CHAPTER 114: CHAPTER 114: YOU’VE SUFFERED A LOT THESE FOUR YEARS, HAVEN’T YOU?

Jenson’s words made Zinnia Lawrence’s eyes redden instantly. She stared at him.

"What do you mean? Do you think just like Sienna Forrest, that I drugged your drink to escape marrying Alaric Hawthorne?"

Jenson fell silent, his brow slightly furrowed.

His attitude, by default, showed that he really thought that of her.

Zinnia knew she couldn’t clearly explain the drugging incident from four years ago, which had led him to misunderstand her all this time.

But she didn’t expect him to think of her as even more despicable and shameless.

Her eyes were red, but she refused to let tears fall. She could only bite her lip hard, until she bit a blood mark on her lip.

Jenson noticed, raised his hand to caress her cheek, and said in a deep voice.

"Let go."

Zinnia didn’t let go, stubbornly and angrily staring at Jenson.

Seeing her about to bite through her tender lips, a fierce expression flashed in Jenson’s eyes. He pulled her into his embrace, lowered his head wanting to pry her lips open with his tongue.

But Zinnia let go just then, fiercely biting onto the man’s cold, hard jaw.

"Hiss!"

The woman bit down extremely hard, Jenson groaned, wanting to break free from her.

Zinnia sensed his resistance, raised her hand directly to hold onto Jenson’s neck, kneeling from his embrace to bite even harder.

Jenson pinched the woman’s nape, applying slight pressure, and only then did Zinnia let go.

But by then, Jenson’s jaw already had a deep tooth mark that was oozing blood.

Jenson raised his hand to touch it, fingertips covered in red, feeling instantly overwhelmed.

"Zinnia! You’re being ridiculous!"

Had she bitten anywhere else, he wouldn’t have minded.

This girl just had to bite his face, leaving such a large tooth mark on his jaw, obviously bitten by a woman, how could he face people like this!?

His expression was cold, but Zinnia eyes red, mocked him with laughter.

"President Forrest still afraid of losing face in front of people? Anyway, when you were drugged by someone like me four years ago, it was already a scandal in Veridia, you’ve already lost face!"

After saying this, Zinnia turned around wanting to open the car door and get out.

Jenson’s arm reached out from behind, directly wrapping around Zinnia’s waist, pulling her back into his arms, sitting her on his lap.

"Let go of me, I want to get off!"

"Clear things up first." Jenson said in a deep voice.

Listening to his deep voice, Zinnia’s tears ultimately fell uncontrollably.

She choked, "What is there left to say? You’ve already concluded I’m that kind of person, I’ve explained more than once, but no matter what I say, you refuse to believe me! If I say it now, will you believe it?"

She had told him more than once that she hadn’t drugged him, yet he never believed her.

Jenson’s body stiffened briefly, his voice slow and deep, "This time when you say it, I will believe."

Previously, he didn’t believe her because he thought she truly wanted to escape the Hawthorne family proposal, afraid of leaving the Forrest family, therefore drugging him.

But if four years ago, Zinnia didn’t even know about the Hawthorne family’s proposal, then it made no sense.

Upon hearing Jenson’s promise, Zinnia looked up.

Her tear-blurred eyes looked at him, as though trying to confirm if what he said was true.

Jenson sighed slightly, leaned in to kiss her reddened corner of the eye, "Let’s calmly discuss, clarify this matter."

Zinnia was comforted by his gentle voice, nodded, and asked, "When did the Hawthorne family propose? Who did they propose it to? I truly knew nothing about it."

"Mrs. Hawthorne proposed to Grandma, just a week before your eighteenth birthday. At the time, Alaric Hawthorne was in a car accident, very dispirited. She came to propose, saying her son is your classmate, has always liked you, and now that her son is so dispirited, she wanted to propose for Alaric. The families would be engaged first, so you could go to the Hawthorne home to care for Alaric, and marry after you’re of age. She admitted it was selfish, but asked Grandma to understand a mother’s heart, and promised quite a few betrothal gifts."

"But Grandma didn’t mention it to me at all, Grandma never even asked me about it!" Zinnia clutched Jenson’s sleeve.

Hoping this time, he could believe her.

Jenson nodded once, "Grandma rejected the Hawthorne family."

Zinnia thought it made sense too, Grandma truly loved her. At the time, she was only eighteen, and Alaric was disabled from the car accident.

Grandma cared for her, refused Mrs. Hawthorne, didn’t tell her about it, which wasn’t difficult to understand.

"Grandma already refused, so why would you think I’d worry about this enough to drug you?"

"Because after Grandma refused, within two days, Alaric’s father Shawn Hawthorne came to my dad. The Hawthorne family offered more incentives, and my father agreed. My mother said she had asked your opinion."

Jenson recalled four years ago, Zinnia was almost eighteen, while he was twenty-four.

He had begun managing the Forrest family at twenty, creating Stellar within the first year. The effort it took to develop Stellar into a giant in just a few years was something only he knew.

At the time, he was busy with career, often traveling, unable to keep an eye on many family matters, often not the first to know.

He remembered before Zinnia’s eighteenth birthday, he worked overtime for half a month to create time, flying back home the day before her birthday.

That night, Katherine Rhodes was the one who told him about the Hawthorne family’s proposal.

She said Patrick Forrest had agreed, and she had informed Zinnia of it, Zinnia said she would consider it.

He was very angry at the time, lashed out at Katherine, had a big argument with Patrick, but firmly refused this engagement.

He originally planned to inform Zinnia the next day, telling her not to worry, that her brother wouldn’t let her marry just anyone or be bullied.

Who knew the company had issues the next day, he rushed to handle them, coming home very late that evening.

Before he could inform Zinnia, that night’s incident occurred.

Later, he investigated. The wine he drank that night was handed to him by Zinnia, only Zinnia could access his room.

Moreover, a trash bag found in Zinnia’s room contained torn paper scraps, and drug residues were detected from it.

He felt an unprecedented sense of betrayal and sadness, assuming Zinnia was too scared, drugging and using him to avoid the Hawthorne proposal and marrying a disabled person.

Now it seems Katherine Rhodes had lied.

Katherine hadn’t actually mentioned it to Zinnia.

"No one, nobody asked me about it." Zinnia wiped away her tears, speaking coldly.

She stared at Jenson, then added.

"Whether you believe it or not, I only heard about it today! I’ll say one last time, I definitely didn’t drug you that night."

Jenson concentrated on her reddened eyes, reached out rubbing her head.

"I’ll investigate that night’s incident again."

"Mm." Zinnia hummed, head lowered, saying no more.

Suddenly, Jenson grasped her chin, lifting her face.

Zinnia was forced to look at him, the man’s deep eyes held an overwhelming emotion.

He gazed at her, hoarsely asked, "These four years, have they been really hard?"

Hearing him ask this, Zinnia’s just-stopped tears instantly threatened to break again.

Unlike the earlier tears of anger and sadness, this time it was more sourness, as if all grievances and pain were stirred up by his gentle inquiry.