Chapter 12: You Can Love Me Forever

Samantha parked her car in front of the club and went inside to look for Hannah. When she spotted her best friend at the bar, she sighed upon seeing her with her head resting on the counter — her best friend had already fallen asleep. Approaching her at the bar, she stroked her back, "Han... Hey Han..."

"Ugh..." Hannah groaned

"How much did she drink?" Samantha asked the bartender as she received Hannah's phone from him.

He pointed to some shot glasses and a few bottles of beer, making Samantha gape and shook her head. "Come on, it's time to go home, Han."

Hannah stirred and tried to open her eyes but only one eye managed, "S! Oooh it's you, it's you. Did you come to drink with me?" She turned to the bartender and waved her hand, "Hey! Two shots over here, please!"

"No, Han. That's enough. You can't drink anymore."

Hannah looked at Samantha lazily before she covered her face with both her hands and started to sob uncontrollably.

"Why are you crying? What's wrong? Hey... Look at me, tell me what's wrong." Samantha sat beside Hannah and patted her back. She had not seen her friend like this in a while and it worried her.

"Sam... H-H-Harry left this afternoon. He flew back to England."

"Ooh, I'm sorry Han… you must feel lonely." Samantha felt bad for Hannah. Her best friend had been unlucky with her past relationships. "It's okay... We'll get you another one with an accent."

Hannah continued to weep and so Samantha comforted her more. "Han, It's not like you didn't know that he was leaving right? You knew when you started seeing him that he's not staying for good. Did you fall for him despite that?"

Hannah nodded her head, she couldn't stop crying. Her face was stained with black streaks from her eyeliner.

Samantha sighed and patted Hannah's back, "You'll be fine, Han. I'm here... I won't leave you. You can love me forever and I won't leave you."

"That's not the only reason why I'm so heartbroken, Sam. Harry– he… Harry went back to England because he's getting married!"

Samantha's eyes grew wide upon hearing the news as her best friend wailed some more. "He was engaged, Sam! The bastard was engaged and he made me a mistress!"

Shocked by the revelation, Samantha slammed her fist on the bar, startling the man who was sitting next to her. "WHAT?! Son of a witch!!!"

"I know!!!" Hannah's voice became louder as she cried while Samantha's face reddened in anger.

Signaling the bartender, Samantha ordered, "One light beer, please." Receiving the bottle of beer from the bartender, she drank it in one go.

Hannah looked at her best friend who was now fuming and said, "Why did you drink? You're driving."

"It's just one drink, I'll be fine." Samantha wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and continued, "I can't believe he was that kind of man! Why did he flirt around when he was already engaged?"

"He told me it wasn't serious anyway... that we were just fooling around. He said he wanted to have a last 'hurrah' before he gets married."

"What an asshole! Don't worry, Han. I'll get back at him for you."

"What are you gonna do?" Hannah became curious. Samantha always had her back but Hannah could not guess what her best friend was going to do for her this time.

"I'll let you know when it's done. Just leave it to me. Come on, let's go home."

Samantha helped Hannah off the stool and they headed towards the door. As they were on their way to the exit, three men surrounded them and they all looked intoxicated.

"You look lonely, ladies. Why don't we accompany you for tonight?" said the guy in a yellow shirt.

Samantha looked up and saw their red eyes — she figured that they must also be high. "No, thanks," she said as she held Hannah's arm firmly to keep her from swaying.

"Huh. This chick's playing hard to get." The three men laughed and stepped closer.

Samantha with Hannah in tow stepped back in defense and warned in a fierce tone, "Don't come any closer or you'll regret it."

Upon hearing this, the men laughed even more. "What's a little girl like you gonna do? Why don't you come with us, we promise you that it'll be fun."

Samantha was disgusted by the men in front of them. She gave all of them a glare while Hannah just leaned onto her best friend for support.

"Look, boss... this one's feisty, she's glaring at you." A bald man said as he tried to touch Samantha's face but before he could even touch her, Samantha caught his hand and grabbed it firmly before she twisted it; bones cracked and a howling scream was heard.

"AAAAAH!!! My hand!"

The man in the yellow shirt was shocked, he didn't understand it at first, but when he saw one of his men on the ground in pain, clutching his wrist, he sprinted towards Samantha and raised his hand.

"You b*tch! What the hell did you–"

Samantha didn't let him finish as she had already raised her knee and kicked the man harshly in the stomach. The man was sent flying onto the tables, crashing bottles and glasses all over.

Hannah screamed when the third man suddenly grabbed her by the arm, catching Samantha's attention. Her brows knitted as she spat, "Let her go!"

The man had a creepy smile when he shoved Hannah to the ground, she winced in pain.

He dashed towards Samantha with his hand clenched in a fist, pulled back his arm to deliver a punch but Samantha clearly saw his movements, so before he could hit her, she had already swayed to the side and avoided it. The man didn't even know what happened when Samantha's knee landed a blow on his groin; a loud cry echoed in the bar.

"B*tch!!! You broke my hand!" cried the one with the broken wrist.

Samantha turned her head and was about to defend herself but the bald man who was running towards her was stopped with a kick from a man in a beige suit who had just arrived at the scene.

"How dare you hit a woman?!" he roared.

When the three injured men heard the voice, they turned their heads to look at his direction and was horrified that they couldn't speak.

"Get lost! You're no longer allowed to step foot in here. If I see you again, You'll regret it!"

The thugs paled and they immediately scrambled towards the exit. Surprised, Samantha looked at the man who had just spoken and wondered who he could be. He looked quite familiar but she did not know where she saw him.

Snapping out of her trance, Samantha helped Hannah up who was still a bit woozy from being drunk.

"Are you ladies okay? It looks like you hurt your hand." The man in the beige suit walked towards them, seemingly worried that they were assaulted by those thugs.

"Yes, we're fine. Thank you." Samantha responded.

"I'll bring you to the hospital. Have your friend sobered up and get your hand checked."

"No, it's okay... we'll be fine. Thanks for the offer." Samantha replied politely. She was quite defensive as she did not know the guy. Even if he helped them, she was not going to just trust him right away.

"Oooh!" Hannah pointed at the man in a suit. "Look, Sam, it's your brother-in-law!" Hannah beamed ridiculously, surprising the man that he raised an eyebrow. "Uhh me? Brother-in-law?"

"Mhmm!" Hannah chuckled. "Am I right, Sam? He's also handsome just like his brother..."

"Sorry, she's really drunk," Samantha apologized and started to walk away, "That's enough, Han, let's go."

The man in a suit was puzzled as he thought about his brother who wasn't married yet. Unsure what Hannah meant, he shrugged as he watched them exit his bar.

...

Meanwhile...

Daniel had just finished his lunch meeting when he received a text from his brother.

[ Liam: Everythin' alright there? ]

[ Daniel: Yes. ]

[ Liam: Meeting ok? ]

[ Daniel: Yes ]

These two brothers were always stingy with their replies.

[ Liam: By the way... brother, you didn't secretly get married, right? ]

[ Daniel: What are you talking about? ]

[ Liam: I'm sure it's nothing. It's just that, last night, someone called me "brother-in-law". But you're my only brother and you're not married. I just thought it was weird coz they looked familiar too. ]

[ Daniel: They must've made a mistake. ]

[ Liam: Yeah, I don't even know any of your friends named Sam. It must be a mistake. ]

Daniel exchanged texts with his brother while he was having a rest in his hotel room. When he read the last one, his eyebrows furrowed. He started typing his reply to ask further questions but he stopped and called his brother instead. Liam answered on the second ring.

"Hey, you called..."

"What do you mean? Tell me what happened last night."

Liam explained the incident to Daniel. He didn't see what happened before the fight and he was only alerted when he heard some noises. That's when he went to help and chase the thugs out. After the incident, Liam went to check the CCTV footage and was impressed with how Samantha defended herself.

"That's what happened," Liam said and his eyes suddenly widened. "Oh! Oh! Wow! I remember now, bro! She was the girl back at the gala! The goddess in gold! Do you remember? No wonder she looked so familiar! How could I forget such a beautiful woman! I should have gotten her number. Tsk... bummer."

Daniel was silent as he listened but he was now sure that Liam was talking about Samantha. He tried to process how last night happened when he had already brought her home. Wasn't she supposed to be at home? Why was she at a club late that night?

"How was she? Was she hurt?" Daniel asked.

"Who?"

"The woman named Sam."

"Why? Do you know her? Are you really married to her?!" Liam gasped and his eyes widened even more.

"Just answer the damn question."

"She looked fine, but her hand might be a little hurt. I offered to bring them to the hospital but she rejected. She–"

Liam didn't get to finish his sentence because Daniel had already hung up the call. Feeling hurt, he scoffed, "Ungrateful." Just as he said this, he received a text message.

[ Daniel: You did well. Thanks. ]

Liam pursed his lips like a kid, his brother rarely praised him. He suspected that Samantha must be important to his brother. He didn't do anything big but it actually earned him a 'praise'. He was in a good mood all day.

After Daniel ended the call, he pondered for a second before he dialed Samantha's number.

They just had an agreement and Samantha had already faced danger while he was gone. Waiting for his call to be answered, his brows furrowed.

"Hello~" said an angelic voice from the other line.