Chapter 1

"Mason, I'll be returning to Hillwood in a month." Josephine Dunn dialed a number she hadn't called in a long time. Mason Lockwood, who was on the other end of the call, exclaimed in excitement, "Ms. Dunn, you're finally coming back. We've been waiting for you for three years. I'll have a private jet pick you up when the time comes." As Josephine ended the call, Zayn Forbes, walked over to the bow of the yacht. He slipped off his jacket and gently draped it over her shoulder. "What are you doing out here alone? The wind is too strong; you'll catch a cold." Josephine turned to him with a faint smile. "I'm just getting some air to clear my head." "Alright. I'll have the housekeepers prepare dinner for you," Zayn replied, before heading back inside the yacht. Everyone in the industry knew that Zayn was infatuated with Josephine. If she caught a cold, he would find the top ten specialists in the country to treat her back to health. There was even an instance where Josephine tried a dessert at a bakery and casually said it was delicious. Without hesitation, Zayn bought the entire bakery for her. This time was no different. A few days ago, Josephine had merely glanced at a photo of this yacht on her phone. The moment Zayn found out, he spared no expense and rented it for a whole month solely for her enjoyment. Just then, her phone buzzed with a news alert. She unlocked the screen and clicked on the article. It read, "Zayn Forbes, CEO of Forbes Group, spent millions to rent a yacht for an entire month, simply because his wife likes yachts." The article was flooded with heated discussions. One comment read, "As a fellow woman, I can't help but envy Mrs. Forbes. Her husband is not only handsome and rich, but he absolutely adores her." "Mr. Forbes deserves every penny of his fortune. After all, a man who knows how to cherish his wife is priceless." "Did you know? Mr. Forbes was publicly voted as the 'model husband.'" "If I had a husband like Mr. Forbes, I'd happily trade 20 years of my life." Reading through these comments, Josephine couldn't help but feel a tightness in her chest. She used to be the world's most popular director, JD. But three years ago, she backed out from the industry and married Zayn. Their marriage had initially started out as a mere contractual agreement that was set to end after three years. However, both of them eventually developed feelings for each other along the way. Hence, both of them decided to eliminate the contract and made a pact; whoever had a change of heart would leave with nothing. But six months ago, everything began to change when an unknown actress named, Nadine Sommers, joined Forbes Group. Zayn suddenly became extremely busy and would miss many of their special occasions. But what remained the same was how deeply he cared for her. He was even willing to risk his life for her. She remembered clearly that two months ago, he had brought her to a boxing match at a club. She had taken a liking to the champion boxer's gear and wanted to buy it as a keepsake. However, another boxing enthusiast beat her to it. Zayn immediately stepped in and negotiated with the man, offering to pay him five times more for it. But the man refused, saying that he wasn't interested in money but simply wanted to fulfill his boxing dream. Without hesitation, Zayn agreed and willingly became the man's punching bag. It wasn't until he was beaten to a pulp that the man finally relented and handed over the gear to him. After that incident, Zayn had to rest at home for an entire month before he fully recovered. Who would have ever imagined that a man so devoted would have a change of heart? Josephine sighed. It felt like only yesterday that they made a pact with one another, yet now everything had changed. "Josephine, dinner is ready. It's your favorite, fish stew." Zayn called out gently as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "Fish? Where did you get the fish from?" Just then, one of the housekeepers walked out and said, "Mrs. Forbes, it was Mr. Forbes who caught the fish for you." Josephine turned toward Zayn and noticed that his hair was still dripping wet. She said softly, "Thank you. But please don't do anything so dangerous again." While she knew that they had no future together, she still couldn't help but remind him to take care of himself. After all, he had treated her extremely well in the past. Inside the yacht, Zayn personally scooped up a bowl of fish stew for her. He then gently blew on each spoonful before carefully feeding it to her. Josephine tried to take the spoon from him, but Zayn wouldn't allow her. He said affectionately, "You're my wife. If I don't feed you, who will?" Josephine wanted to reply, "Soon, I'll no longer be your wife." However, these words caught in her throat and she couldn't seem to say them aloud. She had only been on this yacht for a week, but had lost interest and told Zayn that she wanted to go home. Zayn didn't seem the least bothered about wasting the remaining 20 days of yacht rental. Instead, he wrapped an arm around her and said with a gentle smile, "Alright, let's go home." With that, their life on board came to an end. As they were leaving and making the payment, Josephine unintentionally glanced at Zayn's phone screen and noticed the name of the recipient was Nadine. But she distinctively remembered that the owner of this island was named Chris Yale. When did it change hands? Upon settling the payment, Zayn's phone suddenly rang. He glanced at the caller ID, and a flicker of panic flashed across his eyes. He quickly declined the call. Noticing Josephine looking at him, he revealed an awkward smile. "It's a spam call." Josephine simply pursed her lips and remained silent, showing that she trusted him. But then, his phone rang again. Zayn frowned. "Just answer it. Spam calls tend to keep ringing if you don't pick up." With that, she stepped aside, giving Zayn some privacy. Standing by the edge of the island, Josephine took in the serene scenery. However, she couldn't seem to stop the restlessness in her heart. She turned around and saw that Zayn had ended the call and was walking toward her. "I thought it was a spam call, but it was actually from the charity foundation." The charity foundation? She knew that Zayn had been busy establishing a charity foundation. But why would a call from them make him so uneasy? Josephine decided to just drop the matter. His future was no longer something she wanted to concern herself with. Breaking her thoughts, Zayn shot her a mysterious smile. "Valentine's Day is coming up in a few days. I've prepared a huge gift for you." Before Josephine could reply, she received a message from an unknown number. "Did you have fun on my island this week? By the way, did your husband tell you that it was his birthday gift to me?" Josephine stiffened as an indescribable emotion welled up within her chest. Zayn had gone to such great lengths to announce to the world how much he cared for her, spending millions to rent a yacht just to make her happy. Yet, he had secretly spent ten times that amount to purchase an entire island for Nadine. And as if that wasn't enough, the rental money for the yacht had conveniently gone straight into Nadine's pocket. Josephine sighed. Zayn truly was quite the schemer. Noticing her shift in expression, Zayn asked in concern, "What's wrong? Are you not feeling well?" Josephine tried to calm herself and said, "I'm fine. To show my thanks, I've also prepared a gift for you on Valentine's Day." What Zayn didn't know was that the gift she was referring to was the divorce papers she had finalized a few days ago. By the time they returned home from the island, it was already 7:30 pm. Zayn helped her change into her house slippers and then headed to prepare her bath. He even filled the tub with her favorite rose petals and peppermint essential oil. "Honey, would you like to take a bath first or have dinner?" Seeing him act so caringly, Josephine shot him a smile. "I can actually handle these things myself." Zayn stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her waist. His touch instantly made Josephine stiffen slightly.