Chapter 272 Now And In The Future
“Let go of me!” Cynthia detected a foreign scent on him, a sickly sweet perfume, and noticed a l*pstick mark on his neck. The red streak on his rumpled clothes hinted at the intensity of their encounter.
Cynthia struggled, her gaze filled with undisguised disgust.
“Are you jealous?”
Cynthia’s nails scraped across his face, tearing a layer of skin from the devilishly handsome man. Zachary released his grip in pain, a shadow of gloom crossing his face. Cynthia angrily stood up from his lap, straightened her clothes, and slapped him. “Keep your filthy hands off me!”
Zachary’s face was knocked to the side, but instead of getting angry, he laughed. “That was too light. I would prefer a harder hit.”
His gaze, hungry and aggressive, brimmed with excitement.
Cynthia frowned, regarding him as if he were insane. “Let’s pretend that the previous two incidents never happened. Even if you threaten me with those photos, I won’t give in.” She took a deep breath. “It’s only because you and Stefan are brothers that I’m speaking to you calmly right now. You’re free to seek other women to satisfy your needs, but I am your sister-in-law now and in the future!”
She was determined not to divorce Stefan, no matter what.
Zachary caressed his face with his thumb as he watched her leave. Seeing the trace of blood on his fingertip, he began to laugh as if he had lost his mind.
The sound of his laughter echoed, making Cynthia feel nauseous. She quickened her pace and pressed the elevator button to go downstairs.
Seeing the man waiting in a wheelchair by the door, Cynthia quickly composed herself and walked over.
Stefan wore a mask, and Cynthia stepped forward to adjust his scarf. “I’ve already spoken to Zachary about Dad’s situation. He will take care of it.”
“You don’t have to force yourself to stay if you want to leave,” Stefan said.
“Wherever you go, I’ll be there. We’re husband and wife, aren’t we?” Cynthia replied.
“If I don’t recover in six months, I’ll agree to a divorce. You’ll receive half of the Xenos family’s wealth, and it won’t affect your chances of remarrying.”
A pang of bitter pain swept through Cynthia’s heart. “I won’t divorce you, no matter what happens. Even if you don’t recover, even if we can’t have children, I’ll always be your wife. Besides, we can adopt if we want kids. Can we please stop talking about this now?”
The driver approached and reminded them, “Sir, Madam, we can leave now. The plane will take off in an hour.”
“Okay,” Cynthia said.
She helped him into the car and sat in the back seat. However, there was something she hadn’t told Stefan. The Xenos family had previously invested in a successful overseas company. She had obtained a green card, and regardless of the treatment’s outcome, Cynthia had no plans to return to her home country.
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She had decided to leave and start anew with him somewhere else.
Upstairs, Zachary watched the familiar car drive away through the floor-to-ceiling window. His gaze was deep and mysterious, like a pool of ink spreading in his eyes.
You don’t get to decide when it ends, Cynthia!
Only when the car disappeared from sight did Zachary casually shift his gaze away.
With over a month to go, the Smith family had already begun preparations for the engagement.
Jasper and Layla personally arranged everything. The invitations for the banquet were written with gold leaf made of real gold. Each invitation alone held great value. Eileen couldn’t imagine how extravagant the Smith family would be on their wedding day.
Jasper used a brush pen to write the names of prestigious and wealthy families on the invitation cards. The people he invited were well-known figures in Hulbury, including political officials, wealthy businessmen, and popular actors and celebrities in the entertainment industry.
After returning from the hospital, Jasper had been busy until now. He even delegated company matters to Fabian.
Eileen was in the study, reviewing her lessons and finishing her homework. Setting down her pen, she walked over curiously and picked up an invitation. The calligraphy on it was pleasing to the eye, with neat characters and every stroke a delight.
“Do we really need to invite so many people? It’s just an engagement, after all.”
The ink on the surface hadn’t dried yet, so Eileen took a glance and set it aside.
“Of course. You are the future matriarch of the Smith family, and you will inevitably have to interact with these people. Take a look at the list, and if there’s anyone you don’t want to meet, we can simply cross their names off.”
On a sheet of paper, a multitude of names were densely written.
Eileen shook her head. “I never thought getting engaged would be so troublesome. If it were up to me, I’d surely be overwhelmed.”
As she spoke, a vague memory surged in Eileen’s mind.
In the flashback, a woman in a Blake dress with long, straight black hair could be seen. On the eve of her university graduation, she didn’t go to take graduation photos. Instead, she returned to the home she shared with Eric, beginning preparations for their upcoming wedding.
She went online and looked up what she needed to prepare for a wedding.
When she had made a list and happily walked up to him, she coquettishly complained, “There’s so much. to prepare for our wedding, Eric! My head is about to explode! I’ve looked at the list of guests we need to invite. Do you think this will work? This is the wedding favors packaging I’ve chosen, do you like it? Is it okay if I wear this when we go collect our marriage certificate later? Look at the camera, Eric! I want to capture every beautiful moment of our certificate collection day. In the future, every year on our wedding anniversary, you’ll have to watch it with me!”
A sudden, tearing pain surged in Eileen’s chest, spreading from her heart to every limb of her b*dy.
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For some unknown reason, these memories suddenly came back to her.
An inexplicable suffocation overwhelmed Eileen. It was as if the events of her past life had only just recently occurred.
Jasper lifted his head. “What’s wrong? Is something amiss?”
Eileen quickly regained her composure and concealed her pain with a smile. “It’s nothing. Can I a*sist you with anything?”
“Are you bored?” Jasper asked.
“I just want to help you,” Eileen replied.
“You don’t have to do anything, future Mrs. Smith. If you’re bored keeping me company, you can go downstairs and watch some TV. I’ll be finished very soon.”
The more kindly he treated her, the more Eileen felt indebted to him.
In her previous relationship, she had given her all. Now, there was someone willing to do the same for her.
Perhaps she would never find someone who treated her as well as he did.
Since relationships are mutual, Eileen had also considered doing something for him in return.
“Is the packaging for the wedding favors ready? If not, how about I design it?”
“Grandma is in charge of that. However, it would certainly be appreciated if you are willing to help.
“Then I’ll go get ready.”
Eileen put away her book, hurried back to her room to grab a sketchbook, and began drawing patterns for the packaging on the blank paper.
The pencil in her hand had just finished a stroke when the tip suddenly snapped, puncturing a hole in the smooth paper.
A sense of foreboding started to creep in. This was not a good sign.
She simply hoped that she was overthinking things.
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