala, no matter how painful the past is, it's all over.In the future, I'm going to give you a good life.I promise.Do you trust me?"

Ayla smiled.

"I'm lucky to have met you, and I believe that you'll be happy someday.But...I can't give you that happiness."

Lucas was a good man, but she wasn't a good woman.

She felt that she didn't deserve him.

"But I think you're the greatest happiness in my life.I can't love any other woman besides you."

He had even believed that he wasn't capable of falling in love with another woman.

In those painful years, he surrounded himself with so many women, but he never fell in love with any of them; Ayla was the exception.

She didn't even care who he was, and she never wanted to be his woman nor his wife.

She was vastly different from all the women he had ever met.

Her loyalty to Toby in the past might've been caused by her desire to cling to her childhood, but it was different with Brian.

It was the kind of love that only men and women shared.

And on the other hand, the only thing she could give to Lucas was friendship and gratitude.

Ayla opened her arms and threw herself into his arms.

"I'm afraid that I can't," she said.

She could never § forget Brian, nor could she forget her child that didn't J even get the chance to live.

And so, she couldn't promise Lucas that she could love him.

"I can wait, Ayla.I'll wait until you finally have room for me in your heart, okay?"

He could never force her to do anything.

Perhaps it was because he never forced her f that he could gradually touch her heart, and shift her love towards him and not on Brian.

Under the dim streetlight, they embraced each other tightly.The light caused their shadows to stretch onto the flat road.