Paper Rings (English)

Chapter 14

“You’re drunk already. Let’s call it a night.” 

Sander rose from his seat and picked up the emptied wine bottle from the table. He was about to take a step toward the door when a hand grabbed the tip of his sleeve. He couldn’t help but heave a sigh before turning to look at Primrose.

She was smiling broadly, beaming at him as if she’d cling to him even if he tried to sneak away from her. Both her cheeks were flushed, and she was unable to keep her stance straight. 

“Go to sleep, Lady. We have a long flight tomorrow.”

“Where are you going? Let’s order one more bottle. Hmm?” The red-haired lady pouted her lips and blinked her eyes to plead with him. Her gaze seemed glossy, but it twinkled a hint of mischief. “Pretty please, Mr. Waddles?” 

On a typical day, he’d be pissed at anyone calling him by his childhood name. However, given how rough this day was for the new bride, the man intended to be as lenient as he could. Seeing that the woman was too drunk to converse with him properly, he placed the bottle back on the tabletop. 

“Enough of that,” he said dejectedly. 

Without a word next, he scooped Primrose up to his arms. He didn’t have a hard time lifting her because she was as light as a piece of feather. Although she couldn’t be categorized as a small lady, he was much taller compared to her. 

He was taking her to the bed to tuck her in when she suddenly threw her arms around him. Her intertwined fingers were pressing on his nape as she inclined her face closer to his. The Mortel Malls President almost lost his balance due to her sudden movements. 

Although he was a bit tipsy himself, it was a relief his reflexes were fast enough to regain his composure. When he heard amused giggles from the lady, Sander darted a stern look at her.  

“You,” she tapped a finger on his high cheekbone. “You’re strangely nice. Has anybody told you that?” 

His brows furrowed with her comment. “Strangely nice? I can’t tell if that’s a compliment or not.” 

“I mean, you’re not the kind of person I want to punch in the face.” Her grin widened, followed by a burst of drunk laughter. “And you know I like punching people.”

He paused, examining her softened visage. Their faces were an inch away from each other, and he could smell the reak of wine from her breath. 

“I’ve been called all worst things you can ever imagine,” his voice contained a trace of wonder. Unknowingly, a smile built up his lips. “Yours so far is the weirdest of them all.” 

“Oh, you smiled.” She cupped her hands firmly to his cheeks. “That’s 11 out of 10. Do it more often.”

He snorted, snapping out of his bewilderment over her excessive compliments. Instead of responding, he continued to walk and was able to place her down the bed. Luckily, she seemed out of energy the moment her head hit the pillow, so there wasn’t much of an objection when he tucked her under the covers. 

“I don’t want to sleep,” she groaned in a low voice amid fighting her heavy eyelids. “Let’s order more drinks. Hm? Come on!” 

He clamped his lips together and shook his head in resignation. Primrose continued blabbering faint words, but he decided to turn his attention back to cleaning the coffee table. He was in the middle of placing the wine glasses back to the room service food cart when he heard her jolting up from sleep. 

“Go back to sleep—” his words halted after turning his head to look at his wife. “What the hell are you doing?” 

“It’s hot. Why is it so hot in here?” The red-haired woman continued to unbutton her pajama top. It wasn’t long enough until her undergarments were exposed in the open. “I’m sweating.”

Sander averted his gaze and ran a hand through his jaw. His thoughts were in a trance for a second. Amid his apparent panic, the first thing he could think of to solve this predicament was his assistant, Elisha. He immediately pulled the phone out of his pocket and started to dial her number. 

“Hey,” a chilling voice from his back stopped his fingers from pressing the call button. His body froze in place. All he could do was swallow hard when he felt her hand grabbing his shirt from behind. “What are you doing, Waddles?” 

He didn’t want to turn, but he had to. As expected, his eyes were welcomed with the sight of Primrose, now only adorning undergarments and grinning at him mischievously with droopy eyelids. 

“Is this what you meant by being party animal?” he whispered to himself while palming his face. “You’re not touching any alcohol when we fly to New Caledonia. Mark my words.” 

His hand immediately reached for a blanket and wrapped it like a burrito around the exposed body of his wife. He was able to knot the cloth tightly despite the resistance of the strong lady. 

“It’s hot!” 

“No,” he frowned and maintained his grip on the blanket to prevent Primrose from breaking free. “Stay still, or you’ll regret it.” 

Her eyes squinted, along with a mysterious smirk. “Oh? I’ll regret it?” She leaned closer while probing intense eye contact. “How?’

“Quit it, Primrose Dia.” The man huffed and cleared his throat. He pressed a finger to her forehead to keep a safe distance from her. 

Well, he wasn’t numb to the temptation standing before him. After all, he was a man who would always get what he wanted. Plus the fact that he was quite intoxicated too. He was suddenly regretting being convinced to drink tonight. 

However, he’d like to uphold their agreement. After getting in trouble with his drinking habits before, this was quite an improvement on his part. 

“Hello, sir? Are you there?” The thorn in his throat was washed away upon hearing Elisha’s voice from the phone. “Sir?”

“Elisha, can you come back here to the hotel?” 

“Elisha?” the lady wrapped in a blanket tilted her head. “Elisha!” 

“Sure, sir. But what’s happening? Is that your wife?” 

“Y-yes,” he stuttered in embarrassment. “Just come here, and I’ll explain in detail. I badly need your help right now.”

It took almost an hour before his assistant arrived. He had to stay in that position while his wife continued with her flirty drunk antics. When Elisha opened the door, it was obvious that the tiny lady was dumbfounded by the scene she saw. He explained everything, but her expression was far from convinced, especially when she peeked underneath the blanket. 

“Are you sure that this is an emergency situation, sir?” Elisha had a wrinkled brow as her gaze shifted from her boss to the drunk lady. “Am I not interrupting something important here?”

“No,” Sander firmly confirmed. “Now, hold this beast of a flirt before she starts acting up again.” 

“Elisha, you’re here,” Primrose welcomed his assistant with a hug when they switched places. “Did you bring some wine? Are you going to drink with mean instead of that meanie?”

Elisha and Sander exchanged knowing looks. The man shook his head again and placed a palm to his nape. 

“I’m sorry for the sudden call, Elisha. I just don’t know who to call to handle her.”

“Oh, no worries.” His assistant’s eyebrows wiggled, and her lips clamped together as if swallowing laughter. She patted Primrose’s back as the drunken lady continued to hug her. 

“Are you laughing?” 

“Ah, no, sir.” She straightened her back with his query, shaking off any signs of earlier amusement on her face. “I’ll help her wash and get changed before I put her to bed.” 

“Meanie,” his wife scowled at him and caressed Elisha’s hair. “Stop scolding Elisha.”

“Fine, do your thing.” 

He was about to walk to the door with hands on pockets when he spotted a piece of paper placed on the service tray. He didn’t notice it earlier because he was preoccupied with Primrose. After picking it up and reading the note, his visage slowly turned grim. He reached for the wine bottle and inhaled its familiar scent.

“Elisha, one second,” he turned to look at her. “Do you know where my mother went after we left the wedding reception?” 

“Home, sir. But she asked me to bring some wine along with a note.” Elisha’s gaze shifted to the paper in his hand. “Yes, that’s from your mother.” 

“I see,” he said in a bitter tone. “I’ll be back in an hour or two.”

“Should I call a driver for you, sir?” 

“No, I can manage.” His grip on the wine bottle tightened. “I’ll have the security team tail me from behind. Don’t worry.” 

“But sir, you’ve been drinking—” 

He didn’t wait to finish her objection. His quick steps brought him to his car in no time with the wine bottle that his mother gifted to him and his wife. With anger escalating to his head, he wanted to throw it to the ground. But doing that wouldn’t solve his dilemma. 

His thoughts were only interrupted by a knock. It was one of his security personnel, so he lowered his car window. 

“I’m going to my parent’s house. Have one team tail me behind.” 

“Sir—” 

“I know. I had a bit of wine, but I can manage,” Sander gritted his teeth upon realizing that fact. He drank it too! “I’ll drive carefully. Just follow closely behind.” 

The effects of the wine didn’t get into him that much. It was probably because Primrose was acting too strange. He couldn’t keep his guard down, which resulted in him not drinking that much. It was a good thing. If he did, who knew what he could’ve done.

Not long after, he was marching inside their Victorian-themed home. The helpers were surprised to see him that late in the evening but managed to greet him hurriedly. He only nodded his head as a response. 

“Sander, what brings you here?” Patricia exclaimed. The smile on her face faded with the sight of the wine bottle in his hand. “Why are you dragging along some liquor in the middle of the night? Where’s your wife?” 

“Where’s Ma?” He didn’t bother to answer her rapid queries. 

“In the study—” 

His impatience brought him to the doorsteps of his mother’s study. He pushed it open without even knocking and found Sandra reading a book on her office desk.

“Sander,” she stood up, obviously surprised by his sudden appearance. “What brought you here? It’s your wedding night. Don't tell me that you left your new bride alone?” 

To answer her question, he slammed the empty bottle of wine on the floor. The sound of breaking glass echoed in the four corners of the room. 

“I can’t believe you did this again,” he clenched his jaw. “Is Cecil not enough? You had to do this to Primrose too?”