The Substitute Bride: Making Memories Of Us (Lois Stone)

Chapter 166: One Step Ahead Of Him 

Brian knew that Ayla only said half the truth.

Was she hiding something from him? Or maybe, she really didn't know who it was, so she didn't want to jump to any conclusions.

"Is that all?" he asked in a cold voice.

Ayla nodded.

"What else is there to say? What do you think happened?"

She knew that Brian might not believe her, but she really had no clue who followed her into the warehouse and knocked her unconscious.

Even if she had her suspicions, she still had no evidence to prove it.

Brian could tell that Ayla didn't want to say anything else, so he decided not to probe further.

Besides, she could do what she wanted.

Even if he wanted to interfere, she probably wouldn't let him.

"Fine.Just get some rest!"

When Brian was about to leave the ward, Ayla stopped her. Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

"Mr.Clark, how's the fashion show?"

He stopped in his tracks, and said, "How are you still in the mood to care about the event?"

Based on the tone of his voice, he was definitely unhappy about it, possibly angry.

"I..."

If Ayla hadn't gone to find the missing dress because she cared so much about the fashion show, this might not have happened.

"Well, the fashion show is over.You don't have to think about it anymore.Just focus on your recovery! Let's talk about it when you're feeling better."

With that, Brian left Ayla alone in the ward.

She got up, turned her gaze towards the window and then glanced at the time.It was already afternoon.

The fashion show was over.

She recalled everything that happened in the dressing room.

The dress did go missing.

Perhaps someone did it on purpose because she had already double-checked everything in the morning.

But after she left the room for a while, one of the dresses went missing.

This only proved her suspicion that someone had deliberately done this to assault her.

Ayla didn't want to randomly draw out scenarios.

There were a lot of people who could've entered the backstage dressing room.

She couldn't suspect everyone, could she?

‘Maybe it's Linda?’ she wondered.

‘But did she really have a motive to do it? She wouldn't benefit anything from it if she screwed up the fashion show.

Instead of going back to the company, Brian went to the department store Prario.

Anna and Hank were still waiting there, but the other staff had already left.

"How's it going? Have you checked what I asked you to?"

As he stood at the door of the underground warehouse, Brian looked at the mess.

Someone had deliberately messed things up.

Ayla wasn't a fool.

Even if she was looking for the missing dress, there would be no need to remove all those clothes from their packing bags.

"Mr.Clark, we haven't found anything.The surveillance equipment had just gotten replaced a few days ago and it hasn't been properly installed, so it didn't record anything," said Hank.

In that case, it meant that nobody would be able to figure out the identity of the culprit.

Brian walked inside the warehouse, picking up the clothes on the floor one by one.

"I see.If you haven't found anything, then you can go.Don't let the public know about this."

"Understood, Mr.Clark."

Hank nodded in response.

Anna walked to Brian's side, and said, "Brian, you have a suspect in mind, don't you?"

Although he wasn't saying anything, he had some suspicions of his own.He glanced at her.

"You heard me, right? Just go back first.And don't forget to ask someone to fix the surveillance equipment here.I don't want a similar incident to happen again."

After saying that, Brian walked away.

He went back to the hospital and found Aylain a trance.He could tell that she was contemplating.

The fashion show went on as planned, albeit with some minor alterations to the program, but she wasn't able to attend it.

On top of it all, she never found the missing dress.

It was only natural for her to have doubts.

However, there were only a limited number of things that she was able to pay attention to.

Before Brian could cut off her "wings" to stop her from flying away, someone did it before him.

Ayla heard a knock on the door.

"Mr.Clark," she greeted.

"Are you here for me?"

Raising his eyebrow, Brian thought that he wasn't the one she was waiting for.

"I want to leave the hospital." Ayla had asked the doctor to discharge her already.

She didn't suffer any major injuries, so there was no need to stay here any longer.

Besides, she had a mountain of work to finish.

Staying here would only delay her work.Walking to the bedside and glancing at the bandages on her forehead, Brian asked, "Do you really want to go back to work with a gauze on your forehead?"

"But I don't want to stay here!" She displayed her stubbornness again.

"I won't allow you to go back to the company like this.It will affect the others’ productivity."

Brian looked at her and thought, 'Can't she just get some rest for a day?’

Ayla looked back at him.

"Can I at least go back to the apartment?"

Staying at the hospital wasn't something she wanted.

Being here would only make her feel weak.

In the end, Brian agreed to her request.If he didn't agree, Ayla would probably leave by herself in secret.

At least she was willing to ask for his permission this time.

Not long after, he drove her back to the apartment.

"Stay at home and rest.You should keep in mind the consequences of sneaking out," Brian warned.

Ayla actually wanted to go back to Prario's warehouse to have a look.

She didn't want to do anything other than that, but Brian could see right through her plans.

"Answer me! Why aren't you saying anything?"

Brian held her chin, trying to make her speak, but Ayla didn't seem to be listening.She probably wouldn't listen if he wasn't going to get angry.

"I got it," she replied.

She then shook off his hand from her chin.She had no choice but to reluctantly agree to his request.

"Good.Don't forget your promise!" Brian remarked.

He wanted to stop her from doing what she might be planning.

Her head was still injured.

What on earth was she planning to do? After watching him leave, Ayla breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the sofa.She had heard what Brian said to the servant in the living room before he left.

Going out today might be too difficult for her.

Once he was done dealing with Ayla, Brian went back to the company.

But instead of going to his office, he visited the Design Department.

And as expected, this department was the busiest of all.

Even Anna was there to help out.

When he appeared, Linda quickly approached him.

"Mr.Clark, today's event was incredibly important.It's a pity that you missed it."

"Is that so? Linda, you seem quite delighted.Don't you think that something's wrong since Miss Woodsen isn't here today?"

Brian went to the sofa and sat down.His sharp gaze swept across everyone in the department.His words silenced everyone.

Nobody dared to utter a word.

"Do you have any idea where she might be?" Brian said to Linda.

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

"Mr.Clark, why are you looking at me like that? I was busy backstage.I didn't see Miss Woodsen at all."

Brian waved his hand in dismissal.

"I see.Anyway, that's all I wanted to ask.You can carry on with your work now.Anna, come to my office."