CHAPTER 136: CHAPTER 136 IF HE MARRIED JULIA (5)_1

James Horne pursed his lips without speaking.

A sinister smile flitted across his chilly eyes, sending a shiver down Halton Hillraise’s spine, as he had no clue what was on James’s mind.

"I’m busy with business, so I have to run. Alcohol can sometimes relieve boredom, but don’t drink too much; it’s bad for the stomach." After saying that, Halton Hillraise patted James’s shoulder and stood up to leave. As he passed by Orlando Evans, he shot her a look that said she was on her own.

James’s methods were definitely no less cruel than Glades Horne’s. And this woman, infatuated with James... if she truly angered him, how tragic would her fate be? He couldn’t begin to imagine.

After Halton Hillraise left, James had finished one bottle of alcohol and beckoned the waiter, ordering two more bottles of high-proof spirits.

After drinking a glass of the strong spirit, his eyes began to blur, and his consciousness started to get fuzzy.

He appeared to be drunk.

This was precisely the outcome Orlando Evans had been waiting for.

"Brother James." Orlando Evans put down her glass and once again sat across from him, calling out with feigned concern.

James blinked, looking at Orlando Evans, burping from the alcohol but not uttering a word.

A minute later, he collapsed onto the table and fell asleep.

A smile spread across Orlando Evans’s face. He’s really passed out! Fate is truly on my side!

"Brother James." Orlando Evans pretended to be very concerned, shaking James a few times. When he didn’t respond, she finally let down her guard, believing that he was truly drunk.

Orlando Evans immediately stood up, propped James up, and pulled out a stack of USD from her wallet, placing it on the table as payment for the drinks. Then she helped James towards the Pub’s exit.

Halton Hillraise sat in his office, monitoring Orlando Evans’s actions through the closed-circuit television as she assisted James in leaving. He sported a playful smirk. He had already hinted to James; if James still got this drunk, it was clearly intentional. He was extremely curious about how that cold and taciturn James would play out a "drunken debauchery" scene, and what kind of punishment that girl would receive.

Orlando Evans, supporting a sloshed James, left the Blue Moon Pub. Recognizing his car, she guided James towards it, fished the car keys from his person, opened the door, and with great difficulty propped James up in the passenger seat. She secured his seatbelt and said to him, "Brother James, I’ll take you home."

Then she seated herself in the driver’s seat, closed the door, started the engine, and drove away.

As the car started moving, she caught a glimpse through the rearview mirror of James seemingly opening his sharp eyes. This startled her so much that she nearly collided head-on with another vehicle. But when she turned to look at James beside her, she found him dead drunk, his eyelids motionless. It must have been a trick of the eye, she realized.

The car left the Blue Moon Pub but did not head back to the Horne Family residence; instead, it was directed towards a hotel.

She parked the car in front of a hotel that was neither too upscale nor too modest, got out, and walked inside. After getting a room and the key, she came back out.

Opening the car door for James, Orlando Evans struggled once more to help him out, locked the car, and guided him into the hotel.

There were plenty of people checking into hotels for various intentions, so the staff, accustomed to such scenes, didn’t question anything when they saw Orlando Evans helping James inside. After all, no matter the circumstances, a man wasn’t expected to come off worse.

Upon entering the room she had booked, Orlando Evans quickly helped James onto the bed. He was tall and muscular, and her strength was insufficient. Barely getting James into the room had exhausted her. As she helped him lie down, she also collapsed weakly onto him.

"So heavy."

Orlando Evans pinched James’s arm hard, and seeing no response from him, she finally relaxed.

After catching her breath for a good while and regaining her composure, she moved off James and sat on the edge of the bed, glaring at the unconscious James.

Looking closely at him, she realized he was actually quite handsome, with features extremely similar to Glades Horne’s. If it weren’t for the conspicuous brooding look between his brows, he could easily be mistaken for Glades.

"Not born of the same mother, yet so alike," Orlando Evans muttered, bending down to stroke James’s handsome face and sighing. "If only you were Glades, how nice that would be. I didn’t mean to use you on purpose; it’s just that I can’t stand Julia Bluen’s happiness. Why should she marry Glades? It seems like she’s just a stand-in bride, but anyone with eyes can see Glades treats her well. I’ve loved Glades for eight years, yet he won’t even glance at me. I can’t accept it; I just can’t. I will never let Julia enjoy a stable life as the great lady of the Horne Family; I must have my revenge and break them apart. James, I’m sorry. The third and fifth sons are shrewd, not easy to use. You, well, being an illegitimate son, are easier to manipulate. Besides, after all these years, don’t you hold any resentment towards your older brother? What he has, you don’t; what you have, he also possesses. From the same father, the same family, yet the difference is so vast. Your Aunt has never treated you well—don’t you have any bitterness or hatred?"

Orlando Evans rambled on, her expression cycling through tenderness and venom.

"As long as you give me a girlfriend’s, or even a fiancée’s status, allowing me the freedom to come and go at the Horne residence as I once did, then I can help you take revenge on your older brother. As long as his marriage falls apart, that will be revenge enough. Of course, I won’t actually harm him. I can’t bear to hurt my beloved Glades. If anyone’s to get hurt, it’ll be Julia. You seem to dislike having Julia as your sister-in-law too, so let’s be on the same side."

Not knowing how long she had talked to herself, Orlando Evans began to strip James’s clothes off, preparing to create a scene of drunken debauchery.