"I'm sorry for crying again ... I promise, this is the last time. Thank you for staying with me for the past few days. I'm indebted to you forever," Marie whispered.

When Nicolae heard how Marie repeatedly mentioned the word debt, he felt uncomfortable. Nicolae did not like that Marie kept thinking she was now indebted to him. For him, what he did was just common decency.

However, he held back and said nothing. At present, he thought words were not important and are of no use. He only wanted Marie to be able to vent all remaining sadness so that the girl was relieved.

It was night when they both returned to the land. For a moment, Marie and Nicolae stood awkwardly. They had accomplished their goals today. Mrs. Lu had been cremated, and her ashes had been scattered into the sea. Now, they no longer had anything to do with each other.

"What can I do for you now?" Nicolae asked softly, staring at Marie, who was sitting pensively on the passenger seat of his car.

His voice was soothing, and his eyes gave Marie comfort. For a moment, she was dazed when their eyes met.

"I need a drink. Today was especially really hard," Marie said quietly.

"Fine. We can stop by the Sky Bar if you want," Nicolae said.

"Yes, please." Marie nodded.

He agreed with Marie. Today was a pretty hard day. He had not been in such a situation so intense for the past three days.

Because he was driving, Nicolae knew that he could not drink much. He had to make sure that the two of them could go home safely to their apartment on Robertson Road.

When they arrived at Sky Bar, Nicolae asked for a table hidden in a corner so they could get privacy. He actually didn't like women who drink a lot, but he knew tonight was an exception because Marie just lost her only parent.

Nicolae will allow the grieving girl to vent her sadness by drinking wine or c.o.c.ktails to calm down. After all, he would make sure Marie would stay safe.

"You don't want to drink?" Marie asked when she saw Nicolae only ordering juice.

Nicolae shook his head, "No, I'm driving."

"How about just one glass?" Marie offered. "It sucks drinking alone. If we stay here and drink for an hour or two, when we go home later, the effects of the alcohol you drink would wear off."

Nicolae wanted to refuse, but seeing tears dripped her cheeks, finally, he relented. The girl was right, he thought. Drinking one small glass now won't have much effect on him when they went home later. And if he was uncomfortable driving, he could always activate the driverless mode in his car.

"Come on, I promise I won't ask you to drink more... just one glass so we could toast," Marie said, squeezing Nicolae's hand with a pleading expression.

Apparently, Marie is the type of girl who talked a lot when she was drinking. While enjoying her drink, Marie told Nicolae about her childhood, about her lonely life, about how she had to take care of herself after her mother was hospitalized.

Nicolae only listened attentively. He already knew a little about Marie's past when he met Mrs. Lu in the hospital. At that time, he was impressed by this girl.

However, now when he heard in more detail how Marie had practically raised herself and took care of her mother while still be able to live well, Nicolae's admiration for her grew even more.

He even thought to himself, maybe if his broken heart had healed and he met Marie in a few dozens or a hundred years, he would be able to fall in love with this girl. Marie was a smart, charming, and very pleasant girl. However, unfortunately, the man knew himself well enough to know that at this moment, he still could not open his heart to new love.

Marie Lu was the right woman at the wrong time, Nicolae thought sadly.

Nicolae only hoped that after Marie annulled their marriage, the girl would be able to overcome her sadness and meet a nice man and fall in love with him. Then, they would get married for real and live happily ever after. After everything she had been through, this girl deserved happiness.

Nicolae looked at Marie's beautiful face with freckled cheeks and full red lips. The girl sitting beside him was stunning. He watched her attentively as Marie continued blabbering about her childhood and how much she loved the geese in the lotus pond in the hospital garden every time she and her mother sat there to enjoy the sunshine.

Marie's face flushed red because she drank too much. The sad expression had left the girl, and now a big smile was plastered on her face as she told Nicolae how she named all her household objects just so she didn't feel lonely.

"Well ... my washing machine's name is Lilith, my favorite chair to sit at is Edgar ... my very loyal computer is Petra ..."

Nicolae could only smile at the silly and absurd words that came out of the girl's lips. Her words became more absurd and funnier the more she talked. After Mary downed her fifth glass, Nicolae felt that it was time to go home.

"That's enough, okay..." the man said to Marie, who was about to raise her hand and sign the waiter to give her another drink.

Marie just blinked her eyes and looked at Nicolae with a funny expression.

"Hey, who are you? Gosh ... you're so handsome!" blurted the girl shamelessly. Her hands framed Nicolae's face, and she stared at the man with a look of admiration. "I like your eyes ... I also like your long hair. I like your smiling lips ..."

Nicolae was stunned to hear the girl's blunt words. Marie was drunk and no longer cared about what other people would think of her. The man slowly lowered Marie's hand from his face.

"Thank you. Now, let's go home .." He repeated his words and tapped Marie's shoulder several times. "You drank too much."