Forced by fate – Destined to be his Wife

“I don’t see how I can ask him to do anything while he’s avoiding me and we’re apparently on a break over this whole mess. He’s a stubborn and blind idiot who’s convinced TangShi is guilty. There’s no talking to him.” Linlin snorted, frustrated and yet also broken over that little turn of events.

“Oh dear. I did say loyal to a fault. Don’t be too mad at him. ZhengLi isn’t the brightest when it comes to love and probably thinks he’s doing the right thing for all of you. Especially if your best friend and his best friend are in a cold standoff. Maybe he wants to avoid you too escalating to the point of no return while it’s all so raw.” Rhea was amused at the fact she was sitting here giving Linlin relationship advise. It was the weirdest kind of irony given their relationship.

“So yeah, going to collect the results after waiting days for them and then I have no idea what to do next. I hadn’t thought that far ahead as I am just praying the results are what I’m expecting to be honest.” Linlin didn’t even want to entertain the idea that she was wrong because in her heart she knew that wasn’t possible, so she swerved the topic and came back to the most important point.

“CCTV from the hotel. Or wherever she ate cake? Maybe it catches something….. like Rong drugging her or cajoling her in some way. Maybe evidence of him carrying her or how far gone she was. You can’t consent if you are completely wasted.” Rhea offered, thinking outside the box. Not sure where to start in proving underhanded behavior in this scenario. “If YuZhi knew she was drugged, maybe he himself would seek out the details. You can only wait for the paperwork and then take it from there.”

“I don’t know if it will be enough, it won’t change the fact she slept with someone else. YuZhi still won’t be able to get over that even if he thought she was intoxicated, and it won’t change how guilty TangShi feels. I have to have proof she was out cold and completely unaware and not involved in what took place.” Linlin knew this was more complicated than it seemed, and the last few days had seen YuZhi hurting TangShi in all kinds of ways while he was hurting.

Leaving her in that room with Rong, crushing her heart wasn’t bad enough. Then the night he drunkenly left voicemails to tell her he was sleeping with Rhea. It’s the one text from ZhengLi Linlin had gotten, to clear that up, but it still left TangShi distraught and sobbing all morning in case it might have been true. There had been papers delivered asking her to sign to terminate their marriage, an eviction notice for the apartment which had pushed Linlin to moving her to Linlin’s family home. He withdrew her payments from the school so she could either find her own tuition to carry on or leave, but TangShi had no desire to go back at all anyway.

It had been a rough few days of YuZhi ostracizing her, pushing her aside and cutting off all connections including finances. Her artwork from his office at Leng was sent to her all packed up with no note as though he couldn’t stand to have any part of her in his life anymore.

He had wiped their interactions completely as though she never meant anything to him and sent the PR advisors to her to discuss how they were going to handle a public breakup announcement. YuZhi was not playing, returning to cold and heartless, determined to wipe the pain from his heart, and his grandfather was fighting him tooth and nail and begging him to keep the contract and arrangements in place even if they had separated. He blocked TangShi’s contact so she couldn’t speak to him or see him.

Rong Cai was on the other hand continuously trying to get in touch with TangShi to the point she changed her number. She ignored his calls and texts and never listened to the voicemails or read his emails. Ashamed about what happened between them and knowing her only way to have a hope with YuZhi was to completely sever contact with Rong Cai. She didn’t care if its was cruel or unjust and he hadn’t done anything wrong, it wasn’t about him in her head. All that mattered was trying to claw back what she had with YuZhi and as she had no real friendship with Rong, she saw it as necessary.

She sent a written letter to the school announcing her leaving and yet Rong had kept trying to get in touch to refuse it. It was driving him crazy that after his night with her she had completely snubbed him and was making for a rather bitter and vengeful person, especially receiving her withdrawal notice. He wasn’t going to leave things alone. His plan was backfiring on him and he was scrambling for ways to pull her back to the art school.

“I’ll come with you to the clinic. And if it’s positive, I’ll speak to ZhengLi and convince him to help. I know you don’t have reason to trust me in this, but my goal is to see YuZhi happy, no matter what that looks like. If it’s with TangShi then I’ll do what you need of me. I didn’t lose him just to see it turn into this train wreck and it hurts my pride to know I lost a three-year relationship to this mess.”

“I don’t get you. Spending months being a crazy bitch who tried to sabotage them and pull them apart and now you’re here on TangShi’s side. What’s your game?” Linlin couldn’t get her head around this version of Rhea and didn’t really want to believe in it either. Although she could see a change in her, as though she was calmer, somehow serene, she knew she could be a great actress.

“Repentance. I had a lot of time lately to look in the mirror and see a woman I’ve become all these years who resembles nothing of who I used to be proud of. I used to be independent and self-sufficient and somehow lost it. My mother would be so disappointed if she had seen me.” Rhea had learned to look for spiritual enlightenment lately.

“Come on. Sooner I collect it the better. I’m driving myself insane with the need to be sure.” Linlin got up, leaving her cup on the table and motioned towards the bright orange car parked across the street. “Do you need a ride?”

“That depends on your driving. If you do it the way you conduct yourself in life I may need an Uber.” Rhea joked, leaving her own untouched tea on the table which she ordered to be polite.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“Funny. I can’t ride with cowards so you either suck it up and get in or I leave you here. I like my passengers to be fearless and understand they wave their rights to life when they get in my car.” Linlin winked, a hint of jocularity softening her overall stern demeanor and it made Rhea laugh out loud in a sudden burst. A truce evident between them as they worked for a common goal.

“I put my life in your hands. I can see why TangShi has stuck with you all these years.” Rhea followed her to cross the street. “You’re entertaining and loyal. I admire your friendship. You remind me of ZhengLi, only a lot scarier and with way more of a colorful vocabulary.”

“Hmmm, don’t mention that dickwad to me. He is in the doghouse, especially after this…. If someone like you can see sense and realize TangShi didn’t do this then ZhengLi should have been able to figure it out too. He was supposed to be her friend.” Linlin huffed, catching Rhea’s arm to guide her across the busy street they way she did with TangShi, mothering Rhea and unaware of the softening almost tearful expression aimed at the back of her head for such a simple thing. Rhea had never had female friends who weren’t model associates or celebrity fakeness. It was weird to have this tiny wild girl taking her across the road like this as though she actually cared for her wellbeing. Hitting Rhea in the sore spot that besides YuZhi and Zheng all these years, no one had taken care of her at all.