Chapter 74: Perhaps it was never about family from the beginning?

Lara frowned, was he crazy?

Staring at the red missed calls, she sighed in silence.

Causing such a big scene and even bringing in the police, she couldn't not answer the call.

The call connected and was quickly answered.

However, it was Bella who answered.

After enduring for so many days, Avila finally couldn't take it anymore.

Bella glanced at the man sleeping by the bedside and spoke calmly with the phone in hand, "Mrs. Avila."

Lara froze, raised her hand to touch her brow, as frustration filled her eyes. "Where's Avila?"

"He's sleeping."

"..."

She tightened her grip on the phone, a mocking smile appeared on her lips. "Oh, so you wanted to mislead me into thinking he's sleeping with you?"

If Lennon hadn't involved the police in finding her tonight, maybe she would've believed it.

But now, with call after call piling up in her hand, over a hundred missed calls, she didn't think Avila could divide his attention like this.

Bella just smiled and said, "Why would I mislead you? He's tired and only fell asleep next to my sickbed. That's all."

Lara walked to the window with the phone in hand, pulled open the curtains with a swoosh, lowered the room temperature, and then returned to the big bed, covering herself with the blanket.

"Bella."

She called her name.

Bella smiled, her eyes holding a hint of playfulness. "Yes?"

"You really are no fun at all."

Bella asked with a laugh, "Why is that?"

"If you had the guts, you would stop the wedding two days from now, stop the wedding and keep him for yourself. Wouldn't that be more interesting?"

"Hehe..."

Bella seemed to have been enduring it all along, and at this moment, she couldn't hold back her laughter anymore.

"Of course, it would be interesting. It would be embarrassing for you if the wedding continued. If I could keep him, why bother stopping the wedding? Why should I care about your life and death?"

Mrs. Avila, such a noble and honorable title.

She couldn't stand it...

No, ever since she first called this arrogant and ostentatious woman 'the lady,' she couldn't stand her!

There was no chance in the past, nor did she dare, but now...

Turning Mrs. Avila into a complete joke seemed like a good idea.

Imagine, on their wedding day, all eyes are on the front of the isle, yet the groom doesn't show up. How will Mrs. Avila handle it? The thought of it felt invigorating.

Lara leaned against the headboard, radiating a profound solitude that transformed into an icy elegance. "Bella, you are even more foolish than I had imagined," she said.

Bella held her smile and asked, "What does 'the lady' mean?"

"No matter how disastrous the wedding turns out, and whether Avila comes or not, as long as I appear at the wedding, I will be recognized as Mrs. Avila by the board of directors."

"...," Bella frowned. "So what?"

"What do you mean?" Lara chuckled cynically. "Bella, it seems you are prepared to become his mistress."

"Lara, you have underestimated my position in his heart and overestimated the power of the board of directors. You can go ahead and be Mrs. Avila, I don't care."

Bella desired this man's heart more than an empty title of marriage.

She truly didn't care...

A trace of confusion appeared in Lara's icy eyes.

Is she really this in love with him?

To love someone to the point of disregarding status and position?

Ha.

Lara shook her head, finding it difficult to understand.

Faced with Bella's provocation, she couldn't even find any words to refute or argue.

Marriage was not what she wanted, and she didn't want that man either. If Bella was capable, she could just take him away.

She couldn't wait!

After a while, Lara ran her fingers through her fluffy hair, absentmindedly saying, "Then I wish you success."

As soon as she said it, she felt it was inappropriate, so she added, "Surgical success."

The smile froze at that moment.

Bella clenched her phone, bitterness etched on her plain face.

The more she didn't care, the more she hated.

That night, Lara had a nightmare and couldn't free herself from it.

Back and forth, constantly flipping, she kept recalling that rainy night ten years ago.

She ran in the rain, trying to catch up with her mother's footsteps, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't catch up. She shouted and screamed, but no sound came out.

The scenario repeated throughout the night.

Not until dawn did, she wake up drenched in sweat, gasping for breath, staring blankly at the ceiling.

It was a suffocating dream.

She remained quiet for a long time, waiting for her heartbeat to gradually calm down, and then she remembered the scene before she woke up.

At the ornate entrance gate, the handsome young man knelt in the rain, his gaze fixed on her for an eternity with just one glance.

That one glance woke her up.

And then she wondered, did she really... not care?

Not care about the wedding or about him as the groom?

Covering her chest, she felt a suffocating unease.

Lara looked at the time and calmed her emotions, dialing Chloe's number.

Due to the time difference, it was the perfect time for lunch.

Chloe had just finished her meal when she received a phone call.

A gentle light flickered in her calm eyes as she calculated the time difference. Jokingly, she said, "You're awake so early?"

Lara was lying in bed, just waking up, her voice a bit hoarse. "I had a nightmare."

Such a little girl, even pouting when having a nightmare.

Chloe smiled faintly. "What kind of nightmare?"

Wide-eyed, Lara looked up at the ceiling blankly and pursed her lips. "I dreamed of the day I brought Avila back."

Chloe teased, "Miss him?"

"I don't," she furrowed her brow and said with frustration, "I called him yesterday, but Bella answered."

"What did she say?"

"She probably meant to tell me that there won't be a groom at the wedding."

Chloe quickly replied, "Well, that's great. You can also have a bride-less wedding."

Lara chuckled, "Then what should we do about the wedding?"

"The wedding... why does it matter to you?"

"..."

Lara froze.

Chloe continued, "You won't even let me attend with Uncle Shen, so what kind of wedding is it?

The board of directors, their purpose is not to witness Mrs. Avila and Mr. Avila's union; they just want to find a better explanation for betraying Uncle Shen. Whether you attend or not, who would care?"

"..."

Her hand that was resting on the quilt suddenly crumpled the soft fabric, and her throat felt like it was blocked. She couldn't make a sound, and her nose became incredibly sore.

Lara knew that their marriage meant nothing.

She knew... but it still hurt.

After a while, she finally found her voice again, "But I've already gotten the marriage certificate. Didn't you say that not having a wedding isn't beneficial to me?"

"What do you really think?"

"I don't know."

Chloe shook her head. "How could you not know? Do you want him to show up or not? There must be an answer in your heart."

"..."

It seemed like there was an answer.

Lara puffed up her cheeks, her nose becoming even more sore, and her vision inexplicably blurred.

They remained silent for a few seconds.

Chloe sighed, "Are you crying?"

"No..." Lara only managed to say two words before she choked up. Then, she stared in surprise, laughed self-deprecatingly a few seconds later, "Well, I am crying."

She had just realized.

"Lara..."

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever considered that what you feel for Avila might not be just familial love from the beginning?"

"..."

If it wasn't familial love, then what was it?