The Substitute Bride

With hundreds of thoughts running down her mind, Holley took out her cell phone from her bag and logged in her WeChat account absent-mindedly. Looking at Black's profile picture, she was lost in thoughts while unconsciously rubbing the screen with her finger. She was half-minded as to whether she would send him a message or not.

However, she thought that if Black still cared for her, her plan would work. With all her hopes high, she was carefully thinking about her plan of action, though her mind was a bit preoccupied at the moment.

Pushing through with her plan, she opened the chatting window and typed words intermittently, but didn't send them out yet. For a moment, she paused and wondered if Black was making love with the woman who had been in his arms.

The thought made her shiver in annoyance. However, no matter what it would take, she wanted to bet that Black still cared for her and wanted her back.

Though she wasn't sure about her assumption, in Black's point of view, she didn't guess wrong.

In his apartment, Black was lying in the bed, tossing and turning while cuddling a pillow on the side of his bed. He was not in the least sleepy and Holley's face constantly flashed in his mind and the look on her face as she saw him intertwine with another woman. He didn't want to admit that he couldn't forget Holley, but that was the case right now.

Thinking about how foolish he was, Black smiled bitterly. In one way or another, Holley had been special to him and he felt comfortable and at peace whenever he was with her. Admitting it all, he must say he had loved that woman whether he liked it or not. How ironic! Although it was Holley who had betrayed him first, he didn't want even to pretend to be intimate with other women. Though he had been used to playing with women before, yet this time he couldn't understand why he felt guilty in some way. When he was kissing that woman, Holley's angelic face kept flashing on his mind as if reminding him to stop what he was doing. Black was totally in a daze at this moment.

Thus, to shut all these thoughts out of his mind, he picked up his cell phone and looked for something that would entertain him as he wanted to have some fun. But unconsciously, he opened the chatting record between Holley and him. The sweet moments in the past were still vivid in his mind, but now, they were more like a huge irony to him.

Before today, Black had always been frequently checking his cell phone, for fear of missing any of Holley's messages. He was like a lad fallen deeply in love—even a casual reply from her would have made him blush with excitement.

Reading through the messages, he pulled himself back to reality and was about to exit the chatting interface with Holley, but suddenly found the prompt displaying "Holley is typing..." At the sight of the prompt, his heart thumped faster. He wondered what could she be sending him this time. Would she apologize? Black went ex

ter and looked around, searching for Holley. After a while, he found her slumped and a bit unconscious at the far end of the counter.

From the way she drooped at the bar, Black could tell that Holley was too drunk and had been unconscious for some time. She lay her head on the counter, eyes closed.

Just then, Black saw a man come to Holley and sit beside her. He stared at her with lustful eyes and was about to touch her.

Seeing that, Black narrowed his eyes and looked at that man furiously.

It was as if a bomb had exploded in his head. Black couldn't control his anger anymore. He rushed toward the drunk man and gave him a heave kick. The man was knocked to the floor surprised as to where the kick came from.

Still feeling angry, he crouched and punched the man hard in the chest with his fist not minding the crowd gathering around them.

The man curled up like a shrimp, moaning in pain. He wanted to beg Black to let him go. However, he couldn't utter a single word at all.

While he was wondering why he had been beaten up, he saw Black step over him and look over to Holley. The moment Black held Holley in his arms gently, the drunk man knew the reason. He regretted being blind and attempting to harass the woman.

Carrying her in his arms right now, Black looked at Holley. She looked rather calm now and was so charming with her scarlet cheeks. Feeling her warmth while carrying her close to his heart, Black was occupied by her again. When he gently held Holley up and was about to walk her out of the bar, he heard her mumbling his name.

Thinking Holley was awake, he unconsciously looked at her. However, Holley still closed her eyes firmly and there was no sign for her to sober. She frowned, looking as if she was very uncomfortable, and she repeated muttering his name.

Overwhelmed by his affection towards her, Black couldn't stay calm anymore. His heart trembled as if a warm current welled up in his heart and softened him.