CHAPTER 112: CHAPTER 112: JENSON FORREST IS JEALOUS

Zinnia Lawrence moved her head slightly, furrowing her brows.

When Jenson Forrest saw her quiet down, he let go. Seeing the red mark his fingers had left on her delicate cheek, he frowned and said in a low voice, "Have you fed all that obedience you used to have to the dogs?"

Zinnia pouted. "That’s right. I fed it to you."

She wasn’t wrong. All the obedience she once had was indeed reserved for her brother.

Jenson had been called a dog, and to his horror, he realized he was getting used to it.

The realization made his handsome face turn cold. Just as a headache began to form over it, he heard Zinnia suddenly ask, "Are you jealous?"

Jenson’s gaze flickered. He gave Zinnia a disdainful look, his thin lips curling into a sneer. "We just haven’t officially divorced yet."

Feeling indignant, Zinnia pressed, "So, in a month, I can be with Alaric Hawthorne? Is that what you mean?"

Jenson’s barely controlled temper threatened to ignite again. In a chillingly leisurely tone, he said, "Zinnia, you are my woman. Even if I don’t want you anymore, no one else can even think about touching you. Anyone who does had better be prepared for the consequences."

The subtext was clear: if Zinnia wasn’t afraid of something happening to Alaric, she was welcome to try and provoke him.

"To put it bluntly, you still don’t want me to be with him. Isn’t that jealousy?" Zinnia stared at Jenson, her traitorous heart giving a flutter.

Jenson pressed his thin lips together. "Think whatever you want. Alaric is off-limits."

He showed no hint of anger or panic at being exposed. His expression remained calm and indifferent as he domineeringly forbade her from being with Alaric. Then again, it was also possible this was only because he and Alaric had some past conflict.

Recalling how Jenson had indeed warned her several times to stay away from Alaric, Zinnia’s racing heart gradually settled.

She lowered her head with a self-mocking laugh. "Alaric is a good person..."

Jenson sneered. "You don’t even know what his family does or what his background is. He’s so secretive. Can’t you see his intentions toward you? It wouldn’t be surprising if he tricked you, took you abroad, and sold you."

Zinnia countered, "My senior and I are just friends. Why would he tell me about his family situation...? It’s not like we’re on a blind date or starting a relationship."

Seeing Zinnia was not taking him seriously, Jenson scoffed again. "The medical research institute he arranged for your brother to enter? He founded and funded it himself. Do you still think he’s so innocent and without ulterior motives?"

"What? How is that possible?" Zinnia was shocked. Alaric had clearly told her that the institute was a joint venture founded by several hospitals in Y Country.

Seeing that she only trusted Alaric and continued to doubt him, Jenson felt a suffocating weight in his chest. He threw a file down in front of Zinnia.

Frowning, Zinnia pulled out the papers. It was a complete dossier on the Y Country research institute, which Jenson had investigated. The name ’Alaric Hawthorne’ was clearly written under ’Investor.’

"Establishing this medical research institute, keeping it running, and funding its drug development costs at least a billion a year, Zinnia. Do you still want to say he’s a good person?"

Zinnia clutched the documents, a heavy weight settling in her heart as her breathing grew ragged. She had never expected this.

When he saw her lower her head in silence, Jenson’s tone finally softened. "I’ll handle the Grant family. As for your brother, listen to me. Keep him here at the hospital. I’m here, so what are you worried about?

"Besides, with his physical condition, have you even considered if he can withstand a long-distance flight? If an accident were to happen, could you bear the consequences?"

A sick person might not be able to withstand a long flight, and they would also have to acclimatize to a new environment abroad. Given Mason Lawrence’s condition, it was entirely possible he wouldn’t be able to endure it. Before, Zinnia had put too much faith in Alaric’s words and was too desperate for Mason to receive advanced medical treatment and wake up. That’s why when Alaric said there was no problem, she had believed him without question. Now that doubts about Alaric had taken root, a wave of fear washed over her in hindsight.

She kept her head lowered, a blush spreading from the nape of her neck to the tips of her ears. She knew now that she had misunderstood Jenson. He had been thorough in his considerations and was looking out for her.

Jenson lowered his gaze to the soft, pink nape of her neck, and the chill surrounding him began to dissipate.

The girl had been like this since she was little. Whenever she did something wrong and felt guilty, she would hang her head like a timid quail, her ears turning bright red.

He raised his hand and grazed his knuckle along the curve of Zinnia’s neck. A ticklish jolt shot down from her nape to the base of her spine.

Zinnia shivered, clutching her neck as she looked up to meet his smiling eyes.

Though the smile was fleeting, Zinnia caught it. She froze for a moment, and then, for some unknown reason, a profound sense of unease washed over her. It was like she’d received an electric shock.

"Um, even so, after we’re divorced, I can’t let you be in charge of my brother," Zinnia said weakly. "How about this? Have Timothy Cohen compile my brother’s medical expenses each month and send them to me. I’ll wire you the money..."

Jenson’s handsome face, which had just softened, instantly frosted over again. "Do you think I’m short on your bit of medical fees?" he scoffed.

Of course, Jenson wasn’t short on money, but Zinnia didn’t want to owe him anything more.

She insisted, "My brother is my responsibility. There’s no reason to push it onto you."

"Why don’t you ask Timothy Cohen if your little medical fee is even enough to cover his overtime pay."

Zinnia was speechless.

She was about to say that if Timothy Cohen was too busy, any other secretary could do it, but Jenson spoke again before she could.

"Mason Lawrence is also Crystal Sutton’s brother."

For a moment, Zinnia’s blood ran cold. She felt utterly ridiculous.

That’s right. Crystal Sutton was always putting on an act. Even after returning to the Sutton family, she maintained the facade of a kind girl who hadn’t forgotten her poor adoptive mother and brother. In fact, over the years, the adoptive mother-daughter relationship between Gloria Grant and Crystal Sutton had been far closer than the actual one between Zinnia and her mother. When Crystal Sutton married Jenson, wouldn’t Mason Lawrence still be a relative from the new Mrs. Forrest’s family?

The memory of Jenson appearing at the hospital with Crystal Sutton earlier made Zinnia’s chest feel heavy and tight.

So she had just been flattering herself. Jenson was doing all this for Crystal Sutton. In that case, why should she be polite?

She said nothing more and turned her head to look out the car window.

It was only then that Zinnia realized the car had long since left the hospital parking lot and was now speeding down the road.

She frowned. "Where are you taking me?"

"You’ll know when we get there."

The car stopped at an unfamiliar villa. Zinnia got out, and Jenson led her toward the covered entrance. Two bodyguards in black stood guard in front of the door.

Only when they saw Jenson did they step aside.

Jenson gestured for Zinnia to enter first. Without asking any questions, she walked inside and saw Sienna Forrest sitting on the living room sofa, her face pale and haggard, a panicked look in her eyes.

The moment Sienna saw Zinnia, her dazed expression turned to agitation. She shot to her feet and rushed toward Zinnia, shrieking, "Zinnia, you bitch, how dare you show your face! Four years ago, you were the one who looked down on Alaric, rejected the Hawthorne family’s marriage proposal, and then schemed against my third brother to get out of it! Now that my third brother gives you the cold shoulder and Alaric is back on his feet, you regret it and want to choose him again! How can you be so shameless!"

Agitated, Sienna rushed forward and reached out to grab Zinnia by the neck.

Zinnia just stood there, stunned, her mind unable to process anything.

What was Sienna talking about?