Chapter 197 - Ch. 197 What Is She To You?
Roxanne chuckled as she saw Declan being motionless in front of his best friend. "Now I know where you got that shamelessness from. You seem to have learned a lot from your friend."
Axelard and Declan are both shameless men.
"Ouch! That hurts my feelings. Declan was more shameless than me. Believe me." denied Axelard in a convincing tone.
Roxanne sat on the sofa across Axelard casually, then glanced at her lover. "Yeah, I think he is more shameless than you."
Axelard grinned widely at this.
"The saying that a disciple is much better than his mentor is true," added Roxanne made Axel's wide grin disappear as soon as it came.
"I'm not his mentor."
"You're my mentor, alright." continued Declan while sitting next to his wife, embracing the girl's waist.
Roxanne takes a corkscrew to open a bottle of wine, but Declan took it. "Let me do it."
After that, Declan poured it into each wine glasses and handed it to Roxanne and his friend.
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!" Declan and Axelard said in unison as they clinked their three wine glasses before taking a sip.
"Hmm… it tastes terrific," stated Roxanne with satisfaction. "By the way, how did you guys become friends? I can understand you guys being close friends. You guys are both shameless and stubborn. But what about her?"
Roxanne couldn't believe Declan wants to be friends with a girl who always hides her true feelings behind her facade.
Declan and Axel glanced at Louisa, who was still sleeping comfortably on Axel's lap.
"In that case, you should ask him. He's the one who introduced me to Louisa."
"Why? She's sweet." Axel replied with an amused smile.
Sweet, my ass! "Why do you think so?"
"No reason. I just thought she's sweet. Besides, if Declan didn't like her either, he wouldn't have invited her here."
Hearing the word 'like' from Axelard, Roxanne glanced at Declan with accusing eyes.
"As a friend." that's the answer Declan gave.
"So you hate me liking a boy as my friend, but you have a female friend that you like. You're so unfair." Roxanne folded her arms across her chest.
"It's not that kind of like. If it weren't for Axel loved her so much, I wouldn't think of her as my sister either."
Sister? Instantly Roxanne thought of Leticia, who was Declan's younger sister.
So… Declan only thinks of Louisa as a sister?
"You have no reason to be jealous of her."
Roxanne snorted lightly and took another sip of her wine while glancing at Axel. "You like her?"
Axelard chuckled at the surprised tone in Roxanne's voice and casually gulped down his drink.
Roxanne noticed that it was not the first glass that Axelard drank, but the third glass! She looked at Axel's face with a probing look for signs of drunkenness, but she couldn't find it.
How high is this person's alcohol tolerance?
Roxanne glanced at her glass and Declan's. Their drinks were still half because they were both sipping slowly to enjoy the bitter-sweet taste. But Axelard… the man promptly gulped it down and refilled it with the same amount.
"You really can drink." blurted Roxanne unconsciously.
"He's a monster," added Declan made Axel frowned in disagreeing.
"Are you really my friend?"
Ignoring his best friend's sulking, Declan spoke to his wife. "Now you know why I worry about my wine collection."
Roxanne giggled lightly while teasing him, "How about you? Do you have a high enough tolerance?"
"Do you want to know?"
"Of course. I want to see if I can trick you or not."
Declan smirked at that and instantly gulped down his red wine, making Axel almost choke on his drink.
"And for your information, I have a very low tolerance for alcohol. So tonight, it looks like you'll be sleeping here."
Ha? What kind of conclusion is that? "Why?"
"Because I can't take you home."
"What?" Roxanne immediately grabbed Declan's glass and pushed the wine bottle away from the man as if she forbade Declan to drink more than this.
"Too late, darling. My head feels tipsy now." Declan shook his head like he was drunk and leaned his head on Roxy's shoulder. "I can't see clearly."
Roxanne was about to dodge, but her arms were tightly hugged by Declan's strong hands, making her unable to escape.
"You… You tricked me!"
Declan smiled triumphantly and closed his eyes as if he was pretending to be asleep. Then he plopped down on his wife's thighs and imitated Louisa sleeping on someone's lap.
The cunning shameless man lay sideways, facing Roxanne's slender belly and hugging the girl's waist.
Roxanne wanted to scream because the man shamelessly acted like a spoiled child in front of their guest.
Roxanne didn't know what she could do, and when she noticed the amused smile on Axelard's handsome face, she wanted so badly to dig a grave to bury Declan deep down to the earth.
"Told you. He's more shameless than me." Axel said as he drank back the wine that… who knows for how many times.
Roxanne tried to shake Declan's shoulders and wake him up, but apparently, Declan has fallen asleep!!
"Unbelievable. How could he get drunk just because of one glass of wine? How low is his tolerance?"
Axel chuckled at Roxanne's fearless scolding of Declan as if Declan was a child in front of her.
"How about you, miss?"
"How about me what?" she failed to hide her irritation when she answered Axel's question. Nevertheless, she didn't regret it.
"When you take a sip of your wine, you do it without hesitation as if you're not afraid of getting drunk. It seems that you know your limits very well."
"I do know my limit, but I won't get drunk even if I finish a bottle of wine with a twenty percent alcohol content like this."
"You weren't drunk after you finished it? That means your tolerance is quite high."
"No. I'm just exaggerating. Of course, I'll be drunk, but at least I won't faint."
Axelard chuckled at that. "You are completely different than what I imagined."
"..." Roxanne fell silent hearing that. She felt very displeased to hear such a sentence.
If one day this sentence comes from Declan's mouth… will her heart be strong enough to accept it?
"Looks like it's time for us to go home. It's late after all." Axelard raised Louisa's head carefully, making Roxanne feel surprised.
The man even carried Louisa attentively as if the girl was his most beloved lover.
"When Declan said you loved her so much, I didn't believe it. But it seems that you do love her… but that's not a man's affection for his lover."
Axelard glanced at Roxanne with an interesting look and wore a faint smile.
"She is a close friend."
"But your affectionate for her is more than a friend; neither is a lover. What is she to you?"
"Why do you feel curious?"
"Because I don't understand why there is someone who still loves her even though she has an ugly heart. Did you know she's two-faced? She is sweet in front of you, but she acts like someone who is too obsessive about something that doesn't belong to her when you are not around."
Isn't it just like her? Would Declan like her when he knew her evil side?
"Did she say that Declan was hers?"
"Hmph! Of course not. I was the one who said Declan was mine."
No one knew a satisfied smile graced Declan's face who was pretending to be asleep.
"As long as Declan wants me by his side, I won't go."
"Why do I get the impression you feel sure Declan wouldn't like you anymore?"
"..." Roxanne couldn't answer.
"Miss Zouch. I don't know what you're struggling with right now, but no one is perfect in this world. If Declan can't love you completely, then he's not the one for you."
"But... Sometimes, you can't overlook something ugly."
"Let me tell you a secret. Before he met you, he and I protect and dote on Louisa. Their bond is as strong as mine, but just now, he overlooked their friendship to defend you. He loves you, Miss Zouch. I bet he can't live without you now."
"..." She wanted to believe it, but it's too scary to face the future.
"Believe in him because I've never wanted to have a jerk as friends. I'm very picky in choosing friends. Besides, you can tell me if he hurts you. I will throw him in the ocean for you."
Roxanne looked at Axel with a look of admiration. "That's… the nicest thing I've heard since…" since the plane crash.
It kind of brought light into her endless sorrowful memory. It was as if she could believe that Declan would never leave her even if he knows the truth.
"Thank you for the kind words. But, what about her?" If Axelard is picky about making friends, why would he be willing to be friends with a two-faced girl like Louisa?
The man even had time to warn her about Louisa's arrival. Doesn't that mean that Axel already knows what Louisa's true character is like?
"Would you believe if I say she's a distant family?"
"I admit, it's hard to believe."
"Then, let's just say she's my cousin."
"You can't possibly love all your distant cousins in this world."
"You got the point. But she meets me in this lifetime. I can't simply ignore a family member."
"You're a weird guy."
"I take that as a compliment."
"…" No, it's not.
"Well, good night, miss, and enjoy your stay with him."
Roxanne tried to let go of Declan's arms around her waist. "Wait. Let me help you open the door."
Once managed to escape from Declan's arms, Roxanne immediately walked towards the exit. Strangely… she couldn't find anyone there.
How did Axelard open the door while carrying Louisa? Plus, she didn't hear the sound of the door opening or closing.
Still curious, Roxanne opened the door to make sure Axelard had walked out, but… she saw no one.
So weird…