Forced by fate – Destined to be his Wife

“Here, Dude. One more to sign and we can call it a day. I’m beat and I feel like I haven’t had a decent night out in a month. I’m having withdrawals.” ZhengLi dumped a folder on his desk before walking off to drag forward a seat from the lounging area and sat down with a sigh. It was already eight pm and he was fed up with work. It’d been a grueling month.

“It’s been less than a week. I think you may need an intervention.”

“Pftt. You’re as bad as me, well you were until you settled down with the little wife.” ZhengLi poked fun, aware of the fact that work was the main reason that YuZhi had calmed down with nights out, but there had also been a decline in party time since he married TangShi. Even when he didn’t like her all that much, he still went home instead of coming out to play.

“Getting married was the start of grandad handing me more responsibility. Don’t overthink it.” YuZhi kept on typing on his laptop, not lifting his eyes and screwed his face up over the details in the document he was compiling. This was his third attempt at writing a proposal this evening, but he wasn’t focused and his mind kept straying.

“How is she anyway? Haven’t seen her since the Sheng Hai charity night.” ZhengLi had taken Rhea home and dealt with her that night and hadn’t done anything but work here since. Late nights. Early mornings, and two all nighters meant zero socializing.

“Good. School is great, she’s great, life is currently quiet seeing as it never blew up and Rhea dodged a massive bullet.” YuZhi got annoyed with his last paragraph and back buttoned the whole thing to delete it. Giving up when the start of a headache was brewing.

“And Rhea? Still not a peep.”

“After the first couple of days of being ignored, she’s left me alone. I think she assumes I need space and hasn’t accepted I was deadly serious.” It wasn’t often they had any down time lately to even have these conversations, so ZhengLi was curious.

ZhengLi felt like his entire life for the past week was figures, data, and planning permission forms. He barely saw YuZhi at all during the day when they were up to their necks in details over this new build. He hadn’t spoken to Linlin either, given she was blanking him after not showing up to the event. He knew he should reach out and make the effort, but he had no time. He missed her, but he had to figure where he was heading with her before he called her.

YuZhi stopped what he was doing and checked his watch, frustrated he wasn’t done but caving at the hour.

“Let’s pack it up. I promised Tang I would cook dinner and I’m already late.” He closed his laptop and slid back, retrieving his jacket and swung it on as he got up.

“When are you two going to stop skirting around one another and admit that your marriage is a little more genuine than you realize.” ZhengLi grinned, lifting up his feet to perch on the surface right before YuZhi walked around and pushed them off with his hand. A glare and a head shake at scuffing his three thousand dollar desk.

“Because it’s not. We have separate bedrooms.” YuZhi reminded him, even though he did convince her to sleep with him that night he hadn’t asked her again in case she got the wrong idea and felt pressured. YuZhi hadn’t arranged anymore clinic visits yet either as he wanted some downtime to figure this mess out with Rhea and let some time pass before he even got his head around fatherhood. Home was stable for now, and TangShi seemed happy. He didn’t want anything to change.

“So change that. Make a baby the old-fashioned way and who knows, maybe stick together after the contract ends.” ZhengLi was blunt and to the point and got a frowned face of a response.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

“I’m leaving. Enjoy your early night. Maybe give Linlin a call and put the girl out of her misery so she stops moping around my apartment in hopes of seeing you. She’s slept over three nights in a row.” YuZhi pointed out, raising a brow as he gathered all his papers and put them in is case.

“Ahhh so that’s why there are separate beds.”

YuZhi picked up his file and smacked ZhengLi on top of the head with it for his smart-ass remarks and refused to respond. Him and

TangShi and sex was a weird topic and not one YuZhi wanted to think about. He was still mulling over his very final break up and getting used to thinking of a future with no Rhea. He didn’t want to jump into sex with TangShi and ruin everything in some impulsive rebound move he would regret. Sex with someone like TangShi was never going to be a means to making a contracted baby. She was a girl who seemed like emotions would be needed and he couldn’t sleep with her as though she was a baby making machine with no feelings.

“Goodnight.” YuZhi blanked him and left. Leaving him behind to do whatever he was doing and not getting into it. ZhengLi never stopped making remarks about Tang, but this wasn’t that simple and YuZhi couldn’t figure out if he had feelings for her or cared about her the way he did with Rhea once upon a time. He made the mistake of tying himself to one woman he ended up not really loving the right way and wasn’t about to jump into a second mistake with another girl. Especially not TangShi.

YuZhi drove home and got up to the apartment in record time. Eager to see her and hoping that Linlin had finally gone home. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the girl, but sometimes he liked his space and the serenity of just TangShi and him doing their thing in his apartment. She would paint or read while he worked, and it felt nice and domestic, and homely. Linlin on the other hand was chaos and would make mess, a lot of noise, and needed constant entertainment, much like ZhengLi did. In terms of a pairing, they were a match made in heaven.

“Tang, I’m home. Did you eat without me?” YuZhi called into the apartment as he walked in, kicking off his shoes and throwing his jacket aside. No sign of her in the kitchen or lounge and he went off in pursuit of her. The place was quiet, but all the lamps were on, and he could smell food in the air as if she cooked already.

“Here.” TangShi walked out of her bedroom in shorts and a t-shirt, her hair damp from taking a soak in the tub and lit up at seeing him. “I made food, it’s in the oven.” she padded past him to go serve it and got a genuine smile as she did so. YuZhi glad to be home and always happy to see her.

“Nice look.” He nodded at her long naked legs, her ass pert in the summer attire and then had to pull himself away from staring too long, aware that it was borderline pervy. Checking her out as if he hadn’t seen her in pj’s before. He had to admit, TangShi had a nice set of legs and a good figure, and he wasn’t immune to it. He was a hot-blooded male after all.

TangShi pulled the dishes out of the oven and served them onto waiting plates. Tonight she made pork cutlets and chili fries, with a side salad seeing as YuZhi liked to order it when they went out sometimes. TangShi was pensive, aware she was gauging his mood to look for the right timing to tell him something, well two things, and didn’t want to ruin his appetite. She made something he liked and was waiting for him to eat in hopes of smoothing over the bad mood she was anticipating.

YuZhi took them to the table and set up their places, content with this routine when he had time to come home and felt TangShi’s eyes following him. Picking up on the fact she didn’t seem as relaxed as normal and paused mid task.

“What’s up? Why do I feel like you have something to say?” he sat down and waited, watching her as she too pulled out her chair and slid in opposite him.

“I have an art gallery thing coming in three weeks which means spending some time with Rong Cai away from the school to set up my work. It’s only a couple of days but he will be the one driving me back and forth to the venue.” She swallowed hard, knowing how much YuZhi disliked him but since that day he kissed her, Rong Cai had been distant and overly polite towards her. His back off message seemed to have worked.

“Hmmm.” YuZhi gritted his teeth and picked up the fork in front of him, trying to not react like a jealous moron and aware it was making his mood evaporate. His stomach churned but not with hunger and he had to curb his impulse to say ‘over my dead body’, knowing he was being unreasonable. Acting like her dad and treating her like a possession.

“Are you okay with that?” TangShi probed, picking up her own cutlery and started cutting her food to avoid looking at him. “There will be other people around to help and I will probably only see him alone on the drive. It’s a two day show and no late evenings.” She held her breath, waiting for a verdict, tense as hell.

“Sure, whatever.” YuZhi knew he sounded sulky, but he also knew he had no right to interfere in her school or work. TangShi was an adult and capable of making her own decisions. “Just don’t trust him. Don’t let him bully you or I’ll break his face.” He added in afterthought then pushed food into his mouth before he said anything else. Simmering and unable to do anything because he knew he shouldn’t be this way.

TangShi watched him for a second, knowing it was probably best to drop that subject before he changed his mind and disagreed, besides, what she had to tell him now was probably worse. She readied herself with a deep inhale and let it out.

“Rhea came to my school after I was done today.” She mumbled it fast in a rush of words because she had no courage any other way and saw him pause his fork midway to his mouth. His eyebrow twitched and his jaw tightened. His eyes darkening as the new information seeped in.

“What did she say? What did she want? Did she do anything to you?” YuZhi was on full alert, putting down his cutlery as TangShi shook her head and placed hers down too.

“She wanted to clear the air and apologize.”

YuZhi snorted. Bad mood intensifying and not even falling for Rhea’s games.

“She thinks she can crawl to you, and I’ll forgive her. Don’t be fooled. This is a tactic because she cant get to me. Don’t be manipulated.” The thought of her kissing up to TangShi put a sour taste in his mouth and he got up abruptly to go fetch beer from the refrigerator before he got even more agitated with thinking about it. “She’s not your friend and whatever she said, it’s bullshit.” He still hadn’t lost his anger toward her.

“I know. I didn’t go with her like she wanted. I told her I had plans. We only spoke for a few minutes, and I left.” TangShi had made the emotional break and cut the ties with Rhea after that night. Standing up to her at the school gate and telling her she was leaving with little regret over it. No longer obligated to be her friend or care about her when she could do something like that. TangShi maybe wasn’t someone who had a lot of self-worth, but she knew when someone wasn’t genuine and should be avoided. She knew what a friend should be.

YuZhi, picked up a beer and then his temper snapped. Holding onto it best he could but somehow he had finally met his last nerve when it came to Rhea. The audacity of her games and tricks to manipulate what she wanted, by trying to sway TangShi because she knew she had a forgiving temperament. He marched around the table startling TangShi and bent down fast, scooping her face so he cupped her cheek and ear and pulled her to tilt her chin up to him. Fastening his eyes on her, one hand on the table to hold him bent over so they were almost nose to nose.

“Don’t trust her, ever. Don’t go with her, don’t listen to her. No matter what sob story or tears she pours, she’s lying. She’s a class A actress with a lifetime of getting what she wants from people. I really am done with her, and I need to know that no matter what you won’t be drawn in. You don’t need to have any kind of contact with her from now on.”

TangShi swallowed hard, his face so close they were sharing air and she could only nod in response to his somber expression and deadly serious tone. Affected by his presence more than his words.

“I mean it. Promise me. Rhea isn’t your problem, she’s mine. Keep your distance. I don’t trust her anymore.” After that night YuZhi no longer knew how far Rhea would go to hurt TangShi. She was a threat to her, especially now he had called everything off, and he wouldn’t stand by and watch her do anything to try and separate them.

“I promise.” TangShi whispered quietly, intimidated by how serious he was being and starting to waiver at this intimacy. YuZhi stared at her, scrutinizing her expression for a long while before leaning in and placing his lips on her forehead in a gentle kiss. Startling her with the sincerity in it. Brushing his mouth against her warm skin and closing his eyes as he self-calmed with her touch, inhaling the unique scent that was TangShi and melting her to the core with his softness.

“You mean a lot to me. I don’t want you to get hurt or caught up in this. Let me deal with her and if she shows up again, don’t talk, just leave. Call me and I’ll come.” He warned, his tone softer now, that edge of anger fading away. He let TangShi go after running his hand across her face with a featherlight touch igniting goosebumps. She was momentarily stunned and speechless and could only nod.

“Okay, let’s eat. I’m starving and looking forward to a movie on the couch with you. Can’t remember the last time I had time to do that”