Love Contract

Chapter 34 Take Him Home

When Frank and Lucas came back from the bathroom, William and the others were already several bottles in, and nearly drunk.

"Frank, why did it take you so long?" Nancy asked him.

"I was just out for a cigarette." Frank stared at William while he spoke.

"Okay, fine." Nancy smiled arrogantly and said nothing more.

"What—what time is it now, anyway?" William smelled like a distillery. The amount of alcohol he consumed made him stumble over his words.

"Ten o'clock at night." The man in glasses said, "Still early."

"Still early? Really?" His wife put her hand on his knee. "So you don't need to go to work tomorrow?"

"Ha ha ha..." Lucas said with a laugh, "I think you're right."

"How about another drink before we leave?" The tall, thin man's face was already red.

"Sounds good!" William raised his glass and was about to down another one. Lucas grabbed his glass and said, "Now cut that out. Look at you. William is obviously drunk. You want him to pass out from alcohol poisoning? I can't believe you people! Jesus!"

"What do-do you think we can do about it?" the man in glasses stammered.

"Yes," said Nancy. "It was his own idea. No one held a gun to his head and told him to drink."

"All right, all right. You ready to go?" Lucas waved his hand. "Let's leave."

"Yeah. They're almost done, too."

"Okay, then I'll take my husband home."

"Fine," nodded Lucas. "Take care."

A group of people walked out, leaving only four people in the noisy box.

"I'll give William a lift." Frank stood up and pulled William to his feet, indicating they should leave.

"Frank!" Lucas called. "Shouldn't you take care of your wife first?" Lucas said, holding his arm. He wasn't wrong.

Nancy stood aside and sneered, "Never mind. I'll call a taxi myself."

"It's really late. Aren't you worried about her?" Lucas glared at Frank. ''Mary...'1

Just as everyone was at an impasse, William suddenly muttered something, his body shaking.

Frank felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He dropped his hand from William's arm.

"Did you hear that?" Lucas smiled and said, "He wants his wife. I'll get Mary to pick him up. You drive Nancy home."

Nancy raised her eyebrows.

"Let's go!" With a pale face, Frank pressed his lips into a thin line and guided Nancy out of the room.

Lucas took out William's cellphone, trying to find Mary's number. He scrolled through call logs and contacts trying to figure it out.

When Mary was about to head home, her phone rang. She took out her phone and glanced at the caller ID. It was William, who she hadn't heard from in a few days. Victor was nearby.

"Who's that?" asked Victor, raising his eyebrows.

"It's William." Mary smiled and answered the phone, "Hello?"

"Hello?" Lucas's voice sounded a little excited. "Mary?"

That wasn't William's voice. "You're not William. Who are you?" Mary was stunned. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm his friend, Lucas," Lucas said quickly. "He's drunk now. Think you could drop by here and pick him up?"

"He's drunk?" Mary frowned. "Fine. Where are you now?" she asked.

"At the Love Bar. Do you know the place?"

"Yeah, I know where that is. I'll be right there."

"Okay, I'll wait for you at the entrance."

After hanging up the phone, Mary was about to leave. "Victor, I have something to deal with now. I'm leaving. Sorry I have to leave you here."

"What's going on?"

"William's drunk. I need to get him home."

"Let me drive you there." Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

"No, thanks anyway." Mary waved her hand.

"It's really late. I'm worried about you." Victor insisted, "We'll be there soon."

Without saying anything more, Mary followed Victor into the car. She didn't have too much time to argue with him.

When Mary got out of the car, Lucas's eyes lit up. She was cute, so William had a good taste. Even though Mary was just his wife in name only, she matched William perfectly. "Mary?" he ventured. He was hoping he was right. "Hi," Lucas said as he walked towards Mary, supporting William's weight.

"Hello." She looked up and down at Lucas. As she expected, birds of a feather flock together. William was a handsome man, and his friends were outrageously attractive, too.

"Nice to meet you. The name's Lucas Murong. I'm William's classmate and friend."

"Nice to meet you. I... I'm his wife," Mary said awkwardly.

"William used to be able to hold his liquor. I don't know why he'd be drunk today," Lucas said. Saying that, he transferred William's dead weight to Mary. She could barely hold him up. "I'll leave him in your capable hands."

"Yeah, ok." Struggling to even stand under her drunken burden, she could only grunt a reply through gritted teeth.

"You gonna be okay?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Well, fine, I'm leaving now."

"Okay, see you."

"See you." Lucas strode away. He thought to himself, 'The things I do for a friend. You owe me cab fare, William. With interest.' Then he touched the house key he took from William's pocket and smiled evilly. He thought, 'It's not all bad. I'm sleeping at your big house tonight.'

William was significantly taller than Mary, so it was tough for her to hold him. She was more dragging him than anything. She finally managed to lug William into the car, sweating.

Mary got to the driver's seat and took a deep breath. Although she had a driver's license, it was sad she didn't actually have a car. She almost never drove. The only reason she drove tonight was because it was late, and there were few cars on the road. Otherwise, she wouldn't have agreed to do this.

William's face was extremely flushed. He mumbled something and tugged on his collar from time to time, looking very uncomfortable.

"You deserve it," said Mary. "You must have pretended to be good at drinking. And now I have to pick you up."

"Water..." William rasped loudly, his eyes closed.

"No," said Mary. "We'll be back soon. You can wait." She was unhappy with him, and not about to cater to his demands.

Under the bright moonlight, there were almost no cars on the road. But, being careful, Mary didn't notice a car following them the whole time.

It was Victor's car. Elsewhere, Frank sped through the dark night.

"Are you crazy, Frank?" Belted into the passenger seat, Nancy shouted at Frank, "What the hell do you think you're doing? Slow down!"

Pursing his lips, Frank didn't say a word. All he could think about was the way that William, in a drunken daze, had said Mary's name not too long ago.

William! William! William!

"Frank, slow down! God!" Nancy was angry and scared, on the edge of hysterics. "We're gonna die. We're gonna — "

"Shut up!" His eyes red, Frank shouted at Nancy again, "Shut up!"

Nancy, cowed, just sat there silently.

The car still zoomed in the darkness, and the scenery outside the window was just a blur.

"Ha ha," Nancy suddenly sneered. "Screw you! Well, you'd better drive faster. If you want to die, let's all die together!

Drive to the gates of hell if you want!

I want to go to hell with you, together!" Nancy bit her lips, tears rolling down her face. "We've been married for a year. Do you even think of me as your wife? Seriously, have you ever thought of me as your wife? Just once?" "Cut the crap."

"If you think I'm bullshitting you, then go ahead, divorce me!" Nancy looked imposing now, in control of the conversation.

"Fine, let's do it." Frank snorted.

He slammed on the brakes, and the tires squealed in protest.

It spun out, leaving the blackened trails of tire tracks behind.

The moment the car came to a stop, Frank got out and slammed the door behind him.

Not to be outdone, Nancy did the same.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Nancy got in Frank's way so he couldn't even push the button for the elevator. The expression on Frank's face grew colder. He reached around her and pushed the button.

"What do you want me to do to you? Huh?" Frank's anger hadn't abated yet, but he suddenly struck a wicked grin. "Are you reminding me that I haven't fulfilled my duty as your husband?" She knew what he meant.

"Yes." Nancy wiped the tears from her face. "I want to see if you're a real man!"

"Ding!"

At this moment, the elevator door opened. Frank rushed in, grabbed Nancy's arm and pulled her into the box too.

Before Nancy could react, Frank pushed her into a corner, as if he were going to kill her. Nancy was stunned and responded by hugging him.

The elevator went up, but the two were together, embracing each other the whole time.

Even after they walked into the apartment, they were still holding onto each other. Frank's face was a twisted mask of rage, while Nancy's expression was one of cowed submission. There was no tenderness here, despite the thick sexual tension.

They still had the whole night.

Meanwhile, Mary had her own cross to bear. She took out the key and frantically opened the door. She turned on the light and half-dragged the drowsy William all the way to the bedroom. She threw him on the bed and sighed.

"Hey William. You okay?" Mary asked breathlessly. It had taken a Herculean effort to get him this far. She was hoping he was still alive, at least.

"Water..."

'Oh yeah, ' she thought. 'He was thirsty.' Mary shook her head and picked a glass of room temperature water. "Okay, William, here's some water. Sit up and drink it." Mary held William's head and slowly put the glass of water in front of his mouth.

Feeling the water moisten his cracked lips, William opened his mouth and gulped down the water. But he drank too fast and pulled away from the glass, coughing and sputtering.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Frowning, William slightly opened his eyes just a bit, and asked in confusion, "Are you Mary?"

"Yes, that's me," Mary replied sourly.

"Where am I?"

"The apartment." Mary stood up and said, "Can you manage a shower? You smell like a pig."

"Yes, I can," said William, and immediately regretted it. His head was pounding. But the proud man did not want to show any weakness

"Then go wash up. I'll make you some hangover tea." Mary walked out, glass in hand.

William stood up, shaking, and staggered into the bathroom.

As Mary was making tea, she felt lucky that William was drunk. She didn't know how to face him otherwise. He was such a jerk sober, and a lot more pliable like this. Eventually, she let him know the tea was done.

The tea had been ready for quite some time, but William still hadn't emerged. All of a sudden, an idea came to mind. 'Damn it! I wonder if he hurt himself in there.'

Thinking of this, Mary felt her scalp tingle. She stood up at once and rushed into the bedroom.

As soon as she entered, she found William sleeping soundly on the bed, clad in a bathrobe.

'Thank heavens.' Mary breathed a sigh of relief. When she was about to leave, she realized he was in a mess. She couldn't stop herself from helping him.