No Strings Attached

Chapter 454

Orin burst into the room with the swagger of a young conqueror, grabbing Clara by the hand and pulling her toward the exit. In his eyes, Clara and Ian were his true kin, while those distant uncles were nothing but troublemakers.

Clara quickly ended her phone call and followed him to the banquet hall. As soon as they stepped in, they saw several uncles slumped over the tables, mumbling incoherently. A group of men were gathered around Ian, engrossed in a game of high-low dice.

When Clara approached, Ian, who had been on a winning streak, rolled the dice, and for the first time, it landed on a pitiful one. The guys burst into laughter, egging Ian on to take a drink.

Without a second thought, Ian lifted his glass and quickly downed three shots. He then staggered to his feet and wobbled over to Clara. Wrapping his arms around her, he buried his face in her shoulder and whined, "Honey, they're ganging up on me. I wanna go home."

He didn't move from that spot, his head nestled against her.

Edwin, tipsy and teetering, came over and nudged Ian's calf with his foot, "Quit the act. You haven't had that much, and yet here you are, playing the victim when you've drunk all the uncles under the table."

Feeling Ian clinging to her without letting go, Clara frowned and asked, "How much did he drink?"

"Not too much," Edwin slurred. "Just over a pint of vodka, a couple of bottles of red wine, and a few beers."

Clara's eyes widened in disbelief. "That's not much? Don't you know he can't handle his liquor? There's enough of you here. If each of you had one drink with him, it'd be too much. You're his friend. Shouldn't you be looking out for him?"

Edwin, exasperated, massaged his forehead. "Since when did he ever treat me like a brother, Clara? Don't fall for his act. He was fine just a moment ago, but the moment you showed up, he's suddenly 'drunk.' I don't buy it."

He gave Ian another nudge with his foot. Still no reaction.

Now, even Edwin started to worry. Had Ian really had too much?

Clara looked quite concerned and chided, "Stop kicking him! He's had too much already, and you're still picking on him. I’m not gonna call you my brother anymore."

Edwin stopped immediately, alarmed by her words. "Clara, don't be mad. I wasn't really kicking him. I was just checking how drunk he was. Let me help you get him to the room."

"It’s alright. I've got it," she replied. She propped Ian's arm around her neck and started toward the main building, leaving a reflective Edwin behind. Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

As he was about to walk away, he caught sight of the supposed drunkard at Clara's side, sneakily lifting his other hand behind his back. And there it was—a defiant middle finger aimed at Edwin.

Cursing under his breath, Edwin muttered, "Damn! I'm an idiot for buying into your sob story!"

Clara escorted Ian into the bedroom and eased him onto the bed.

Orin came up with a glass of warm water. "Clara, Mom says this is honey water. It's supposed to help Ian sober up."

Clara took the glass with a grateful smile and ruffled Orin's hair. "You're such a good boy, Orin."

Orin's eyes gleamed with pride at the praise as he gazed up at her. "Am I better than Ian?"

"Of course, you are. You always listen, unlike Ian, who never does as he's told."

Overjoyed, Orin clapped his hands and exclaimed, "So does that mean you like me more? Marry me instead of him, Clara! I'll always listen to you."

His innocent voice not only brought a smile to Clara's face but also jolted the 'sleeping' Ian back to reality.