Forced by fate – Destined to be his Wife

“Calm down, Tang. Please, just breathe, and calm down. Stop and look at me.” Linlin caught hold of TangShi who was racing from one room to another in the apartment, searching for YuZhi and despairing over the lack of him. She had called Linlin to come get her when she dressed and raced out of the hotel after him and couldn’t find him anywhere around. Freaking out and in a neighborhood she wasn’t familiar with and no idea what she should do. She had abandoned Rong in his beaten state without a second thought and ran after YuZhi.

Linlin clung to her upper arm to restrain her, hugging her in with a struggle, and smoothed away her hair that was sticking to her clammy face in a bid to soother her. Her heart breaking for seeing her this way.

“Take a second to be still and take a deep breath. This isn’t going to help you.”

“He won’t answer my calls. He’s not at Leng group or home, he’s not with ZhengLi either. I don’t know where he is.” TangShi wailed in desperation, her words rushed and through labored breaths, as close to hysteria as possible without an all-out mental breakdown. Her mind a mess, her face saturated with a waterfall of nonstop tears and shame and running make up, and she was sniffing loudly as her nose ran freely. Clogged up from the downpour she couldn’t control so her voice was a croaky mumble. Her heart was torn up and shredded as though her insides were bleeding shards of glass.

“He might be with ZhengLi. You called him right after you lost him. He would have been driving and ZhengLi’s cell is off now, so I can’t check. He won’t be randomly driving around. He’s a big boy who’s capable of taking care of himself.”

“Let’s go there. Let’s go find him.” TangShi begged with wide eyes and furrowed brows, catching her friends arm wistfully to plead with Linlin to help her make this better. She seemed like a broken child searching for their parent in this moment and Linlin had to swallow a lump in her throat that was choking her up. Knowing this was futile.

“No, he needs space and time. Let him go sort his head out and then you can talk it out. Once he cools down and he’s not so crazy messed up, then we can sit down and try and explain this.” Linlin was trying to be supportive and optimistic but on the brief details TangShi gave her she had no idea how to fix this. YuZhi believed she slept with another man after a drunken night out, whether TangShi remembered or not. To him, she had betrayed their love and it was over. He was a stubborn guy with high self-esteem who would never take back a cheating girlfriend.

“I want to take it back. Undo it and go back to yesterday. I want to never do that stupid show or go for dinner.” TangShi wailed, raking her fingers through her hair, rubbing her scalp in agitation, as a new wave of sobs hit and churned up her gut.

“Come on. Let’s get you showered and changed, and I’ll make you something to eat. Focus on small tasks right now and pulling yourself together. Give him time, it’s going to be okay once everyone calms down. We all need time.” Linlin was aching for her best friend, hating seeing her this distraught and irrational. At a loss with how to care for her or make this better. She had never seen her like this, ever.

“What did I do? How could I do that to him? To us?” TangShi couldn’t shake the heavy cloak of despair and guilt and no matter how many times she tried to recall the day before, it was always lost at the same point of dinner. It’s like her memory ended mid desert and then there was nothing until she woke up in the hotel. That scene was etched on her soul like a black scar, and she couldn’t get around what she must have done.

“I know you, baby girl; I can’t imagine you doing anything like this. Not if you waited twenty odd years to have sex at all. It’s suss as hell and that Rong Cai, jerk, there’s something about him.” Linlin wasn’t fully convinced that TangShi had a drunken one-night stand, but she had no proof while her best friend seemed confused and resigned to the fact she had done wrong.

“He’ll never forgive me. I wouldn’t forgive me.” TangShi was lost in her own head and Linlin drew her in to cuddle her and pat her back.

“No one knows what really happened…” Linlin started to smooth her hair down her back, but TangShi shook her head.

“Why would Rong lie? He made it clear what we did and the room, you didn’t see the room. It was evident what went down in that room. He couldn’t have made the whole thing up…. I was there. I willingly went to a hotel room with him.” TangShi was so caught up in remorse she couldn’t see through it at all.

Linlin bit her tongue and curbed her response because she had a few home truths about Rong Cai that her innocent friend didn’t need to hear right now. Linlin wasn’t naïve to things that went on in the world. Men who used drugs to control women and the lack of memory predating what happened was a big neon sign for her. She didn’t want to traumatize TangShi further, but she did have her suspicions and was trying to figure out how to have her take a blood test today without her freaking out over it.

“Let’s just get you washed up. You’re a mess, and then we can eat and figure out what to do about YuZhi. ZhengLi will take care of him. Just like I’m taking care of you.” Linlin pulled TangShi by the arm, guiding her like a frail patient who was sick. Worried about TangShi’s pale complexion and dark circles or her fragile emotional state as she couldn’t seem to stop the tears flowing.

When she picked her up on the street outside the Carlton hotel TangShi had looked like she had just been through a majorly traumatic event, and was disheveled, disorientated, sobbing, and hyperventilating while she crisscrossed the street searching for YuZhi’s jeep. She was like a possessed madwoman, questioning early morning citizens if they had seen him and it was obvious she wasn’t just hungover. It was heartbreaking to find her like that.

They slowly walked into the main bedroom for the bathroom with the tub, thinking a bubble bath might help unwind her and give her breathing space to calm down. Focused on taking steps, treating her gently, when the entryway keypad beeped loudly and alerted them to someone coming in.

“YuZhi?” TangShi flinched, spinning and pulling herself out of Linlin’s arm at speed to race towards the door, but came to a dead halt and gasp as she was met with ZhengLi sliding in alone.

He looked her up and down with a blank expression, dressed casually in jeans and a sweater, his hair ruffled and a shadow of stubble he never normally had. His manner serious and flat and then brushed past her with zero verbals as though she was nothing important. Not giving her the time of day as she gawped after him.

“Where’s YuZhi? Is he in your car downstairs? Out there in the hall?” TangShi followed him desperately, pleading like a child and ZhengLi threw a side eye look at Linlin with a frown. Waving TangShi’s way airily.

“Tell her he’s not here and I’m collecting clothes and his files for work. She should pack up and go back to the Leng house by tomorrow, so it doesn’t disrupt YuZhi’s work schedule this week. We have a lot of important meetings this week that we can’t afford to fuck up.” ZhengLi’s tone was tight, his manner grim and he walked off towards the bedroom to start looking for YuZhi’s suitcase. Seemingly dismissive of them both and in a bad mood.

“What the hell is your problem?” Linlin snapped at his back as he disappeared into the next room. “Tell her yourself, she’s standing right here, you ignorant bastard!” Linlin was angered by how he just treated her best friend and stalked after him, leaving TangShi looking bewildered in the center of the living room, her heart sinking because she knew she deserved his coldness. Linlin enraged at the utter disrespect for someone so important to her.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“I’m not here to talk to her. I’m here to make sure my best friend has everything he needs. He’s my priority.” ZhengLi shrugged, ignoring Linlin’s temper flaring and carried on pulling out two cases and flipping them open on the bed. He was used to his hellcat’s fire and her being mad at him didn’t bother him at all over this. He had more important matters to attend to.

“You’re mad at TangShi, without even knowing the truth?” Linlin grabbed his arm and yanked him, so he was forced to look at her and he sighed. Tired after their early morning flight home and now he was dealing with this hellish drama.

“I don’t know, a hotel room that looked like the aftermath of a porn session. His girlfriend in sexy underwear standing in a room with a mostly naked dude who had been pursing her for weeks after a drunken night of shenanigans. Yeah, seems like there’s not much to misinterpret there. Do you mind? I’m in a hurry.” ZhengLi shook Linlin off, his own mood simmering, and he was trying to keep his need to go off at TangShi under wraps. Disappointed in someone he rooted for. Emotionally invested in YuZhi’s wellbeing and hating on anyone who hurt him.

Of all the people in the world, YuZhi was the one that mattered the most to him, even amongst family. So dealing with the broken mess who rolled into his apartment after they got home and knowing TangShi caused this, she wasn’t high on his favorite person list right now. In his head she had betrayed his buddy, and she didn’t deserve his time or consideration. Nor his conversation.

“You really think she’s capable of that? You’ve hung around her for months and got to know her better than that! Look at the mess of her. Why would she be like this if she truly wanted to destroy her relationship?” Linlin was in awe at how thickheaded and near sighted ZhengLi could be given his vast experience in the world of partying, sex and drugs.

“Its called regret. And yeah, you never really know anyone and what they’re capable of until they do something like this to you. Even you could do this to me… people suck. That’s not a groundbreaking new discovery.” ZhengLi shrugged, going back to pacing back and forth from the walk-in closet as he collected YuZhi’s suits and clothes, packing them neatly as he did so. Undeterred by her hovering around him. Linlin following him like a bear with a sore head and snarling his way as each step angered her further.