"How's she now?" asked Duke worriedly. He ignored Edward's playfulness and quickly walked to Daisy, taking Belinda into his own arms.
"She's fine. Just drank too much wine," replied Daisy as she smoothed Belinda's wrinkled dress. She exhaled a long relieved breath upon seeing Duke had calmed himself down.
"Daisy, I'm sorry that I have gotten you into so much trouble," said Duke. He had left Belinda and stormed out without any hesitations earlier because he knew that Daisy would be with Belinda and Belinda would be taken good care of by her. But he would never have thought that Belinda would get herself so drunk after he had left.
Belinda is my best friend. So there is never something called trouble between her and me. It would never trouble me to take care of her or do anything for her. But there is something that I'd like to talk to you about her. You might think Belinda looks like a heartless girl. She's always careless and never cares about anything. But deep inside, she's a very fragile and delicate girl. As you know, she always dares to love and hate. So once she devotes herself to you, the love would be strong and great. But her heart would also be easily broken by you. Therefore, please be more considerate to her. Be thoughtful, care for her, be tender to her, and be kind to her when you're dealing with problems about her in the future.
There is no such thing as losing and winning in love. No one could ever be the winner but whoever loves deeper than the other is doomed to be the passive one, one that cares more and devotes more. So I'll just repeat something I've already told you, please don't hurt her. No matter what happens or what would happen in the future, do NOT hurt her." said Daisy while looking Duke in the eyes.
She was sincere about what she was saying and even pleading. After all, Belinda was her only best girl friend. She was her confidant. So no matter what, she would wish her a lifetime of happiness.
"I know," said Duke. "That's the reason why I come back to her." He held Belinda tighter in his arms. He had said to Belinda that they should take a break and calm down but that wasn't what he actually meant. He had simply been mad and impulsive at that moment so he wasn't able to think reasonably. He had been mad because Belinda hadn't cared about him and had ignored his feelings completely. It was different now that he had calmed down, he knew he had over-reacted and what he had done to her was ridiculously absurd.
"Okay then. Take her home now. She had too much for tonight. She must be exhausted. And as for the matter between you and Rachel, I hope you could handle it properly," said Daisy. She felt peaceful that Belinda was now being taken care of by Duke. It was the reason why her tone was steady and expression was calm even when she mentioned Rachel.
"Okay. Then we're leaving," said Duke. "See you!" After saying goodbye to Daisy, he turned to Edward and nodded his farewell. He put his arms around Belinda and took her into his car. It was at that moment when the quiet girl in his arms suddenly started struggling against him.
"Who are you? Let go of me!" screamed Belinda. "Daisy! Where are you? Daisy! I want Daisy!" She waved her arms childishly, trying very hard to get rid of the confining hug of Duke.
"Sweetie, it's me, your husband. Don't be a baby. Let's go home first," said Duke softly. He pulled the car door open and carefully put Belinda into his car. He fastened the seat belt for her. After setting her down, he got onto the driver's seat in a quick move and fastened his own seat belt. The next thing he did was to lock the car door and lower the windows on both sides to let some cool air come in, hoping for the breeze to make Belinda feel better and somehow lessen her drunkenness.
They should be fine, right?" asked Daisy uncertainly. She was now leaning on Edward's arms, feeling a little bit worried about the couple. She had known too well about Belinda's personality. Belinda had always been the straight-forward girl and would never stop her quest for the truth until everything was clear, even if such endless missions could make the situations more complicated and worse.
"Take it easy, Honey! I'm sure that Duke would handle this well, there's no need to worry," confirmed Edward. "Now let's go back too!" He kissed Daisy gently on her forehead, took her hand and then led her to get into the car with him. Even though Edward had already guaranteed her, Daisy still couldn't help feeling a little worried. She looked out of the window to try diverting her attention from what just happened tonight, but still got lost in her own thoughts with the street scenes passing by. Edward noticed that his petite wife was still frowning deeply and he was considerate enough not to disturb her. So he focused on driving them home safely.
Duke also drove the car very smoothly on their way home though there had been some times when he had to deal with Belinda's unconscious movements. They arrived at home safely. It was lucky that his father, Lloyd Leng, hadn't been staying at the Leng's House recently, so they didn't need to worry about all the noises they would make when they came back.
However, Belinda was not very cooperative along the way to their bedroom as she was still drunk. She was only half asleep which made it even more difficult for Duke to get her onto their queen-sized bed. His face was already sweaty all over when he managed to do it.
Duke took a deep breath and unbuttoned his shirt. He was feeling a bit hot after completing such a laborious task. He licked his lips, turned around, and walked out of their bedroom. He was back after a while with a glass of honey water in his hand.
"Belinda, get up. Drink the honey first. It'll make you feel better then you can get a good night sleep," he said softly. He sat on the bed and gently lifted Belinda. He used one hand to hold her while the other was taking the glass of honey water. He carefully moved the glass to her lips. Belinda must have been thirsty due to all the wine she had drunk. She was cooperative this time and quickly finished all the water.
Duke pulled out a handkerchief and wiped her lips softly. He put Belinda back to bed. He shook his head while watching her go back to sleep but on his always grim face was a rare expression of gentleness and tenderness, so soft that it had overthrown the cold. It wasn't common for Duke to be such a warm and loving man but this part of him was definitely the most charming one.