CHAPTER 21: CHAPTER 21: SEE YOU AT THE CIVIL AFFAIRS BUREAU

Zinnia Lawrence sneered, walked over, and raised her hand to strike.

"Ah!" Crystal Sutton screamed as the feather duster struck her arm hard, causing her to drop everything she was holding.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

The feather duster rained blows down on her, and Crystal scrambled around the room in pain. She hadn’t expected Zinnia to attack without a word. She could feel welts rising on her hands, back, shoulders, and legs. Hugging her head to protect her face, she cursed angrily.

"Zinnia, are you crazy? Stop it! Who do you think you are to hit me?"

Zinnia chuckled. "What happened to calling me ’sister’? When filth gets into the house, you’re supposed to clean it out, not let it stink up the place. I can smell the stench coming off you from a mile away."

SWISH! SWISH!

Zinnia put all her strength into two more strikes.

Crystal couldn’t take it anymore and fled the dressing room, scurrying away with her head covered.

Zinnia’s chest heaved. As she looked at the items Crystal had touched, she felt last night’s dinner rise in her throat. She yanked the entire drawer of contaminated things out and dumped it all into the trash can.

When Zinnia came out of the dressing room, Crystal hadn’t left. Instead, she was by the bed, leaning over Jenson.

"Jenson, you’re sweating so much. You’ll catch a cold like this. Let me help you out of your wet clothes."

A chill ran down Zinnia’s spine, and her voice was like ice. "Get your filthy hands off him!"

As she strode toward them, a frightened Crystal let go. But at that moment, the groggy man on the bed reached out and grabbed Crystal’s hand.

"Don’t go."

The man’s hoarse voice rang out. Zinnia felt as if her feet had been nailed to the floor. Her vision swam, while Crystal’s face lit up with glee.

"Jenson, you’re awake?" Crystal leaned down, not forgetting to shoot a provocative glance in Zinnia’s direction.

This was the bedroom she shared with Jenson Forrest. It was her home, her final sanctuary. How could she possibly endure this?

She rushed over and shoved Crystal aside. Her voice trembled as she fought the urge to slap Jenson. "Jenson Forrest, do you even see who you’re grabbing?!"

The medicine Jenson had taken earlier contained a sedative. He hadn’t been sleeping well lately, and he’d felt at peace sleeping while holding Zinnia. When he was disturbed, he woke up drowsily. Hearing a woman’s voice and seeing movement, he had instinctively reached out, thinking it was Zinnia.

Now, looking at Zinnia’s deathly pale face and red-rimmed eyes, Jenson gradually came to his senses. He furrowed his brow, still trying to piece together what was happening.

Nearby, Crystal knelt on the floor by the sofa, clutching her stomach. "Ah! My stomach, the baby... Jenson, your sister pushed me! My stomach hit something, and it hurts so much!"

Jenson’s expression shifted. He shot out of bed and helped Crystal sit on the sofa. Crystal’s face was ashen and covered in cold sweat. As her sleeve slid up her arm, which was clutching her stomach, it revealed several red, swollen welts. She looked up at Jenson, her eyes filled with tears.

"She hit my stomach several times with the feather duster, Jenson. Will something happen to the baby? I’m so scared..."

Jenson’s handsome face turned frigid. He whirled to face Zinnia, his voice filled with fury. "Who told you to lay a hand on her? Zinnia, when did you become so violent?!"

How laughable. His mistress had brazenly invaded her home to sicken her, and she wasn’t even allowed to be angry?

"My being ’violent’ is nothing compared to how shameless and despicable you two are! You called her here, so why did you bother calling me? To be humiliated? Or was I supposed to watch you two carry on and applaud to be considered elegant and proper?"

"Shut up! What nonsense are you spouting!" Jenson’s face darkened, a vein throbbing at his temple.

How could he possibly have that kind of relationship with Crystal Sutton? In her eyes, was he really the type of man to bring random women home?

To Zinnia, his reaction was nothing but him defending Crystal in a fit of rage. Crystal could do as she pleased, but Zinnia couldn’t even speak of it. Zinnia’s heart turned to ice.

"Jenson, don’t be angry. I shouldn’t have come. I made your sister misunderstand..." Crystal said, holding her stomach with one hand while anxiously grabbing Jenson’s arm, trying to get up.

Watching them clutch at each other, Zinnia felt a pain that seared her eyes and wracked her body. She couldn’t stand to be there a moment longer.

"Fine! I’ll give you two some space!"

She spun around and walked out, tears welling in her eyes. The glint of her tears under the bedside lamp seemed to stab at Jenson’s heart. His fever-addled mind suddenly cleared, and panic surged through him. He lunged forward to chase her, but Crystal latched onto his arm.

"It hurts, Jenson..."

Jenson ripped his arm free, tossed her onto the sofa, and stormed out, his figure quickly vanishing through the doorway.

Crystal climbed up from the sofa, her fists clenched in jealousy as she slammed them into the cushions several times.

Zinnia had driven over in Yara Fairchild’s second-hand Chevrolet. By the time Jenson chased out of the villa, all he saw was a pair of taillights streaking across the courtyard as the car sped away. He was drenched in sweat from the fever, and his body swayed as a cold gust of wind hit him.

"President Forrest! What’s going on? Let me help you inside," Timothy Cohen said, running over. His car was parked in the shadows outside the villa. He had been relieved when he saw Zinnia arrive earlier. He had set an alarm for an hour later, thinking he could call it a successful night if Zinnia was still there. But who knew a short nap would cause him to miss the main event?

Seeing the president in his pajamas, missing a slipper, and wearing a grim expression, Timothy was stunned. In the eight years he had worked for Jenson Forrest, this was the first time he had ever seen him so disheveled. Timothy had always believed that even if the sky were falling, President Forrest would remain perfectly composed and handle it.

Jenson’s gaze was ice-cold as he stared at Timothy. "How did Crystal Sutton get here?"

"What? Miss Sutton was...?" Timothy couldn’t finish his sentence before Jenson’s piercing gaze cut him down. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead. "It was my oversight."

Jenson waved away Timothy’s supporting hand and turned back inside. A few steps in, he expressionlessly slipped his missing shoe back on. With a stern demeanor, he strode into the villa and instructed Timothy, "Call an ambulance. Get her out of here."

Jenson returned to the bedroom to find Crystal still pale and slumped weakly on the sofa. Seeing him enter without Zinnia, Crystal breathed a sigh of relief and asked with concern, "Jenson, did you explain everything to your sister? Do you need me to help..."

Her words trailed off under his icy glare, and her heart clenched. Jenson’s face had returned to its usual cool composure, betraying no emotion.

"That won’t be necessary!" he interrupted her coldly. He knew that trying to explain would only make things worse.

The man raised a hand to rub his throbbing temples. "Who told you to come here? And how did you get in?"

"No one told me to. You were injured because of me, and I was so worried I couldn’t rest. I just wanted to come and check on you. The door was open when I arrived... I’m sorry, Jenson. I didn’t know your sister was here. If I had known, I never would have come! I’ll call her right now and explain everything."

As Crystal reached for her phone, the movement revealed more horrifying blue and purple marks on her arms and beneath her clothes. Her face contorted as if she were enduring great pain, and her hand trembled as it searched for her phone. She looked utterly pitiful.

In the end, Jenson didn’t want anything to happen to the child she was carrying. His voice softened as he said gravely, "Don’t call her. And for the record, I didn’t injure my arm protecting you. Don’t ever come here again. This is not a place for you."

Crystal’s face turned another shade paler, and she stared at Jenson with a wounded expression. He coolly averted his gaze and commanded, "Timothy, help Miss Sutton downstairs to wait for the ambulance. Make sure nothing happens to her baby."

Timothy hurried forward and, ignoring Crystal’s reaction, hauled her off the sofa and forcibly escorted her out.

Jenson picked up his phone and went into the study. By the time he called, Zinnia was already two blocks away. She had no intention of answering. But Jenson called again and again, relentlessly.

Zinnia finally swiped to answer, cutting in with a sneer before he could speak. "Jenson Forrest, when exactly are you going to sign the divorce papers? I don’t want to wait another day! Stalling and dragging your feet isn’t your style. If Crystal Sutton weren’t parading in front of me every day, I might actually think you were hopelessly in love with me."

A long silence stretched from the other end of the line. If not for what sounded like the faint crack of knuckles, Zinnia would have thought the call had dropped.

"You want a divorce that badly?" Just as Zinnia was about to hang up, unable to stand the dead silence any longer, his sinister voice finally came through.

"Yes! We didn’t marry for love, so let’s just get a clean break and go our separate ways. Wouldn’t that be better?" Zinnia replied without a hint of hesitation. She had already made her decision, especially now that Crystal was in the picture. His mistress has already invaded my home. If I don’t divorce him now, should I just wait for that despicable pair to kick me out?

"Go our separate ways? Heh." After a moment, his voice came back, seething with barely controlled rage. But just as Zinnia thought he would refuse out of anger, his tone became calm and cool. "Fine. As you wish. Tomorrow at nine in the morning. I’ll see you at the Civil Affairs Bureau."