Forced by fate – Destined to be his Wife

ZhengLi stroked back Linlin’s hair as he watched her toss and turn on the bed, unable to get comfy because of her pain. Her body bruised and sore and still not herself even after being treated for mild chloroform poisoning. Nausea plaguing her and an infernal headache that was adding to her distress.

“I can ask them for more pain meds.” ZhengLi was perched on her bed to one side, staying close and watching her like a hawk, being his usual cool self even though internally he was chaotic. So many emotions about today and seeing his girlfriend bruised and sick and suffering from a concussion. He had the urge to find that motherfucker and beat seven shades of shit out of him for every tiny mark on her body.

ZhengLi wasn’t one who normally showed a lot on the surface, always preferring the smooth wise guy persona but this was proving difficult. When it came to Linin, he became irrational and over protective. He wanted to take away her pain and wipe every mark, cut, and bruise from her skin because seeing them was agony.

“No. They said it’ll ease off. Nothing broken or ruptured, just banged up. I’ll be okay in a couple of days. This bed is so firm it’s borderline abuse on its own.” Linlin tossed the other way, huffing loudly and close to tears with the frustration of it.

“They can give you something else. Come here, stop moving so much.” ZhengLi shifted down to lay beside her and slid his arms under her body and around her, unable to watch her any longer. He stretched out alongside her, snuggling her close and tight and soothing her restlessness. Sensing a lot had to do with anxiety and fallout from what they had gone through and instinctively moving to wrap her up. Smoothing down her hair in rhythmic lulling fashion and pulling her into his abdomen so her ear was level with his mouth.

“When can I go see TangShi?” She mumbled in a petulant tone, annoyed that he was keeping her stuck in bed now the saline drip was finished.

“I told you. You’re not moving a muscle. TangShi is fine, she’s with YuZhi and her injuries were less than yours. YuZhi will bring her when he can.”

“I’m fine. I just hate hospitals and I can’t settle until I see she’s really okay…….” She knew she was talking to a brick wall. If there was one thing she knew about ZhengLi, he was stubborn as hell and almost never backed down. “They said Rong Cai might die. Do you think he will?” Linlin changed the topic, knowing his nonresponse was deliberate ignorance because he wasn’t changing his mind. Her eyes misted over, thinking of that monster and shuddering at the memory. Hating the instantly curling of fear in the pit of his stomach at even saying his name.

“If there’s a god. That bastard should pay for everything he’s done.” ZhengLi held her tighter, scrunching up his face and curbing the need to punch something. His fury at thinking of what she’d gone through today heavy on his soul. “You only need to stay here tonight. Tomorrow they’re discharging you both. You can come stay with me and I’ll take care of you while you recover fully.” He batted away talk of Rong Cai knowing his temper could only handle so much.

“Are you sure it won’t cramp your style if I do that?” Linlin retorted impulsively, her deep seated insecure fear he was seeing other women springing out at her while at her most vulnerable and she bit her lip, cursing herself for saying it out loud.

“What are you…?” ZhengLi frowned, confused by her response but was cut off by the door opening and TangShi’s bed being wheeled into the large space.

“Hey, you two. We’re room buddies for the rest of the day. Sorry to invade but this one wouldn’t rest until we came here.” YuZhi came in beside the bed, holding TangShi’s hand and Linlin squirmed and sat up, sliding free of ZhengLi’s embrace, ecstatic to see her friend, and he too shifted to sit up beside her but kept one arm around her waist. Overly aware of her every movement and always double checking her injuries.

“How you feeling?” Linlin was first to ask TangShi, stretching to peer over at her and watched as they positioned her bed parallel to hers. Mother hen instinct moving while visually searching her over for signs of anything and seeing nothing much. Just fatigue and the same minor cuts and bruises as her.

“I’m fine. Sore head, a little tired. Everything fine. What about you?” TangShi was glad to see color back in Linlin’s face and that she seemed practically back to normal.

“I’m doing better. Just wanna go home and sleep on a comfy bed in a better decorated room. I am not fond of these either.” She sighed, tugging at her hospital pajamas, avoiding ZhengLi’s eye even though he got up and sat back on the side of the bed now they had company. YuZhi mirrored his pose on the foot od TangShi’s bed and the four of them were left alone by the nurses. The room falling quiet for a moment.

“You guys still need to talk to the police.” YuZhi pointed out but ZhengLi shook his head and lifted his cellphone, waving it YuZhi’s way.

“Detective Kim said they’ll swing by in the morning before discharge and do it then. They need a rest first and time to process and get over the shock. There’s no rush while Cai’s outcome doesn’t look good anyway.”This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

The four of them fell silent again for a second as the gravity of that statement sent a weird mood through them all and it was Linlin who finally broke the silence.

“His father never did anything wrong and yet he’s the one who’ll carry this for a long time. It could potentially ruin the school, their reputation …. How does someone so normal and nice, end up with a son like that?” This had been on her mind since she woke up. Master Cai had always been a nice and polite gentleman and TangShi had only spoken well of him.

“Who knows. Mental health can fall on anyone I guess. I’m sure we can keep it out of the press for all our sakes.” YuZhi tried to be diplomatic knowing this kind of talk could upset TangShi and ZhengLi groaned as his phone rang and distracted them all. Buzzing in his hand because he was still holding it and tensing at the name flashing on screen.

“I have to take this. It’s my mother.” ZhengLi got up, his expression falling and had been dreading this call all day. Lately she was calling him every single day, at least twice and always with demands over his love life.

Linlin’s eyes followed him as he got up in a hurried fashion and left the room quickly. Suspicion rising because his family seemed to call a lot lately, and every time he left the room to take their calls whereas before, he always answered in front of her. Her gut tightening and sending her into insecure overdrive and she bit on her lower lip nervously and started picking at her nails. Trying to hide her urge to cry and pasted a smile on her face as she looked back to TangShi.

“Yes, mother. How can I help you?” ZhengLi paced into the hall, checking the door had shut behind him and exhaled heavily as stress started settling in. Uptight and antsy that Linlin might hear him and annoyed his mother had the worst timing.

“I called your office and they said you weren’t there. I told you I was sending by today Mia to take you for Lunch. How can I do that if you don’t inform me when you’re out. The poor girl is standing in your empty office.”

“Mom, really? Now you’re sending her to my workplace and forcing me to have lunch with her. Can I please organize my own love life?” ZhengLi clenched his fist, shaking his head at the audacity of the woman who seemed to forget he was in his thirties already, and quickly glanced back at the room before wandering further in case they could hear him. The last thing he wanted was Linlin upset on top of everything else.

“No, you can’t. You think we don’t know what you’ve been doing these last weeks? Your face shows up in plenty of pictures in the gossip columns. Some trashy third-rate hospitality company heiress always on your arm. Is that really all you’re capable of?” Her words were delivered with stinging disappointment and shocked ZhengLi to the core. Thinking his relationship with Linlin had been concealed all this time as his parents weren’t one to read trash rags and had never mentioned her.

His mother had seen pictures of some purple dyed hair, slutty dressed creature on his arm of late. Always the same girl despite his years of multiple ‘playmates’ and she had been bitterly disappointed that he was settling for some classless hussy. Having done a check on who she was, she had found Miss. Choi had a reputation not unlike her son’s past misdemeanors and that made it worse.

“So is that why you’re now trying force me to marry into the Huang family? Because you found out I have a girlfriend you don’t approve of? Nice, mom!” ZhengLi’s anger swirled in his stomach.

“You have a responsibility as my son to marry a girl of a good standing. Even if you are the youngest. This is about our family name. And That girl is never going to measure up to the respectable Kim name.”

“How about I marry a girl I love and you can cut me off and disown me from the Kim family, so I don’t tarnish it’s perfect name. I’m not doing this today, mom. So have a nice lunch and I’ll talk to you in a few days. I’m busy here.” ZhengLi closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with his forefinger and thumb, his head aching already and knew she was only just getting started. He had no doubts if they figured out he had a girlfriend, a serious one, they probably did a background check on her.

“Love? Don’t be ridiculous. It’s a passing fleeting feeling and doesn’t always guarantee a long and happy marriage. This is pure and simple lust because a wild playmate is currently fun, but her loose behaviors will be the end of you. A good pairing is the most important thing. A woman who matches you in every way.”

“Well, I guess I’m lucky I found one. Who matches me in every way and is the best pairing I’ll ever find. One who forgives me my loose behaviors of the past because she understands me. I’m not doing this anymore. I played along knowing in time Mia would cut me loose when she realized we weren’t going anywhere but honestly, after today, I’m done with this. I’m not going to do this to Linlin. I love her.”

ZhengLi had been shaken to his senses when they found their women missing today. The agony of not knowing where she was, what happened, if she was okay, and then the call she had been in an accident had almost ended him. The fear was unlike anything he’d ever felt in his life, had almost paralyzed him in terror, and he was wasting time and hurting her by allowing his family to push him around like this in the name of duty. He couldn’t do it anymore, not when he thought of how helpless and tiny she looked in that bed when he first walked into her room.