章節 23: A marriage built on sand
Was it okay for her to go out and meet her friend?
Was that even a question?
Dominic had never stopped Heaven from doing whatever she wanted. He didn't even ask her to stop her career. It was Heaven's decision to stop her acting and stay indoors all day, every day. The only thing he asked of her was to be a mother to their child.
To suddenly hear her ask for his approval sounded strange.
"You do not need to pick me up as well," Heaven said, getting out of the car once it stopped moving. She then picked up her small purse and studied its contents after she closed the door behind her. Heaven waited as she stood under the heat of the afternoon sun.
Dominic kept his eye on the tinted window, observing Heaven as she checked her purse.
'What is she doing?' he wondered. He watched her go through the contents of her small purse as if she couldn't find what she was searching for. It was such a small purse, and it was impossible for her not to see whatever she was looking for.
'Man,' Heaven thought in frustration, biting her bottom lip, eyes glued to her purse. 'For some reason, my anxiety is rising because I got nothing on me.'
Her eyes might be focused on her purse as if she was missing a wallet or phone. The reality was far from that. The current Heaven never went out all alone. Even if she would on the most rare occasion, she would be armed.
In other words, going outside with only her phone and wallet had somehow made her anxious.
'It's not like I will kill someone or have to defend myself,' she told herself, giving herself some courage and reminding herself of the perks of this new life. 'That's right. Well. Even if something happened, I can easily turn things around as I had always done.'
Just as Heaven mentally nodded, the window wound down. It was also only then did she realized the car hadn't left.
"What are you doing?" Dominic coldly asked, "Is there something wrong?"
"Well," Heaven replied as she casually bent over, resting her arms on the window to look at him. "I don't have cash."
"You have a card," Dominic said in a deadpan voice.
"I can use them?"
"They're yours."
"Oh… alright." Heaven pushed herself away from the car, only to turn around and pose back to her initial stance. "By the way, do you want anything? I will try to get it on the way home."
There was a moment of stillness the minute Heaven uttered those words. Dominic and Heaven blinked, as there was a sudden quietness between them.
What did she say?
"Hmm?" Her brows rose, cocking her head to the side. "Did you hear me?"
"No. I want nothing. I'll ask someone to pick you up later," Dominic said.
"It's okay. Paula will drive me back home. Are you sure you don't want anything? Ice cream? Dumplings? Maybe some cookies?" Heaven asked in a sweet voice.
"No," Dominic firmly said.
"Alright." Heaven tapped on the inside of the door as if to tell the driver to get going. "See you later, then."
Heaven casually walked away from the car, sauntering to the city mall, where she told Paula to meet. She looked back and saw that the car had never left its spot from where they had stopped. It was like Dominic was waiting for her to get in.
'He's probably shocked,' she thought, looking ahead. 'I don't care anymore. We agreed to postpone the divorce, but that doesn't mean I can be complacent. If I want a higher credit limit, the only way is to gain my husband's favor.'
A cunning smile turned up on her face as she giggled. She was in a good mood to go shopping and to try the kinds of food she hadn't eaten before. Pressing on Paula's buttons would be a bonus.
Dominic kept his eyes in her direction when she was already inside the mall. No one could guess what was going on in his mind at the moment, but for sure, the two people in the front seat were obviously surprised. The driver and Dominic's assistant looked at each other, both wearing shocked looks on their faces.
Did the young Madam and the master have a conversation just now?
They've been working for Dominic even before he got married. They were fully aware of the boss' terrible marriage. Every time Heaven and Dominic would be in the same car, the journey would be total silence, to the point it was suffocating. Not only that, but they never saw Heaven and Dominic speak to one another with more than twenty words.
What was even more surprising was that Heaven was the one who started it!
So, what did they witness?
"Ahem, Master." Dominic's assistant cleared his throat after shaking his head, recomposing himself from what he just witnessed. When he looked back, Dominic was still staring at where Heaven had disappeared. "Should we go? Or do you want to cancel your appointment to join the Madam?"
"I don't remember being invited," he muttered, peeling his eyes away from the direction he had been staring. "Let's go."
The assistant pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded. He then gave the driver a small nod to indicate to start the car. The driver returned the gesture and slowly drove away from the mall.
'What is she doing?' Dominic wondered on his way to his meeting. 'Why does she suddenly feel… different?'
Dominic shut his eyes as he was, deep in thought at his wife's strange behavior. His expression turned stoic once more, not a bit pleased at the questions in his head.
'Heaven Liu… you better keep your word,' Dominic thought, his nostrils flaring in annoyance with the thoughts going on inside his head. 'If I find out you're up to something bad, I won't be lenient anymore.'
Even though Dominic had no expectations of his wife, he was afraid she was up to something. Whatever plans that may be, Heaven should make sure it wouldn't hurt their son. Because if this resulted in hurting Sebastian, Dominic would do everything in his power so she wouldn't show up in front of them again.
Their marriage stood on an eggshell.
One wrong move would result in a disaster.
No one's to blame but Heaven, though. Dominic's lack of trust and confidence in her was due to the five years of negligence from her. Hoping and trusting her would only hurt and disappoint him.
章節 24: Multilingual
Paula and Heaven agreed to meet at a private restaurant in the city mall, a place where elites shop. Paula was already there when Heaven arrived. Well, Heaven deliberately went to a few boutiques to window shop just to make sure Paula would wait for a few minutes.
"How was it?" was Paula's first question as soon as Heaven was in her seat. "What kind of emergency that happened that made you rush out of the hospital? Did that guy force you back to your house?"
Worry and concern swirled in Paula's eyes, and she looked at Heaven as if she was checking any bruises. Even the current Heaven would fall for it if she was a bit stupid.
"Paula, can we please get a glass of tea first? Or maybe wine?" Heaven requested with a frown on her face.
"Right," Paula said. She took a deep breath, then shook her head as if she suddenly woke up from an illusion. She forced a smile, recomposing herself, and said, "I already ordered before you came. I got you your favorite orange juice."
"My favorite?" Heaven asked, she nearly gagged. "Paula, are you really my friend?"
"Huh?"
"Orange juice isn't my favorite. It's your favorite," Heaven pointed out, her frown deepened. "How can you forget such a detail? Was it because you don't care about me anymore?"
"Heaven, what are you talking about? Orange juice has been your favorite ever since we were in high school." Paula said in a voice full of doubt.
She was right, though. The original Heaven liked orange juice; it was her comfort drink. However, the current Heaven didn't like it, as it often made her throat dry up.
"People's taste buds change, you know? I think I mentioned it the last time you made your visit to my place. But well, you're a busy woman and probably forgot all about it. It's no use in making this a big deal." Heaven shrugged it off, seemingly unaffected by Paula's words. She reached for the menu on her side of the table to order herself something nice to eat.
Paula's smile faded slightly as she continued to study the woman across from her. Her heart was full of contempt. The last time she visited Heaven in the hospital, she had been complaining a lot and nitpicking on her. Did Heaven think she was the same lowly actress she could boss around?
'It's okay. Let her be for a while. After all, she will divorce Dominic Zhu.' with that thought in mind, Paula quenched the growing annoyance in her heart.
Paula loudly cleared her throat to get Heaven's attention.
"Heaven, let me order for you," she offered with a kind smile. "Just tell me what you prefer and I will make the order for you. After all, this is a Spanish restaurant. So you might not understand what's on their menu."
Heaven blinked, and then slowly propped the back of her hand against her chin, an innocent look on her face as she replied, "Oh? That's why," she let out a hum, nodding in understanding.
"What do you want? Let me explain what catches your eye," Paula happily offered, bending over the table and stretching her neck while Heaven adjusted the menu for her friend to see better.
"What is this one?" Heaven asked, pointing at a dish.
"Oh, this one is rice with chicken…" Paula explained what the dish was so Heaven could have a vague idea of what food she was ordering.
"That sounds weird. How about this one?"
"This one right here…"
Heaven kept pointing at almost everything on the menu while Paula took her time to explain each of the dishes. One would think Paula was a patient and great friend, assisting her oblivious friend. Both of them came from humble beginnings. The lavish lifestyle they had now was a product of their acting career. Well, for Heaven, it was the product of marrying a rich husband. But even without Dominic, Heaven could've lived a comfortable life with her talent.
"Wow. Paula, did you learn to speak Spanish?" Heaven asked in awe while Paula smiled, flattered that her efforts were being praised. "You're really good at it!"
"Haha! It's nothing. I just had to learn a few words because of the last film I took part in," she answered, her smile growing more.
"Oh. The one where you died?" Heaven innocently asked, recalling one of her movies. "I remember that one since you should've gotten the lead role, but something behind the scenes happened. So you ended up being the lead's lackey who was blinded with money and betrayed her friend."
Paula's wide smile slowly began to fade. Heaven, though, had a frown on her face, as if she didn't like what happened to her friend. Heaven hadn't seen that movie. Ever since waking up in this new life, a lot of things occupied the new Heaven. She had to thank the original Heaven's memory for this.
Heaven pulled out the scene from the sea of memories this body had. How could she forget? Paula kept ranting about it, blaming the production for being bribed. Paula said the actress who got the lead role was sponsored by one of the investors. These types of things truly happened behind the glitz and glamor of the entertainment industry. In this case, though, the current Heaven didn't believe a single word Paula said.
The original Heaven might have, but deep in her heart, the original Heaven knew the lead actress. Thus, she had a slight doubt in Paula's claims, but still wanted to side with her friend.
"Anyway, thank you for helping me," Heaven kindly smiled at Paula. "I really appreciate it."
Heaven pressed a button and almost instantly, an attendant came inside to attend to the guests' request. Paula had a broad smile on her face as soon as the attendant came.
"I can do it for you so you —" Paula volunteered.
"It's okay, Paula. I know we've been friends, but I don't want others to think you're my nanny for ordering you to do such a menial task." Heaven gave Paula a pat on the hand and winked.
The smile on Paula's face froze, sensing the attendant's quick glance. 'What the hell is this dumb bitch spewing now?' she clasped her hand under the table, reminding herself there was another person in this room so she had to keep up with her composure.
'I just want to help you,' — or rather, she wanted to make herself look good in front of others at the same time, humiliate Heaven for not knowing to speak another language. Paula always felt good whenever she made Heaven look bad. Right now, though, she was internally smiling with glee, all because Heaven wasn't using her little brain. Paula didn't have to do anything because this little chit would humiliate herself.
'Suit yourself,' Paula thought, secretly sneering at her 'friend'. 'Embarrass yourself for all I care.'
Heaven looked up at the attendant, smiled, and without missing a beat she said in perfect Spanish, "Hola," she greeted, then proceeded to use the language as if she had been using it her whole life.
Realization dawned on Paula, and her eyes slowly widened, and her jaw dropped in astonishment. Paula only knew a few words and was still learning, but Heaven was using it like it was her first language. Little did Paula know, this Heaven couldn't just speak one language, but she had to learn several few more languages, just so she could swear at her enemies without embarrassing herself.
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