CHAPTER 10: CHAPTER 10: FINE, WE’RE NOT GETTING DIVORCED

A gentle gaze, doting actions, and lingering words spoken like a lover’s whisper. It was everything she had ever dreamed of... Her mouth was dry, her nervousness beyond words. Her heart felt as if it were soaking in warm water—a pleasant, irresistible numbness. But this happiness was as intangible as a bubble, lost in the fog.

She bit her lip, struggling against the feeling, afraid to speak, fearful of another irreversible downfall.

Seeing this, Old Madam Forrest patted Jenson Forrest.

"It’s all your fault! You’re never home, always neglecting Zinnia. You must promise to come home every day from now on and live a good life with her! Otherwise, you have no right to ask for her forgiveness."

Zinnia twisted her fingers together, finally looking up at Jenson again.

Will he agree?

Jenson’s thin lips curled slightly. "Yes, yes. I’ll listen to you."

Old Madam Forrest nodded with satisfaction and looked at Zinnia. "Zinnia?"

The man’s gaze also settled on Zinnia’s face.

Zinnia’s nose tingled, and her heart ached and swelled, but she couldn’t bring herself to refuse. These are the two people she loves most in the world...

Her eyes moist, she nodded gently. "Okay."

Old Madam Forrest laughed joyfully and placed Zinnia’s hand in Jenson’s.

"Good, good. Now Grandma can rest easy. I’ll just be waiting to hold my great-grandson or great-granddaughter."

After they left Old Madam Forrest’s room, servants bustled back and forth. Zinnia tried to pull her hand from the man’s grasp.

Jenson didn’t let go, and she looked up at him.

"Stay at the old mansion tonight. Tomorrow, I’ll help you move your things back to Sovereign Court."

Since she had promised Grandma, Zinnia decided to give it another try.

She nodded. "Okay."

She seemed to have reverted to the obedient little girl she once was. Jenson’s gaze deepened as he gave her small hand another squeeze before finally letting go.

Unsettled by his gaze, Zinnia said, "I’ll go check on the kitchen."

"Mm, go ahead."

Zinnia ran to the kitchen and only came out when dinner was ready. By then, Jenson and his father, Patrick Forrest, were talking in the upstairs study. Grandma Forrest asked her to go call them.

Zinnia walked to the study door. She raised her hand to knock but realized the door wasn’t fully closed. Patrick’s stern voice drifted out.

"Stellar Group’s three most important ten-billion-dollar projects are launching this year. Your personal image is directly tied to the company’s image, so the stock market can’t afford any turmoil right now! You can dote on Crystal Sutton all you want in private, but this is not a good time for a divorce. Once this period passes, you can do whatever you want."

"I have it under control. Stay out of it."

Listening to Jenson’s indifferent voice, Zinnia froze on the spot.

Jenson hadn’t explained anything about Crystal Sutton, nor had he denied his father’s words.

"I have it under control..." So that’s why he refused to divorce her, why he went to such lengths to make her stay? Just for the company’s image? And she had foolishly fallen for it, believing it was real!

Her limbs grew weak, and she turned to leave.

In just half an hour, she felt like her heart had been shattered and pieced back together, only to be lifted high and then dropped hard, breaking into a thousand irreparable pieces.

Zinnia leaned against the wall, gasping for breath. It took her a moment to calm down. After composing herself, she started to go downstairs, only to realize she was standing outside Winston Forrest’s room.

Winston, the fifth son, had been determined to become a professional race car driver four years ago. The Forrest family disapproved, so he went abroad and never came back.

This room had been locked ever since, but now the door was ajar.

Puzzled, Zinnia pushed the door open. Just as she stepped inside, her phone rang. It was Alaric Hawthorne. She answered.

"Zinnia, great news! Your application was accepted. Master Lise will personally interview you during her tour next month!"

Zinnia hadn’t expected such good news so quickly. She literally jumped for joy.

"Really? I’m so happy! Ah!"

She spun around in excitement, but a dark figure standing just outside the doorway startled her, and she cried out.

Zinnia quickly turned aside. "Something’s come up. I have to go."

She hung up, turned back around, and walked right into the man’s hard chest. Her nose turned red from the impact. "Oof... What are you doing sneaking up on me like that!"

Jenson took another step forward. Zinnia retreated until her back was flat against the wall.

He raised a hand, trapping her by the doorframe, and let out a cold sneer.

"It’s pitch black in here. Who are you mourning?"

Zinnia looked at his now-icy expression, so different from the gentle man in Grandma Forrest’s room. Recalling his words from the study, she gave a self-deprecating laugh. How stupid of her to harbor such fantasies time and time again.

With a cold expression, she said impatiently, "I was just on the phone with my senior. Didn’t you hear?"

"Is that so?" Jenson seemed unconvinced, his entire being radiating a deep chill.

"Don’t stand so close," Zinnia said, finding it hard to breathe.

Jenson remembered the sight of her pressed close to Alaric Hawthorne in the car that night. Instead of retreating, he bent one long leg, pressing it against her and trapping her completely between his body and the wall.

"Hah. You think I’m too close? Who would you rather be cuddling with? That sanctimonious Senior Hawthorne of yours?"

As a man himself, Jenson knew exactly what was on Alaric Hawthorne’s mind.

Jenson’s handsome face was frosted over, but Zinnia just found him baffling. "My senior just called to tell me my brother’s condition is stable."

She didn’t dare let Jenson know she was secretly preparing to study abroad.

After all, he hadn’t even agreed to a divorce; studying abroad was completely out of the question. But she had made up her mind. She would not be coaxed into changing it again!

Jenson’s deep eyes were like an abyss. "Should I get you a mirror so you can see how guilty you look right now?"

He knew her too well, including the way she looked when she lied.

The best lies contain a kernel of truth. Zinnia said, "My senior also mentioned a medical institution abroad that specializes in waking people from vegetative states. He said we could send my brother there."

Jenson sneered. "I’ll arrange for a new attending physician for your brother."

It was a declaration, not a discussion. He unilaterally ended the conversation and pulled the door open to leave.

In a panic, Zinnia grabbed his arm. "I’ve already discussed it with my senior! We’re getting a divorce, so I don’t want to trouble you anymore."

"You don’t want to trouble me, so you’ll trouble him instead? What’s your relationship with him? Also, do you have the memory of a fish? Did you already forget what you promised just now?"

Zinnia let out a cold laugh. "That was just a lie to make Grandma happy. As for a scumbag like you, if I don’t divorce you, I’m afraid my milk ducts will get blocked!"

"Zinnia Lawrence! Say that again!" Jenson’s handsome face darkened as if he wanted to strangle her.

Zinnia’s heart was cold and hard. She stomped down hard on his foot.

While he was distracted, she slipped past him and darted out.

At the dinner table, Jenson had just sat down next to Zinnia with a sullen face when Old Madam Forrest shot him a displeased glare.

"Are you unhappy that your mother birthed you too pale? Who are you scowling at? Show some sense and serve your wife a bowl of soup."

"Grandma, apparently she ’doesn’t want to trouble me,’" Jenson said, looking at Zinnia and raising an eyebrow. "Right, Mrs. Forrest?"

He drew everyone’s attention to her. There was no way Zinnia would let him serve her soup now.

She stood up. "I’ll get Grandma some soup. I made her favorite crucian carp, tofu, and mushroom soup. It’s delicious."

"See? Zinnia is the filial one," Katherine Rhodes said sarcastically.

In the past, Zinnia would have nervously served everyone at the table a bowl of soup to appease Katherine Rhodes. But today, she didn’t even glance at her before sitting back down. Katherine Rhodes immediately resumed her passive-aggressive attacks. "I suppose that means we, as parents, aren’t worthy of drinking this soup."

Grandma Forrest glared at her. "If you want soup, get it yourself. I see Jenson gets his useless hands from you."

Katherine Rhodes wanted to say more, but Patrick Forrest spoke up. "Let’s eat."

Katherine shut her mouth, but her expression soured further.

As if that wasn’t enough, Grandma Forrest shot another glare at Jenson. "Useless hands, a useless heart, and a useless mouth! You’re lucky Zinnia married down to help a poor soul like you. Otherwise, you’d never find a wife or have children in this lifetime."

That blasted idiot, what did he do now? How did the wife he just pacified get away again? The old lady’s head began to throb.

But Katherine Rhodes couldn’t stand hearing that. "Mother, you’re being biased. There are countless high-society ladies lining up to marry Jenson."

Old Madam Forrest was not pleased. "Zinnia grew up by my side. How can any of those gaudy sluts outside compare to her? She’s my savior! I don’t care if it’s a line of ’countless ladies’; even if a goddess descended from heaven, she’d have to step aside for Zinnia!"

When Zinnia was five, Old Mrs. Sutton brought her for a visit. Old Madam Forrest fainted from a heart condition in a secluded greenhouse, and a maid had accidentally locked the heavy wooden door. It was Zinnia, who happened to be there, who raised the alarm by frantically banging on the door and shouting, which led to Old Madam Forrest being saved in time. Later, everyone discovered that the little girl’s delicate hands had swollen up like steamed buns from the pounding, and her throat was nearly raw from shouting.

It was because of this incident that a desperate Mason Lawrence dared to come and kneel before the Forrest Family, begging them to take Zinnia in without her knowledge.

Only much later did Zinnia find out that Old Madam Forrest wasn’t even home that night. It had been Jenson’s decision to let her stay.

"Mother, that’s ancient history. Besides, didn’t the Forrest Family raise her? You can’t always be so biased. As for having children, that depends on whether a woman’s body is up to the task. I’ve spared no expense seeking medical treatment for Zinnia these past two years, but your ’good granddaughter-in-law’ is neither grateful nor cooperative. How can you blame Jenson for that?"

Grandma Forrest’s face darkened. "If the seed is good, an oasis can grow even in a desert! In the end, it’s the man who’s no good! Granny Tilton, bring out the vitality-boosting tonic we prepared for Jenson."

Jenson hadn’t expected the conversation to circle back around, making him the one to take the fall.

The thick, dark brown soup was brought over, emitting a rather unpleasant aroma.

"Grandma, the tonic isn’t really necessary, is it?" Jenson asked helplessly.

Old Madam Forrest smiled and took Zinnia’s hand.

"Whether it’s necessary or not is for your wife to decide."

Zinnia looked over, her eyes meeting Jenson’s enigmatic, half-smiling gaze.