"No, thanks. I'll ask the driver to come and pick me up. You can go and continue to play with them!" Duke pushed Rachel away as he shook her offer off. He staggered to the lounge and pulled out his mobile phone from his pocket.
"Then I'll find a place to sit with you while waiting for your diver. You drank too much. I am worried about you staying alone. Let me take care of you. Okay?" Rachel said without giving Duke the opportunity to refuse. She helped him to the small table nearby, sat down together, and had her hands hooked on Duke's arm. She didn't want to withdraw her hands and enjoyed the intimacy with Duke. She was about to say some more when Duke's phone rang. The call was so unexpected that he didn't even have the chance to check the number.
"Hey, Belinda...Yes, I am about to go home now." Rachel's face turned pale as she heard what Duke said. A hint of resentment fleeted in her eyes. However, she was able to control her expression and changed back to her tender smile after a while.
"I'm not asking you about this. I just want to tell you not to drive by yourself if you're drunk." Belinda stood on the balcony with one hand in her pocket and the other holding her mobile phone. She looked charming in casual dress. The Leng house was in the center of a garden, surrounded by trees. That was why it was colder at night. Belinda shivered as chill crawled on her skin. She put her hand deeper in her pocket to get warm.
"I know, Belinda. And I was about to call the driver just now before you called. By the way, where is Leena? Is she back home?" He might be very strict with Leena but it was undeniable that his sister occupied an important part in Duke's heart. He cared about her even when he was drunk.
"Yes, Leena went back home soon after dinner. She said that she had two designs to finish and left in a hurry. It seems that last-minute working is her style. Anyway, where are you now? I think I can pick you up." Belinda took a glance at the watch.
"The driver must already be sleeping at this moment." She went to the bathroom without waiting for Duke's response and opened the wardrobe. She went through her clothes, took a simple short jacket out, then walked downstairs.
"Well, it's OK. I am in Joy Karaoke. Don't drive fast. I'll wait for you." Duke was not the type to flaunt his superiority. He did not reject Belinda's proposal. He even felt so happy about it that he smiled unconsciously. The change on Duke's expression wasn't something that Rachel missed and her eyes opened wide in anger.
"Okay. I will be there in twenty minutes. Wait for me. Laters!" Belinda hung the phone up and drove her Lotus sports car to Joy Karaoke.
Duke also hung up and leaned himself against the couch. He closed his eyes with a deep frown. He looked very uncomfortable.
"Duke, are you feeling well? Have some tea. This will make you feel better. I just asked the waiter for it. It's still warm." Rachel handed a cup to Duke as various plots reeled in her mind.
"Okay! thanks." Duke took the tea and drank. He was thirsty and blamed his thirst to the dry weather. It was not difficult to figure out that Duke was really drunk.
You're welcome!" Rachel rubbed her hands and pressed her lips together. She stared at him for a moment. She would not take the risk to plot anything unless she was one hundred percent sure. Otherwise, she would lose the last chance with Duke. She had to be cautious as not to arouse his wariness.
"You'd better go and play with them. I am fine. I can stay alone here." Duke closed his eyes. He was uncomfortable with the wine burning in his stomach.
"No, I'll stay with you. I am worried about you. I can't let you sit here alone." Rachel acted decently while hiding her eagerness under her quiet demeanor. She dared not to be aggressive as she didn't want him to suspect. Otherwise, she would destroy the trust she worked so hard for.
"It's up to you!" Duke did not want to talk more with Rachel. He closed his eyes again and ignored her. He didn't care much about how Rachel looked at him in the room earlier. He was fine as long as she didn't bother him.
"Duke, would you mind talking about why you wanted to marry that woman?" Rachel asked cautiously with hesitations in her voice.
"There was no exact reason. It's just because I feel comfortable when I am with her." Rachel's question got Duke's interest. He had thought of that answer for a while. Yes, he felt comfortable. It was only before Belinda that he could follow his heart. She made him relax. He was not a big company's CEO when he was with her. He was not a son of somebody, nor a brother of somebody. He was just a man who wanted to be loved.
"Because of the comfortable feeling? Not because of love?" Rachel had turned pale again. It was known that a comfortable feeling was much deeper than love. Love could become a burden but a sense of comfort was pure. It had gone beyond the word love and interpreted a higher level of happiness.
"Yes, because of the comfortable feeling." Duke smiled unwittingly with the corner of his mouth mildly raised. In fact, even Duke himself did not know exactly whether he had fallen in love with Belinda or not. The only thing he knew was that Belinda had the power to make him unload all the burdens on his shoulder.
Losing his mother at an early age made him play a double-role for Leena. He became a mother and a brother. There were even cases when he had to be her father since their real father was too busy to take care of them. These burdens could choke him sometimes. It was lucky that Leena was an obedient girl as it made the struggle less.
What about me? What kind of feeling did you have when you were with me before?" Women were the same as men. They were afraid of any comparison even if they were curious about the results.
"I am sorry. But I had already forgotten the feeling." Duke opened his eyes and gave Rachel a glance. It wasn't because that he did not want to talk about it. It was just that he had already forgotten everything with it.
"Hmmmm! Forgot all?" Rachel managed to produce a dim smile. What a cruel and direct answer. It was not even "hate", nor "love". He forgot! It was like she didn't even exist and left no trace at all.
"I usually choose to forget people who don't exist in my life anymore. I hope you understand." He wouldn't have explained if not because of what she said about being friends.
"I understand. In fact, you have been cruel all the time. You didn't need to hide your identity when we were together. You didn't even take any action when I dated with another man." Rachel smiled bitterly. He could have detained her if he had only used his identity as Leng Group's heir. How could she have abandoned him if that had been the case?
"I didn't see any possibility of change for anyone who was so willing to go." Duke felt unexpectedly casual as they talked about their past.
I would not have left you if you had told me that you were the heir of the Leng Group." Rachel was fixed as she watched Duke who was still leaning on the chair with his eyes closed. What a handsome man! He was attractive even when drunk.
"You would have been staying for the Leng Group and not for me if that had been the case. What was the difference?" It might be the alcohol or the person beside him that made him recall his past and talk too much.
"What about her? Didn't she marry you because of the Leng Group?" Rachel would never believe if Duke said "No". Money was above everything nowadays after all.
No, she didn't. She actually looks down upon the Leng Group." Although it was said that the YS Financial Group was inferior to the Leng Group. The YS Financial Group was also one of the top enterprises in S City. The Leng Group was not what Belinda wanted. Ironically, she even wanted to give her own YS Financial Group to Duke and let him take care of the operations. Money was nothing to Belinda.
"Do you mean that she is interested in you?" Rachel looked at Duke up and down. It was undeniable that Duke exuded elegance fit for kings. He indeed attracted a lot of women's attention. But what if he became penniless? Would women still flock around him?
"What do you think?" Duke sat up straight and looked at her coldly. He did not like Rachel to interpret Belinda as a golddigger.
"I am not her. How could I know? But in my opinion, it is not simply due to love." Rachel also picked up the tea in front of her and took a sip. She wouldn't change her point of view over Belinda.
"You're right about that." Duke said with a sigh. There was a deep sense of frustration in his expression.
"Really? I don't believe that love was the reason she married you, Duke." With her answer affirmed, Rachel felt a dull heartache creeping on her chest.
"No, she doesn't like me. She doesn't like all my things, my identity, money, even the Leng Group. It was me who forced her to marry me." Duke felt inexplicably sad as he said those. He tried to ask Belinda if she loved him that day at the seaside. Her answer was cruel. She didn't love him.
"What? You forced her to marry you? That's impossible. She has nothing good. Well maybe good looking but... what is her compared to me!" Rachel shouted hysterically with a head shook. She could not believe what Duke said. Duke must be really drunk to lose his mind.
"That's the reality. She doesn't love me. Not even like me." Duke let out a sad smile. He even felt a little depressed. He did not notice what Rachel ranted later and missed the insulting words she threw at Belinda even more.