Chapter 9

When Enrica left the Schubert home, the women from before were still playing poker downstairs, and they greeted her warmly. "Are you leaving, Enrica?" She smiled at them. "Yes. I came back to see my father. I'm relieved to see that he's doing fine." "Be careful on your way back!" they called after her. "Got it," she replied. She felt touched by their concern. However, she had not gotten far before she overheard their disdainful voices ring out. "Tsk. Why is she still trying to act all prim and proper? She's already been driven out of that wealthy family, but she's still pretending that she's going back to them!" "Didn't all of you see how she was dressed? Which respectable young lady would go around wearing high heels? For all we know, she's going to sell herself out!" "It's already 8:00 pm, and it's not like she has anywhere else to go. Where else would she be heading if not to seduce some men?" Enrica froze on the spot, and her chest heaved violently with anger. She was unable to process the fact that the neighbors who had watched her grow up and were always so amicable toward her on the surface were actually like this behind her back. She respected them and treated them as she would her relatives. She would even give them gifts during festivals and the new year! She wanted to turn back and argue with them, but she deflated before she could follow through with her initial intention. Charles was still staying here, and these neighbors were all his friends. It would do him no good if she really had a falling-out with them. Furthermore, nobody would care about the anger of an insignificant person. If she wished to be respected, she would have to become stronger and more powerful. She gave up on her job at the peak of her career and willingly bound her own wings to be by Miguel's side for two years, so she now had nothing to her name. She was the one who had landed herself in her current predicament. It was a chilly night. She wrapped her coat tighter around herself as a gust of wind blew by and left without looking back. She did not take the bus and instead walked all the way back to Zayne's house, which took her more than an hour. He had already given her a set of house keys, so she unlocked the door herself and entered the house. Zayne just so happened to be coming out of the kitchen with a bowl of beef stew in his hands. "I just made dinner, but I accidentally made too much. Would you like to eat with me?" he asked. It was a very domestic scene that made her feel more relaxed, but she had neither the mood nor appetite to eat just then, so she forced a smile onto her face and turned down his offer. "I've already eaten," she lied. Zayne observed her subtly for a moment before averting his gaze and saying simply, "Alright." After returning to her room, she hesitated for a moment before sending a message in the group chat she was in with two of her best friends. "Do you guys have money on hand?" Zack Alford responded immediately. "Have you finalized the divorce?" Rachel Kennedy was also quick to reply. "No way. Are you still required to pay that Zucker guy alimony after your divorce?" "That's not it. I've already cut off all ties with the Zucker family. The issue is on my father's side," she typed before proceeding to explain the whole situation to them. Zack immediately initiated a group video call. Enrica accepted the call and was greeted with a handsome face on her phone screen. "How much do you need?" asked Zack. "I had a falling-out with my mother this morning, so now, my only credit card has been frozen and I only have ten thousand dollars left on me. How about you use it to settle your emergency first?" Zack was a trust fund baby. Although his family was not as rich and powerful as the Zuckers, they still held considerable influence. It had also been because of Zack that Enrica got acquainted with Miguel back then. Unfortunately, he came out to his family three years ago, only to receive heavy backlash from them. Because of that, he went from living the pampered life of a trust fund baby to the disgraced life of an outcast. Enrica sighed. "You should probably take care of your own issues first." Rachel joined the video call as well, and her crying face appeared on the screen. She started sobbing. "Darling, I don't have any money to spare either. I only have a few hundred dollars in savings…" Rachel's father was a small business owner who had many mistresses outside of his family. Ever since Rachel's mother passed away, she and her father had been at odds with each other. She constantly took on minor roles in film productions to make ends meet, and her living situation was even worse than Enrica's. Enrica knew of her two friends' situations, so she had not asked with much hope in her heart anyway. "I'll just think of something else. By the way, I got married again." She had only met Zayne the night before, and their marriage had been a split-second decision, so she had not even had the time to tell her best friends about it. Zack was thunderstruck. "You had an impromptu marriage with a gay man? Doesn't that mean you've basically been dragged into a marriage of convenience?" Enrica considered his words. "I'd say it goes both ways. You guys are also aware that I want to adopt that orphaned child, but an unmarried person doesn't meet the qualifications." "In other words, right after you picked up your divorce certificate with that Zucker guy, you went and got yourself a marriage certificate with another man in his face? Talk about a satisfying ending!" She had always been one to hone in on weird points instead of focusing on the main point. Zack suggested, "You should bring your new husband out for a meal with us some other day, and I'll give you my evaluation of him. I'm a professional when it comes to this!" Just as Enrica was about to reply, there was a sudden knock on her door. Her scalp crawled with a sense of dread. Zayne hadn't heard them, had he? It was incredibly embarrassing to be caught talking about someone's private affairs behind their back… She hurriedly hung up the call and mentally braced herself before opening the door. "Mr. Fulcher?" she asked hesitantly. Zayne appeared to have just finished taking a shower. He combed his wet hair back with his fingers, revealing his handsome and exquisite facial features. He was wearing a light gray set of loungewear, but his model-like figure made even ordinary loungewear look extremely eye-catching on him. "I heard you talking on the phone just now," he said. Her mind went blank, and she bemoaned inwardly that he had indeed overheard them. Gay men did not usually like people judging them, so he was probably really angry. Just as she was about to apologize, he continued, "I didn't mean to invade your privacy, but the walls at home aren't soundproof… Are you short of money?" "Huh?" she uttered dumbly. It was such a sudden turn of events that her brain had not yet caught up to the situation. Zayne gazed calmly at her. "There's something I'd like your help with. In return, I can loan you a hundred thousand dollars with a repayment period of one year, no interest attached." Enrica was still a little confused, but she asked anyway, "What do you need help with?" Zayne seemed pleased with her vigilance. He smiled faintly and said in a low, pleasant voice, "Don't worry. I won't put you on the spot." … She was still feeling rather lost by the time she went to work the next day. However, Zayne was a man of his word. The moment she agreed to his terms, he transferred a hundred thousand dollars to her bank account. The crisis on Charles' side had been temporarily resolved, but she could not wrap her head around the situation. Zayne was just an insurance salesman, so a hundred thousand dollars should not be a small figure to him, right? She had only agreed to do him a small favor, yet he had lent her that huge sum so readily. Why? They could not even be considered friends, and they had only known each other for three days. She had not expected someone who looked so cold and distant to be so kind. Right at that moment, her phone, which was on the table, rang. She picked up the call and realized that it was from the receptionist. "Is this Ms. Enrica Schubert? There's a delivery for you. Please drop by the front desk to pick it up." She retrieved the package and tore open the packaging, then stared at its contents in shock. It was a court summons. In just one day's time, Miguel had already arranged for a lawyer to file a lawsuit against her. The court session was scheduled for three days later. The entire process had been greatly expedited—this was the power of influence. She felt extremely uneasy. If she really became engaged in a lawsuit with Miguel, he would definitely tear her apart in court. It would be fine if she was the only one involved, but Zayne was also being implicated… She hesitated for a moment before sending Zayne a WhatsApp message. "I received a court summons from the Zucker family." He was probably busy as he did not reply. She sent him another message. "You said that you have a friend who's a lawyer. Can we meet?" If a lawyer came forward to apply for mediation, it might still be possible to save the situation. Both she and Zayne were defenseless common folk who did not have the power to shake up a powerful family like the Zuckers. Zayne called her when it was almost time for her to get off work. His voice was as deep as ever, and she could not hear any emotion in it, which made her feel a sense of security. "I'm downstairs right now. Let's talk after we meet up."