Chapter 198
I looked at Lily seriously for a long while, but in the end, I still didn't try to persuade her anymore.
When it comes to matters of the heart, only the person involved has the right to make the decision.
Lily was different from me. I understood and respected her fears and choices.
I sighed, "No matter what decision you make, I'll support you and stand by your side."
Lily smiled slightly, "Then open a bottle of wine for me first."
I opened one for her, "Take it slow."
While Lily was drinking, Ryan was also downing drinks hard at a bar.
Richard held up his phone after just hanging up and shrugged at him, "Jason's not coming. Says he needs to stay home and take care of the kid. Sue went to keep Lily company."
Richard rubbed his chin and smacked his lips, "I really never thought I'd see the day when Jason would take care of a kid. That's rare."
Ryan ignored him and just kept drinking on his own.
Richard watched helplessly as he chugged down a whole bottle and couldn't help but advise, "Why are you doing this to yourself? There are tons of women out there. If this one doesn't work out, just move on to the next one. Is it really worth suffering like this?"
Ryan seemed triggered by something. He suddenly grabbed Richard's collar and asked in a hoarse, desperate voice, "What did I do wrong? Why did she break up with me? Why?"
Richard pulled his hand away speechlessly and shrugged, "You should be like me and spread the love around. If you love enough people, you won't have time to be sad."
"Putting all your feelings on one person is really stupid. You're just asking for trouble."
As he spoke, he looked at Ryan with extra sympathy and shook his head.
Ryan ignored him and continued drinking heavily.
Richard grabbed him, "What are you doing? Really planning to drink yourself to death?"
To his surprise, Ryan actually nodded and asked with a bitter smile, "If I really did drink myself to death, would she even care?"
Richard's fist clenched.
He couldn't understand why Ryan was so hung up on one woman.
Richard snatched away his drink, and Ryan immediately grabbed it back.
Seeing that he was determined to keep drinking no matter what, Richard had no choice and came up with a lousy idea, "What's the point of drinking alone? Let me get you some pretty girls to cheer you up!"
Ryan was drunk and didn't hear what he said at all, single-mindedly focused on drinking.
Soon, a group of sexy-dressed women filed in.
Richard raised his hand, and those women immediately surrounded Ryan.
"Why are you drinking so much alone?"
"Let me keep you company, okay?"
"..."
The sweet voices of a dozen women came one after another.
Some bold ones even leaned on Ryan and reached out to unbutton his shirt.
A flash of clarity appeared in Ryan's eyes, and his gaze instantly turned cold, "Get lost!"
He swung his arm forcefully, and several women who were close fell directly to the ground.
They were scared pale and didn't dare approach, not even daring to make a sound.
Richard looked on helplessly and waved his hand, "You can go."
Only then did the women leave, swaying their hips.
After the private room door closed, Richard looked at Ryan helplessly and complained, "You're this drunk and still pretending."
Ryan's eyes were hazy with alcohol, "I'm not like you, accepting anyone who comes."
Richard pulled at the corner of his mouth, "Being like me is pretty good. At least I'm not here drinking alone, tortured to death by feelings like you are."
Ryan rolled his eyes, "You don't understand!"
Richard checked the time and got up to take him away, "Fine, fine, I don't understand and don't want to understand. Let's stop talking about this. I'll take you back."
Ryan hugged the bottle and refused to leave, "I'm not done drinking yet. Not going back."
Richard obligingly spread his hands and shrugged, "Whatever you want. I'm tired anyway and going home to sleep. You can stay here and keep drinking if you want, but if you get too drunk and someone takes advantage of you, it's not my problem. I saw several women earlier looking at you with hungry eyes."
At these words, Ryan immediately let go of the bottle and walked toward the door.
Richard pursed his lips and followed him.
Lily got drunk and fell asleep leaning on the sofa.
Looking at her furrowed brow even in sleep, I sighed with heartache.
I helped Lily to the bedroom, put her to bed, and tucked her in.
I sat by Lily's bed for a while. After making sure she was sound asleep, I cleaned up the living room.
After everything was tidied up, I went to the guest bedroom to lie down.
The next morning.
When I got up, Lily was still sleeping.
She drank quite a bit last night, so she probably wouldn't wake up easily this morning.
I made breakfast for Lily, left a note, and then received a message from Jason.
Jason: [I'm downstairs.]
I did promise Jason yesterday that we'd get our marriage certificate.
I didn't expect him to come so quickly.
Taking one last look at the still-sleeping Lily, I left.
As soon as I got downstairs, I spotted Jason's car parked by the roadside.
When Jason saw me, he immediately got out of the car and strode over to me, eagerly taking my hand, "It just rained. Be careful, the road's slippery."
I smiled and took the initiative to put my arm around his waist.
We walked to the car like this, leaning on each other.
Once in the car, I looked around but didn't see the little one, "Where's Jessica?"
Jason said, "Dropped her off at the Old Mansion this morning."
Only then did I relax.
Suddenly, I thought of something and said with a frown, "Let's go home first. I need to change clothes and put on some makeup."
After all, I'd only be getting a marriage certificate once in this lifetime. I wanted it to be more formal.
But Jason couldn't wait another moment and shook his head seriously, "No need, no need. You're already beautiful, and your clothes are perfect."
Seeing that I was about to speak, I heard Jason add, "If you dress up any more, you'll cause a riot at the marriage registration office."
Jason's lips curved into a proud smile, "After all, not everyone is like me, able to marry such a beautiful wife."
I looked at Jason helplessly.
Sometimes I really admired his mouth.
How could he be so good at talking?
So full of himself that you didn't know how to argue back.
Since we weren't going back, I simply tidied up my hair in the car mirror.
I had a simple makeup bag in my purse, so I gave myself a light makeup look.
On the way to the civil affairs bureau, Jason's eagerness was obvious.
He hummed a tune while driving.
Just as we arrived at the entrance of the marriage registration office.
I suddenly remembered something.
I rummaged through my bag and turned to look at Jason, "I didn't bring my ID."
Jason raised an eyebrow, parked the car, and naturally pulled out two IDs from his pocket, "I brought them."
He leaned over and kissed my cheek, his tone seeking credit, "I found them last night, afraid I'd forget this morning."
I couldn't help but smile, my eyes crinkling. Just as I was about to get out of the car, Jason suddenly stopped me, "Wait."
I turned around confused, "What's wrong? Did you forget something?"
Jason shook his head.
Because of nervousness, his hand holding the IDs had turned white at the knuckles.
His gaze locked tightly on me, his voice trembling uncontrollably, "Sue, have you really thought this through? Once we get the marriage certificate, you can't back out for the rest of your life. I don't do divorce, only death do us part. Do you really want to marry me?"