CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 38: BE GOOD, YIELD TO ME

"I’m going to take a shower first." Zinnia Lawrence withdrew her gaze and went into the changing room to get her clothes.

Jenson Forrest pulled off his tie, loosened his collar, and sat on the sofa, raising a hand to rub his temples. Zinnia had been merciless in the private room, so he’d drunk quite a bit. The aftereffects of the alcohol were kicking in, and he felt awful. In the past, whenever she saw him drinking, she would have worriedly rushed off to make him some hangover soup.

Watching the woman grab her clean pajamas and head straight for the bathroom, Jenson’s head felt even heavier. He felt a bit aggrieved, a bit lost, and completely ignored.

Zinnia showered quickly. After blow-drying her hair until it was half-damp, she emerged from the bathroom. Jenson was no longer in the room, but the lingering scent of alcohol he’d left behind still hung in the air.

Zinnia thought about Jenson Forrest’s weak stomach. She also remembered that if it hadn’t been for him tonight, she might have been dragged off the stage by those lecherous men, and who knows what would have happened. With that, she pushed open the door to find him.

Sure enough, a light was on in the study. Zinnia pushed open the door and saw the man sitting behind his desk, talking on the phone. Not wanting to disturb him, she quietly closed the door and went downstairs.

"Zinnia Lawrence is my wife, which makes her older brother my brother-in-law. It’s perfectly reasonable for him to stay in the Forrest Family’s exclusive ward. I don’t care who gave the order, but if something like this happens again, you can pack your bags and go. Understood?"

Jenson was on the phone with the hospital director. Not long after he hung up, Zinnia had already prepared some hangover soup and was knocking on the study door. It was the simplest version she knew how to make, just water boiled with ginger and white sugar.

However, when she walked into the study, she saw Jenson sitting on the sofa, hurriedly pulling down his sleeve as she entered.

"Why aren’t you asleep yet?"

Zinnia set down the hangover soup and suspiciously tugged at the arm he was hiding. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing. Is this hangover soup for me? I..."

As Jenson reached for the bowl, Zinnia grabbed his arm and forcefully yanked the sleeve up. Her brow furrowed instantly.

"Why hasn’t this wound healed yet?!"

The injury on Jenson Forrest’s arm was still wrapped in a bandage, with fresh blood seeping through it.

Jenson held her hand. "It happened at the bar when someone accidentally bumped into me. It was almost healed. I’ve already re-applied medicine and bandaged it. It’s fine."

He pulled his sleeve back down, but Zinnia’s frown didn’t ease. Did he get hurt while helping me on stage?

She found herself growing angry. "You’re injured, so why are you drinking?!" Is Crystal Sutton really that special? So special that he’d ignore his own health just to drink for her and play her games?

Jenson raised an eyebrow. "Weren’t you the one who told me to drink?"

Zinnia felt like she was going to die from anger. She sneered and shoved the bowl of soup at him. "With logic like that, how has Stellar not gone bankrupt yet?"

Jenson took the soup as Zinnia stormed out of the room. He watched her retreating back and smirked. At least she still has a conscience, knowing to make me hangover soup.

He took a small, hot sip and hissed. "This is disgusting. Did you poison it?"

Meanwhile, Zinnia returned to her room and saw several new text messages on the phone she’d left on the bed. They were from an unknown number. Zinnia opened them, and several photos popped up. The setting was clearly abroad, and the man and woman in them were Jenson Forrest and Crystal Sutton.

Although nothing was overly intimate, the different scenes, seasons, and clothes were a testament to his four years of indifference toward her and constant companionship with Crystal Sutton.

Zinnia had often wondered if Jenson met up with Crystal Sutton on his business trips. She’d wondered if, while she was at home missing him, he was on the other side of the ocean having fun with another woman. But seeing the photographic proof before her eyes still made her heart ache so much she could barely breathe, as if it had been ripped out and squeezed.

She bit her lip and dialed the number directly. The other party hung up immediately. Crystal Sutton obviously wouldn’t dare to answer. She’s probably afraid I’ll record the call or report her to Jenson. Even if I do, she can just play dumb and deny everything since it’s an unknown number.

Realizing this, Zinnia blocked the number just as the bedroom door opened and the man himself walked in.

Full of spite, Zinnia scrolled through her contacts and dialed Crystal Sutton’s number. As expected, the call connected almost instantly.

Zinnia sneered, tossed the phone on the sofa with the call active, and turned toward Jenson, tiptoeing to wrap her arms around his neck. "What took you so long? I’ve been waiting for you."

She was feeling rebellious and vengeful. If Crystal Sutton was going to keep provoking her, shouldn’t she give her a little something to get worked up about?

Jenson was taken aback by her enthusiasm, but also pleasantly surprised. Reading her signal almost instantly, he grabbed her by the waist, lifted her up, took two steps, and let them both fall onto the bed.

"So eager, you want it?" the man’s voice was husky as he whispered and gently kissed her ear.

Zinnia turned her head to avoid his breath and saw the phone, its screen still lit, on the sofa. I wonder if Crystal Sutton is fuming. I hope she has a huge fight with this scumbag later.

"Hiss! That hurts! Be gentle..."

The man nibbled the soft flesh behind Zinnia’s ear, making her eyes mist over as she weakly punched him.

"Focus! And another thing, you are not allowed to go on stage and dance without my permission again!" He couldn’t stand it. He didn’t know how many people she had stunned tonight, or how many men now coveted her. At that moment, all he’d wanted was to drag her off that stage, hide her away, and pin her down so no other man could ever look at her again.

"I’ll dance if I want to! I—MMH!"

Before Zinnia could finish, Jenson lowered his head and kissed her deeply, enveloping her in his unique masculine scent.

"You’re already so pliant, and I haven’t even started. Zinnia, just soften up and tell me we’re not getting divorced. I’ll give you anything..." Jenson’s kisses traveled from her eyes and brows to the tip of her nose, down to her delicate chin and the hollow of her neck. His voice was low and teasing, a hypnotic spell.

Zinnia grew dizzy from his kisses, but the word "divorce" snapped her back to her senses. She opened her eyes and saw the phone on the sofa had returned to the home screen. Crystal Sutton had hung up.

She abruptly shoved Jenson. "Get off me! I’m going to sleep!"

Jenson was still tipsy. The fragrant, soft woman beneath him was intoxicating, even with her clothes still on. Being so suddenly rejected, he felt the fire in him rage, unable to be extinguished, and his temper flared. He seized Zinnia’s wrists, pinning them above her head as he gripped her chin.

"The moment I mention not divorcing, you get agitated. Do you want to leave me that badly? Zinnia Lawrence, my world isn’t a place you can just come and go from as you please! You can’t just provoke me whenever you want and then push me away when you’re done!"

With that, he hooked a long finger into the collar of her robe and tore it open. Zinnia was powerless to resist as he claimed her right there, pulling her into a vortex of desire.

The phone on the nightstand started buzzing again. This time, it was Jenson’s.

A defiant streak stirred in Zinnia, and she arched her body up to meet his. It was like adding fuel to the fire. Jenson’s Adam’s apple bobbed rapidly under her lips, and a storm brewed in his dark eyes.

"Don’t just bite anywhere. Have you forgotten the lesson from last time?"

Zinnia immediately recoiled, her eyes glistening. That night, he had been drunk, and she had bitten him so badly that he’d needed stitches. He couldn’t even get out of bed for several days. Just thinking about it now made Zinnia burn with embarrassment.

"Then... be gentle." She was a little worried about the baby.

Jenson leaned in to kiss her, his voice muffled against her lips. "I can’t be gentle. You’ve set me on fire. Feel for yourself."

He guided her hand downward. Zinnia’s face flushed as she refused with all her might. In the end, her fingertips landed on his firm, defined abs, fanning the flames even higher.

The night was long.

She could no longer voice her refusal. The buzzing phone had long since gone silent, unnoticed and uncared for.

In the heat of passion, her vision went dark as the man’s large hand covered her eyes again. He always did this. They had never even tried another position. Zinnia didn’t know what it meant for a man to refuse to look at you at the most crucial moment in bed, but she knew it couldn’t be anything good.

Bitterness welled in her heart again, and she reached up to pull his hand away. He usually held it there so tightly, so Zinnia assumed this time would be the same. She was surprised when her gentle tug was enough to pull it away.

As the man’s face came into view, he was holding her in a tight embrace.