Chapter 9

When Nadine appeared, a trace of panic flashed across Zayn's face. He signaled Shawn with his eyes. Shawn quickly went over to take the phone from Nadine and firmly closed the door, leaving her outside. Shawn handed the phone to Zayn and explained to Josephine, "Mr. Forbes left his phone at the office, so I asked Ms. Sommers to bring it over." "I see." Josephine suddenly felt exhausted. She had never been good at dealing with hypocritical people, especially when it came to familiar hypocrites. "Zayn, if there's nothing else. I'll leave now." "Josephine." Zayn grabbed her wrist, his voice gentle. "Don't overthink things. You know better than anyone how I feel about you." He took long strides to the desk, picked up the desserts, and stuffed it into her hands. "I bought these especially for you. Take them home and eat them. I'll finish work early tonight and come home to keep you company. Be good, alright?" He leaned down to kiss her, but she dodged him. "The box of sandwiches was supposed to contain eight pieces, but there were only five left." The air turned silent for a moment. Zayn sighed softly, "Josephine, are you still mad at me?" Josephine smiled faintly. "I'm not mad anymore." Hearing this, Zayn let out a long breath and gently stroked her hair. "I knew it, you've always been so understanding. Marrying you is the best decision I have ever made." He turned to Shawn. "Take her home." "Yes." Josephine didn't refuse and followed Shawn downstairs. She didn't say a word along the way. Shawn was also feeling guilty so he decided to remain silent. When they reached the parking lot entrance, Shawn was about to walk further in but Josephine stopped in her tracks. He turned back in surprise. "Mrs. Forbes?" Looking at him, she couldn't help but recall a young college student crying in the Forbes Group corridors three years ago. Rejected heartlessly by the HR, he hung his head and cried like a child while clutching his shirt hem. She had helped him and he had cried in front of her. Like a vow, he said, "No matter what you ask of me in the future, I will do whatever I can, even if it means losing my life." She had smiled at it and thought nothing of it. It turned out she should never have taken it seriously. "Shawn, doesn't deceiving me make you feel a little guilty?" Shawn trembled. "Mrs. Forbes, I… I just didn't want you and Mr. Forbes to argue. Mr. Forbes loves you so much. Please forgive him. He was just busy with work. It's also tiring for him." Josephine suddenly laughed. If her actors could deliver such a sincere and natural performance, how wonderful would that be? "You can leave, I will go on my own." "No!" Before she arrived, Zayn had specifically instructed him to escort Josephine home to avoid her wandering around again. He quickly chased after her. "Mrs. Forbes, you can't go alone!" Just as he caught up to Josephine, she stopped and spoke calmly with her back to him, "Shawn, when I came to the hospital, I ran into Nadine in the lobby." Shawn's face turned pale, "What… What a coincidence…" Josephine turned around and stared at him for a solid three minutes. Yet, he said nothing. That was his last chance. And he missed it. "I am leaving, Shawn, I wish you a bright future." With that, she walked straight to the hospital entrance. "Mrs. Forbes, where are you going? Let me take you home!" He followed her closely, but Josephine no longer paid him any attention. When she reached Mason's car, she gave him a slight nod and Mason immediately opened the car door for her. Shawn helplessly watched her get into the car, panicking as he took out the phone and called Zayn. "Mr. Forbes, Mrs. Forbes refused to ride with me. She got into someone else's car." "Whose car?" Shawn instinctively felt that Josephine and Mason's relationship wasn't simple but didn't dare say it outright. He stammered, "I don't know. A young man in his 20s. He looked pretty sharp." Zayn stood up abruptly, his voice filled with an impending storm. "Didn't I give you clear instructions? You can't even handle such a simple task?" If she couldn't be sent home, all his efforts would be in vain. "I… I did my best, but Mrs. Forbes refused to get in my car." "Useless!" After hanging up, Zayn immediately called Josephine. But this time round, the call did not go through. Josephine had turned off her phone. "Mason, when is the next earliest available flight?" Mason checked his phone. "Tomorrow at 7:30 am, it's a bit early. There is another one at 11:30 am." "No need. Book the 7:30 am flight. We'll stay at a hotel tonight." "Ms. Dunn, you don't need to rush back to Las Anveles. Simon is in Sunvale, why not meet him first?" Mason didn't know what happened in the hospital and didn't dare to ask. But he sensed a misunderstanding between Josephine and Zayn. Once she returned to Hollywood, preparations for the film would start immediately and it wouldn't be easy to pause. Before anything was finalized, he didn't want to take risks. Hearing Simon's name, Josephine froze slightly. It was a long-lost, familiar name. Simon was a genius screenwriter and her number-one fan. After watching her first film, he reached out to collaborate. She agreed, but before he finished the script, she met Zayn. After falling in love, she gave up her career. When Simon found out, he was deeply disappointed but insisted by saying, "The script was written for Josephine, if she won't shoot it, he would rather take it to the grave than sell it to anyone else." Over the years, countless offers came for the script, even reaching the sky-high price of 30 million, but he refused them all. Thinking back, Josephine felt both moved and nostalgic. "Alright, let's go to Sunvale." At the Forbes Group's office, Shawn placed an invoice on the accountant's desk, nervously saying, "The balance must be paid by 9:00 pm tonight." The accountant glanced at the invoice in surprise. "Are we using the company funds for this?" Shawn avoided eye contact and scoffed. "What else? The entire company belongs to Mr. Forbes. Company funds are his to spend however he likes." "That's not how it works." The accountant frowned. While it was true that the group was under Forbes Group, its shares had decreased significantly since its IPO. The group was no longer solely Forbes Group. Misusing company funds like that put the accountant in a precarious position. If someone caught onto it, he would be the first in jail. "I don't care, it's Mr. Forbes' order. You figure it out!" With that, Shawn fled the office. The accountant pinched the bridge of his nose and called Josephine, "Mrs. Forbes, could you cover this expense?" In the past, whenever Zayn misused company funds, the accountant would turn to Josephine, who would quietly cover the cost. This time, however, her voice was icy cold. "Zayn and I are divorced. Forbes Group has nothing to do with me anymore."