Chapter 6 Divorce

The clock showed nearly 10 o'clock when Bo Yan finally reached his office. The hangover from the liquor he hag during his dinner at Shen Rou's place made his head throb painfully, and the only thing he found when he woke up was them both lying naked in bed. Shen Rou even snuggled closer to him, whining about how rough he was last night... "Your wife is inside, Mr. President," his assistant warned before he could push past his office doors. The mention of "your wife" only irritated Bo Yan, as if he had done something to her. But just as swiftly, the notion of what Shen Zhiwei had done to Shen Rou only made him growl. "I'm not interested in seeing her. Send her on her way. And send my word: I want every department head now in the meeting room." The assistant nearly thought he had misheard Bo Yan, although he repeated everything in verbatim to Shen Zhiwei later. She only simpered faintly. Then she got up and sauntered out of the office, heading toward the meeting room, where she flung open the twin doors with a heavy heave from her lean hands. That surprised every department head present at the meeting. The sight of her intruding only stoked the flames he had been trying to quell. "Who allowed you in!" He boomed, "Get out!" Yet despite his outburst, he looked tired. She had never seen the suit he was wearing before, and she knew that it could only be Shen Rou's connivance to irritate her, tacitly prodding at her for failing to keep her own man. "I want to talk." "Can't you see I'm busy here!? Security! Get her out this instant!" Bo Yan roared with hardly a shred of compassion. All it took was a simple yet steely gaze from her to keep the security personnel at bay. Paying no regard to his burning rage, she reached her slender fingers to tuck her hair behind her ear and made her shocking declaration. "I want a divorce, Bo Yan." Bo Yan's hard expression curdled into one of shock and disbelief as he stammered incredulously, "I beg your pardon?!" Lean and frail, she stood in her frock, her pale complexion a pallid color of cream, but her infirmity did little to dull the resolute stare in her eyes. "I want a divorce," she repeated herself in piecemeal syllables. That left Bo Yan reeling in stunned comprehension for a few seconds before he flailed an arm viciously, sending piles of folders and files flying into the air in a miniature storm before he angrily demanded his staff to leave the room. He sprang up and stormed toward Shen Zhiwei and glared venomously at her. "What are you trying to do, Shen Zhiwei?!" During the two years of marriage they had shared together, she had persistently and vehemently sworn that the only Mrs. Bo he would ever have would only be herself. She told him at that time they would forever be together! "Impossible!" Bo Yan almost breathed aloud. He could not, for one single second, believe that Shen Zhiwei would, on her own volition, elect to sever ties. The air around them grew tense with palpable awkwardness. "You can rest assured that I am serious this time." She took out something from her hand bag, the divorce papers she had prepared from her brief visit to the lawyer's office just now, and laid them on the table. With a placid stare as cold as ice, she said, "But I have two conditions. First, Xiaobao is my son. He stays with me." "Never!" Bo Yan's voice rumbled across the otherwise empty meeting hall, his furious stare transfixed upon the divorce papers lying harmlessly on the table. Rage boiled and churned inside him and he stomped forward and gripped her grin forcefully. He said, "He's my son! Since when do you think you'd have a say in this?!" "Then what about Shen Rou? You are so obsessed with her that you'd even shirk Xiaobao's safety in an instant. Ask yourself, will you allow her to remain your kept woman forever? A life forever shrouded by my shadow?" Pain ran over her face. Bo Yan had to be really, really angry, but Shen Zhiwei held her ground, looking at him deeply with equal defiance and firmness. His finger shuddered suddenly, and the ashes from his cigarette dropped on the back of his hand. The burning sensation jerked him back to his senses. "Indeed," he thought with grievance. Without a divorce, Shen Rou would be nothing more than a kept woman... Kept forever from the eyes of the public... His grip faltered, and every detail of indecision on his face could not be missed by Shi Zhiwei's keen observation. It only felt as if her heart had been pierced through. But she broke into a thin smile just seconds later, smiling at the ironic fate of Bo Yan leaving her, the fate that despite all her struggles she failed to avoid still. "Secondly, I demand 20 percent of the Bo Group's shares as alimony. You'll never hear from me again and I'll never intrude into your and Shen Rou's life. And I will wish you all the good fortune and a happy life together that you want!" Bo Yan's stare renewed with acerbating anger, the look in his eyes turning into one of loathing and resentment as he flung her aside, hissing. "20 percent?! You're as voracious as a wolf, aren't you!" Shen Zhiwei staggered and nearly fell. A jab of pain shot up her waist the moment she bumped into the sharp corner of the table and her face was the color of milk. It was all she could to remain standing, and stand she would if only she could spite him as she breathed every syllable with apparent effort. "My appetite is my concern and mine alone. Your duty, President Bo, is to weigh your decision. The shares, or Shen Rou, which is more important to you?" With that, she spun around to leave. With grace and brisk steps, Shen Zhiwei retreated away, just as how she was extricating herself from the trappings of being Mrs. Bo... He watched her with a surrealistic sensation; after so many years together, and now, he was the one who could hardly believe his own eyes! Then a series of knocks came from the door. "Who is it!?" Bo Yan rumbled. "It's me, Shen Rou." Her soft and cautious voice came from the other side. "You left your phone in my bed last night. I've brought it to you." Bo Yan muttered a disturbed, if not irked, "okay". Still, his gaze lingered on the departing Shen Zhiwei now already out the door. A rush of anger burned in him as he observed her brisk steps, and an urge made him call out, "Shen Zhiwei..."