Chapter 13

I stared blankly at Henry. He sneered. “So, it’s all just an act.” “Huh?” I was baffled. “I thought you had stopped loving me.” Henry reached out to rub the corners of my lips roughly, then cocked an eyebrow. “You’re just acting in front of our friends. Zena, are you playing hard to get?” Henry was just trying to humiliate me. I quickly came back to my senses and pulled on my shirt, which was halfway down my waist, trying to remain calm. “Is it even necessary?” I looked up at him, feeling both disheartened and absurd. “Henry, I’m not going to play hard-to-get with you. You’re just not used to my indifference. To you, I’m like a loyal dog that suddenly stopped wagging its tail at you one day, so of course, you’ll be a little disappointed. But you’ll get used to it eventually.” “Are you a dog?” Henry mocked me, seemingly unaware of my sorrows. “Don’t you already know the answer?” I retorted blankly, lowering my head to straighten my collar. Henry wasn’t a naive boy. He was well aware of my feelings for him because I had confessed my love to him countless times. However, he never took it seriously. Countless women admired him. The only difference between me and those other women was that I had the opportunity to marry him. Henry sniggered after achieving his desired result. He was suddenly in a good mood. “Go take a bath.” After that, he walked out of the bathroom. I quickly closed the bathroom door and rushed to the mirror. When I saw my flushed face, all I wanted to do was slap myself. Why was I so useless? I almost lost my wits because Henry teased me. I took three minutes to reflect on my previous life and finally calmed my racing heart. Then I took a quick shower and went back to my room to sleep. I knew that Henry had already left because I heard his car engine revving outside. I stood at the window, watching his car disappear into the night, feeling a little annoyed at myself. Henry was probably not going to return for a while because he knew I was still in his clutches and that he could continue to play with my feelings. To make myself feel better, I asked Lee to take me to the hospital the next day to see Zachary as soon as I woke up. I even changed into a champagne-colored body-hugging dress to emphasize my grace and feminine charm. Zachary was probably used to seeing Laurel’s innocent style, so I didn’t bother trying to imitate her. When I arrived at the hospital, I placed a flower bouquet beside Zachary’s bed and gently asked, “Zach, how is your leg?” Zachary was playing a game on his phone. When he saw me coming, he quickly put down his phone. “Zena, it’s much better now. The doctor said that I could be discharged from the hospital tomorrow. The stitches can be removed one week later.” “That’s great!” I sat on the edge of the bed, gently tucking my hair behind my ear. “Did your girlfriend not come to see you today?” “She still has to go to work. We are both working part-time to help our families out.” Zachary had a nice smile, full of the innocence and anticipation that was unique to college students. I nodded and chatted with Zachary casually. After a while, I took out my phone and exclaimed, “Oh no! My phone ran out of battery!” “Zena, I have a charger here.” Zachary pointed to the drawer beside his bed. I opened the drawer and took out the charger. The socket was slightly above the headboard of the bed, so I deliberately reached over to plug in the charger. My entire body was directly above Zachary’s. This posture was very suggestive from a third-party standpoint. When I sat down again, I noticed Zachary’s flushed face. He didn’t dare to look into my eyes. I sighed. He was such an innocent boy. At this moment, I suddenly caught sight of a figure at the door of the ward in my peripheral vision. I turned to see Evan Eisenberg standing there, staring at me deeply. When did he get here? Did he witness my deliberate attempt to seduce Zachary? How embarrassing! I smiled awkwardly. “Dr. Eisenberg, what brings you here?” “I’m covering for a colleague,” Evan replied calmly as he walked in. He checked on Zachary’s injuries, then gave a few simple instructions. I watched from the sidelines, feeling a little guilty. Evan was a very special person to me. In my previous life, we only interacted when we teamed up to go against Henry. Before that, we weren’t close, and he didn’t do anything to betray me. He even sought medical advice for me during the final stages of my previous life. “A word, please.” Evan glanced at me. “Okay.” I stood up helplessly. Evan led me to his office. The other doctors weren’t present at the time. He just sat there with his head down, flipping through the patient’s medical records, and asked, “How are you and Henry getting along?” His black hair was smooth and parted to the side. I lowered my gaze from his perfect hairline to his high nose bridge. I tried to brush it off. “Same as usual.” “That’s how marriage is. That’s why some people seek excitement, only to pay a high price later.” Evan’s voice was as calm and detached as his demeanor. I frowned. “Why don’t you try to advise Henry?” “I did, but he didn’t listen.” Evan closed the patient’s file and finally looked up to meet my gaze. “Then I won’t listen to you either.” I didn’t realize how willful my tone was at this time. Evan’s eyes flickered with surprise due to my uncharacteristic tone. I quickly regained my composure. “You’re Henry’s close friend, so I’m sure you know better than I do what he’s been up to all these years. I haven’t made a fuss, nor have I overstepped my bounds. I think I’ve done enough. That guy earlier is just a college student that I accidentally bumped into, so I came to visit him. There’s nothing between us.” I only acted like a spiteful spouse in front of Henry because I wanted a divorce, but I didn’t want to lose my cool in front of other people. After all, I would have to carry on with my life after my divorce. Evan gave me a deep look, as if he did not believe what I said. As the other doctors returned to the office, Evan turned away and waved his hand. “Well, if everything goes well, he can be discharged tomorrow.” I had no idea how much more oppressive it was to speak to Evan than Henry. In front of Henry, I let loose because all I wanted was a divorce. But facing Evan, I felt guilty, like I had been caught red-handed doing something shameful. After leaving Evan's office, I wanted to go to Zachary’s ward and show him how much I cared about him so that he would notice the mature and caring woman that I was. But then I stopped abruptly and returned to Evan’s office. “Dr. Eisenberg!” I sat down in front of Evan and lowered my voice. “Shall we have dinner together? I’ve been having some issues with Henry recently, and I’d like to talk to you about it.” At the time, all I could think about was letting Evan meet Laurel earlier. That way, he would be able to make his move before Henry.