CHAPTER 94: CHAPTER 94: HE THREW THE WEDDING RING IN FRONT OF HER

He had never been willing to wear it before, but now that their marriage was at an end, he wouldn’t take his wedding ring off. Thinking about Jenson staying in their marital home at Sovereign Court, her heart couldn’t help but tremble, as if a stone had been dropped into it.

Jenson suddenly withdrew his hand, gave her a cold glance, and said, "Don’t overthink it. I just forgot to take it off."

His words instantly froze Zinnia’s tumultuous heart. She forced a smile. "Let me help you take it off then."

As she reached for his hand again, he frowned. "I’m driving. Stop distracting me."

Looking at his stern profile, Zinnia was reminded of the first time he put on the wedding ring. They had been married for over three months. He had just returned from a trip abroad, and that evening, while he was in the study, she had excitedly brought the ring to him.

"Third Brother, guess what I have?" she had asked, holding the ring box behind her back.

Jenson’s gaze remained on the documents as he replied indifferently, "I don’t know."

Zinnia moved in front of him. "Come on, just guess."

He frowned. "Zinnia, I’m busy. Get out."

"Oh." Hurt, she nevertheless shamelessly refused to leave. Instead, she knelt beside him, looked up with a smile, and revealed what she was hiding. "Silly Third Brother, it’s our wedding ring! Let me put it on you to see if it fits, okay?"

She opened the brocade box, took out the ring, and tried to take his hand.

But he suddenly raised his hand, his voice grave. "I’m about to start a video conference. Leave now."

Feeling aggrieved and embarrassed, she still refused to give up. She hugged his leg, insisting with stubborn petulance, "If you put it on, I’ll leave. Otherwise, I’ll spend all night bothering you so you can’t even have your video conference!"

He was probably worn down by her pestering and finally relented, letting her put the ring on him.

She immediately brightened up, gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and scurried out of the study.

That night, she lay in bed staring at the wedding ring on her own hand, giggling foolishly. She even had a beautiful dream where they exchanged rings at their wedding, solemnly reciting their vows to each other.

But by the next morning, she found he had already taken the ring off. After that, he would only wear it when they visited Old Madam Forrest at the family estate.

Back then, her heart was passionate and brave. Even when Jenson refused, she would cling to him shamelessly, insisting he wear the wedding ring.

But now, her heart was cold. It took all the courage she could muster just to ask why he still wore it.

She didn’t want to see him wearing that ring anymore. For some reason, it was an eyesore.

Zinnia stared at Jenson stubbornly. "I’ll be quick, I promise it won’t interfere with your driving. Besides, I was the one who forced you to wear it back then. Now, I’ll be the one to take it off. That will bring a proper end to things."

Just then, the traffic light ahead turned red.

Jenson stopped the car. Zinnia chuckled. "See? It seems even fate agrees."

She reached for Jenson’s hand, but he pulled away.

Zinnia froze, looking at him in disbelief.

Jenson stared back at her. "You want me to take it off that badly?"

Zinnia nodded. Hostility swirled in Jenson’s deep eyes, and he let out a short, mocking laugh. "Fine."

He took off the ring himself. But in the next second, the window rolled down. He turned and forcefully flung the ring outside.

"Jenson! You..."

Startled by his action, Zinnia instinctively leaned toward his side, her hand shooting out the open window as if to catch something.

Jenson turned back and seized her wrist. He yanked her forward, and the distance between them closed abruptly.

He glared at her from inches away. "You’re the one who said it was an eyesore. Now that I’ve thrown it away, why are you so worked up?"

His cold eyes bored into her, and her heart constricted into a tight knot. Her throat was dry, as if stuffed with cotton that was slowly soaking up water, growing heavy and tight until it was painful to breathe.

After a moment, she managed a smile and a shrug. "That ring was quite expensive, even if the diamond wasn’t that big. Even if you weren’t going to wear it, you didn’t have to throw it away."

Jenson sneered, "If you feel so bad about it, you can get out and look for it now."

For a split second, Zinnia actually wanted to open the door and get out. Her other hand gripped the seam of her pants as she resisted the pathetic impulse and shook her head. "It’s fine, as long as you’re not the one who feels bad about losing it."

Jenson looked at her feigned indifference, a self-mocking sneer touching his lips as he let go of her wrist.

Zinnia slowly sat back. The man coldly retracted his gaze. "Why should I feel bad? I’ll just buy a better one when I remarry."

A pang jabbed Zinnia’s heart. She nodded and said no more.

They drove the rest of the way in silence.

When Jenson’s car reached the entrance of her residential complex, Zinnia finally spoke. "You don’t have to go in. I can get out here. Thank you for helping me out today and for the ride home."

Jenson didn’t respond but slowly pulled the car over to the side of the road.

As Zinnia reached for the door handle, his voice came from behind her. "How is the thirty million coming along?"

Zinnia looked back. "There are still nineteen days left in the month. I remember the agreement."

"Good. Get out."

Zinnia opened the door and got out. The Cullinan didn’t wait a single moment before speeding away.

Zinnia stood on the roadside, watching the car recede into the distance. She stayed there for a long moment before finally walking toward the complex.

「The next day」

Zinnia was helping Nathan Nash and the others adjust their choreography when she received a call. Little Julia Forrest’s condition had relapsed, and he was back in the hospital.

Frantic, Zinnia rushed to the hospital. She didn’t see Julia, but she found Katherine Rhodes waiting outside his room.

Katherine stood with her arms crossed, looking at Zinnia. "You came quickly. I suppose you still have a conscience. It seems you do have some genuine affection for your little brother, Julia."

Zinnia walked toward her. "How is Eighth’s condition? Is it really a relapse, or is this your trick to get me here?"

Katherine’s gaze turned icy. "I would never curse my own darling son!"

That’s true, Zinnia thought, her expression growing worried.

"I’m going in to see Eighth."

As she moved to push the door open, Katherine stopped her, pressing a hand on her arm. "Don’t go in and disturb him. He just fell asleep after an injection. Come with me, we need to talk."

She led the way to the stairwell. Zinnia glanced through the window into the ward and saw Julia sleeping peacefully in the bed before she turned to follow.

As they entered the stairwell, Katherine got straight to the point. "I heard from Crystal that you and Jenson have already signed the divorce agreement. Is that true?"

Zinnia nodded. "Yes, we signed it."

"And the agreement only takes effect after you pay Jenson thirty million?"

Zinnia had shown Crystal the agreement to secure the contract with Gigatrend Games. Crystal had obviously told Katherine. Zinnia nodded again. "That’s right."

Katherine sneered inwardly. This wasn’t about divorce at all. Thirty million was nothing to Jenson. If he really wanted a divorce, he wouldn’t have brought up the money. He was only stalling because he thought there was no way Zinnia could come up with that kind of money. But she knew her own son. Since Jenson had signed the agreement, his pride would force him to honor it if Zinnia actually produced the thirty million, even if he regretted it to his very core. There would be no turning back then. And her job now was to help Zinnia get that thirty million as quickly as possible. She had to give them a push and cut off their path of retreat for good.