Chapter 2

Enrica felt as if her heart was being torn to pieces. She and Miguel had been married for two years, but he had probably never taken the time to understand her. Behave more respectably, he said. Had she not behaved respectably enough? When a problem occurred with their marriage, she did her best to fix it. From beginning to end, everything she worked to solve was between her and Miguel. Not once had she brought Sheila into it. If she had really been unwilling to let things go, there were plenty of ways she could have continued to drag the situation out. If she had refused the divorce, Sheila would have remained a mistress, forever scorned and ridiculed by others and never able to live her life with dignity. Enrica had not done that but instead chose to step away and let them have what they wanted. However, Miguel still feared that she would return to pester them even now that they had already gone through with the divorce. The fact simultaneously made her want to laugh and cry. Suddenly, someone's hand stretched over from beside her and held hers. A man's deep voice asked, "Is this your scumbag of an ex-husband and his shameless mistress?" His words pulled her out of her sadness like a light shining through the darkness, and she could not help but be stunned. Zayne glanced at Sheila with a complicated expression. "He has average standards, I see." Sheila's eyes immediately reddened. Miguel's expression darkened instantly, and he looked coldly at Enrica. "You casually mentioned our family affairs to outsiders. Is this how you're going to act? Apologize to Sheila immediately!" Sheila immediately said uneasily, "I'm alright, Miguel. Don't embarrass Ms. Schubert." Miguel looked at her with distress. "I won't allow you to suffer any grievance on my behalf, Sheila." He looked over at Enrica again, his gaze much sharper than before. "Apologize to Sheila, otherwise I'm not letting this matter go." Enrica stood across from Miguel. He was tall, strong, and intimidating, forcing her to lower her head in submission. She opened her mouth to speak before closing it again. What could she say when Miguel was bent on supporting the woman he loved? She was just an ordinary person with nothing to her name, so how was she supposed to go up against the Zuckers? Just as she was about to swallow her bitterness and take the blame in order to settle things peacefully, Zayne suddenly reached out and pulled her behind his back. "I was the one who said the offending words, so I should also be the one to apologize," he said. He then looked at Sheila and said with a hint of a mysterious smile in his voice, "Sorry. I just thought that you got so many procedures done on your face because you were dissatisfied with your looks. I apologize if I offended you." Sheila started crying instantly. "I-I haven't… I've never had plastic surgery. I've always looked like this…" Miguel hurriedly embraced her and said in a soft, comforting tone, "I know. You've always been as pretty as a flower." Sheila started sobbing aggrievedly. Miguel continued to hug her, his eyes burning with anger. "Get over here, Enrica Schubert! Who's this man to interfere with our family affairs? If you don't accept accountability for what was said to Sheila today, then don't blame me for exacting revenge on her behalf! I won't let you get away with it even if you used to be my wife!" Keeping Enrica firmly behind him, Zayne looked at Miguel with a playful smirk on his lips. "Family affairs? You and Enrica are already divorced. On the other hand, I'm her fiancé, so we're the ones who are family. Please watch yourself." "Fiancé?" Miguel repeated furiously. "We only just divorced, Enrica! When did you two start seeing each other? Were you cheating on me?" Enrica's eyes inexplicably reddened, and she could no longer stop herself from stepping forward. "I wasn't!" she exclaimed with rage. "Do you think everyone is like you? Unlike you, I can face you and your family without shame, so don't slander me!" Miguel's eyes turned cold. "What are you trying to say about me? I have the right to pursue true love too. You were the one who agreed to the divorce, so it's hardly appropriate for you to use it to argue your case now, is it?" She gritted her teeth as she struggled to suppress her emotions, not wanting to let herself cry. Sheila's eyes were still red as she said worriedly, "I know that you're upset about Miguel divorcing you, Ms. Schubert. I feel guilty about it too, but marriage is a serious affair that affects your entire life. No matter how angry you are, you can't just find a random person to marry—" Zayne suddenly spoke up in his deep voice. "You're talking about guilt after stealing someone else's fiancé from them. Are you feeling superior about being a mistress?" Sheila immediately stiffened. Miguel was just about to explode with rage when Zayne interrupted him with a hint of impatience in his tone, "Are you going to demand accountability again? As a grown man, let's not make things difficult for a woman. You can come to me instead. Here's my business card." He handed Miguel a business card. "If you have anything to say, let's talk about it later. Please refrain from delaying my marriage to Enrica." He paused, then added with a laugh, "Whatever the case, thank you for divorcing Enrica. If you're not busy, I'll get you two boxes of candies as a celebratory gift after we've gotten our marriage certificate." He then turned to leave, keeping his arm wrapped around Enrica. Miguel watched in astonishment as the two of them walked into the city clerk's office together. Enrica actually dared go through with this? Sheila was incredibly upset. "As expected, Ms. Schubert really is holding a grudge against me. Why else would she casually marry a stranger?" Miguel immediately sneered at that, his face livid with rage. "It's not as if you're unaware of how prudent she is. There's no way she would just marry a stranger on short notice! She probably already hooked up with him long ago!" Woe be him for actually having been attracted to such a despicable woman as her in the two years that they had been together! He lowered his head to look at the business card in his hand. The card read, "Tennings Insurance Sales Specialist, Zayne Fulcher". His hand reflexively tightened into a fist, crushing the business card. He scrunched it up and tossed it into a trash can, inwardly scoffing at the fact that Zayne was nothing but a mere insurance salesman. He sneered disdainfully as he took out his phone to call his assistant. "Schedule a meeting with the boss of Tennings Insurance. I'd like to have a meal with him whenever he's available." He would certainly like to see if that scumbag duo could do anything about it! Back inside the city clerk's office, Enrica and Zayne finished signing the relevant documents and said their marriage vows to each other. Enrica used to think that vows made here were very sacred, and breaking them would invite divine retribution. Now, however… How sincere were the people who declared that they would "love each other till death do them part"? She and Zayne both exited the city clerk's office with a copy of the marriage certificate in hand. They had just gotten married and were still unfamiliar with each other, so she said politely, "I still have an interview to attend later. Will you be heading back by yourself?" She had not gotten married to a stranger on a mere whim. The grandmother of the child she had been supporting financially for three years had passed away, so the child had been sent to an orphanage. She had been preparing for adoption all this time, and although she had divorced Miguel, she did not intend to give up on this matter. However, one of the foremost requirements for adopting a child was a marriage certificate. Additionally, she would temporarily have no place to stay after moving out of Miguel's house, but Zayne had a small house in the city that could solve that urgent need. As for Zayne, she did not truly consider him a spouse as he was actually gay. As he was of marriageable age, the constant pressure from his family to get married placed him under a lot of stress, and he urgently needed to appease them with marriage. Therefore, when they met at a bar last night, they hit it off immediately. Zayne smiled politely at her, but his attitude was equally distant. "My insurance company is holding an event today. I applied for a half-day leave to come here, so I'll be returning to the company later." Enrica had already been informed of his job yesterday, so she nodded at that. "I'll take my leave first, then." She turned and quickly got on the bus, so she did notice Zayne staring after her for a long time. It was only after the bus had completely vanished into the distance that he averted his gaze and looked down at the marriage certificate. As he admired the two names displayed side by side, the corners of his mouth curled into a faint smile. Only he knew just how long he had been waiting for this day.