CHAPTER 45: CHAPTER 45: TRULY WILD

Jenson Forrest’s handsome face was calm, his deep eyes turning cold as he stared down at Zinnia Lawrence.

"Mrs. Forrest is truly generous and virtuous, always thinking of me. Since that’s the case, and Grandma dislikes Crystal, perhaps you could say a few good words about Crystal in front of her? Persuade her for me?"

Zinnia hadn’t anticipated that even after being wronged to this extent, Jenson would still expect her, the legitimate wife, to clear a path for his mistress.

She clenched her fists, taking a deep breath to stop herself from swinging a punch directly at his face. I have to endure this for the sake of the divorce.

"Fine, I’ll do my best."

Who would have thought that her agreement would only make Jenson’s expression colder? The man shot to his feet, looming over her.

"The ’Most Touching Person of the Year’ award really should have a special ’Virtuous Wife’ category just for you."

Zinnia was furious. If this man wasn’t her brother, she would have already been drawing circles to curse him to a violent death on the street.

Jenson slammed the door on his way out, their encounter once again ending on bad terms.

「In the car.」

Seeing Jenson’s frigid expression, Timothy Cohen sighed inwardly for the thousandth time. Couples fight at the head of the bed and make up at the foot. But the CEO and Mrs. Forrest fought all the way to a hotel and still haven’t reconciled. And the CEO came out so quickly... I’m starting to suspect he really can’t perform anymore.

"CEO, should I have the things Mrs. Forrest left at the restaurant sent over?"

Jenson glanced at him. "Are you that idle?"

Timothy fell silent. I just never imagined the CEO would be capable of something so scummy, like abandoning his penniless wife alone in a hotel.

Jenson’s finger swiped across his phone, opening his WeChat conversation with Zinnia Lawrence. Seeing the red system notification above their chat, he let out a cold sneer.

"Did you find out what I asked you to investigate?"

Jenson put his phone away, and Timothy immediately sat up straight.

"It’s all been confirmed. Mrs. Forrest is currently working three jobs. Besides the mermaid restaurant, she’s also a dance double for a film crew and gives private dance lessons to a seven-year-old girl. We’ve already spoken to the restaurant; they won’t let Mrs. Forrest work there again. As for the other two jobs, should we interfere?"

The other two jobs weren’t too outrageous. Jenson paused for a moment before speaking.

"No need."

"There’s one more thing. A minor internet celebrity who was a customer at the restaurant posted a video of Mrs. Forrest’s mermaid performance on a video platform. It gained quite a bit of traction. Although we’ve contacted them to have it deleted, I’m afraid a lot of people have already saved the video..."

Jenson’s thin lips pressed into a line. "Understood."

He closed his eyes, clearly unwilling to discuss the matter further. But his memory was already rewinding. He had been the one to teach Zinnia Lawrence how to dive in the Maldives, right after her high school exams when she was fifteen.

She had been bold and a fast learner. Thanks to her strong lung capacity from years of dancing, she quickly learned to snorkel freely in the ocean. She had once even dressed as a mermaid to swim among a pod of dolphins, making him take countless photos.

That night in the hotel, while he was on a video conference, she had pulled a cushion over and curled up by his feet, flipping through the pictures. As he was listening to a proposal, a small note was secretly slipped onto his lap from under the table.

*Brother, do I look good as a mermaid?*

He had chuckled and, in the middle of his meeting, picked up a pen to write back.

*Don’t just wear it for anyone else to see. You look too much like a real one. Brother is afraid you’ll be captured and taken to a lab for research.*

A soft rustling came from near his feet. He glanced down to see her holding the note, covering her mouth as she smiled so hard her eyes curved into crescents. A moment later, the note was presented to him again.

*I’ll be good. I’ll only wear it for Brother to see.*

A mocking smirk touched Jenson’s lips. That woman doesn’t remember her own promise in the slightest. She shouldn’t be wearing a fishtail; she should be wearing a fish head!

The hotel phone rang. It was the landline.

Jenson answered.

"I don’t have any clothes to change into. Could you please have someone send them over?" Zinnia had taken a shower only to find no change of clothes in the room. Crucially, her phone, bag, and clothes were all still at the theme restaurant, and she was completely penniless.

"My people aren’t that idle."

Hearing the man’s cold voice, Zinnia gritted her teeth, her own voice filled with exasperation. "Jenson, you’re the one who dragged me here!"

Yara Fairchild had joined a film crew. As an essential martial arts replacement, she was on a closed set for filming and couldn’t come back for the next few days. If Jenson refused to act decently, Zinnia had no one else to ask for help.

"Borrow a phone. I’ll transfer you money on WeChat, and you can have the hotel staff buy clothes for you. That’s all."

The man sounded extremely impatient. Without waiting for her to respond, he hung up.

Zinnia furiously slammed the receiver down. Helpless, she did as he said and borrowed a phone. She unblocked Jenson from her blacklist and sent a furious-face emoji.

Seeing he had been added back on WeChat, Jenson’s lips curved into a slight smile. He transferred sixty thousand to her.

When Zinnia saw the notification for 60,000, she remembered what he had just said—twenty thousand for sleeping with him once. The hand holding the phone began to tremble.

Jenson waited a moment, but when no reply came, he sent another message.

[Don’t go back to the restaurant. I’ve had someone retrieve your things and take them to Sovereign Court.]

But after he finished typing and hit send, the familiar red exclamation mark popped up again from the system. Jenson laughed out of sheer exasperation.

...

Zinnia changed her clothes, then took a taxi back to the restaurant to get her things, where she also gave the owner a sincere apology.

That evening, she taught her private dance lesson to the elementary school student. By the time she left the student’s house, it was already nine o’clock.

Zinnia was still worried about the injury on Jenson’s arm. Since she had promised to take care of him until the wound healed, she had no intention of breaking her word. However, before heading back to Sovereign Court, Zinnia first took a car to Yara Fairchild’s apartment complex.

She had already finished choreographing the dance for her audition with Master Lise. She’d recorded a video of it and wanted to send it to her mentor, Rhiannon Young, for feedback. The video was on her laptop, which she needed to retrieve.

The motion-sensor light in the building was broken again. Using her phone as a flashlight, Zinnia made her way up to the fifth floor. As she reached into her bag for her keys, she suddenly caught the scent of cigarette smoke drifting over.

Yara Fairchild lived on the top floor, the sixth. There were two units, but the one opposite hers was vacant. Besides, this smoke didn’t smell like the brand Jenson usually smoked.

A chill ran down Zinnia’s spine. Without looking up, she pretended to continue searching for her keys, but the foot she lifted to take another step up abruptly changed direction, and she spun around to bolt back down the stairs.

However, it was too late.

Footsteps pounded after her. Before Zinnia could even round the corner of the stairwell, her hair was violently grabbed from behind.

"Ah! Help—Mph!"

She tried to scream, but the person behind her clamped a hand forcefully over her mouth. He began dragging her upstairs. Zinnia gripped the banister, but the man showed no mercy, grabbing her head and slamming it against the wooden railing.

The world spun, and her bag and phone tumbled to the ground.

The phone’s screen was lit up, its shattered surface showing an ongoing call. At that exact moment, the emergency call connected.

Tears streamed down Zinnia’s face. Even if I can’t make a sound, Jenson will surely realize something is wrong and come save me. Maybe if he just speaks, this creep will get scared and run off.

Evidently, her attacker noticed the connected call as well. He froze.

But in the next second, a woman’s voice came through the phone.

"Looking for Jenson? I got his pants dirty, so he went to take a shower. I’ll have him call you back later. That’s all."

Then, the line went dead.

Zinnia’s blood ran cold, as if she’d been plunged into an icy abyss. At the most critical moment, she had chosen to dial her emergency contact instead of reaching for her pepper spray, and the decision had been so horribly, utterly wrong.

So hopeless.

Apparently, the man behind her also found it amusing, because he let out a mocking laugh.

"Your emergency contact is a married man? You really are something else, aren’t you? And such a good actress, too! Right, Little Mermaid?" Owen Tate had said this woman was just a gold digger, and he hadn’t believed it. But ever since he started watching her, he’d seen top-tier luxury cars show up every few days to pick her up. Living in a place like this and being chauffeured in luxury cars—it was obvious what she was up to.