Chapter 59

"Alice?" Felix was totally thrown off. "Alice ain't with me. I'm grabbing dinner with a client."

Before he could finish, the call cut off.

Felix was left scratching his head, trying to figure out what David was on about.

A few seconds later, it clicked, and he chuckled. He slipped his phone back in his pocket and headed back to the private room.

Meanwhile, at the bar, Esme was losing her mind, trying to stop Alice.

"Alice! That's booze, not water! Chugging like this is gonna kill you!" Esme yelled.

Alice's cheeks were all rosy, clearly hammered. She hiccupped and slurred, "I'm drinking to forget!"

Esme was at her wit's end. "Why are you getting wasted for no reason? If you got the guts, go hook up with David! Who cares about his exes? They ain't with him now, are they? This is your shot, and you're blowing it by getting trashed here?"

"I can't compete with her!" Alice suddenly cried out, her eyes all teary, "Easy for you to say, but do you know David's got an apartment, and it's theirs? Only two pairs of slippers by the door. Fresh flowers on the table. Blue curtains. The whole place feels like home. Their home!"

Alice took a few more swigs, her face getting even redder, tears streaming down.

Esme quickly went over to pat her back.

"The villa I live in now is big and fancy, but it ain't home. It's cold, and even wrapped in a blanket, I still feel cold." Alice looked up, her red eyes making Esme's heart ache.

"Do you have places in your home where you're not allowed to go? I do. I can only go to my room, the living room and the kitchen. As for his private space, I can't step into because I'm not allowed." Alice continued.

David rushed to the bar as soon as he got Esme's call.

"Where is she?" David's face was ice-cold.

Esme blocked David, her face also showing anger.

"She's drunk, and I got something to say to you." Esme said.

She wasn't exactly scared of David; her status wasn't lower than his, just that she was younger. No need to fear him, especially since she was fuming after hearing Alice's words.

"David, remember I called you before and told you that if you don't like Alice, you should make it clear to her, so she won't have any fantasies?" Esme took a deep breath to calm herself, "Did you make it clear?"

David's face was stern. "That's my personal business."

Esme was livid. "So you think it's cool to keep rejecting Alice's advances? She likes you, even a blind person could see that! Or is it that your first love left, and your heart left with her, and now you're just an empty shell?"

Before David could speak, Esme angrily accused him, "If you have any conscience, you'll accept Alice's feelings! And don't take her to the apartment you shared with your first love! Her sincere heart is trampled to pieces by you, and you seem to enjoy it."

David bypassed Esme and walked to the corner, seeing Alice lying on the sofa, mumbling with an empty bottle in her arms. He suddenly got why Esme was so pissed at him.

He walked over, took the empty bottle from Alice's arms, placed it on the table, and pulled her up from the sofa, cupping her flushed, hot cheeks with his hands, and softly called, "Alice."

Alice, in a daze, heard David's voice, frowned, and waved her hand in front of her, "Go away."

David couldn't help but laugh, took off his coat, draped it over Alice, and carried her out of the bar.

Back home, David carried her straight to his room.

Alice, trying hard liquor for the first time and downing way too much, was a total wreck. David came out of the bathroom with a towel and saw Alice groggily getting up, looking like she was about to hurl.

He quickly got her to the bathroom, waited for her to finish, wiped her face, and brought her back to bed. Then he went to her room, grabbed a set of pajamas, and changed her clothes.

After cleaning up, David headed downstairs to whip up a bowl of hangover soup, practically forced it down her throat, and by then, it was almost 8 p.m.

"So young, yet pretending to get drunk like an adult." David sat by the bed and pinched Alice's cheek.

"Don't pinch me," Alice grumbled.

She swatted his hand away, and David pulled her up from the bed.

"Alright, I won't pinch you. But tell me, why'd you get so wasted?"

"None of your business," Alice's nose turned red with frustration, "David is a jerk."

David was speechless.

'When did I become a jerk? I haven't even done anything yet, and I'm already the bad guy?' David thought.

David gently coaxed, "Why is David a jerk?"

"He took me to the love nest he shared with his ex. Isn't that jerk behavior?"

Hearing this, David was momentarily speechless.

"Isn't that jerk behavior!" Alice tugged at David's clothes, desperate for someone to agree with her.

David sighed, "Yeah, it's bad."

As soon as he said it, she hit him in the chest.

"You're not allowed to say he's bad!"

"He's so annoying. He knows I like him, but he pretends not to know, always acting like some wise elder. It's not like I wanted to like him. If he were mean to me, if he were cold to me, if he didn't treat me so well, if he didn't care about me, I wouldn't have fallen for him." Alice, fueled by alcohol, vented all her frustrations.

"So, being good to you is my fault?" David sighed, grabbed Alice's shoulders, turned her around to sit behind him, letting her lean on him, and pulled the blanket over her.

"Alice, after all, I'm seven years older than you. I have to teach you what needs to be taught. Lucas entrusted you to me, so I have to be responsible, understand?"

Alice mumbled, "You didn't get me pregnant."

David flicked her forehead. "Look at yourself. If I didn't teach you or care about you, what would you become?"

Taking advantage of her drunkenness, Alice said things she wouldn't normally dare to say.

Unexpectedly, Alice started crying. "If I got pregnant, David would have to take responsibility for me. If his ex came back, I'd have leverage to threaten him. That's how it works in TV shows!"

David's face darkened.

"If he got back with his ex, I'd run away with the baby." Before she could finish, David, already furious, lost control and kissed her chattering mouth.

The taste of alcohol transferred from her lips.

David opened his eyes, the softness and warmth of her lips suddenly making his heart race. He cupped the back of Alice's head, leaned over, and pressed her onto the bed, deepening the kiss.

Alice pushed him away, mumbling through her lips.

"No, go away!" Alice said.

David, too angry to speak, could only shut Alice up by kissing her, preventing her from saying anything else that might infuriate him.

He had never imagined kissing would feel like this.

It was as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart, not too tightly, but enough to make his heart race and his breathing quicken.

Alice said she wanted to have his baby.

David narrowed his eyes slightly, propped himself up on the bed with one arm, and slipped his other hand under the blanket. He lifted Alice's hem and gently touched her waist with his fingertips.