The Mistakes We Made Together

Chapter 10: Drunken

Emma stayed.

Benjamin had sent Sophia a message explaining the situation on her behalf, making up some random excuse. When he tossed her phone back to her, she didn't look at it, so she had no idea what excuse he had used.

Emma's mind was in a mess. She lifted her hand to rub her hair, stood up from the edge of the bed, and took off her coat, hanging it in the wardrobe behind the bedroom door.

She had spent too long in the private dining room that evening, and her coat smelled of alcohol, a scent she didn't like.

After hanging up the coat, she walked back to the ottoman at the foot of the bed, moved the two pillows aside, and sat down.

The sound of running water from the bathroom was clear. A few minutes earlier, Benjamin had called the hotel staff and asked them to send up two new bathrobes.

He had taken one with him into the bathroom; the other, clearly a women's size, was still lying on the bed behind her.

She had stayed because she was genuinely worried about Benjamin. He hadn't called any of his assistants or the hotel staff. If something happened, there would be no one around to help him.

News of people choking on water or falling to their deaths in the bathroom after drinking wasn't unheard of.

Listening to the running water, she picked up her phone beside her, opened the messaging app, and swiped through the screen a few times. Instead of opening the chat with Sophia, she opened the work group.

She scrolled through the group messages from top to bottom.

There was nothing useful. She had just transferred to FSAN and wasn't familiar with the business at all. Besides, because she was angry with Benjamin, they hadn't spoken in days. Benjamin had ignored her and hadn't assigned her any work either.

The running water in the bathroom stopped.

She heard Benjamin's voice, muffled by the steam and slightly hoarse, coming from inside the bathroom. “Can you bring me my clothes?”

Emma put down her phone. Her voice wasn't loud, but loud enough for him to hear. “Didn't you take them in with you?”

She was referring to the bathrobe he had brought into the bathroom.

“Underwear,” he said.

Emma glanced toward the bed and realized there was indeed a set of men's underwear lying next to the women's bathrobe, she just hadn't noticed it earlier.

Benjamin's voice sounded steady, not like someone who was drunk.

She was in a bad mood too, her tone flat. “I'm not bringing it. Come out and get it yourself.”

There was silence in the bathroom for a few seconds. She could almost imagine the man inside letting out a careless laugh. After a moment, there was a swish, and the bathroom door was pulled open. Benjamin stepped out.

A black bathrobe hung loosely on his body, the front half-open and the belt tied in a sloppy knot. He was rubbing a towel over his wet hair with his right hand. After a few steps, he sat down on the edge of the bed, completely unconcerned about his disheveled clothes.

Emma watched him.

Water dripped from the ends of Benjamin's hair. He swiped his phone screen a few times with his left hand, replying to messages one-handed. Then, he seemed to notice her gaze.

Without looking up, his voice, still warm from the steam, was deep and hoarse, directed at her. “What are you looking at? Go take a shower.”

Emma frowned slightly, her right hand tightening slightly where it rested on the ottoman.

Benjamin tossed the towel onto the bedside table and looked up at her. “Aren't you going to shower before bed?”

Emma's frown deepened.

Benjamin seemed refined and noble on the surface, but he was actually far from it. She had no idea what he meant by “bed.”

She put down her phone and stood up, her expression as calm as a still lake. “I'll sleep outside later.”

A drop of water from Benjamin's wet hair fell onto his forehead. His dark eyes fixed on her. After a moment, he let out a faint laugh. “Where did you think I was letting you sleep?”

Emma said nothing. After a moment, she let out a slow breath and turned toward the bathroom.

Benjamin called out to her from behind. She frowned and turned back. The man picked up the bathrobe from the bed and tossed it to her. “Aren't you going to take your clothes?”

Hot water poured down from above, streaming over her body from her hair to her toes. The unignorable warmth washed away the messy thoughts in her mind.

The bathroom's soundproofing was mediocre. She could hear Benjamin moving around outside, and it seemed he had answered a call, speaking to someone on the other end.

The room was too quiet. Mixed with the sound of running water, Benjamin's voice drifted into her ears in fragments.

She thought back to a time long ago in New York, when they had been in the bathroom together like this.

It was her freshman year of college. She had gone to New York with Sophia to visit Benjamin.

Sophia had been there to attend an academic seminar at a university. For most of the two weeks, she had meetings and lectures during the day.

Benjamin had been busy too, so he had asked Noah to show her around.

Noah had dutifully taken her to all the must-see attractions and treated her to meals. She hadn't been particularly interested, but she had pretended to be happy at every place they visited.

But later… she had ended up sleeping at Benjamin's place.

Sophia had gone to a nearby city with the seminar group for a week. The place they were staying was right next to Benjamin's apartment, and Noah lived just downstairs from him.

It was the third day after Sophia had left. She and Benjamin were huddled together in the small glass shower cubicle. Her phone, left on the bath mat outside, vibrated, she could see Sophia's name on the caller ID. At the same time, the doorbell rang from the living room outside, followed by Noah's faint voice calling out.

She had hooked her arms around Benjamin's neck, her voice hoarse with panic and helplessness. “Brother.”

Benjamin had wiped the water from her face and said only, “Don't worry about them.”

The bathroom had been filled with steam, the air thick and humid.

---

“Not done yet?” Benjamin knocked on the bathroom door.

Emma snapped back to reality, turning off the shower. Her voice was thick from not speaking for a long time. “Almost.”

She had indeed spent too long in the bathroom, lost in thought.

She grabbed a towel from the rack and dried herself, then put on the bathrobe. Wrapping another towel around her wet hair, she stepped out of the bathroom.

There was no hair dryer in the bathroom. She pressed the towel to her head and walked out, only to see Benjamin sitting on the ottoman. Hearing her approach, he briefly lifted his eyes from his phone to look at her.

Both of them were dressed thinly. Emma instinctively lifted her hand to cover her chest, pointing behind her with her right hand. “There's no hair dryer in the bathroom.”

Benjamin didn't seem to want his gaze to linger on her for long. He nodded toward the bedside table, looking back at his phone. “First drawer.”

Emma walked over and took out the hair dryer.

A few minutes later, after drying her hair, she stepped out of the bathroom again. Benjamin was still sitting on the ottoman.

Hours had passed since they had left the dinner party, and most of his intoxication had worn off.

Emma didn't speak to him again. She put the hair dryer back on the bedside table, picked up her phone, and, holding the clothes she had changed out of in her other arm, walked toward the bedroom door.

As she passed the ottoman, someone reached out and grabbed her wrist. His palm was hot, burning her skin.

She stopped and turned her head, frowning instinctively.

Benjamin let go of her hand. His tone was flat, with little emotion, a statement rather than a question. “Sleep in the bed.”

Emma opened her mouth to refuse, but he spoke again. “I'll sleep outside.”

“No,” Emma pulled her hand free gently, stepping back half a step. Her face was calm, but there was a helpless furrow between her brows. “You're not feeling well. You sleep in the bed.”

Benjamin laughed. His right hand hung by his side, no longer reaching for her. He stared at her, his voice somewhere between teasing and mocking. “Either sleep in the bed with me, or you sleep there alone. Your choice.”

Emma's eyes flickered. She looked down at the floor, then blinked and turned to walk out of the room.

Benjamin stood up behind her, taking two steps forward and grabbing her arm to pull her back. “You think I'm joking?”

He was still unsteady on his feet. He pulled her close, his strength so great that he almost dragged her into his arms.

Emma pressed her hand against his chest. His scent filled her nose. She swallowed, looking up at him, unable to hold back. “You've been drinking. Don't sleep on the sofa.”

Benjamin leaned sideways against a nearby table, a smile playing on his lips, self-deprecating and reckless. “Then sleep with me?”

The room was quiet, so quiet that they could hear the ticking of the clock on the wall.

Their eyes met. Benjamin's hand, wrapped around her wrist, tightened. Years of repressed emotions, stirred up by the alcohol, were on the verge of breaking.

Yet Emma looked at him with clear, cold eyes, no desire, no affection, nothing.

Those eyes were so cold.

Suddenly, he felt bored.

Over the past two years, he had called her from abroad, bought her plane tickets to come see him. When she said she liked him, he had kissed her. When she said she didn't want to go public, he had accommodated her…

He stared at her. “Emma, just because I'm your 'brother,' do I have to always give in to you?”

His gaze made her chest feel tight and sore. Her fingers tightened instinctively, as if pricked by a needle. Then she lowered her eyes, her voice barely a whisper. “No.”

“This is so pointless,” Benjamin scoffed. He hooked her arm, pulling her slightly toward the door, brushing past her shoulder. Turning toward the bed, his tone was now completely flat. “Sleep wherever you want.”

Emma watched his back. After a moment, she bent down to pick up her phone, which had fallen to the floor. “I'll be outside. Call me if you don't feel well.”

Benjamin didn't answer, only let out a soft, cold laugh.

The next morning, Benjamin didn't go to the company. He woke up at the hotel, got dressed, and drove straight back to the Brown house with her.

David White had come over the night before to give Sophia tickets to the theater. That morning, Sophia had called him to ask if he had any extra tickets, another friend of hers wanted to go too.

It had just been a casual question, but David had gone out of his way to stop by on his way to the company to drop off the tickets.

When Emma walked into the villa behind Benjamin, David was sitting in the dining room chatting with Sophia.

Seeing the two of them come in, Sophia was surprised. “Didn't you go to the company today?”

Before Emma could answer, she heard Benjamin say, “I drank too much at the business dinner last night. There are no meetings this morning, but I'll go in later.”

Sophia looked at his face and sighed, giving a reminder. “Take care of yourself.”

Then she turned to Emma. “Why did you come back with your brother?”

That morning, when Emma had woken up, she had checked the message Benjamin had sent to Sophia on her behalf the night before. It said she had gone to see a friend, they had chatted late, and she had stayed over at her friend's place.

She walked toward the dining room. “I heard my brother had drunk too much, so I stopped by the hotel this morning to check on him.”

Sophia nodded, then added, “You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? I'll heat something up for you. Come eat.”

With that, she stood up and walked toward the kitchen.

Emma walked over, pulled out a chair, and sat down at the dining table. A moment later, there was a movement beside her, Benjamin had sat down too.

Before their engagement, David hadn't been close to either Emma or Benjamin.

Benjamin had spent years abroad and had little contact or cooperation with domestic companies.

David looked at Benjamin's face. Perhaps it was because of the drinking the night before, but he couldn't help but feel that the man's mood seemed unusually low.

Benjamin's right hand rested on the table, twisting a silver lighter between his fingers. His face was expressionless, his aura cold and stern.

David looked away. He spoke first, addressing Emma. “Do you have time next weekend? We need to go look at the engagement ring designs.”

Both families wanted to finalize things soon. They had made an appointment to have custom engagement rings made. From selecting the designs to the handcrafting, it would take at least several months.

Emma thought about her schedule and replied steadily. “I think so.”

David said, “Then I'll contact you in advance and come pick you up.”

Emma thought for a moment and nodded. “Okay.”

She and Benjamin could never be together, they should have ended things long ago. Her left hand unconsciously wrapped around her right wrist, pinching it lightly. Only then did she remember that the watch she had worn for so long had been returned to Benjamin a few days earlier.