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

Chapter 32: The Wife's Duty 

"What do you think? Mrs.Clark, are you satisfied?" said a voice from behind Ayla.

It was Brian.She turned to face him.Her expression was wary.

"Mr.Clark, what do you want?"

"What do you think?" Brian said softly, moving closer to her.

He lifted her chin, tilting her face so she had no choice but to meet his eyes.

"I can return to the entertainment club.I can keep washing dishes," Ayla offered.

Brian shook his head adamantly.

"No.You don't have to go back.Your sweetheart has spent a lot of money to get you out of that place and allow you to continue being Mrs.Clark.Do you want to let him down?" She said nothing.

Brian added, "So from now on, you live here.Get used to it."

He stepped back and turned away from her, walking into his own bedroom, which was the master room on the other side of the hallway.

As soon as he closed the door behind him, Ayla walked inside her room.

She gazed at the pretty purple bed sheets, the gauzy beige curtains, and the pure white wardrobe and dresser.

It was a lovely, feminine room.

She couldn't believe she would be living here.

She felt as though she didn't deserve this.

She wandered out to the private balcony, which overlooked the lawn.

She spent the rest of the afternoon seated on a lounge chair, enjoying the sunlight and the breeze and the gorgeous view of colorful flowers strewn over the grass.

The sun was setting when she heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," she called.

Maria entered.

"Mrs.Clark, dinner is ready," she said respectfully.

Ayla took a last look at the beautiful orange sky.She smiled to herself.

"Thanks, I'll be right down."

She entered the dining room to find Brian already seated at the head of the table, reading a newspaper.

She stopped near the doorway and said, "Hello, Mr.Clark."

He gave her an impatient look.

"Well, don't just stand there.Do you need me to invite you to sit down?"

He put down the newspaper beside him and gave her a cold look.

She hurried to the table and sat down.

The atmosphere in the dining room was so tense she didn't even dare to glance at him.

"Stop being so scared," he snapped.

"You're going to have to get used to this lifestyle."

He began eating the sumptuous food prepared for them, but Ayla had lost her appetite.

She forced herself to finish the food so he wouldn't snap at her again.

After dinner, Brian went to the living room, where there was a large-screen television mounted on the wall.

Ayla peeked in and saw that he was watching a financial news program.

It was rare for him to stay at home like this, and as long as he was in there, she didn't want to enter the living room.

She picked up her plate, intending to take it to the kitchen, but Maria suddenly appeared beside her.

"Mrs.Clark, I'll clean the table. You can go and keep Mr.Clark company."

Ayla hesitated, but Maria took the empty plate from her hand and replaced it with a bowl of fruit.

"This is Mr.Clark's favorite snack.Go on, you can take it with you when you join him."

Maria was deliberately trying to create opportunities for the two of them to get to know each other.

She thought Mr.Clark must have changed his mind, which was why he'd brought Mrs.Clark back and arranged for her to live in the room on the second floor.

Ayla took a deep breath and went to the living room.

"Here, Mr.Clark," she said softly, putting down the bowl of fruit on the table in front of him.

She was not used to living like this.She had so many questions, but she was afraid of angering him.

Brian brought out a phone and handed it to her.

"Here," he said.

"Call your sweetheart and tell him how well you're doing here."

"No, I don't want to disturb his happiness," she replied.

Ayla had made up her mind not to disturb Toby.

She did not want to be the other woman between them.

Brian glanced coolly at her.

"Good.It's better this way.Keep in mind that your duty now is to live here and act as a good wife."

Her duty? What did he mean by "good wife?"

She stared at him with her lips parted in surprise.

Was it her duty to endure his overbearing attitude and satisfy his needs?She found her situation helpless and painful, and she had to force herself to be pleasant towards him.

For instance, because he said he did not like spending the whole night with anyone, she had to drag her aching body back to her own room every time they had sex.

Her body was the price she had to pay for her luxurious living conditions.

For the rest of the week, she could barely sleep.

She stayed awake until dawn, her thoughts churning.

Toby, seated in his office, was feeling restless.

It had been a long time since he negotiated with Brian.

When he'd gone to the entertainment club, the staff members there informed him that Lala was not there anymore.

Apparently, Brian had taken her away.

He did not trust Brian at all.

He worried that Lala would suffer, but he was willing to gamble on his company's big project.

When Molly entered the office, she saw that Toby was deep in thought.

Was he thinking about that woman again? Molly frowned, wondering if the woman had left because she had fallen in love with someone else.

Or did she realize her fault? Had she decided on her own that she would no longer be a third party coming between them?

She walked towards the desk.

"Toby," she said.

When Molly called his name, he came to his senses.

"Oh, hello.You're here," he said, smiling at her.

Recently he had been ignoring her, because his mind and heart were full of thoughts of Ayla.

"I have some soup for you," she said, holding up a bag in her hand.

"You've been working so hard these past weeks.Do you need to be working overtime so much? Dad and Mom hope you'll be able to spend more time with me."

She led him to the sofa and handed him a bowl of soup.

Toby began drinking the warm soup.He said, "Don't worry.I'll come home early today."

While he couldn't stop himself from loving Lala, he couldn't forget his duties towards Molly either.

One day, while Ayla was helping to clean the villa, she considered her dream of returning to school.

She thought she wouldn't be able to, but still, she couldn't stop herself from hoping.

Afterward, she sat alone in the living room with a book in her hand.

She was getting drowsy when her mobile phone suddenly rang, jolting her awake.

She glanced at the screen. Exclusive content from NôvelDrama.Org.

It was an unknown number.

She lifted an eyebrow, wondering who it could be, because only a very few people knew her number.

Maria heard the ringing and poked her head into the living room.

"Mrs.Clark, aren't you going to answer that? It might be Mr.Clark."

Maria was worried that Mr.Clark was calling, and that he would be angry if Mrs.Clark didn't answer.

Mr.Clark had not come home for several days now.

He must have been extremely busy.

Ayla hesitated, then tapped the screen.

"Hello?" she said tentatively.

"It's me."

She immediately recognized the familiar voice on the phone.

"Sister?" she asked.

Pressing her mobile phone to her ear, she rushed out past Maria and went to her room on the second floor.

“Oh, so you still remember me! I thought you'd forgotten me," Arlene said sharply.

"You know, because you hooked up with Mr.Clark."

"Why would you say that?" Ayla said, upset.

"Why are you calling? Where are you calling from?"

Ayla was used to Arlene's sarcasm, but she didn't care for it this time.

Since their childhood, she had been like Cinderella, while Arlene was the arrogant princess.

"Where I am is none of your business.I'm just calling because I need money."

Arlene had always spent money lavishly, going to bars and nightclubs and fooling around with different men every night.

She used to be quite wealthy, but she'd gone through all her cash by now, so she decided to ask her sister for money.

Ayla sighed and said, "My sister, I don't have money to give you."

She'd used up all her savings to pay for tuition, and now she'd been sold to Brian by Clayton.

Although she was living in this huge villa, she couldn't go to school, nor could she work and earn money of her own.

"You don't have money? Aren't you Mrs.Clark? Dad said that you're living in a gorgeous villa, being driven around by expensive cars.How can you not have money?"

Arlene demanded incredulously.

Her voice grew angry as she added, "Or are you just looking down on me because we're not related by blood? Maybe you're just refusing to give me money because you're selfish!"

Ayla pursed her lips.

Apparently, not only did Arlene know her phone number, she also knew everything about Ayla's living conditions.

"Sister, it's not what you think," she said miserably.

Ayla didn't even have the right to go outside without permission.

What her sister imagined to be a life of limitless wealth was actually a life of entrapment and loneliness.

In truth, Ayla would rather be free and poor than live in this luxurious cage.