Ayla left the ward and dragged her exhausted body into the hospital garden. She really could not figure out how things turned out. like this. She then sat on a bench and gazed at people who came and went. There were also pregnant women who passed by in front of her with their bulged belly. ‘What the hell did I do wrong this time? Why does nothing good ever come out of everything I've done?’ she mused. All of a. sudden, two familiar figures came into her sight —Toby and Molly. She wanted to walk over to them and say "hello" but decided not to. Amemory of what had happened to Haley suddenly crossed her mind, so she immediately stood up and hid behind a big tree. Careful not to be seen, she watched as Toby helped Molly walk into the building. It was not until they walked in that Ayla came out. from behind the tree. Not long after, she left the hospital and hailed a cab. "Clark Group building, please," she said to the taxi driver. "Okay," the driver responded with a nod. "No, wait. Go to the HM Garden instead,”. Ayla hurriedly said as she changed her mind. She figured that it was not right to go to the company like this, so she had better go. back to Brian's apartment first. Once she arrived at the door of the apartment, she took out the key from her purse and opened the door. She was expecting that the apartment was empty. However, the instant she opened the door, she smelled a strong stench of tobacco, making her choke and cough uncontrollably. She turned to look at the sofa and saw that Brian was there, smoking. ‘What is he doing here?’ she wondered in disbelief. Something suddenly occurred to her. At the thought of it, she smoothed her hair and pulled it down to cover her left cheek that was bruised and swollen, hoping that. he would not notice it. Now that she was all set, she casually walked to the sofa and said indifferently, "You're back. "What's with that look? Aren't you happy to see me back?” Brian asked with a sneer as he stubbed the cigarette out. "Don't you want to know when I came back?" Although his voice was calm and expressionless, Ayla could tell that he was. unhappy. She cast a glance at the ashtray and found that it was full. "Did he come back last night?’

"Mr. Clark, I'm sorry. Should she explain it to him? If she did, would her explanation even work?. "Where have you been? " Brian asked as he l ifted his gaze on her. Although some of her hair was covering half of her face, the wound on her chee k did not escape his scrutinizing gaze. Also, he caugh t a whiff of a lcohol on her. He could imagine what this woman did last night. Yesterday, Hank c alled him and tol d him everything. As soon as he hung up the call , he left everything behind and took the earliest flight home. He waited for her the w hole night, but she did not come home until now. ‘What does this woman w ant? Was she trying to piss me off?’ he mused. just drank some wine yesterday, so I didn't come home,” Ayla nervously answ ered, not wanting to make Brian angry. "Just some wine? How much exactly did you drink? Smell yourself! You smell like you bathed in ajar of wine! Don't make a fool . out of me !" Brian exclaimed. Then, he stood up, walked over to her, and lifted her chin w ith his thumb and index finger. "What happened to your face? Y ou'd better tell me the truth, or you'd regret it," he warned. When he spoke, his voice was icy cold that almost made Ayla tremble in fear. "I have nothing to s ay," she answered th rough gritted teeth. As she stared at his angry face, she knew that he would not believ e her regardless of what she said. He would only distort her explanation, eve n if it was the truth. “Ayla, what do you take me for? Answer me ! That Lucas. what's so good about him? D id he force Haley to have an abortion just . to get you? Perhaps you two did someth ing that you shouldn't have done, so yo u could anger Haley and make her have a . misc arri age?" . Brian had the means to know whatever h e wanted right away. As a matter of fact, he alread y knew what had happened last night and this morning to Ayla. He was waiting for her to give him a n explanation until the morning, onl y to hear that she had nothing to say . ‘Could it be that the explanation was us eless after what had happened between her and Lucas? Does she still have no feelings . for me? As Brian looked at the red handpr int on Ayla’s face, he could not help but wonder how stupid she was. He did not have . the heart to tell her what Lucas and Tatu m’'s relationship was because he did not want her to be sad. However, what she had . done felt like a knife in his heart, pierci ng through him. Ayla scoffed and retorted, "Y ou already knew about it. Why bother to ask?"

Since he had already known e verything, why did he have t o ask about her explanation? . "It's because I wanted to hear it from you, but you did not even give me the chance,"B rian said with a sneer. If only she told him . the truth, he would have just let it go . Sadly, she did not. “Even if I'm living here, I'm free to do ev erything I want. Whoever I am seeing is none of your business! It has nothing to do with . you," A yla fir ed back. Brian wanted to be in co ntrol of her. She knew about this, so there was no nee d for her to ask him if he had done all t hose things for her regarding the fashion . show. The more he wanted t o control her, the less s he wanted to satisfy him. All of a sudden, Bri an pulled her and thr ew her onto the sofa. Although she landed on the cushion, Ayla still got hurt by the impact. "What's so good about Lucas? Tell me! What can he do that I can't? Argh!" he bellowed as he ripped Ayla’s chiffon skirt in rage. "No ! St op!" . Ayla shrank away from him and tried with all her s trength to keep him away. "Unfortunately, it's n ot up to you,” Brian r esponded frighteningly. How could he let her g o anyway? In the end, A yla passed out in pain. Brian los t control yet again. Could he blame himself? This woman was d riving him crazy! Once he was done with h is evil deed, he went to the bathroom and . let the cold water run down every inch of h is skin. He quickly took a shower, changed h is clothes, and left the apartment, leaving . the place i n a mess and Ayla alone. Ayla's body hurt so much t hat she could not even tur n over, much less stand up. When she opened her eyes, he r vision was blurred, and he r body was trembling in pain. It took her a w hile to see eve rything clearly. Only thee did she realize that h er body was covered with bruises that were left by his violence. ‘He must be very angry with me, so he did this, right?’ she asked herself inwardly. Although Brian seemed to be doing everythi ng to get back with her, he only pushed he r farther and farther away. Sometimes, Ayla . felt that her happine ss seemed to be right in front of her eyes. However, as she reached f or it, it seemed even far ther than she had thought. Everything that had happened made h er sure of one thing—she and Brian w ere impossible to be together again