Chapter 75 Are You Coming Home With Me?
Magnus sat on the sofa, phone in hand, his expression slightly tense. Juniper had always had a severe allergy to alcohol, and the idea of her going to a bar to drink was puzzling.
Mike approached, asking, "Mr. Blackwood, have you and the kids decided what you'd like for dinner?"
Magnus wasn't hungry and turned to Jennifer, who was busy with her Legos, "Jennifer, what would you like to eat?"
The little one thought for a moment, "Hmm, I want Grilled Salmon."
"Okay, if there are no special requests or dietary restrictions, I'll go ahead with tonight's menu," replied Mike.
Magnus nodded in agreement.
Jennifer, holding the Lego instructions, inquired, "Dad, I don't understand this step. How does it go together? Can you help me?"
Magnus, momentarily lost in thought, didn't hear her until the little one nudged his leg. Coming back to reality, he glanced at the instructions and quickly helped Jennifer with the tricky step.
Watching him, Jennifer suddenly asked, "Daddy, you just said her issues are none of your concern. Were you talking about mom?"
The color in Magnus's eyes deepened, a shadow looming.
Meanwhile, Juniper and Ophelia were both inebriated at the Lifetime Club.
Robert tugged at Ophelia, but she refused to budge.
She swung the man's hand away. "Hey, who do you think you are? Don't think just because I've had a drink, you can drag me off to a hotel room! Juniper, Juniper! Wake up!"
Juniper was already passed out, slumped over on the bar top, but Ophelia managed to shake her awake.
"Come on, keep drinking," she urged.
Juniper propped herself up, steadying her arms as she continued to pour drinks.
However, the bottle had been empty for a while.
After a futile effort, only a few drops trickled out.
She furrowed her brow and said to the bartender, "Bring out the booze! The strongest you've got!"
"Ma'am, are you sure you want to keep drinking?"
Juniper thought the bartender was worried she'd skip out on the bill, so she slapped her wallet onto the bar.
"I have money! Bring the drinks!"
The bartender was, of course, more than willing to serve more drinks, opening several bottles for her.
Juniper poured herself a glass of brandy and gulped it down, the burn in her throat like flames.
Resting her chin on one arm while on the bar, she swayed the glass in her other hand and murmured through her drunken haze, "I don't have to take care of kids now. I can still afford my drinks."
Thinking of Jennifer, hot tears rolled down from her eyes.
She'd never seen Jennifer as a burden but rather as her pillar of support.
But now, her sole emotional support was gone.
Before coming to the bar, she'd swallowed a bunch of antihistamines.
She was allergic to alcohol, which had previously kept her from drowning her sorrows in booze.
But tonight, she let loose completely.
She discovered alcohol was indeed a welcome escape. The stronger, the better.
About to down another glass, Ophelia snatched the drink from her hand.
Ophelia was just as drunk, in the midst of her own frenzy.
"How dare you hog it to yourself? This one is mine! Don't you dare fight me for it!"
As Ophelia was about to sip the stolen drink, Robert grabbed it from her, "Enough of this madness from you two! Neither of you is drinking anymore!"
Ophelia, drunkenly glaring at him, pointed at his nose.
"Who are you? By what right do you control me?"
Robert clenched his teeth, "Who am I? I'm your husband!"
"My husband? Hmm, that's not right! My husband is at home! Oh no, wait, when did I get married? Cursing someone with marriage could send you to hell!"
Everyone knows marriage can be a chain, a trap. With Ophelia's free-spirited and fun-loving nature, how could she have been tricked into marrying?
Ophelia placed a long finger on Robert's lips, boldly flirting.
"Handsome, I don't have a husband. Maybe we should add each other on Facebook?"
Clearly, she was so intoxicated she couldn't even recognize her own acquaintances.
Looking over at Juniper, I see that she was in a similar state to Ophelia.
Juniper clutched a bottle of booze and staggered to her feet, heading towards the stage at the bar.
She muttered under her breath, "The singing's terrible."
Ophelia, seeing this, was thrilled, "Juniper, you go sing. You sound way better than them!"
"You think so too? I think so, too."
Juniper, gripping the bottle, weaved her way to the stage.
There was a small step up to the stage, and as she was about to step up, she tripped and suddenly felt weightless.
Her body lurched backward!
She thought to herself, if she died from the fall, so be it.
She braced for impact without struggle, but the anticipated pain never came.
Instead, she found herself caught in a warm and broad embrace, secured by strong, lean arms.
Juniper opened her eyes to see a familiar contour above her and was stunned.
The bottle in her hand dropped to the ground.
The bottle shattered, and liquor spilled everywhere.
The man, with dark eyes, just stared down at her coldly, "Had enough craziness?"
She wasn't crazy. She just wanted to escape life.
"Magnus? No, that's not right. You're not – hallucinations must be a side effect of too much drink."
How could Magnus be here? And why would he come to the bar to find her? Impossible.
Juniper pushed against his arms and stood up from his embrace.
With flushed cheeks, her usually gentle and reserved nature turned bold and uninhibited by the alcohol. She patted Magnus on the shoulder, "Thanks for that, for not letting me die. I'll be merciful and choose another place to die, don't want to ruin the bar's business."
After saying that, she turned and staggered away.
The man suddenly grabbed her arm.
Juniper tried to shake him off, but then she was lifted off her feet.
She was swept up in a sideways carry.
Juniper just stared at his face blankly, "Are you, or are you, not Magnus? Am I hallucinating?"
"I'm not, and you are hallucinating."
The man's gaze was fixed straight ahead, his voice detached and cold.
Juniper laughed, "How could you possibly be him?"
But as she spoke, her voice trailed off into sadness.
"Why can't you be him?"
She was afraid to see him, yet afraid of not seeing him.
The man's brows knitted slightly, but all he said was, "You're drunk."
Magnus carried her out of the bar and into a car.
Juniper was too drunk to think straight.
She was placed in the passenger seat.
Seeing Magnus get into the car too, Juniper asked, "Hey, handsome, this is my taxi, how can you just get in? Get out."
She waved her hand, motioning for him to leave.
Magnus just looked at her coldly.
In a flash of frustration, Juniper slumped, "That aggressive? Fine, have it your way. Take the car, I'll walk. I'll hail another one!"
The moment she pulled the car door open, a violent wave of nausea hit her stomach.
At the curb, she threw up violently.
The man closed his eyes, grinding his teeth in discomfort.
Magnus purchased a bottle of water from a vending machine and handed it to her. "Rinse your mouth."
After Juniper had rinsed clean, she didn't get back into the car but walked ahead instead.
Tired from walking, she eventually sat down on the sidewalk.
Magnus followed and stood beside her.
Struggling to look up, Juniper asked in confusion, "Why are you following me? Are you coming back to my place?"
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