Chapter 114: Chapter 101: Standoff

“I’m not going back, I want to keep drinking…”

“Be good.”

“I don’t wanna be good! I wanna keep drinking!” she started throwing a tantrum.

Silas Lockwood could tell from her state that she was truly drunk.

He didn’t waste any more words on her. Just like when they were children, he hooked his hands under her arms and lifted her right off the sofa.

Just then, a server walked in. He panicked at the sight.

“Sir, what do you think you’re doing? Put the lady down, now!”

“Yeah… what do you think you’re doing? Let go of me!” Isla Prescott pointed a drunken, threatening finger at Silas Lockwood, her eyes hazy. “This is a society with laws! If you try to kidnap me, I’ll call the cops on you!”

The server grew even more flustered when he heard this.

The bar had been open for a long time, and while they’d had their share of strange customers, this was the first time he’d seen someone so brazenly try to carry off a drunk woman.

The man was dressed in a sharp suit and looked respectable, but to think he was so despicable and disgusting!

“Let her go! This lady has a lot of fans online. If you dare to touch her, you’re finished!” the server said, walking over to try and rescue Isla Prescott from Silas Lockwood’s grasp. “Just let her go, and I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything. I’ll act like this never happened. Otherwise, I’m really going to call the police!”

Silas Lockwood sighed. ’How refreshing,’ he thought. ’Live long enough and you eventually get mistaken for a pervert.’

“First of all, I appreciate your courage in trying to protect a drunk woman. Second, I’m just trying to take her home, not hurt her.”

“You’re taking her home? Who are you to her?”

Silas Lockwood glanced at Isla Prescott, who was in his arms getting drunk over another man. Although he hated that title from the bottom of his heart, he still said, “I’m her brother.”

“Brother?” The server started comparing Silas Lockwood’s and Isla Prescott’s faces.

They were both stunningly attractive, but as for any resemblance, there was absolutely none.

“But…”

“Enough with the ’buts.’ My name is Silas Lockwood. If you still don’t believe me, call your boss. He knows me. You can confirm with him.”

The server was extremely responsible and did just that, placing the call immediately.

The bar’s owner did indeed know Silas Lockwood. He was also aware that Silas was the head of the Lockwood Group and, no matter what, wouldn’t stoop so low as to randomly pick up drunk women in a bar.

After a brief explanation, the server realized he had misunderstood Silas Lockwood and quickly apologized.

Silas Lockwood didn’t hold it against him and left the bar with Isla Prescott.

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but Silas Lockwood felt that after he’d called himself her brother, the person in his arms had suddenly become much more docile. She stopped struggling and making a fuss.

He helped Isla Prescott into the car. She slumped against the back seat like a limp doll.

Silas Lockwood fastened her seatbelt for her.

“Isabelle, where do you live?” Silas Lockwood asked.

Isla Prescott’s eyes were closed, and she mumbled something incoherent, not a single word clear.

Silas was hesitating over whether to take her to a hotel or back to his place when Isla Prescott’s phone suddenly rang.

He pulled it from her coat pocket and glanced at the screen. It was a call from Annabelle Leighton.

“Hello,” Silas Lockwood answered.

Annabelle Leighton jolted on the other end of the line, then asked cautiously, “Hey, buddy, which bar’s male escort are you?”

First a pervert, now a male escort. ’My life is now complete,’ Silas Lockwood thought sarcastically.

“What male escort?” he said, speechless.

“You’re not a male escort?”

“Did she tell you she was going to a bar to find an escort? Or did you tell her to?” Silas Lockwood snapped. “Annabelle Leighton, don’t be a bad influence on her!”

This time, Annabelle Leighton recognized the voice. It was Silas Lockwood.

“Silas Lockwood? Why are you with Isabelle?” An even worse thought popped into Annabelle Leighton’s mind. ’Did Isla get so upset about Shane Sterling’s engagement that she did something rash and got back together with Silas Lockwood?’

“She was drunk at a bar, and I happened to run into her,” Silas Lockwood explained, then asked, “I’m about to take her home. Do you know where she lives?”

Annabelle Leighton gave him an address and added, “There’s a spare key under the flowerpot by her door.”

“Got it.”

—

Isla Prescott lived in the residential complex right across from the bar, a drive of no more than five minutes.

Silas Lockwood’s car came to a smooth stop downstairs from her building. He turned to look at the back seat and saw that Isla Prescott had fallen asleep.

He got out, walked around to the back, and lifted Isla Prescott out of the car.

She was lighter than he remembered. Her fragrant hair brushed against his neck, and the muscles in Silas Lockwood’s arms suddenly tensed as his Adam’s apple bobbed unconsciously.

The streetlight merged their two shadows into one. He stared for a long time at the illusory embrace on the ground. He knew the woman in his arms was like a handful of snow destined to melt, but Silas Lockwood still wanted to prolong this moment of possession.

“Shane Sterling…” Isla Prescott murmured in her sleep, her brows furrowed as a tear slipped from the corner of her eye. “Why did you lie to me…”

The tear landed right on Silas Lockwood’s arm.

He flinched as if scalded, snapping back to reality.

“Shane Sterling isn’t here,” Silas Lockwood said as he carried her into the elevator.

“Shane Sterling…”

She kept murmuring the same name over and over.

Anger built up inside Silas Lockwood. If Shane Sterling were in front of him right now, he probably wouldn’t be able to stop himself from throwing a punch.

DING!

The elevator doors opened, and lo and behold, there stood Shane Sterling.

Shane Sterling had already been waiting at Isla Prescott’s door for nearly half an hour.

Half an hour ago, Justin Wyatt had contacted him to say that Isla Prescott knew about his engagement to Genevieve Quincy the next day.

Shane Sterling knew she would misunderstand, so he called her immediately, but she didn’t pick up. In a panic, he rushed to her place to find her, but no one answered the door even after he’d been ringing the bell for a long time.

The neighbor across the hall said they’d seen her go out, so Shane Sterling decided to wait there for her. He figured she would come back eventually.

But he never expected that what he’d end up waiting for was the sight of Silas Lockwood carrying her home.

“What happened to her?”

Worried something had happened to Isla Prescott, Shane Sterling strode up to Silas Lockwood, his eyes fixed on the woman in his arms.

Isla Prescott’s brows were tightly knitted, and there were clear tear tracks on her face.

“She’s drunk.”

“Thanks for bringing her back. Give her to me,” Shane Sterling said, eagerly reaching out to take her into his own arms.

Silas Lockwood took a step back, still holding Isla Prescott. “Why should I give her to you? Who are you to her?”

“I’m her boyfriend.”

“Oh? A boyfriend who’s about to get engaged to someone else?”

“She told you that?”

“Does it matter who told me?”

“Then who are you to her?”

“Putting everything else aside, I’m still the man she called ’brother’ for many years.”

“Fine. As long as you admit you’re her brother. I was just worried you’d use that title as an excuse to have improper thoughts about her!”

“Whatever thoughts I have about her are my business, not yours.”

“So you really haven’t given up.”

“That’s right. I haven’t.”

The two men glared at each other across the brightly lit hallway.

After a moment’s stalemate, Silas Lockwood’s arms started to get tired.

“Go open the door,” he ordered Shane Sterling. “The spare key is under the flowerpot.”

“How do you know her spare key is under the flowerpot?” Shane Sterling was consumed by jealousy. He didn’t even know that!

Silas Lockwood deliberately didn’t tell him that Annabelle Leighton had said so. “I just know, so what? Hurry up and open the door!”

Shane Sterling was extremely reluctant, but he was even more reluctant to let Isla Prescott remain in Silas Lockwood’s arms. He had no choice but to obediently squat down, grab the spare key from under the flowerpot, and open the door.

Isla Prescott’s apartment was small; you could see where the bedroom was as soon as you walked in.

Carrying Isla Prescott, Silas Lockwood walked straight to her bedside.

Shane Sterling followed close behind. As Silas Lockwood was about to lay Isla Prescott on the bed, he muttered in a low voice, “Put her down gently. Her hand is injured.”

“Injured? What happened?”

Shane Sterling also deliberately chose not to tell Silas Lockwood the full story behind Isla Prescott’s injury. “It just is. Just be careful.”

Silas Lockwood was furious. “She’s injured, and you still let her go get drunk over you? You’re a real model boyfriend.”

“As long as you know I’m her boyfriend.”

“Is that the point? The point is that she went to get drunk over you!”

“You think I wanted her to be like this?” Shane Sterling glared at Silas Lockwood. “I didn’t know she was going to go drinking!”

“You’re the one who broke her heart!” Silas Lockwood laid Isla Prescott on the bed, then spun around and grabbed Shane Sterling by the collar. “Do you remember how you berated me back then? Now, you’re the one who failed to protect her! You’re the one who didn’t cherish her!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep