Destined to be his Wife - Forced by Fate

Aftermath

“Where you at, buddy? I need to come see you.” YuZhi called ZhengLi once he dropped TangShi off at the house on his hands free as he drove back towards the center of Shanghai, making way to his friend’s apartment. Squinting at the windscreen as tiny drops of rain started to fall and added to the melancholy of his mood.

“I’m at Dream in Changning district with Linlin, What’s up?” ZhengLi was standing at the bar of a popular nightclub while getting his table a fresh round of drinks. It was quiet given it was a Wednesday night, so the volume was low. He was a seasoned party animal who often hit clubs on a weekday and still managed to work the next day. He turned to watch Linlin sashaying across the dancefloor with two girls in tow, giggling merrily and unaware of his watching them. Amused by his date for the night, her wildcat antics and dirty dancing she had been doing minutes ago that had held him standing there longer than required.

“I’ll head to your place then. I’m staying there tonight, and I’ll see you when you get home. Don’t rush on my account.” YuZhi lifted his hand to hang up, not wanting to impose when ZhengLi was with Linlin, but ZhengLi cut in smoothly. Recognizing the strain in his tone and the curt and cool manner.

“Wait for me. I’m not in the mood for this tonight, so I’ll head back. Have to keep the little woman on her toes and make her miss me. I’m getting too accessible and she’s undervaluing my worth.” He grinned, lounging casually with his hip against the bar, propping an elbow behind him and motioned her a little ‘come here’ gesture as he caught her eye.

Linlin stopped in her tracks, leaving her two friends to wander back to their table without her where a group of them were convening and made her way to ZhengLi with a sassy catwalk. Her face lighting up at being summoned and aware of pushing her bust and butt out to appear as sexy as she could be. They weren’t drunk at all yet and had only been here a short time, meeting up with a mix of his friends and hers in a so-called casual meet. Neither would admit it was a real date and were still playing the hot and cold game with one another in some strange power struggle that was exciting them both.

“If you’re busy…” YuZhi felt guilty about ruining his plans, but ZhengLi was having none of it. His friend sounded stressed and rarely made calls for help so he knew something was up. ZhengLi was maybe a heartbreaker when it came to women but was loyal and true when it came to his friends.

“Dude, I’ll be ten at the most. Buy some beers, you owe me a drunken stupor.” ZhengLi hung up before YuZhi could refuse, knowing he would, and turned to smile towards his tiny vixen, strutting her stuff up to him in stilettos and a zebra print, strapless mini dress that went well with her new fuchsia pink hair. She was a knockout in a small package and crazily addictive for him since the first time he laid eyes on her. Linlin was a bold girl when it came to style, and he liked that she was fearless in expressing herself through her hair, make up and fashion, and her bad temper.

“What? I was going to sit down and await my cocktail. You better not have gotten me over here to carry the tray?” she accused, tilting her chin towards the drink order the bartender was sliding behind him and narrowed her eyes while pouting like a child.

“Baby, you’re too weak to carry that big old tray. I have to disappoint you I’m afraid and apologize in advance. I have another hot date and can’t stand them up. So, I have to go.” He grinned wickedly, reaching out to bop her on the side of the chin in a playful gesture. Enjoying the way her face switched from cute sulking with a hint of sexy, to enraged murderous thunder as a scowl pinched her pretty pink lips.

“You what?” She snapped at him, blinking in shock that he would come out with this crap to her face, prodding him in the firm abdomen in angry reaction with a lethal finger. “What hot date? What the hell, ZhengLi Kim? Why ask me out if you’re going to ditch me and run off with another b***h? What kind of shameless bastard are you?” Linlin was beyond mad. Furious and seething with green eyed fury, unable to really compute that he would be this much of an asshole and not able to control her outburst. She knew they weren’t exactly exclusive, but this was a whole other level of jerk

“Baby, are you mad? Is this jealousy?” He smirked, leaning in close to bridge the gap between them in a smooth manner. His voice lowering to that seductive husky that he knew drove her wild while tapping her on the tip of the nose and almost losing his head in the process as she aimed a slap to swipe his hand from her. Scowling and gritting her teeth while trying to control her outward reaction and failing, Linlin stomped her foot and narrowly missed his toes. He dodged back, chuckling as she stomped again to aim this time and then kicked him in the shin in rage because she never was one who could hold in all that internal lava when it started spewing.

“Ouch!” ZhengLi barked and hopped back clutching his leg and making an ‘eeesssssh’ noise through clenched teeth.

“Jerk. Go choke on your hot date. I don’t like you all that much anyway. No loss to me.” Linlin spun away, throwing her hair in his face, turning to march off as he hobbled to right himself, frowning at his banshee woman. Amused.

“Don’t hate the bromance. A man must do what he must do when the brotherhood calls for back up!” He called after her, grinning at his own humor when she stopped dead in her tracks about three feet away and snapped her head back around to him.

“Bro?…. You utter asshole. You’re ditching me to go run after YuZhi Leng? Oh my god. Why would you imply….? Ughhhh! Well, have fun, I spotted a handsome man over there who looks lovely and lonely. I’ll not miss you. Go, toddle off and play with your boyfriend.” Linlin stuck her tongue out at him and went back to stamping her feet in the direction away from him.

“Baby… Linnyboo? Princess Choi?” he limped after her at a surprising speed and caught her by the back of the dress, catching a handful that jerked her to a halt. Spinning her his way he caught her in his arms so he could tilt her back while he leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Silencing all that building fire with a smooth move and a cheeky smile. He loved nothing more than riling this wench and she was so easy to make bite.

Linlin lifted her hand and pushed his head away with a flat palm to his forehead, glaring at him and wriggling to get loose. Held at a ninety-degree angle so she had to hold on with one hand on his shoulder to stop her feet sliding out. Madder than hell that he kept saying and doing stupid things like this to press her green-eyed button and then laughing at her in amusement as though it was all very entertaining. He was infuriating and immature and kept her on her toes by acting like she wasn’t all that important to him. She had no idea why she kept on agreeing to seeing him when he made her want to stab him in the throat with her shoes.

“I hate you.” She snapped, still trying to fight her way free and feeling useless as her body cooled down at his irresistible touch. Her mind simmering because his kiss was like a drug, and she could never get enough of them. He could disarm her so easily after making her furious.

“That’s fine, it makes for better s*x when I finally invite you back to my bed and end all this crazy tension we have building.” He winked, standing her up and pushing her to rights before letting go and patting her on the head like a puppy. Appraising her dress because it was pulled up higher, exposing more thigh on the sexiest legs he had ever seen. Not having s*x with her was getting harder with every date, even a saint would raise his willpower, but he wanted Linlin to chase him as much as he did her and he could wait it out until he broke her.

“Pffttt. I would rather sleep with a homeless person than you. Who says I will ever grace your bed?” She bit, turning on her heel in the worst of moods because he was leaving her and taunting her all at the same time. Disappointed because despite being an annoyance, she had the most fun when he was around.

“Ughhhh, wounded. I even had a pillow embroidered with your name, just for you. It sits right beside mine.” He mocked and clutched his heart dramatically, before following her with the tray of drinks back to the table and sliding them on the surface while casting her another smile and wink. He nodded to his friends at the far end, some guys from his gym, and gestured for his jacket as a hint he was leaving. They barely registered, too engrossed in chatting up Linlin’s pretty girlfriends to care and tossed it his way. He waved at them before turning back to his tiny crazy sulker.

“Behave. I don’t want to have to come back and save poor defenseless boys from you.” He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead, lingering a moment to enjoy the feel of her skin and the seductive scent of her perfume before he walked off without a second glance to head home. Getting only a few feet before a tall leggy blonde stopped in front of him, blocking his way on purpose, and he recognized her as a past plaything. He sighed, knowing this isn’t what he needed when eager to go.

“ZhengLi? I thought that was you. It’s been a while. Why don’t you come sit with me and have a drink, we could catch up and rekindle old flames?” She purred seductively, sliding a hand up his abdomen over his white button shirt to his muscular chest and he dropped his chin to look at its progress before raising a brow at her. Amused that she was being this brazen and assuming she was drunk. The girl was not this bold in the past and had bored him by being all too nice and vanilla.

“I’m busy. I don’t have time nor inclination. Can you move.” He smiled at her, full on charm offensive despite his harsh command and yet didn’t get her reply because a tornado swung in between them and shoved the girl back with an aggressive thrust. A pint-sized head of pink hair and an ass thrust into his groin to shove him back away from her.

“He’s not interested. He has a date. It’s me, and I don’t share with drunk hoes. Toddle off before you end up with a sore face.” Linlin squared up to her from her smaller height, full on hostile and rammed her hands on her hips with attitude that was bigger than she was. ZhengLi chuckled at her little warrior self and slid his hands onto her naked shoulders to tug her back against him and save her from a cat fight she didn’t need to get into. He had zero intention of switching he rout anytime soon.

“You should listen to her, she bites, and she isn’t inoculated. It would be messy and probably lethal.” ZhengLi chuckled, patted Linlin on the top of her head and shooed away the other woman with a gesture. Smiling as she took the hint, tutting and storming off to show her anger while he kept Linlin restrained against him.

He leaned down to kiss her on the cheek from behind to cool her jets and say farewell and then patted her ass before walking around her, with a backwards handwave over his head as he left to go. If he was going to hook up with any girl tonight, it wouldn’t be anyone else but his three-foot demon and he shook his head at how much her bad temper floated his boat. She was never dull and definitely not too nice a girl.

“I’ll call you, Linnabelle. Laters.” He didn’t look back and strutted off smiling to himself, merry at seeing her hackles rise and that show of possessiveness when faced with competition. ZhengLi liked Linlin, but the girl was hard to handle, had zero interest in being a one-man woman and was a little too bossy and stroppy for the likes of him. He had his own ego to contend with.

He was pulled to a halt by his trouser waistline being tugged from the back, and his small terror strutted around him, forcing a flat palm on his chest to keep him in place with a warning look of ‘Don’t take another step’. Glaring at him with fury and he couldn’t help but relax back into a casual posture and smile at her.

“I didn’t say goodbye.” She pouted, letting go of him to reach up and catch the open collar of his shirt with both hands and yanking his face down to her so she could reach. He was surprised by the show of force, the impressive tug that hauled him to her level but closed his eyes as her mouth met his and allowed her to kiss him passionately. Sinking into her as he progressed it to a proper make out with tongues and heavy panting, catching her head in his hands to angle her for a better fit before she released him. A look of victory in her eye and a hint of color high on her cheeks because she had raised both of their temperatures and sparked crazy s****l urges. “Laters.” She smirked, letting him go to stumble to right himself and swallow hard. A little breathless at her assault. She toddled off without another glance his way in the direction she came from with a sway of her sexy ass while ZhengLi stood for a moment to admire it and cool his own jets. Crazy turned on, feeling the heat between them sizzling all over and seriously reconsidered leaving her here.

He knew if he wanted her as a long-term playmate, he would have to bend her to his will a little and find the compromise if this friends with benefits thing was to pan out. He had met headstrong in the past, but he always had the upper hand. Linlin was different and she played as many mind games as he did, always looking to be the boss and the one to call the shots. It was thrilling, and fun and he was enjoying the fact he put her nose out of joint by abandoning her tonight. He knew he would have to grovel for the next date because she would surely make him suffer and he looked forward to the challenge. He was starting to think he was some sort of masochist when it came to her.

YuZhi let himself into ZhengLi’s apartment and dumped the crate of beers on the kitchen counter. Sighing and throwing his jacket off onto the grey leather corner couch as he paced to the windows that covered the whole wall of the sitting room and stared out over the Shanghai skyline. It was late, almost midnight, and yet YuZhi was wired and strung out and had a head full of chaos that signaled no sleep tonight.

He kissed TangShi and it made him feel like s**t. So many conflicting thoughts and feelings and somehow like a psychic connection, right about when he pulled into the drive to drop TangShi at home, Rhea started calling him. It drove it home more that he was an epic jerk, and he couldn’t fathom how to fix this situation. She pushed his guilt to a new level and when he answered her on the way back, he couldn’t bring himself to say much. Rhea made small talk, clear her mood was over now and she was looking to play nice again. No mention of the night she hit TangShi.

“Yo, bro, you here?” ZhengLi kicked his front door open while balancing a couple of crates of beer in his arms he decided to pick up on the way and noticed all his lights had been turned on. Catching sight of YuZhi standing at the window and grinned at him. “Something is definitely up. What’s with the dramatic brooding silhouette as you stare pensively at the city?” he joked, mocking his friend and dumped the boxes beside the one YuZhi brought in, wasting no time in ripping them open to fill the refrigerator and then popping the caps off two for them to drink. He walked over to YuZhi and handed him a bottle, before matching his pose. Mirroring him against the window and gazed out at the sea of night lights and flickering signs at the view below them. This was a penthouse apartment and had one of the highest vantage points in the surrounding buildings. A bachelor pad with minimal décor and modern comforts.

“I f****d up.” YuZhi lifted his beer and swigged it, taking a long slow drink and exhaling heavily before pulling it back down and wiping his mouth on his sleeve. ZhengLi copied, his eyes on YuZhi while he drank and knew he wasn’t done talking. “I kissed TangShi.” YuZhi admitted and somehow saying it out loud made it feel worse as he shook his head, heaved his shoulders, and exhaled another long breath. A weight over the top of him that was like sitting under a suffocating heavy black cloud.

“And?” ZhengLi shrugged, tapping his bottle against YuZhi’s and grinning at him with a kind of proud look.

“And? I shouldn’t have. It’s messing with my head and now I can’t even look her in the eye.” YuZhi knocked his bottle away and shoved his friend’s shoulder with his two fingers in playful pushiness. Aggravated that ZhengLi of course would not see the problem in this.

“Did you like it?” ZhengLi c****d a brow at the despair in his tone and went straight into the interrogation. Wanting details rather than guilt confessions. YuZhi had always been an overthinker and on the pessimist side of life, while ZhengLi was more of a ‘you only live once, have fun and go out in a blaze of glory’ type.

“The point is, that Rhea is going to freak out and tonight I told TangShi about moving to the apartment…. before I kissed her. I don’t know what to do now.” He felt hopeless and couldn’t think straight. The apartment idea seemed stupid now.

“Don’t tell Rhea, for a start. Not yet. Give it another nineteen months or so when you get to the stage of rebuilding your relationship. In the meantime, it will only make her worse and cause drama. She doesn’t need to know until you’re ready to wipe the slate clean and date again.” ZhengLi hoped that day would never come and was counting on nineteen months of his best friend’s life being the changing point in his future. He had nothing against Rhea as a person, but he didn’t think Rhea was YuZhi’s person.

“I know you’re right. She’s already jealous and insecure and suspects TangShi is trying to seduce me behind her back, but I shouldn’t lie.”

“It’s not a lie, it’s merely non-disclosure of all the facts. It’s better for Rhea that way and healthier for you. Less chance of losing genitals or your life.” ZhengLi smirked, seeing the funny side in the dilemma. It was not a big deal the way YuZhi was imagining it was.

“I feel like I cheated, and I can’t shake it out of my head. And then there’s Tang. I can’t face her after what I did, and what do I do about moving to my apartment? Do I leave her at the house?” YuZhi really was in over his head with this and had no way to navigate it. The kiss hadn’t felt bad, or wrong and that in itself had been clawing at his brain as much as his guilt was. Messing up all his carefully laid plans.

“Are you a ten year old? You kissed a girl so now you can’t look at her and fear being in her company in case you have the restraint of a starved pig when tossed scraps? Come on, buddy? Be a man. It’s not like she’s your first kiss.” ZhengLi poked fun at him and pushed his beer bottle into YuZhi’s shoulder, laughing at his fragile emotional state and not seeing the problem. It was just a kiss. TangShi was probably more embarrassed about it than he was, given YuZhi used to kiss girls a lot as a teen. His smooch count was easily in double figures from his wild Romeo days. This was no big deal, but YuZhi was obviously missing the point as to why it was a big deal to him.

“It’s not what I mean. TangShi and me…. we’re close now. It feels like I made this into something else and I felt like I upset her. I don’t want her to get the wrong idea about us. Give her hope and then hurt her.” YuZhi really was in turmoil. Denying the fact she had made his heart race and his body respond and still put it down to lack of intimacy since ending things with Rhea months ago. He didn’t want to admit, that kiss had made him regret losing her in the past all over again.

“You have given her boundaries enough times that I’m sure she knows that you don’t want this marriage to be real. As for moving…. You already share a bed and a room. The apartment will separate you to your own at least, it still makes sense. More so if you really want to avoid a repeat of…” ZhengLi made kissy kissy noises and moved at YuZhi in a mock pout to get his cheek.

“Get off, you weirdo.” YuZhi batted his face away and shoved him back to separate him, dodging his affectionate assault. “I guess you’re right, but I need to sleep on it and try and find the nerve to face her. Put us back to platonic.” He downed another long swig of his ale and went back to staring off into the manmade stars of Shanghai.

“Being in a relationship for the last three years has turned you into a wuss. I’m so disappointed in you.” ZhengLi smiled at his friend before leaning forward and rubbing him on top of his hair, messing it up, but it was done with genuine affection this time. A normal mannerism between them when they were being serious. “I know you’re going to give her the cold shoulder and put distance back between you. It’s what you do when people get too close or stray over the lines you set. Just remember, TangShi is a sweet girl, and you should go easy on her. She’ll be around for a long while yet and you have to live with the consequences.” ZhengLi felt like he needed to remind his friend because he could already predict YuZhi’s knee jerk reaction in the coming days. Until he got his head around this nothing kiss, he would try and freeze TangShi out to drive it home it would never happen again. He knew his friend could be cold and cruel even if it wasn’t his intention. He was emotionally stunted for such a smart guy.

ZhengLi knew though that it wasn’t because TangShi turned him off, it was because deep down he knew YuZhi wouldn’t trust himself not to do it again now he had done it once. The history of eight years ago was still lingering between them even if YuZhi denied it was a factor anymore. ZhengLi saw how he was with TangShi these past weeks, and he knew it was completely different to the boyfriend he had been for Rhea these past years. He was attentive, considerate of her, and fiercely protective.

TangShi brought out a softness in him, a boyish fun side that only ZhengLi got to see normally. He let his guard down and he seemed to relax around her as though being by her side was as natural as breathing. They had something between them and ZhengLi had seen it beginning to grow. The last time ZhengLi had seen him that way was a long time ago, before the loss of his family had closed his heart and ripped the light from his eyes. He had waited years to find something to help heal his brother’s pain and now all his money was riding on the sunshine girl who was thrust into his dark life.