Forced by fate – Destined to be his Wife

“Do I have to do anything?” her voice trembled a little, making it obvious she was nervous about it.

“Just look pretty and be polite. The model fiancée. I’ll do the talking and you can hang on my arm or hide behind me if you like. If I don’t take a date, they’ll try marrying me off to their daughters before they let me leave.” He joked, smiling to himself as he listened intently to her shallowed breathing, knowing she wasn’t a fan of this kind of thing. It still made him feel bad that he had once bullied this girl relentlessly. The more he knew her the more it amped his guilt because she was like a sweet kitten with no real claws, and she got uptight about the weirdest things.

“Okay. Linlin can help me pick something. She can drop me off too.” TangShi nodded at her friend, asking if that would be okay, getting Linlin’s nod and thumbs up as approval.

“She can amuse my assistant while I’m gone if she wants. He’ll be free from four onwards.” YuZhi smirked, teasing because he was aware those two had been hooking up since that night at Cheng’s, even if ZhengLi was denying anything between them beyond kissing that night. It wasn’t like him to play coy and hide the sordid details of his playthings, so he had a suspicion this was different.

“Oh, they already have a date tonight anyway.” TangShi offered innocently and YuZhi burst into a full smile on the other end of the call. He had implied he was busy tonight but not with whom, but it was all fitting together.

“Is there anything else?” TangShi waited with a pensive breath.

“Nope. I’ll see you at four, outside. Don’t forget. I’m sure Linlin knows where Leng Group HQ is though, right? I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Yes, she does.”

“Wait… Tang….” YuZhi had started shortening her name these past few days and it always made her feel a little peculiar. As though it was a sign that his affection for her was growing. It felt personal somehow, almost cute. “Rhea might be there tonight. Her father is one of the investors and it’s not abnormal for him to take her as his partner. I know you two haven’t talked since the club, so maybe it might be a chance to smooth things over. I didn’t want you walking in without a heads up.” He rolled his shoulders, the pit in his stomach tightening as though he was getting stressed on her behalf.

He had spoken to Rhea a few times since that night and told TangShi it was all sorted, which was a little white lie. The truth was that Rhea was being difficult and her insecurity and jealousy had amped up to another level. She accepted his explanation and admitted she shouldn’t have touched TangShi, but YuZhi’s threat had left them at a cold standoff. He told her that if she ever laid hands on TangShi again or verbally attacked her then they would be over for good, without reprieve. And he meant it. He couldn’t stomach women who used violence to sort their conflicts, especially against other girls who would never retaliate.

He had never made any kind of threats like this in the whole time they dated, it was more Rhea’s style, but this was something he was furious over and Rhea was sulking and pissed about it. He assumed it’s why she hadn’t contacted TangShi and was probably mulling over it like a spoiled child while holding back the apology in pettiness. Rgea could be a stubborn child at times.

“Oh. Okay.” TangShi didn’t know what else to say. Her insides turning over like a washing machine cycle had been switched on and she swallowed hard.

“Don’t worry about it though. Rhea knows you did nothing wrong but she’s stubborn and sometimes takes a bit of time to admit to a mistake.” That was an understatement.

“It’s fine. I can handle it.” TangShi wanted to reassure him even if she didn’t feel great about it.

Linlin eyeballed her weirdly, knowing something was up and frustrated at only hearing half a conversation. She narrowed her eyes and leaned in to listen, but TangShi batted her away with a playful poke in her temple.

“You can! So, four. We can go do something fun after to make it up to you. Maybe a movie? A walk after? You pick.”

TangShi wasn’t expecting the offer to do something like that after, and blushed profusely, aware that her feelings for YuZhi lately were getting complicated and scolded herself for being stupid. She knew that as they grew closer, he was treating her like a friend and trying to make this amicable, but things like invites to a movie confused her emotions and made her hope for things she shouldn’t. She had to remind herself frequently that he loved Rhea, and this was only a platonic arrangement. That she shouldn’t be disloyal to Rhea either, as apart from that one night, she had shown her kindness and friendship while others were being cold.

“I’d like that. I’ll see you at four.”

“Have fun shopping. Don’t let Linlin max your credit card.” He joked with a smile, his mood light because TangShi always made his day seem better, even with the briefest of interactions. She was a sunny personality that had long been missing in his life. She had a pure innocence about her that you never had to question or doubt. What you saw is what you got, and she had no devious plans behind the smile and sweetness. In this society of the super-rich, it was rare.

They hung up without further conversation and TangShi relayed everything to her best friend. Eyeing her up in confusion as Linlin beamed brighter and brighter and her grin overtook her face.

“A fake date followed by a real one. Maybe we should add lingerie shopping to the list.” She jested, poking TangShi in the ribs and then dodging a well-aimed retaliation slap.

“It’s not like that.” TangShi’s face reddened right up to the top of her ears, and she turned away to hide it.

“Sure it isn’t! You know, ZhengLi is with me on this. That you two are not as platonic and straightforward as you both want to pretend. That it’s only a matter of time!”

“Not again.” TangShi covered Linlin’s mouth with her palm, shaking her head at her for once again bringing this up. “I could say something similar about you two. You say it’s a no strings arrangement, yet I have never seen you date one man at a time, and so many hook ups in one week. Hmmm?”

Linlin batted her hand away instantly defensive and turned to shake her ass at her friend. Winking over her shoulder with a sassy grin.

“He’s good in bed and he’s an amazing kisser. Of course, I’m going to get full use of it before I move on to the next one. I’m indulging my needs until he bores me.” Linlin deflected wandering off in search of the nearest place to eat in hopes the rise of her own blush wasn’t noticeable but refused to admit to herself that she had a major crush on ZhengLi Kim. He wasn’t like any other guy she had ever known. He was better at game playing and being aloof than Linlin and for the first time in her life, she was not the master behind the wheel of a new dating partnership. ZhengLi was pulling all the strings.

“Except…I know you haven’t slept with him, so that’s a lie. And another clue this is not all about hook ups.” TangShi followed, knowing that had they had sex she would know all the sordid details, because Linlin was not one to keep them to herself. So far, she had told her about every date and nothing after. That was a big clue that ZhengLi was dropping her off and not staying over. She just didn’t understand the fact Linlin was hiding it. She also was confused about the lack of sex, given both ZhengLi and Linlin were born players and fine with casual one-night stands.

“Pffft. You have no idea.” Linlin blushed, caught out by her friend and ignored the thumpity thump of her own betraying heart. The truth was, ZhengLi hadn’t made any moves to get her into bed yet and Linlin was strangely apprehensive about crossing that line. She had lost all confidence in her sexual prowess when it came to him.

She had never hesitated about sex with a hot man before, yet when things got close to it with ZhengLi, she lost all her vavoom and her nerves almost suffocated her. He didn’t seem all that worried about pushing her into it either. Infuriatingly cool and the last two dates he had kissed her until her toes curled and her breath was crazy heavy, at the door, and left without pushing for more. She couldn’t read him at all. It was like he was enjoying getting her worked up and turned on, just so he could walk off and leave her frustrated. If this was a game plan for him, she wasn’t going to fall for it and be the one to beg or make the moves.

“Come on. Let’s eat fast, you have to help me pick out suitable clothes.” TangShi dropped the subject, caught up to her friend so she could link arms and was led down a side alley to find somewhere they could get some western food. Excitement brimming inside because she was starting to love spending time with YuZhi, and this was going to be a whole afternoon and evening with him.