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

Chapter 95: He Was Unforgettable To Her 

A young lady was walking along a busy street of Milan in Italy.She was over dressed a little due to the cold.

She was in a green base shirt and a gray skirt, a pair of silky black stockings that was underneath to protect her legs from the cold and a pair of high heeled boots to show off her style.

To finish it off, she had a light beige coat and a purple scarf that covered her fair neck.

The slight wind that was present brushed past her, blowing her long hair slightly with it.The slight smile on her face made her look more elegant when she walked through the streets.

A few men had even catcalled her though she had ignored them all.

The young lady was none other than Ayla.

She sauntered into a coffee shop.

It was time for her afternoon tea time and being a caffeine lover, she needed a cup of coffee accompanied by that piece of tiramisu that she loved.

She came here every day for an hour and looked out of the window at the people who came in the coffee shop and left it.

She also looked up at the sky and watched the clouds shape into different shapes that she always tried to figure out while thinking of her future life after all that she had gone through in the past.

In short, this was her new favorite spot.

She had come to Milan two years ago to start a new life.

For the first year here, she had been suffering from the relapses of the drug addiction, and she had thought that her body would never recover.

Never in her wildest imagination did she expect that she could recover all of a sudden.

She would never forget that stormy day.She had stayed indoors in the small apartment that she had rented out with the little money that she had been left with.

Lucas had insisted on renting the apartment across from hers so that they could become neighbors.

That day, her hourly employee had left.

The pain in her body was less excruciating so there was no need to call Lucas.

She recalled that, that day was special for Brian for it was his engagement party to Anna.She had never expected that the couple would take this long to finally get engaged but here the day was when she was finally going to witness the long awaited event.

Brian was still that same handsome man with cold features, although he looked like he had lost a lot of weight.

She looked at him on the screen and her gaze couldn't avert away from his interlocked hands with Anna's.

Brian was a famous man but since she left Antawood, this was the first time to see him on media.

'Perhaps, my being here is the reason why I've not heard of news about him all these times?' she thought to herself.

But, he was Mr.Clark, a world famous man.Even if she was in Italy, there should've been news about him.She could only tell herself that maybe no news was good news.

Now that she finally see him again on TV, she only felt pain in her heart.

The tightness in her chest made her feel ill.

The air she took in felt like razor blades cutting her insides.

The ache in her heart made her wish for death as she read the news that had popped up on TV, the news of Brian's engagement ceremony.

While looking at the smile that had cracked up on his lips, she huddled up in her bed, bearing the pain that was becoming more intense by the minute.

She thought she could die without regrets after witnessing his happiness.

When Lucas had dropped by her apartment later that day, she had already fainted on the floor.

She had bitten her lips with her teeth causing them to bleed out.

The look on Lucas' face showed that he was heartbroken.

'How much pain she must have endured before she fainted, ' he thought sadly.

Lucas had rushed her to the hospital, and miraculously, she had suffered no more relapses since that time.

She had changed; her body had filled up.She was no longer skinny! After a year, she had stopped working the part time fashion designer job she had found.She instead joined school so as to improve her skills and perfect them to topnotch which she succeeded for one of the best and largest fashion companies had offered her a job.

She had changed her name too.

Everyone called her by the name Wenny now.

To most people, Ayla was dead.

Lucas was the only one who knew her real name.

This particular afternoon was a warm one.

The sun that was shining brightly made her feel warm all over and happy too.

The light smile on her face was a result of this.

Walking back to her apartment, she saw Lucas who was leaning on her door.

He was in a black suit and his features showed how exhausted he was.

"When did you get back?"

Ayla smiled as she stood in front of him."I just got back and I wanted to see you,"

Lucas replied as he threw the cigarette butt away that he had been smoking.

He had gone to Thailand and had stayed there for a month.

Even with the distance between them, he had been worried about her being all alone.

"I'm fine," Ayla replied, the smile on her face never faltering.

"Come in and have a cup of coffee!" she offered.

They were neighbors after all and it wasn't new to her when Lucas had dropped by to check up on her.

He had most of his meals and coffee in her house and she didn't mind at all.

They were just friends and they weren't in a relationship yet.

Lucas didn't want to force her; he wanted her to love him back willingly.

The two sat on the lounge chair on the balcony.

Lucas held a cup of fragrant coffee in his hands while Ayla held a glass of clear water instead.

"Have you been working recently? I called but no one answered."

Lucas was aware of the fact that Ayla didn't like to use her cell phone, and she seldom took it with her when she went out, so he only called the landline number that was in her apartment.

Ayla nodded, "Yes.There will be a show next month.I have several clothes to prepare."

It wasn't her own fashion line but since she was a beginner, doing this was going to help her career a lot.

"But don't work too hard.You have lost some weight recently,"

Lucas commented.

He felt sorry for her.

But at the same time he was proud of the achievements she had accomplished.

Her progress was slow but still, she had done it without a doubt.

Ayla touched her cheek and stated, "I haven't lost weight."

"No matter how bad the situation is, I've not suffered as much as compared to the previous year," she mumbled.

"Lala," Lucas whispered.

He reached out and held her hand, with deep affection in his eyes.

Ayla withdrew her hand.

She couldn't accept the love Lucas offered her.

In the past two years, she hadn't pointed it out though in everything that Lucas had done for her, she saw how deeply the man had fallen for her.

"You still can't accept me? Why can't you forget him?" he questioned, his voice barely a whisper.

Lucas seldom mentioned Brian in front of her, but it had been so long, so she should have forgotten him.

"I have nothing to do with him now,"

Ayla replied though her tone wasn't the same.

Brian and Anna had been engaged, so she and Brian had no connections.

Moreover, her relationship with Brian had long been broken two years ago.

Lucas walked up to her and held her in his arms.

Looking at the scenery below the balcony, he whispered only for her ears to hear, "From now on, I'll be with you and I'll love you, okay?"

He hoped to see her nod.He had been waiting for her in the past two years.

"Why me?" she questioned.

Ayla broke off of the embrace and looked at him and uttered, "You know my past very well.So, I don't want to…”She trailed off and looked away from him.

He had been so good to her, but she didn't deserve him.

Women were always single-minded, she was no exception, for her body and heart had been given to Brian.

Even if she could not be with Brian, she could not be with another man.

Lucas leaned his forehead on hers.She could feel his breath fan her face.

"No! I don't care about what you have been through.The past is in the past.I love you, so much!"

He confessed his feelings out to her.

Ayla shook her head to disagree with him. Content rights by NôvelDr//ama.Org.

Her heart belonged to another and there was nothing that would come out of this relationship if she said "yes" to him.

"I will only hurt you!"

She always felt that she was an ominous woman, because wherever she went, the people around her would be unfortunate.

That was also one of the few reasons why she had decided to not get too close to Lucas during the past two years.

"I'm not afraid of that.You should know that my love for you has gradually grown during the past two years, " he muttered out; his heart yearned for her to say "yes" to him.

He leaned forwards and placed his lips on hers.

He gently kissed her as all of his insides screamed at him and at the same time he hoped that she would not push him away.

He had been patient for long and finally, this was his chance to be with her.

"Lala, don't refuse me!" he whispered as he finally broke the kiss.

He leaned forward and lifted her from the floor only to carry her in bridal style to her bedroom.

"Lucas...Don't do this..." she whispered.

She did not want to go through this, not now and not with him Ayla's words made him stop.

He looked at her, but she couldn't tell the exact expression on his face.

"Lala, I'm telling you the truth.We can get married right away.Isn't it good for us to be a legitimate couple?" he inquired.

If she needed reassurance, then, marriage was the best option at the moment.

He set her back on the floor and leaned forward to kiss her.He rolled his tongue in her mouth to deepen the kiss.

She knew that he hadn't been with any woman in the past two years.

This man was simply desperate and that was another reason why she couldn't be with him.