The after-party went on until late into the night. As I looked helplessly at a group of drunken men and turned to Sabrina for help, the woman was already on her way back to her bedroom with Zachary in her arm. She turned to me and said, “Eve, I’m gonna have to count on you to look after these men. After all, I’m the bride, and tonight is my wedding night. You know what that means, don’t you?”
She was right and her argument was indisputable.
Together with some hotel staff, we put every one of the men back to their respective bedrooms. After making sure they were all settled in, I went back to Christopher’s room and gave him a nudge. “All right now. There’s just me here. You can stop pretending to be drunk.”
The man continued to sleep soundly. I poked at him a few times and finally realized that he really was drunk.
After our conversation at the balcony, Christopher said that he was planning to feign being drunk in front of his friends so he didn’t have to drink so much. What a liar!
“Hah, good luck with the hangover tomorrow,” I muttered while covering him up with a blanket. On second thought, worrying that he was going to have a bad hangover the next day, I decided to go out and get some hangover remedy at the drug store.
On my way to the drug store, I walked past Lyle’s parked car by the roadside and was glad that no one was inside the car. Now that Crystal was back in the scene, there was no doubt she would latch herself onto Lyle and create all sorts of trouble. I sped up my pace to the drug store and decided to take a different route on the way back. As soon as I stepped into a small alleyway, I was met with an angry stray dog which started to chase after me. I panicked and ran deep into the alleyway.
“Lyle, please don’t be angry. I swear I didn’t do it on purpose. You see, you’ve missed me too. Or your body wouldn’t have reacted to me right now.”
After sprinting for a few minutes, I was catching my breath in front of a big tree when I saw Crystal and Lyle yards away from me. Urgh! Of all the people in Avenport, I have to bump into them. Crystal kept rubbing her body against Lyle. As though that wasn’t enough, she then slid her hand underneath the man’s clothes for more actions.
“Stop it, Crystal,” uttered Lyle as he removed the woman’s hand and rejected her for the first time. “I’m glad that you’re back and you seem to be doing well. But, I think it’s better that we take a break from seeing each other for the time being.”
“Lyle, please don’t do this to me. You’re the most important person in my life. I’ll be lost without you.” Crystal’s eyes brimmed with tears. She bit her lower lips and continued, “I know you didn’t approve of the things that I’d done on that deserted island. But you must understand, I was so terrified at that moment. I’m only human, and any desperate human would do anything to stay alive when death is imminent.”
“What about Yvonne? She too was only human.” Lyle scoffed with a look in his eyes of utter indifference.
“Please don’t compare the two of us. You’re not regretting choosing me over Yvonne, are you?” the woman said as she slowly slid out of her dress and started to grind her body against Lyle’s. “I was in such distress that I couldn’t think straight. I regretted the moment we left the island. But those people on the boat wouldn’t let me go back for you. Can you please believe me?”
Only a fool would believe what she said. Even I can tell she’s full of nonsense. Surely Lyle should know better. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand the woman’s seduction.
“All right. I believe you.”
Okay then. I seemed to have overestimated his intelligence.
“That’s so great! I knew you still love me. Let’s get married, Lyle. Didn’t you want us to be married before? Let’s do that and be a legally wedded couple.” Crystal started kissing Lyle, who finally gave in, and pressed the woman against a wall. As he did that, the corner of Crystal’s lips curled up in a satisfactory smile.
