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

Chapter 19: Tried His Best To See Her 

Ayla dragged her aching body to her room.She was sore all over.

Leaning against the bed, she sat on the ground.

Her eyes shifted to the bottle of contraceptive pills on the bedside table.How long would she have to do this?

Sitting in his room, Brian took a drag of his cigarette and puffed out the smoke.

His mind kept replaying what just happened.

He wondered why he became so impulsive after being drunk.

It never happened before.

He still couldn't understand what kind of woman Arlene was? Brian wanted to investigate about her when he realized her behavior differed from what he had heard about her.

But when Toby showed up, he overlooked his suspicion.

Her secret rendezvous with Toby was enough proof.

Ayla grabbed her new phone, which was given by Brian.

There was no other phone number except his.

He really wanted her to cut off all contacts.

She stared at it forlornly before putting it aside.

A week passed by after that incident.

Ayla feared that Toby would be worried for her.

She needed to meet him and explain things.

She didn't want Toby to lose his bright future and his beautiful fiancee because of her.

Although she had just seen his fiancee from a distance, she could tell that his fiancee was a beautiful and very graceful lady.

Unlike her, who had just been a burden to Toby, his fiancee was mature and really suitable for Toby.

Toby always had Ayla's back since childhood.

He skipped classes for her, fought for her, worked for her to buy her delicious food.

So, the Brown family hated Ayla very much for being Toby's priority.

Although she was adopted by Clayton, she never understood what his purpose was behind adopting her.

Because he never cared about her and never wanted to keep her in his close proximity.

Ayla never called him father.

When she turned eighteen, she thought she could finally get rid of the Woodsen family, which never really was her home.

But instead, Clayton pushed her towards a darker future from where she couldn't see a way out.

She couldn't refuse Clayton when he approached her with a request to marry Brian.

For the sake of his so- called kindness of raising her, she had to sell her whole life to the devil, Brian Clark.

It had been three days since Brian didn't come home.

As there was nothing to do, Ayla walked out of her room and went to the garden.

The only freedom Brian approved of was, she could roam freely inside the villa.

So, he didn't assign any bodyguards to restrict her freedom.

As there weren't many visitors, the only people she saw were the servants.

But today she had to sneak out of the villa anyhow.

She secretly told Maria that she was going to take care of some private affairs and would come back soon.

She didn't even ask Lyle to drive her.

Instead, she went to the nearby bus station and took a bus.

As soon as she arrived at school, she met Veronica and Lisa.

"Ayla, finally you came.Was that rich man keeping you locked? You aren't even coming to school these days.But if you continue to be absent from school, you will get into trouble.Our dean has been looking for you.But we couldn't get in touch with you," Lisa said everything in one go.

Veronica pulled Lisa's sleeve in order to make her shut and said, "Ayla, you can talk to the dean and I'm sure things will be fine after that.But during your absence, a man named Toby came looking for you."

"Toby came to the school? Did he say anything?" Ayla asked anxiously.

Since Toby had come to school, he might as well go to the Woodsen family.

If he went there he'd know what had happened recently.

"That man is really very handsome! He looked like a business elite and wore a designer suit.Are you in a relationship with him too?" Lisa blurted out.

She didn't like Ayla, especially because Ayla was better in studies than her.

Ayla was always appreciated by the teachers.

However, she wasn't good at socializing, as she spent a lot of time in the library every day.

She also worked part-time.

Even without her family's support, Ayla was able to gain a lot of people's love and care.

Lisa wasn't really a bad person.

But she was jealous of Ayla, because Ayla was more popular than her.

Lisa looked at Veronica.

"Veronica, didn't he give you a business card? Why don't you give it to Ayla?" Veronica nodded.

She took out a card and gave it to Ayla.

Ayla felt fortunate to have Toby's card.

As Brian destroyed her phone, she lost Toby's number along with it.

"Thank you.I have to go now.Can you please ask the dean to grant me a few days' leave?"

Ayla couldn't stay in the school for a longtime without Brian's consent.

Veronica nodded understandingly.

She knew something had been going on with Ayla.

But until Ayla felt comfortable to talk, she wouldn't ask.

Ayla wasn't a talkative person, so it explained why she hadn't yet told anything.

Sitting in a cafe, Ayla gripped the business card in her hand tightly. Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

After thinking for a long time, she dialed the number.

"Hello!"

Toby answered the call.

His voice sounded composed and professional, not how she had imagined it'd be.

She had thought he'd sound more anxious because of her missing.

"Toby, it's me," Ayla said in a low voice.

Toby paused for a while.

His eyes shifted to Molly who was sitting right in front of him on the sofa.

Toby asked almost in a flat tone, "What's the matter?"

"Are you busy now?"

Ayla didn't want to interrupt his work.But if she didn't make it clear today, she might never get the chance to do so.

"Go ahead."

Although Toby looked calm and collected on the outside, his heart was palpitating inside.

"I want to meet you.Can we meet? If you are busy now, I can wait until you come."

Ayla knew that if he was busy working now, it'd be inconvenient for him to talk.

She told Toby where she was and she'd wait until he came.

There was a firm belief in her heart that he'd come.

After their telephonic conversation, Toby hung up the phone with an indecipherable face.

But all he wanted was to meet Ayla right now.

He just wanted to know what was happening with her.

He was worried for her.

This girl always had a special place in his heart.

Only when he'd see her with his own eyes, would he feel relieved.

Molly noticed how quickly Toby's mood changed after the phone call.

"What's wrong, Toby? Who was that?"

She stood up and walked around the table to his side.

Toby caught a hold of her hand and said, "Nothing is wrong, Molly.Don't worry.If you're feeling bored sitting here, you can go shopping."

Molly got the idea immediately.

He was actually driving her away.

Was he planning to meet someone behind her back? But she wasn't going to let him do as he wished.

This man belonged to her and only her.

"I don't want to go shopping alone.Only if you'll come with me will I want to go."

Molly pouted, then sat on his lap.

Toby wrapped his arms around her slender waist.

There was nothing wrong with Molly, but he had always loved Lala.

"But I'm working now," Toby said with a smile.

Molly turned her head and kissed him on the lips.

Her slender arms encircled his neck and pulled him closer.

No man had ever resisted her beautiful lips.

Toby wasn't an exception.

"Toby, can you spend tonight with me?"

Although the two of them had been officially engaged, Toby wanted to live separately before marriage.

Toby said nothing at first.

He smoothed her hair and said after a while, "Let's go shopping!"

In fact, he was not in the mood to work now.

He couldn't concentrate and kept thinking of Lala.