"I'm serious," I said, sitting up straight and meeting his oppressive gaze without flinching. "It's been five years. You're never going to fall in love with me anyway. Let's just give each other a way out."
In another month, A-City would host a large-scale business symposium. Hugh Pei would be there, and he would meet Lila Wei, who would be working part-time as a hostess. He would fall in love at first sight and stop at nothing, not even force, to possess her.
I had no intention of being the cannon fodder in their legendary love story.
Everything I wanted to do, could do, and should have done, I'd already done in my past life, and I'd seen the final result. In this life, I wouldn't turn myself into a joke again, nor would I push the Xu family into the abyss.
I decided to withdraw before Hugh Pei and Lila Wei even met, to take the first step in clearing the path for their tumultuous romance.
Perhaps my expression was truly serious, because Hugh Pei's face instantly darkened. He had a notoriously bad temper; he would show no mercy to anyone who displeased him.
"Heh, has Hugh Pei become someone's plaything now?" He laughed, but his eyes were filled with ice. "You were the one who insisted on marrying me five years ago, and now you're the one who wants a divorce. Zoe Xu, are you playing me?"
Five years ago, the Pei and Xu families were on excellent terms and had arranged our match.
With Hugh Pei's personality, he would never have been so obedient. The turning point came when his grandfather fell gravely ill and forced him to marry me.
This was a deeply humiliating thing for Hugh Pei. Fortunately, he didn't have a beloved "the one that got away," and just then, he was in the process of gradually taking over the family business—needing a capable partner to stand by him. So he settled for me, and we muddled through five years like that.
I gave a somewhat sad, bitter smile. "Are you telling me you want to continue this sham of a marriage?"
"A sham?" Hugh Pei seemed to be mulling over the words. Then he raised an eyebrow and asked mockingly, "Oh, are you feeling lonely and unfulfilled?"
"No, I just..." I was trying to choose my words carefully.
But Hugh Pei had already gotten up and moved to my side. He leaned in, his hands on either side of the sofa, creating a circle with his arms that trapped me. His voice was seductive. "If you're lonely, why didn't you contact me? Making a scene about divorce... are your desires that strong?"
Hugh Pei was a smoker, and he always carried a faint, clean scent mixed with the smell of tobacco.
Of course, he never hugged me. I had secretly smelled his coat before.
Now, that complex and captivating scent enveloped me. Logically, I should have been thrilled, my face flushing with excitement. But in reality, all I felt was suffocated.
I was a person on my way out. Anything that might cause me to waver felt like a bad omen.
"That's not what this is about!" I tried to explain. After so many days and nights, I had long grown accustomed to loneliness.
"Is that so?" Hugh Pei straightened up. He had no interest in me to begin with; his earlier flirtation was just to embarrass me. He wouldn't lose control.
I was a 27-year-old married virgin, radiating resentment, not alluring fragrance.
"Zoe Xu, I know today is our fifth wedding anniversary, but I have no interest in celebrating it. If you're trying to use this to start a fight and demand a divorce, I'd advise you to stop making trouble." Hugh Pei stood before me, looking down at me, his voice back to its usual coldness.
"It's an anniversary we've never celebrated. I don't need to wait until this year to start making a fuss," I said, also standing up to look at him. "Think about it. My usefulness to you should be about exhausted by now. Compared to me, you're the one who needs freedom more, aren't you?"
With that, I turned and went up to the second-floor bedroom without another word.
I heard the sound of a door slamming violently downstairs, followed by the roar of a car engine outside the window. I knew Hugh Pei had left, but this time, my heart was calm.
Just then, my phone rang. It was my friend, Ginny Deng.
"Zoe, come out and party! Tang Ge Yuan, let's go!" Ginny's loud voice instantly dispelled my gloom. She was about my age but had always been single.
After getting married, I rarely went out. Ginny could invite me ten times, and I'd refuse nine, but she was incredibly persistent.
"Okay!" I agreed immediately, so readily that there was a long silence on the other end of the line.
"Today is your and your dear Hugh Pei's wedding anniversary. Are you sure you want to come out and play?" Ginny finally spoke again, her tone filled with disbelief and shock.
For four years straight, I had used the anniversary as an excuse to turn her down.
"Yes. It's an anniversary, not a death anniversary. I'll be right there," I confirmed to Ginny before hanging up.
Opening my closet, I was greeted by a sea of black, white, and gray. Even blue was a rare color. Behind every luxury brand were all sorts of brilliant designs, and I, the fool, had spent a fortune on the dullest styles.
After ten minutes of searching, I finally picked out a halter-neck black dress that wasn't quite so drab. It was silk, with a deep V-neck that plunged nearly to her navel. The waist was cinched, accentuating my overly slender figure. My pale arms were completely bare, and most of my back was exposed.
I remembered this dress. I had bought it specifically to seduce Hugh Pei. As it turned out, he didn't even come home that entire month.
The only thing I was dissatisfied with now was how flat my chest was, not quite living up to the dress's alluring charm.
It'll have to do. I'll just eat more in the future, I comforted myself.
After changing and doing my makeup, I went to the garage, picked a red Porsche, and headed straight for Tang Ge Yuan.
Tang Ge Yuan was a nightclub in A-City, its name possessing a kind of wild, artistic flair.
After parking, I entered and found Ginny and the others at the bar we'd agreed on.
In college, Ginny Deng, Tilly Ouyang, Ella Li, and I were known as the Four Talents of the Music Department. Everyone thought the four of us would have brilliant careers after graduation. Instead, I got married young, Ginny became the queen of the nightclub scene, Tilly Ouyang had worked her way up to a deputy manager position at her family's company, and only Ella Li was still sticking to her original path, participating in music competitions everywhere, vowing to become a star.
"A rare guest! A rare guest!" Ginny greeted me with the air of a top official, hopping off her high stool and grabbing my hand excitedly.
The other two nodded in agreement. After my marriage, I had practically vanished.
For Hugh Pei, I had given up my social life.
After a few drinks, Tilly Ouyang sighed. "Zoe, if you hadn't come out this time, I would have started to wonder if I attended your wedding or your funeral five years ago."
A complete death.
"Strange, you're not at home making a candlelight dinner today?" Ginny asked curiously. She pried my eyes open. "Here, let me see. Did that scumbag Hugh Pei ignore you again? Did you cry?"
"Will you stop pulling off my false eyelashes?" I swatted her hand away.