CHAPTER 120: CHAPTER 120: SHE REACHED OUT TO HIM FIRST

Julia Forrest secretly recorded the scene of Jenson Forrest losing his temper in the small living room at Aria Villa.

Zinnia Lawrence watched as Mrs. Cohen and the other ladies were rebuked by Jenson. Their faces turned ghastly pale as they left in embarrassment, and her heart ached with a bittersweet pang. Mrs. Cohen and the other two were Katherine Rhodes’s mahjong friends, who used to visit the Forrest Family frequently.

Every time they came to Aria Villa, Katherine would specifically call Zinnia over. Even though Aria Villa had servants, Katherine always ordered Zinnia to serve tea, slice fruit, and tidy up the mahjong table, while Mrs. Lewis and the others joined in on the fun. They treated Zinnia like a servant. Four years ago, Zinnia was only eighteen or nineteen, young and easy to bully. She also harbored a desperate hope of spending her life with Jenson and didn’t dare to anger Katherine, so she was often run ragged by their demands.

Now, seeing Jenson defend her and stand up for her, Zinnia felt a small measure of happiness.

As Zinnia was holding her phone in a daze, it suddenly rang. Seeing it was Eighth calling, she quickly answered.

"Seventh Sister, did you really divorce my brother?" Julia’s voice was anxious. Zinnia frowned slightly as she heard a cacophony of noise from the other end of the line, which sounded like it included the blare of car horns.

"Why are children asking so many questions about adult matters? Aren’t you supposed to be asleep? Why is it so noisy over there?"

"I’m on my way to find you, Seventh Sister! I’ll be there soon. Oh no! My phone’s about to die. Seventh Sister, I have to go!"

Just as Zinnia’s worry began to mount, Julia abruptly hung up. Forgetting all about sleep, she jumped out of bed and tried calling him back, but the little rascal had already turned his phone off and was unreachable.

Zinnia quickly changed her clothes and rushed out the door. She had only recently moved to her current residence, a fact Julia was completely unaware of. After running out of her residential complex, she got into a car and immediately called Aunt Kramer, suspecting Julia might have gone to Sovereign Court.

Aunt Kramer answered quickly. "Madam, Eighth Young Master came looking for you once before. I told him you don’t live at Sovereign Court anymore, so he shouldn’t be coming here."

Zinnia frowned, asking Aunt Kramer to inform her the moment she saw Julia. After hanging up, she gazed out the car window at the pitch-black night, a headache building. Although Julia was quite clever, he was still just an eight-year-old child who was normally well-protected by the Forrest family. Katherine would never have approved of him sneaking out in the middle of the night to find her. This meant the boy had almost certainly slipped out on his own, which was more than enough cause for concern.

After a moment’s hesitation, Zinnia called Jenson, who was still working in his office at Stellar.

When the phone rang, he didn’t even glance at it, as Simon Sutton had already called several times. He assumed it was Simon again and let it ring until it stopped. But just a second after it fell silent, it rang again. A flash of anger crossed his eyes, but when his gaze fell upon the screen, the anger instantly dissipated. He almost doubted what he was seeing.

She actually called me on her own initiative?

Jenson’s breath hitched, and he immediately answered the call. "Zinnia?"

Zinnia’s first call hadn’t gone through, so she hadn’t expected Jenson to answer so quickly on her second try. For some reason, she felt his voice was unusually urgent, as if he cherished this call. She froze, momentarily at a loss for words.

Then, she heard the man’s even softer voice through the receiver. "What’s wrong? Has something happened?"

Zinnia finally snapped back to reality. "Yes, Eighth sneaked out of Aria Villa. He called to say he was coming to find me, but his phone died and I can’t reach him. I’ve confirmed he didn’t go to Sovereign Court, and he shouldn’t know my new address. I suspect he went to the old residential complex where Yara used to live. I’m heading out to find him now, but it’s quite a distance, and the traffic on my end is terrible..."

On Jenson’s end, the sound of a chair scraping back could be heard. His voice was deep and reassuring as he said, "Okay, I understand. I’ll have someone start searching, and I’ll head over to check myself. Don’t worry too much."

Zinnia sighed in relief. "Alright, then... I’ll hang up for now."

"Okay." Jenson ended the call, already grabbing his coat and pushing open his office door.

Timothy Cohen quickly stood up and walked over. As Jenson strode toward the elevator, he said, "You don’t need to follow me."

Timothy nodded, curious as to where the President was going by himself so late at night. However, there was one more thing he needed to ask. He took a few steps to catch up. "President Forrest, President Lewis and the others are still having tea in the conference room. What should I—"

Earlier that evening, Jenson had returned to Stellar to work overtime and had Timothy invite President Lewis, President Ward, and President Cohen over. But when they arrived, he refused to see them, simply instructing that they be kept in the small conference room and served tea. They had been served pot after pot without being allowed any bathroom breaks. The three bosses had now been stuck there for over three hours, their faces ashen as they paced furiously around the room.

"Let them stay until midnight, then let them go," Jenson said coolly as he reached the elevator.

Timothy nodded. "Do you have a message for them, President Forrest?"

"Tell them to go home and ask their wives."

Jenson stepped into the elevator. Timothy bowed and stepped back, but then he remembered something and suddenly called out. "President Forrest, you might run into President Sutton if you go down now."

After Crystal Sutton was sent home, the driver had relayed Jenson’s decision to withdraw the phase-two funding to Simon Sutton. Simon had immediately rushed to Stellar, but Jenson had refused to let him come up.

Sure enough, when Jenson reached the parking garage, he ran into Simon, who had been lying in wait. Seeing Jenson stride toward him, Simon hurried forward.

"Jenson, did Crystal do something foolish? She suffered so much as a child, and we spoiled her when she returned. She’s become a disappointment, I know. On her behalf, I apologize. But how can you change your mind about the investment so suddenly?"

Jenson completely ignored Simon, opening his car door and getting inside. Simon anxiously reached for the door handle, but Jenson’s cold gaze swept over him. The warning in his eyes sent a chill down the spine of a man like Simon, a veteran of the business world, and he froze.

Jenson slammed the door shut and started the car. Only then did he lower the window to say coolly, "Instead of hitting a brick wall with me, you’d be better off disciplining your own disappointing daughter, lest she invite an even greater catastrophe."

Simon had assumed Jenson and Crystal were just having a lovers’ quarrel, but Jenson’s words were severe enough to be a genuine warning. While he was frowning in thought, Jenson’s car had already sped out of the underground garage.

Jenson arrived before Zinnia. He drove slowly through the old residential complex and, from a distance, spotted a small figure crouched by the flowerbeds. He walked over and looked down at the child.

"You knew enough to wear a thick coat. Guess you have some brains after all."

Julia, wrapped in a thick, oversized down coat, looked up at the sound of the voice. "Who do you think I’m doing all this for? Brother, you’re so heartless. No wonder Seventh Sister doesn’t want you anymore."

Jenson scoffed. "Get up."

"I can’t. My legs are numb."

Jenson had to squat down. Just as he was about to pick Julia up, the boy grabbed the collar of his overcoat. "Brother, did you really divorce Seventh Sister? You’re going to regret this. Let me tell you, with the current male-to-female ratio, a single girl could have four boyfriends. And Seventh Sister is so beautiful! Believe it or not, the moment she’s divorced, she’ll have dozens of men chasing her. Then you’ll have guys all over the place calling you ’the ex-husband.’ Tsk, just the thought of it makes me feel sorry for you."

Jenson felt the kid really knew how to twist the knife. He grabbed the back of the boy’s collar, lifted him straight to his feet, and sneered, "The man who would dare call me ’the ex-husband’ doesn’t exist. And your Seventh Sister will never be my past tense."

"What does that mean? Brother, just tell me, do you like Seventh Sister or not?"

Zinnia hurried over, hearing the child’s slightly shrill question from a distance. Her steps faltered, as if she were rooted to the spot. She stared at the man’s broad back and held her breath.