I Am Mr. Vance's Unattainable Love

Chapter 5 Drunk on Him Again

This body lived up to its name, Elara—fragile to the extreme, just as the original author had defined her, someone who could not handle alcohol.

Even a single sip would make her lose control. She would say whatever came to mind, completely unfiltered. On top of that, she was allergic.

In the original story, Selene had used this weakness to force her into confessing everything she had done, destroying her completely.

Once, because of this condition, someone had recklessly made me drink at a dinner. That same night, Lucian ran over a dozen red lights to get me to the hospital. His license was suspended on the spot.

The next day, I heard that the person responsible had been forced to drink three bottles of high-proof liquor. He almost didn't survive. If I hadn't woken up in time to stop Lucian, he would have kept going.

All these years, I had been careful to avoid alcohol. I never expected to be caught off guard by a piece of candy.

The world in front of me began to spin. Heat spread through my body. I bit down on my tongue to keep a shred of clarity.

My words came out disjointed and incoherent. "The candy… it tastes good. Really good. So good I want to go home and sleep. Thank you, Director Cole. Thank you, Miss Ardent. Thank you, Mr. Vance."

I rambled as I staggered toward the exit, clinging to what little awareness I had left.

Somehow, I made it back to my apartment. The moment I collapsed onto the bed, I let out a breath of relief.

Then the reaction hit. My teeth ached. My head spun. My breathing grew shallow. I curled up, tears streaming down my face, forcing myself to fall asleep. If I slept, it would stop hurting.

If I did not make it through this, then maybe this was how it was meant to end. I had always been alone in this world. Living like this was exhausting.

At some point, I drifted off. And once again, I dreamed of Lucian. He stood in my shabby apartment, out of place, his presence too refined for everything around him.

This time, I could speak. Taking advantage of the dream, I snapped at him.

"Lucian, you heartless bastard. You're trying to kill me. What kind of candy was that? It had alcohol in it. You know I can't drink. You'd be happy if I died, wouldn't you?"

When he saw me cry like that, the cold distance in his expression vanished. He stepped forward quickly and crouched in front of me, his long fingers brushing away my tears again and again.

But my tears would not stop. His gaze turned conflicted, almost helpless.

"Elara, do you think you're being strong right now? You were the one who left me. And now you're the one blaming me. You take every side of the argument for yourself."

I forced myself upright despite the pain and shoved his shoulder.

"Back then, you didn't say things like this. You said you'd never let me feel wronged. You said if I believed something, then it was right. You liar."

His expression softened. He pulled me into his arms. The faint scent I remembered was still there. The warmth was still the same. "I am a liar. I'm a bastard. I admit all of it. I'll give you everything. Just don't leave again."

"I don't want to leave either…" The words slipped out in a whisper.

His body stiffened. He started to ask something else.

But I did not answer. I just kept crying, as if all the years of buried pain had finally broken free.