Chapter 4 Let's Get Divorced

But that just showed that he was afraid of his wife and he would kneel to satisfy her.

It was hard to imagine Mr. Qi apologizing for anything.

According to rumor, Zed Qi never apologized. Even when he made a mistake, Zed would rather fix the situation than admit to having made a mistake.

"Honey, let's go home." Zed said as he lifted Jean in his arms. Then he turned and walked out of the club.

"Zed, you can't......" Sue tried to stop Zed from leaving but Eva interrupted before Sue could finish her sentence.

"Was that not humiliating enough for me?" Eva was furious. She glared at Sue.

"But the wine he just drunk....." Anxious that someone would hear, Eva covered Sue's mouth with her hand. She raised an eyebrow as a warning to Sue. With no other alternative, Sue silently watched Zed leave.

Back at the villa, Zed returned to his usual indifferent attitude. He pulled his tie loose and grabbed a bottle of ice water. Then, he headed for the balcony.

Jean stood by the window and quietly watched Zed. He seemed to be lost in his thoughts. It seemed that Zed was quite upset.

'Could it be that he still loves Eva? If so, then I did something really terrible.' Jean was anxious about the night's events. She nibbled on her nails as she wondered about Zed and Eva. She raised an eyebrow when she noticed that Zed had drunk the whole bottle of ice water. 'Was he cooling himself down?' She thought.

'Wait a minute! Is he going to kill me?

He can't blame me for that! It's his fault that he didn't tell me first......' Jean looked down and realized that she had been clutching the curtains so tightly that her nails had almost ripped through the fabric. After the evening they just had, and considering her uncertainty about Zed's feelings for Eva, Jean was hesitant to ask him about the land.

Lost in her thoughts, Jean had not noticed that Zed had entered the room. When she finally realized that she wasn't alone, Jean sucked in a deep breath and waited for Zed to say something. When only silence ensued, Jean slowly looked at Zed. The man was slightly drunk and his eyes reflected an emotion she was unfamiliar with.

At such close proximity, Jean could smell the alcohol on Zed. The smell wasn't too offensive as it was mixed with the aftershave he was wearing. When she looked at Zed's face, she realized that his eyes were unfocused. 'Had he drunk too much?'

Jean was surprised. Although Jean knew she shouldn't, she asked anyway, "Mr. Qi, are you satisfied with my performance tonight? And do you think that land could...... hmm......"

Suddenly Zed stumbled forward. His broad palm landed on Jean's mouth and she found herself unable to complete her sentence.

He frowned as though in great pain.

"Zed Qi, what are you doing...... No, you can't do that......

......

The next day..

The warm sun sprinkled to the ground through clouds that floated lazily in the sky. It was noon when Jean woke. She saw a file on the night stand and reached for it.

The words, Land Transfer Contract, were printed on the front page in huge bold letters. Although Jean should have been thrilled at having convinced Zed to leave the land to her father, she did not feel happy.

After putting down the contract, Jean dragged her sore body to the bathroom. Once in front of the mirror, she studied her reflection. Except her face, Jean's whole body was covered in marks left by Zed.

She frowned and took a quick shower before returning to the bedroom to get dressed. In preparation for her visit to the Wen house, she wrapped a silk scarf around her neck to cover the claret-colored hickeys.

Jean's father was quite delighted when he saw the contract. He wouldn't stop referring to her as "My good girl" and praised Jean's efforts. This was the nicest he had behaved with Jean in a long time.

"Father, can you give me the Residence Booklet now, please?" Jean felt optimistic. She had acquired the contract as per her father's wishes. Their divorce procedure would be held today as well. The Residence Booklet was the last item she needed to put an end to this titular marriage.

"Did Zed ask you to give this to me?" Mr. Wen questioned. It seemed that he didn't want his daughter to end this marriage so quickly.

Zed had been like an animal last night. Till he was done with Jean, he hadn't even given her a chance to breathe. When Jean woke, Zed was nowhere to be found. She didn't even know when he had left. That wasn't surprising to Jean as there had never been much communication between the two. But somehow, Jean was expecting to be able to talk to Zed. She was even more determined to end this arrangement. Jean feared that her father would force her to stay with Zed. That would allow Mr. Wen to manipulate Zed through Jean repeatedly. If that happened, her whole life would be wasted!

She nodded before speaking, "Yes, he is waiting for me at City Hall, so hurry up. I'm afraid if he gets annoyed, he might cancel this contract......"

"I'll go get it." Hearing her explanation, Mr. Wen got up and rushed to his room.

Jean was secretly relieved. She booked a taxi to City Hall after she got the Residence Booklet. As the taxi sped away from the Wen house, Jean texted Zed.

"See you at City Hall."

The whole afternoon went by, but Zed didn't appear. Jean had waited at the steps to City Hall with the Booklet clutched tightly in her hands. The morning had started so well! The contract had been delivered and the Booklet was in her possession. Now, all she needed was for Zed to show up and liberate her from this sham of a marriage. But Zed never showed and his phone had been busy every time Jean had tried calling. When the evening sun had set and all the officials had left City Hall, Jean finally allowed herself to accept that she wasn't getting her divorce.

Furious with Zed, Jean returned to the house to confront him. As she entered, shame and guilt overwhelmed Jean. Everywhere she went, she saw traces of Zed's actions from the previous night. She couldn't escape the reminders as they were on the couch, the carpet, in the bathroom and in the bedroom......

Jean sat on the couch as she waited for Zed's arrival. She was in a gloomy mood. Now that the contract had been acquired, there was no need for this show to go on. Facing the arrogant and conceited Mr. Qi every day would sooner or later drive her mad. She must divorce him!

She waited till midnight, but Zed didn't show. Her anger settled with time and her weary eyes could not stay open.

A while later, a car pulled into the driveway. After parking the car, Zed sat staring at the steering wheel. Numerous thoughts ran through his mind. It was a while before he sighed and opened the car door. A few minutes later, Zed had entered the house and walked toward couch. He looked at the woman curled on the couch like a kitten.

"Zed, why didn't you come to City Hall today?" Jean yawned as she asked. She had woken when she heard Zed entering the house. However, she was so tired that her eyes refused to stay open.

"Busy." The man was so reticent that he gave Jean short and curt answers.

"Ok, are you free tomorrow? Let's get the divorce thing done." Jean rubbed her eyes to drive away the sleep. She looked at the big silent rock standing in front of her.

Zed didn't answer her question. Instead, he squatted and lifted her into his arms. Then he strode to the bedroom. He gently placed her on the bed and covered her with the soft quilt. The bed and the quilt felt so comforting that Jean closed her eyes and fell asleep instantly.

When Zed noticed the Residence Booklet in her arms, he frowned before gently prying it loose. Then he locked it in his safe.

The next day, Jean woke in a panic. Thoughts of the Booklet flooded her. Where had she kept it? She could have sworn that she had it on her when Zed brought her to the bedroom. Anxious, Jean searched the whole villa but she couldn't find the Residence Booklet. As usual, Zed had already left for work and so, she couldn't ask him. Jean was crazy with worry.

'Wait. Think hard. Where did I put it last night?' Jean pushed herself to retrace her steps from the night before. Her face paled when she realized she had absolutely no memory of where she put the Booklet. How could she get divorced without the Residence Booklet?

Besides, if her father learned that she had lost the Booklet, he would be furious.

All of a sudden she noticed the monitor at the far corner of the room. Jean had mocked Zed for being paranoid when she had first learned that he had installed monitors in every room. But now, her heart soared with hope.

She powered on Zed's personal computer with the intention of scouring through last night's surveillance video. Jean was disappointed when she found that the computer was password protected.

With no other alternative, Jean had to call Zed.

"Zed, what's the password to your computer?"

"Why do you need it?"

"I can't find my Residence Booklet. I thought I'd check surveillance videos to see where I put it last night."

"I can't remember the password."

"What? Can't remember! How can you not remember the password to your own computer? Are you kidding me? Wait. Did you hide my Residence Booklet? !" Jean was so angry that she threw several questions at Zed without giving him the time to reply.

"So what?" Zed's voice was calm and indifferent.

Jean was stunned, "What? Why did you hide my Residence Booklet? Don't you want the divorce?"

She had no idea why this man would hide her Booklet.

"No."