Chapter 432: Don’t Overthink, Drink

He tried to force himself not to think about Elsa, to think more about Faye Fisher’s good qualities.

But Faye felt awkward, too.

Brandon Jacobs felt too unfamiliar. His body was stiff as he held her. She didn’t even need to see his face to sense his emotional state, and she couldn’t bring herself to feel any passion.

Remembering the happiness, the thrill, the uncontrollable racing of her heart whenever Wyatt Wynn held her, Faye Fisher now felt like a block of wood.

Wyatt Wynn.

’I miss him so much.’

’I haven’t seen him since I got back from Seacliff. I haven’t even heard his name. I wonder how he’s doing. What did our time in Seacliff mean to him? Has he really forgotten it all, as if nothing ever happened?’

Lost in their own thoughts, the two of them held each other for two or three minutes without taking the next step.

Brandon Jacobs gently let her go.

"Let’s have a drink. I’ll go get some wine. We have all night, we can take our time building the mood."

Faye Fisher didn’t object.

They both treated sleeping together like a mission that had to be completed—failure was not an option. If any difficulties arose, they just had to find a way to overcome them.

Although they were sharing a bed but dreaming different dreams, each lost in their own thoughts, they were surprisingly on the same page about this.

Soon, Brandon Jacobs returned with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

Faye Fisher was sitting on the sofa. They each poured half a glass and clinked them together.

’If you drink enough, there’s nothing you can’t forget, and no one you can’t mistake for someone else.’

’Tonight’s definitely the night.’

’Sometimes, alcohol is a wonderful thing.’

They both raised their glasses, and just as they were about to drink, Brandon Jacobs’s phone, which he had set aside, rang.

Normally, it would have been nothing, but he glanced at the screen and saw an unfamiliar number with no name saved. The area code was from Seacliff.

He immediately thought of Donna Thorne, the woman who was ostracized everywhere she went and looked so much like Elsa.

He had told her that if she came to Veridia and ran into trouble, she could call him. ’Could it be? Is she here?’

Brandon Jacobs frowned and set down his wine glass.

He answered the phone. As expected, it was Donna.

"Hello, is this Mr. Jacobs? It’s Donna Thorne. Do you remember me?"

Although they hadn’t spoken much, Brandon Jacobs recognized her voice and grunted a soft "Mm."

"What’s wrong?"

"I’m so sorry to bother you this late, but I’m really out of options..."

It was a bit noisy on her end, and Donna’s voice on the phone was full of worry.

"After you left that day, I thought it over carefully and decided to try my luck in Veridia. But I didn’t have much money, so to save a little, I booked a tour group to come here. I figured with food and lodging covered for a week, I could save a lot. But the tour group was a scam. I’m at the airport now. They disappeared the moment we landed, taking my suitcase with them. They vanished without a trace, and their phone number doesn’t work anymore."

"All my IDs and my phone charger are in my bag. I’ve tried everything, I even called the police, but my phone is about to die..."

Before she could finish explaining her situation, before Brandon Jacobs could even ask exactly where she was, the call disconnected.

"So where exactly are you? Donna? Hello?"

’Her phone must have died.’

Thinking of her all alone, with no ID and a dead phone, stranded at the airport, Brandon Jacobs lost all desire to drink.

"I’m sorry, Faye. A friend’s in trouble, I have to go out."

Faye Fisher wasn’t deaf.

Even if she hadn’t heard the details of the call, she knew Donna was a woman’s name.

Brandon Jacobs was once again running off to help someone else.

Though she never had any hope for this marriage from the start and knew Brandon Jacobs’s heart was never with her.

But just as she had mentally prepared herself to spend the rest of her life with him, something like this had to happen. Faye still felt a pang of bitterness.

However, she didn’t try to stop him.

Her upbringing had made her too proud. Faye Fisher never held onto a man, especially not one whose heart wasn’t with her.

"It’s okay. I understand. Go ahead."

Without another word of explanation, Brandon Jacobs grabbed his phone and rushed out the door.

Faye Fisher swirled the wine in her glass and drank the entire bottle by herself.

Then she stood on the balcony, gazing at the beautiful view from the villa, lost in thought.

’I don’t know what I’m like.’

She didn’t lack food, drink, or clothing. On the contrary, her daily necessities were all top-notch, her husband was incredibly handsome, and her in-laws were exceptionally good to her.

But every day, she felt an emptiness inside, a profound sense of loneliness.

Now she knew what she was like. She was like a sleek, glossy bird kept in a gilded cage. Every day, after eating her fill, she would just wait for people to come and admire her. And after they were done admiring her, she would just wait to die.

’So comfortable, yet so boring.’

’I really want to talk to someone. If I keep letting my mind wander like this, I’ll be up all night again.’

But Faye Fisher had no one to turn to.

After coming to Veridia, the only woman she knew was Cecelia Archer.

But she knew she and Cecelia were not the same kind of people.

Cecelia was beautiful, confident, and had a job. More importantly, she had a husband who doted on her and a lovely daughter.

’Their little family of three is so happy together every day. How could I burden her with my negativity?’

Zeke Walton.

She suddenly thought of Zeke Walton.

Even though he was a man, he was humorous, charming, and perceptive. Faye Fisher felt a sense of closeness with him. She also knew Zeke was a lonely person, so he would definitely have time for her.

Sure enough, when she called, Zeke was bored too.

Soon, the two were sitting in a private room at DL.

Holding wine glasses, and after a few drinks, Zeke Walton looked at the beautiful, melancholy Faye Fisher and couldn’t help but bring up the old topic.

"Is there really no chance for you and Jacobs? You never thought of even trying? You’re so beautiful, he’d have to be physically attracted to you, right? As far as I know, he doesn’t have any other women. Don’t tell me you’re the one who’s not willing? Who is this ex-boyfriend of yours anyway? You’re married, and you’re still hung up on him?"

Faye Fisher wasn’t stupid enough to tell him everything, especially not about her ex-boyfriend.

She pushed the blame onto Brandon Jacobs.

"Who says he doesn’t have someone on the side? All I can say is, this time he’s found his true love and has hidden it so well that even you don’t know. He just took her call right in front of me and is with her right now."

When Zeke Walton heard this, his anger flared.

’Is sincerity really that worthless these days? It’s one thing not to have a serious girlfriend or be married, but to be fucking messing around on the side when you’re officially in a relationship with someone? He despised people like that.’

"Since when did Jacobs become that kind of person? That bastard! If what you’re saying is true, I’m done being his friend! I can’t stand two-timing people! Hold on, don’t worry. I’m going to call him and ask. I’ve been meaning to ask him for a while now!"

As he spoke, he was about to call Brandon Jacobs, but Faye Fisher stopped him.

"Don’t. I knew from the beginning he had someone else in his heart. I married him willingly. He has no expectations of me. In fact, I was the one who was after certain things from him... I brought this on myself. He hasn’t wronged me."

Zeke Walton was speechless.

Then, Faye Fisher suddenly smiled.

"Do I seem crazy to you? Whatever. I’m not going to overthink it. One happy day at a time. At least I’ve made a good friend like you since coming to Veridia. Come on, let’s not talk about depressing things. Let’s drink."