CHAPTER 44: CHAPTER 44: FU THE BIG FOOL

Startled, Zinnia pushed herself into a sitting position. She awkwardly and clumsily shuffled backward on her drawn-up knees, her voice laced with defiant sarcasm. "Since when did you become a part-time fish carver, President Forrest? I had no idea... Ah!"

Jenson Forrest strode over, the knife in his hand plunging down violently. Zinnia cried out and squeezed her eyes shut. There was no pain, of course. But when she opened her eyes, she saw that he had pinned her large tail fin to the bed with the knife. She yanked twice but couldn’t pull it free. She was immobilized.

Jenson sat on the edge of the bed and casually tugged at the pinned tail. "Learned your lesson yet?" he asked.

Zinnia didn’t think she had done anything wrong. She turned her head away, tears swirling in her eyes. "I earn my own money to support myself. If you think I’ve embarrassed you or the Forrest Family, then let’s hurry up and get our divorce."

Her words were like pouring gasoline on a fire. Jenson’s face turned cold. He gripped the knife’s handle and sliced upward with a flick of his wrist.

RIP!

In an instant, the tail fin was shredded. A cold sweat broke out across her skin from the shock, but her legs were finally free. She immediately bent her knees and kicked out at Jenson.

The man caught her feet in his large hands, bending them upward. Zinnia’s knees were forced against her abdomen in a humiliating posture she couldn’t escape. Her face flushed red with exertion and shame.

"Do you think I’m dead? Or that I’m not providing for you, forcing you to go out and do *this* to support yourself?"

His expression was grim. Zinnia bit her lip, too exhausted to speak.

He had never been stingy with her, at least not with money. For the past two years, even when he didn’t come home, his secretary would deposit 500,000 into her account every month like clockwork. The latest seasonal clothes and bags were delivered right to her door. Jewelry, accessories—she had everything she could ever need. From childhood until now, he had always given her the best. But that was precisely why Zinnia could never hold her head high in this marriage. She didn’t even have the confidence to stand up straight. Even yearning for his love made her feel greedy and completely undeserving.

"Speak!" Jenson snarled, grabbing her chin and forcing her to face him.

Tears welled in her eyes, but the corners of her lips twisted into a self-mocking smile. "That’s right, you’ve never mistreated me financially. I’m just like a canary you keep in a cage. No, that’s not right. At least a patron gets some joy from his pet canary. But you don’t love me. After marrying me, you came home even less, staying abroad for years at a time. You shouldn’t be called Devil Forrest. ’Forrest the Big Sucker’ would be more fitting!"

She owed him an immense debt. Daring to fall in love with him felt like a desecration of his kindness, something that made her feel filthy. Ever since her first crush on him at the tender age of fourteen, she had worked hard, depositing money into the Forrest Family’s account every year, paying back what she could, bit by bit. She thought that once she had cleared her debt, she could finally leave the Forrest Family and have the right to pursue him, to love him openly and honorably. Unfortunately, that’s not what happened... All her efforts were probably just a joke in Jenson’s eyes.

"And aren’t I the big sucker?" Jenson sneered. "Wasting money and energy to raise a thankless wolf. Heh. At least a wolf’s blood is warm. But you... you’re something else now, aren’t you? A cold-hearted and cold-blooded mermaid."

Zinnia’s heart seized. "Then stop being a sucker. I’m leaving with nothing. Shouldn’t you be happy? You can finally marry Crystal Sutton. She’s already pregnant. Aren’t you in a hurry? Or do you really want your child to be born illegitimate?"

"Of course I’m in a hurry." Jenson shoved her legs away as if he couldn’t bear to look at her for another second.

The force sent Zinnia tumbling onto her side. Tears seeped from the corners of her eyes. Her heart felt dead.

How laughable. Because he had treated her slightly differently, she had started to doubt if Crystal’s baby was even his. She had even wanted to investigate. Utterly laughable.

"Letting you leave with nothing would be too easy," the man said coldly. "I’ve told you before, you want a divorce? That will be thirty million. I’m the one who raised you. I can’t just let you go for free and benefit some other man."

Zinnia laughed. "Then don’t stop me from earning money—"

Before she could finish, Jenson flipped over and pinned her beneath him.

Terrified for the baby in her belly, Zinnia struggled and pushed at him. "Get off me!"

"How much can you possibly earn playing mermaid? You won’t be able to pay back thirty million even by the time I’m in my coffin. Instead of keeping such clear accounts with me, why don’t you sleep with me? I’ll pay you 20,000 each time. And stop putting on this chaste-martyr act in bed! So? What do you say? If you agree, I’ll transfer you the payment for the three times we did it last night right now."

Zinnia stared at Jenson in disbelief, her face deathly pale and her lips trembling.

Seeing her reaction, Jenson’s hardened heart felt a slight twinge. His handsome features softened a fraction, but the memory of her recent actions stoked the anger in his chest, and he was too proud to coax her.

As they were locked in a stalemate, a phone began to ring. Jenson rolled off her, picked up the knife, and casually sliced through the tie binding her hands. Zinnia immediately scrambled away and burrowed under the blankets.

Jenson answered the phone, his expression instantly becoming gentle. "Yes... When have I ever disobeyed you? Okay, okay, I know..."

It had to be Crystal. Hearing him coaxing another woman like that, Zinnia realized her heart didn’t ache as much anymore. It was just a dull numbness. Is that a good thing?

While she was lost in thought, Jenson sat on the bed beside her, straightening his shirt. "Grandma wants to video call us."

Zinnia froze. Old Madam Forrest’s call was already coming through, and Jenson swiped to answer it immediately. Panicked, Zinnia wrapped the blankets tightly around herself. Jenson put an arm around her, pulling her into the camera’s view.

Seeing the young couple was actually together, Old Madam Forrest beamed and said to Zinnia, "Zinnia, dear, those online rumors about a kiss in a bar are just nonsense from the media. Jenson said it wasn’t true, and Grandma had him take care of it, so don’t you worry. If Jenson bullies you again, you just tell Grandma."

So Old Madam Forrest had seen the rumors and gotten worried. Zinnia couldn’t help but smile. "Grandma, the woman Jenson was hugging in the bar was me. I wasn’t being bullied."

Old Madam Forrest patted her chest in relief. "Oh, that’s good! I knew it. Jenson wouldn’t go looking for other women! He doesn’t have the emotional intelligence to two-time anyone."

Jenson said nothing.

Zinnia nodded with a smile, though her heart was bitter.

In reality, Jenson was seeing someone else. But he really did seem to lack the emotional intelligence for it. Other men could juggle multiple affairs and keep their wives completely in the dark. But perhaps Jenson simply couldn’t be bothered to hide it. Or maybe he just didn’t care about her feelings at all.

"Don’t worry, Grandma. We aren’t fighting," Zinnia said, her eyes curving into crescents.

"Zinnia, dear, let me tell you something," Grandma Forrest continued. "Before Jenson was born, his mother had minor abdominal surgery. I’ve always suspected the doctor left a piece of gauze in her belly. That’s Jenson for you—he’s basically that piece of gauze come to life, which is why he’s so difficult and stubborn. You have to be patient with him. And if you get really angry, just hit him! Take a belt to him! He won’t dare to fight back!"

Zinnia was speechless.

"Grandma, I’m right here listening," Jenson said with a helpless sigh.

Old Madam Forrest finally seemed to notice their surroundings, and her eyes lit up. "Are you two in a hotel? Oh my, Grandma must be interrupting you! Alright, you two carry on, carry on! I’ll hang up now."

The screen wobbled as she moved, but then she popped back into view, remembering something. "Zinnia, after this, put a pillow under your hips! Listen to Grandma, it works."

Before Zinnia could explain, Old Madam Forrest had hung up.

Mortified, Zinnia shrank deeper into the blankets, her face flushed red as she shot an angry glare at Jenson.

He knew Grandma Forrest was going to video call. He brought her to a hotel and put her in this state, deliberately letting his grandmother misunderstand that they were here trying to make a baby. "You did this on purpose, didn’t you?"

Jenson stared down at her. "If we didn’t come to a hotel, where else were you planning to wander around dressed like a fish?"

Zinnia had no desire to argue with him about it anymore. "Grandma wants a great-grandchild. Since you’re never going to have a baby with me, you should stop giving her false hope. Crystal is pregnant. If you’re worried Grandma won’t approve of your relationship, just tell her. For the sake of the child, she’ll agree to our divorce. If you’re worried a divorce will harm the company’s image, we can get the papers signed without a public announcement. Our marriage was a secret anyway, so it won’t make a difference..."

She spoke to him calmly, but the words still sent a pang of pain through her heart. Nevertheless, her decision to divorce was firm and unwavering.

For a marriage or a romance to last, both partners had to be on equal footing. She and Jenson never were. Their marriage was dysfunctional from the start. Before, she had been too greedy, always nursing the foolish hope that Jenson could fall in love with her. But the truth was, even without Crystal, they never would have lasted.