Forced by fate – Destined to be his Wife

Reflection

TangShi stared absently out of the restaurant window, reserved and low in mood now that the excitement of being reunited with Linlin had calmed down. Cuddles and tears out of the way after their long separation and now comfortable camaraderie once more. As if they never parted.

YuZhi agreed to drop her off here on the way home instead of taking her all the way back to the house and Linlin was happy to oblige in rushing out to meet.

“I never saw that one coming at all. Really? What is wrong with him? I thought a red-blooded lothario like him would at least take advantage of a new squeeze in his bed and a free pass to do whatever he wants with her for two years.” Linlin crossed her arms and leaned on the table while observing TangShi. Digesting the details about the clinic.

TangShi didn’t respond, instead she was still smarting and touchy about the ordeal she had just experienced in the last hour. The clinic was clean and pleasant but having that done to her made her feel dirty and emotional. Still cringing at the sensations and having to let a male doctor down there between her thighs to administer an implement. It was mortifying for someone like her.

When changing back into her clothes and discarding the medical gown in the changing room she had cried like someone she loved had died. Broken down about how sterile and clinical this was, how shameful it felt, and that getting pregnant this way was degrading to her pride. She would legitimately be a virgin carrying a baby soon enough and it seemed ridiculous to her. He had gone to such lengths to not touch her, and it was getting to her more than it should.

YuZhi had succeeded in hurting her in a whole new way and he wasn’t even aware of it. She put it down to residual and stupid feelings and hopes from a long time ago. Naïve dreams and pointless memories. She shouldn’t care that he chose this method and should be happy about it, but she wasn’t.

“You okay?” Linlin brought her out of her daydream, aware something was off with TangShi’s normally upbeat mood and threw her a warm smile.

“Yeah. Just feeling a little fragile. It wasn’t exactly pleasant, and I think I need to process my feelings a little. I mean. I might be pregnant after this….. that blows my mind.”

Linlin was sobered at that thought too and reached out across the table to scoop up her hand.

“I’m sorry, I never even thought about it like that. Just try and see all this as a temporary learning curve in your life. A path to a future away from all of them. A stopgap.” Linlin had always been an optimist who saw something good in every scenario.

“I know.” TangShi sighed and then physically shook herself to cast off this weary mood because she didn’t want to drag Linlin down with her into depression. “Let’s order. I’m starving.” In other words, can we please stop talking about this and move on. TangShi was never one to dwell and tended to bottle things up to moon over later.

“You know you could look at this as a blessing in some ways. YuZhi doesn’t want to tie you up in bed and demand sex at every opportunity. You have more freedom with him than ever with your father, financial security. I mean, look where he willingly dropped you off, and handed you a credit card to cover it. Maybe try and get along with him while dealing with what’s expected. Who knows, maybe it won’t be so bad and it’s not like he’s some sort of drunk, wife beating tyrant. Rhea seemed happy all these years so he must have some good points.”

TangShi exhaled heavily and nodded. Unable to refute what Linlin was saying. YuZhi did bring her here, to a restaurant in Pudong, one with a high price tag, without questioning it. Linlin’s favorite place to eat, the Aura Lounge of the Ritz Carlton and didn’t mention the fact he was dumping her at a hotel. He just handed her a black card and told her to be home before it got late or else his grandfather would send out a search party. A nothing conversation and he seemed uninterested in her plans even when she began to explain out of habit about who she was meeting. He shrugged it off, waved her out of the car and didn’t give her a second look.

She didn’t know if it disappointed her that he truly didn’t care, wasn’t curious, or if her emotions were already spiraling downward because of what she just endured before it.

“I want hotpot. I have a craving and they don’t do it here. Do you want to go explore and have some fun?” Linlin wanted to bust TangShi out of this weird mood and knew that classy surroundings and expensive food were not the remedy. TangShi was a girl of simpler tastes.

“Hotpot sounds good. Exploring…. Maybe.” A smile lifted the corner of TangShi’s mouth as she turned it over in her head.

“You know you want to and before long you will join the celeb A list and have to hide for fear of the paparazzi. Let’s enjoy your freedom before YuZhi makes your face a household image.”

“Don’t remind me. I still haven’t got my head around that aspect yet and I don’t really like the fact my life is going public. Especially not under these circumstances.”

“It’s a little bit of pie in your dad’s face though, right? All these years hiding you away like some shameful secret and boom…. YuZhi is going to put you in the limelight and make you a household name just by marrying you. Suddenly Lei Enterprises will be hot topic and shares will go up, just because they chose you.”

Linlin found this ironic, that after treating her like a leper from birth, TangShi was doing more for the Leis in one arrangement than he had done his entire life.

“Not to mention the collaboration I know he bartered for. It’s yet to be announced but something big is in the works between them which will catapult Lei Enterprises up nearer Leng Group in status, all because of my sacrifice. Will he ever acknowledge it? No, he will pat himself on the back for being so clever in selling me off to someone like Mr Leng.” TangShi’s words were sour in her mouth and brought bitterness up from the depths of her stomach. Anything related to her father was always a sore point but particularly this.

“Ughhh, this is why high society sucks, and I’m glad my parents don’t care about any kind of marriage alliance to boost what we have. They are both too busy playing with lovers and taking vacations to care about managing things. As long as they have enough dough to support it, they have no ambitions to grow it.” Linlin raised a glass of water to toast her parents, thanking her lucky stars that she never had an upbringing like TangShi.

“I’m glad that they raised a daughter like you, so I had a friend all these years who didn’t care about high society and my lack of status all that much. I would have been lonely without you.”

“I guess we can high five Ava for sending you to an all-girls private school to get you out of the way and falling into my clutches, my little lamb. She done us both a favor, although I am truly disappointed that in my raising you, I didn’t even corrupt you a tiny little bit.” Linlin grinned, flashing a mischievous twinkle in her eye at the years of escapades she had gotten TangShi into. Not regretting a single one.

“You corrupted me a lot!” TangShi burst into joyful laughter as a million memories flickered through her mind too. So many naughty moments orchestrated by her best friend and started to feel a lot better than when she arrived. Linlin was always a mood enhancer and a ray of sunshine on the darkest of days. All these years she knew that Linlin was the reason she kept going, kept reaching for something better and never lost her optimism.

Linlin motioned for them to get up glad they had not yet ordered anything and led TangShi out of the restaurant in search of a hotpot café they could walk to from here. She hauled out her phone and hooked TangShi’s arm in hers as they hit the street into the dazzling sunshine and went searching.

“Oh, look before I forget. I found this last night while scrolling our old pictures on Weibo. It was taken eight years ago, right before your trip to Beijing. We look so young.” Linlin turned her phone to show the saved picture. It was a photograph of a polaroid photograph held in Linlin’s hand. A little blurry but still easy identifiable as both of them hugging and smiling. They looked like two different girls entirely in terms of fashion and beauty style.

“Oh my god, why is my face so round?” TangShi squealed and grabbed the phone, pushing it almost to her nose to scrutinize the baby face staring back at her.

“I know right, you look like you lived on a diet of instant noodles. Little puffy face. And your hair is so dark and flat. Did we even know how to beautify back then?”

The girls both laughed and poked fun at one another by pointing out a few other things in the picture, about their appearance, their weight, their general look, passing it back and forth to giggle at the memory.

“It makes sense though, that YuZhi didn’t recognize you now. I mean he has his green eyes and that jawline he’s had since he was a kid so you couldn’t mistake him. You slimmed down, your face became more defined and delicate. You got some decent eyebrows and you lightened and styled your hair way different. I honestly couldn’t pick you out if I was him, especially if you wore a mask that entire night.”

“Hmmm, I guess.” TangShi was reflective and took the phone one more time to give it a last look. She had to agree, even though she didn’t think she had changed all these years, she had lost her puppy fat and childlike cuteness and grown into a woman in the past eight years. It made her feel a little less devastated that he had no idea she was the same girl.

“Maybe you should just tell him?” Linlin offered with a shrug and then hauled TangShi to the left at the opening alleyway to a café. A hotpot favorite in sight.

“There’s no point. It’s the past and if it mattered, he would have shown up or found me all these years. He didn’t. Maybe I held onto it a lot more than he ever did and it’s nothing but a blip in his littered history of girls.”

“TangShi?” A voice interrupted them form behind and cut into the conversation before Linlin could argue the point. She still felt YuZhi should know.

TangShi turned to see Rhea walking out of a nearby boutique, waving her way with a genuine and warm smile, beaming across that pretty face and felt Linlin stiffen up beside her as she tightened her grip on her arm.

“Aye, aye, it’s the love rival” Linlin hissed mischievously and TangShi elbowed her in the ribs.

“Rhea. Hello. How are you today?” TangShi was pleasantly surprised to see her out here, especially unescorted but wasn’t unhappy. She liked the girl genuinely and didn’t have any issues with her. Evan if Linlin did.

“Out getting air and picking up a dress. Where are you off to?” She closed the gap between them and nodded a smile at Linlin.

“Oh, this is my best friend Linlin Choi. Eldest daughter of Anux Travel.” TangShi gave a brief introduction and leaned back as the two women shook hands. Linlin instantly reserved and cool towards the other woman and yet remained polite.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“Pleasure.” Linlin smiled.

“Anux Travel? The holiday agency? I know where to come when booking my next trip. You’re listed among the most known and respected. It’s lovely to meet you.” As always that kind and warm persona you expected form Rhea shone through, enveloping Linlin’s hand and smothering her with friendliness.

“The one and only. If you need a hook up, we do great discounts for friends of friends.” Linlin laid on the charm thicker than honey and TangShi tried to remain impassive and not react. She could feel Linlin’s dislike and the sarcastic tone was subtle but still there. She wanted to strangle her for being so obvious.

“Where are you off to?” Rhea was oblivious to the hostility.

“To eat. The hotpot place behind us is the best in Pudong and we’re starving.”

“Oooh, Hotpot. I haven’t had it in forever. YuZhi never eats it so never wants to take me for it! Can I join you?” Rhea’s enthusiasm was infectious, but Linlin squeezed TangShi’s arm in objection getting a silent rebuff as she shook her arm free.

“Sure. It’ll be nice to spend more time together and get to know one another a little better.” TangShi turned to lead the way, throwing Linlin a quick and hidden warning scowl to behave and getting a cross eyed tongue stick out in response. Shielded by TangShi’s body so rhea didn’t catch it. She had zero chance of controlling her best friend.

“Yahhhh, sure, let’s eat.” Linlin spun on her heel and followed with a trot and a wiggle, her brain calculating what mischief she could pull off through lunch and kept her guard up. Her bestie was maybe a soft touch and all too willing to let people in to become ‘friends’, but Linlin was made of sterner stuff. She didn’t like that subtle dig from Miss Rhea I am too good for the common folks, bringing up YuZhi’s name and eating preferences like she wasn’t trying to rub salt in. She didn’t trust this wench as far as she could toss her and no one was going to mess with TangShi while she was around.