章節 12: Fine.
No matter which angle Dominic looked at it, what Miriam said was impossible. Heaven? Cooking for him and his son? Ridiculous.
She would rather kill herself than offer them a glass of water.
That was how terrible Heaven's reputation was, and no one could blame Dominic for doubting Miriam. He knew Miriam wished nothing but the best for their little family. But then again, he knew Miriam wouldn't lie about such a thing.
Dominic silently watched Heaven eat her food from the side of the bed. She was already awake when he returned to the hospital and was now quietly eating her food.
'Why is he here again?' Heaven asked herself. She could feel her head throb, but she forced herself to eat the porridge under his intense and watchful gaze.
Heaven turned her head a little to the other side to avoid his eyes. It was disorienting when someone was watching you eat. How could she properly digest or enjoy her food if someone was looking at her as if he was wishing for her to choke on it?
Not to mention, this prolonged silence between them was suffocating. Silence for the new Heaven used to be so precious as it was rare. However, this type of silence just felt heavy, unsettling, not peaceful.
'Anyway, why am I so scared?' She thought to herself yet again, knitting her brows. 'I am already desperate. Doing nothing will not help nor treading on eggshells will change his mind.'
Heaven slowly straightened her back and turned her head in his direction. Dominic was still looking at her. His eyes were fixed on hers the moment their eyes met. His eyes bespoke of deep thought, but conscious enough that she, too, was looking at him.
'Oh, he's not glaring!' Heaven was surprised by it. 'He's just looking. Just… looking.' Surprised because she was expecting him to be throwing a dagger at her. He wasn't, though.
A part of her face twitched. Dominic was just looking without any intention of looking away. With that divine face of his and those beautiful deep eyes that seemed they could see through a person's soul, she couldn't help but have the urge to hide.
He might find out he was her type!
"Are you going to say something?" Her voice was coarse, making her sound cold and weak.
"Once you finish your meal," Dominic stated.
'Damn it!' Heaven mentally gasped as her brain went into overdrive, thinking about what this man wanted to discuss. 'Don't tell me he will still push through the divorce?!'
Despite keeping her front, she was mentally beating herself up. How would she divert his attention? What sort of reaction was required at this point?
The current Heaven was never in such a complicated situation. Most of the situations she faced in her previous life were life-and-death situations. However, this was different. Truly and undoubtedly different. And it left her feeling inadequate.
Heaven bowed her head, then she stared at the porridge. 'Well, if you're going to let me finish first, I hope you're ready to spend the entire day here!' she ate slowly, taking time to pick and examine each grain of rice on her food before putting it into her mouth. She made a show of slowly swallowing her food. Then she repeated the process again.
Dominic was a patient man. He took her slow action as normal until he noticed that she was chewing the porridge.
'Is she stalling time?' he wondered, but he immediately got rid of that thought. 'It's probably just my imagination.'
There was no way Heaven would stall time, especially if she was aware they were still in the middle of discussing their divorce. If there was one person who would be happy about their separation, it would certainly be her.
Seconds turned into minutes and then turned into hours. Heaven was still not finished eating her porridge, even when it had turned cold.
"Are you hurt anywhere?" Dominic asked, his concern could be heard in his voice. It had been an hour and yet she hadn't finished her food. He assumed she was hurt somewhere.
'No, I am not. I am perfectly fine,' was what she answered sarcastically in her mind, but held her tongue in check.
Heaven raised her head, facing him squarely. "No. I'm alright. Do you want to continue where we left off this morning?"
"Finish your food —"
"If we don't discuss it now, don't bring it up again," she cut him off mid-sentence. Her expression was plain and emotionless, holding his gaze without any sign of looking away. "So, where are we again?"
There was a moment of silence after her remarks, with the two of them staring at each other. Her coldness and lack of concern about their divorce proved she wanted this.
'Miriam must have been too tired yesterday that she had seen this woman cooking,' he thought, throwing all unnecessary ideas at the back of his head.
"I sent the divorce papers to the legal team to add more conditions. They will send it back tomorrow morning," Dominic raised his chin a little, looking at her squarely. His voice was cold and uncaring as he continued, "If you have additional conditions or if you have questions, just tell me. I'll do my best to compromise. After all, all I want is the custody of my son. I'm giving you visitation rights, but that is all."
"Let's forget each other and move on with our lives, Heaven," he added, but this time, his voice laced with coldness. "I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble."
Heaven held her breath, assessing his facial expression. He was determined, she thought. This man had already made his decision before bringing this up to her.
Heaven gulped, nodding her head in understanding. "I see," came out a reply under her breath, lowering her eyes to the almost finished porridge.
'I can't blame this man,' she told herself. 'He married a selfish woman — though he's selfish himself as well. Staying with her for the past five years was already incredible. It would be too unfair to hold on to him when he finally mustered the courage to break this family after trying to keep it together.'
"You'll receive monetary compensation and a few real estate so you can start anew," continued Dominic without any hesitation. "If you don't have any questions, then I'll send the new divorce papers to you first thing in the morning."
Another wave of silence descended on the room as neither of them followed his last remarks. Dominic had said his piece while Heaven could only accept it. No matter how reluctant she was, she couldn't just be selfish.
Perhaps this was fate. She was probably not meant to be a wife and a mother; it was probably not time yet.
'This leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, though.' Heaven let out a deep exhale, keeping her eyes down. When she smacked her lips, she lifted her head to face him, a little disheartened at how this marriage ended even before she could do anything. "Just send me over so I can sign them, Mr. Zhu."
章節 13: Dearest friend
"That's weird," Heaven said as she hummed a long tune, resting her back on the reclining bed. "Why did he look so angry after our discussion?" she wondered out loud.
Looking back at earlier events, Heaven accepted that she couldn't fix this marriage. No matter how convenient this life she woke up in, she was already five years too late. The damages the adults in this marriage had caused were so deep that even if she tried now, there was only a little chance this marriage would be saved.
That was why Heaven thought accepting the divorce without causing Dominic trouble was the least she could do. That was the only thing she could do to compensate the man and also the child.
"But why did he look so displeased?" Heaven asked the empty room. She rubbed her chin, closed her eyes, and thought about Dominic's reactions. "Did he not want the divorce? Or was he expecting me to throw a fit? Should I have demanded or acted as if I didn't want this divorce? Perhaps he wanted to see me regret?"
Heaven snapped her eyes open, pounding the bottom of her fist against her palm. "That must be it! He probably thought I would regret it." She nodded, convinced at the conclusion she had.
The door suddenly slammed open, causing Heaven to nearly jump out of the bed. Holding her hand close to her chest, she turned her head in its direction, only to see a lady by the door. There, by the door, stood a beautiful lady in a lavish dress; her pretty face, however, bore an aghast and panicked look.
"Heaven!" called the lady in panic before dashing to Heaven's side. "Oh, god! I rushed here when I heard you fainted!"
The woman sat on the edge of the bed, snatching Heaven's hand. Her eyes brimmed with worry, checking Heaven's face for any discomfort.
"Look at you. You're so pale." She cupped Heaven's cheek as a layer of tears coated her eyes as if she would sob any moment.
Heaven blinked, surprised at this woman's entrance. She stared at the woman, studying the latter's face before she finally remembered who this woman was.
"Paula…"
Paula smiled slightly, dropping her hand from Heaven's cheek. "Do you know how much you made me worry? I was in the middle of the shoot, but I rushed here."
Heaven looked at the woman from head to toe. She was indeed still wearing her dress from her shooting. She did not even bother to remove her makeup.
"I keep telling you to eat on time and take care of yourself," she reprimanded Heaven in a loving and caring voice. "But you didn't listen. Look what happened!"
"Heh," Heaven could only let out a short, awkward laugh. She was practically speechless and did not know what to say.
"Gosh," Paula Shen deeply sighed and then frowned. "You should just ask for a divorce if you can't take it anymore. Should I tell Mr. Zhu about it? I'll explain everything to him! This cannot go on, especially now that your health is being affected."
If Heaven didn't know better, she would truly believe this woman was genuinely concerned about her. 'I never had a friend in my life, but from what I know, shouldn't she be asking how I am instead of immediately meddling with my crumbling marriage?'
"Thank you, Paula. But there's no need for that." Heaven plastered a warm smile, riding the waves this 'friend' was creating.
"What?" Paula said as her frown deepened. "What do you mean there's no need for that? Wake up, Heaven! This is not good anymore!"
Paula moved closer, holding Heaven's hands. "You know I care about you, right? We've been good friends even before we entered the industry. Even if Mr. Zhu is a powerful man, I will risk my career for you. I can't let my friend get bullied by someone like him! After all, he took away everything from you and it's been a living hell for you since then. I've been quiet about it because you keep stopping me, but I can't take this anymore!"
'This woman…' Heaven's under-eye twitched in annoyance. 'This woman sure knows how to manipulate Heaven. Snapping her neck is far too merciful for making things worse for Heaven.'
"Paula," Heaven softly coaxed, gently holding Paula's hand. "I know we've been good friends. After all, when we entered the industry, I had to take you with me so you could get small roles. I even remember asking for other favors just to take you in. So I know you never forgot that and have been loyal to me since then."
Heaven mentally smirked when Paula's facade slightly cracked, revealing a glimpse of the real face behind that beautiful mask she always wore.
"I appreciate you for rushing here after hearing I fainted. I don't know what to do if you didn't show up." Heaven made sure she sounded compassionate. She squeezed Paula's hand mildly while nodding at her. But after a second, a layer of tears coated Heaven's eyes and her subtle smile cracked.
"Oh, dear." Paula quickly tossed aside Heaven's previous remarks upon seeing her friend on the verge of tears. "Heaven, why don't you want to accept my help? I'll do everything so you escape this hell from that monster —"
Heaven shook her head to cut off Paula's sentence. "There's no need for that."
"But…"
"We're already getting a divorce."
"What?" The surprise written on Paula's face made Heaven smile bitterly.
"He will be sending the divorce papers tomorrow. All I need is to sign them," Heaven said in a sad voice. She flinched when Paula suddenly clasped her hand in excitement.
"Heaven!" Paula's eyes twinkled in glee, unable to hide the excitement in her eyes. "Really?"
'Gosh… this woman… can't she wait?'
"Mhm." Heaven kept her weak expression as she nodded. "That is why there's no need for you to meddle in it since it will eventually happen."
Paula's lips stretched slightly. Her attempt to stop herself from rejoicing failed miserably. "That's good. I mean, at least now, you don't have to stay in that house anymore. You're no longer his prisoner."
These were just examples of Paula's bits of advice to Heaven. Her 'friendly' pieces of advice never helped. If anything, they just made things worse. Paula took advantage of Heaven's woes and vulnerability by regularly uttering insensitive and big words that would make Heaven despise Dominic more.
Paula never forgot to remind Heaven how miserable her life was with Dominic. That was her goal, after all.
Heaven ruined this marriage, sure. But Paula wasn't innocent as she had fanned the flames that slowly burned the marriage. The current Heaven had no grudges against anyone. However, the reason she was now in this situation was because of all the poisonous flowers around her.
"I'm so happy for you!" Paula, unable to contain her happiness, pulled Heaven into her embrace. "I'm really, really happy for you."
Heaven's eyelids drooped as her eyes slid to the corner. "Mhm. I bet you are." the side of her lips curled into a smirk.
The original Heaven was surrounded by poisonous flowers, making her feel trapped and unable to move. But the current Heaven was never afraid of poisons. She was not afraid of plucking out toxic flowers, even with her bare hands, to clear her path and protect her peace.
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