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

Chapter 26: He Was Her Nightmare 

Toby knew only one thing.

The woman in front of him was the one he had loved for so many years.

No matter what kind of relationship she had with Brian, he still wanted her.

If he hadn't left Ayla and come back late, she would have been his woman instead of Brian Clark.

However, that changed nothing.

He didn't know what Ayla was thinking, but he still wanted her to be his woman.

Maybe he was being selfish, but didn't they say everything was fair in love and war?

Toby caressed Ayla's face.She looked nervous and scared.

Seeing her trembling in his arms, he asked softly, "Are you afraid, Lala? Don't be afraid.I'm here."

Toby placed another kiss on her lips and said, "Lala, no matter what had happened before, you are mine today.You are mine."

Ayla looked up at Toby with teary eyes and touched his face.

"I'm scared, Toby.What if he finds out about us? I don't want to return to him.I want to be yours.I really love you."

Her tears, those who had blurred her vision, rolled down her cheeks.

Toby pulled her against him.

"I love you too, Lala."

Toby wanted her to forget every hurt Brian had imparted on her.

He wanted to make her feel secure.

She had lost her enthusiasm to live until Toby made her feel secure again.

If Toby didn't mind whether she had been sold to Brian, then she would spend the rest of her life with the man she loved.

Toby wanted to be intimate with her.

But when Ayla sensed he was trying to get close to her, she looked up at him with blurred vision and saw Brian in place of Toby.

She screamed aloud.

"Ah! No! Get off me! Let go of me! Leave me! Don't touch me!"

Ayla clawed at him and pushed him away.

Whenever she reminded herself of Brian, she felt her body shaking painfully.

She was so scared of Brian.

Toby worriedly noticed her cowering away from him in fear.

"Lala, I'm sorry.I-l didn't mean to scare you."

Toby brought a warm blanket and covered her with it before pulling her close to him and comforting her.

Ayla sobbed quietly in his arms.

She couldn't get out of the trauma of Brian's torture.

"Toby, I don't want to return to the Clark villa.I'll stay here.Even if it's for just one day, I want to stay away from him."

She didn't want to stay locked up forever.

The Clark villa was like a cage for her.

No matter how comfortable her room was there, staying there was nothing but a nightmare for her.

"Stay here as long as you want.You can live here from now on and no one will know."

Toby wanted to protect her from every evil.

But Ayla wasn't confident of her fate.

She didn't know how long she could live here.

Toby had a fiancee, so she couldn't be a burden to him for a long time.

She had been a burden since her childhood.

Her biological parents abandoned her.

Even if the Woodsen family adopted her, she was still redundant.

In order to repay Clayton for raising her up, she listened to him and married Brian.

While going through these thoughts, Ayla fell asleep at one point.

Toby softly tucked her in the bed and kissed her on the forehead before he got off and put on his clothes.

He went out to buy a few necessities for Ayla.

From now on, she would live in his apartment.

He earned money to buy his own apartment so that he could give it to Ayla.

He was happy to have her, finally.

When Brian returned to the villa, he was told that Ayla had gone missing.

No one knew where she had gone.

She didn't even take her phone with her.

She had been out for an entire day and hadn't come back.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Can't you do your duties properly? Have you forgotten what I had ordered?"

Brian yelled at Ruben and Maria in front of him.

"Sir, Mrs.Clark will be back.Don't worry"

Maria said in a low voice, "Maybe she had missed the bus and couldn't come back on time like last time."

Brian was taken aback by what Maria said.

Last time, it was a coincidence to meet her on the road.

This time,he knew that she had escaped.

That woman actually dared to escape from his control.

Well! He would find her and show her, her real place.

Brian sat on the sofa and pondered on the last few days' events.

Toby.

She must have run away with that man.

But Brian would never let her escape from his control.

He'd make her come back to him.

He would make her obedient to him.

Three days passed by after this incident.

In Toby's apartment, Ayla stood in front of the window and looked outside.

Since she came to live in Toby's apartment, days went by like a dream.

Now she was afraid this would end too.

Every day before going to work, Toby would prepare breakfast and lunch for her.

In the evening, he would come back and make dinner with her.

Ayla had longed for this kind of life since long.

But it was a useless hope for her.

When Toby returned to his apartment, he saw Ayla standing in front of the window, deep in thought.

"Why are you standing here like that, Lala? Are you feeling bored staying at home all day long?"

"No, It's not that.I've been waiting for you!"

Ayla turned around with a smile and threw herself into his arms.

Her biggest dream was to be a full-time homemaker and cook for her beloved man.

Now, it'd been coming true.

"What do you want to eat for dinner? I'll make it for you."

Toby kissed her lovingly on the cheek.

The day he brought her here, he had lost control.But these days, he had been sleeping on the sofa and left the main bedroom for her to sleep comfortably.

"I will eat whatever you'll cook," Ayla said with a smile.

She would be satisfied with whatever he would give her.She only cared for Toby and his happiness.

Nothing else mattered.

They made dinner together and ate while talking and laughing.

After dinner, Ayla leaned against Toby's chest and asked, "Toby, you come here every day.What about Miss Smith?"

She had wanted to ask this question for a long time.

It was inevitable that one day his fiancee would become his wife.

Toby kept quiet.

He didn't know how to answer that.

Lala had no choice when she became Brian's wife, but what about him? What was he doing? He also needed to give her an explanation.

"Lala, do you trust me?"

Toby held her tightly in his arms and asked quietly.

"Yes, of course I do."

He was the only man she could trust, and the only person close to her.

Toby briefly explained how he met Molly and ended up as her fiance.

He knew he should be responsible towards Molly when he promised to marry her.

But he couldn't take responsibilities for two women.

"She is very beautiful and she loves you very much," Ayla said to him.

If she hadn't loved him, she wouldn't have been afraid, thinking Ayla would steal Toby away from her.

"Lala, but I only love you." Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

Toby was afraid that Lala would misunderstand him and think he was deceiving her.

Ayla nodded.

"Yes, I know.I always knew this.You know what? I'd spent these past years waiting for you in a hope that you'd return and take me away with you.You had promised me that you would celebrate my eighteenth birthday with me.But you didn't come back, and it'd hurt me so much."

She only survived these past years with this one hope.

"I'm sorry, Lala.I'll celebrate your birthday with you tomorrow.Although it's too late, I'll celebrate it with you as long as you don't mind it, okay?"

Toby didn't return earlier because Molly had fallen sick at that time and he had to stay with her.

"Okay.As long as you are with me, everything is better for me."

Ayla smiled at him.

It would never be too late if the man she loved was beside her.

Everything would be beautiful as long as she felt loved by him.

Suddenly, Toby took out a new phone and said, "Lala, this is for you.Do you like it?"

The white cellphone was of the latest model.

Ayla remembered that she had left the phone given by Brian back in the villa.

That was why he hadn't found her yet.

She could only hide from him for a while but not for a lifetime.

"I like it.Thank you."

Ayla nodded and accepted it with a smile.

For the first time in a while she felt content.