Chapter 225: Cornered
Nana’s hands were trembling as she read the message.
Jinhai getting zapped was not an accident?
What if he had been seriously injured?
The thought terrified her. Her face turned pale.
Her phone buzzed once again.
It read: ‘Enjoy this last happy night with your husband, because from tomorrow I will slowly destroy your marriage, and you will help me in destroying it.’
Another message came.
‘And remember. Not a word to Liu Jinhai or I already gave you a glimpse of what I can do.’
She clutched the phone hard. She didn’t know who this unknown person was, wanting to wreak havoc in her life.
But she had to be strong. Once she knows what this person wants from her, she can slowly think of a solution.
—
The next morning, Nana was nervously pacing in her room. Jinhai had already left for office early in the morning.
Her phone lighted with an incoming call, and she recognized the same unknown number. She bit her lips and took a deep breath.
The altered voice said, “Isn’t it a fine morning to start with your doom, Nana?”
Nana angrily gritted her teeth. “Who are you? What do you want? How could you hurt Jinhai!?”
“Easy, easy, Nana. That was just a small trailer to show what I am capable of if you ever try to go against me. Yesterday, he just hurt his hand. Tomorrow he might not be that lucky.”
“You…” After what happened yesterday, Nana did not doubt that this lunatic can do as he/she has promised. An unknown fear was gripping her heart.
“I don’t even know you. Why are you having this grudge against me? Please can we talk?” She tried to talk him out of it.
“The situation is already out of hand for any kind of ‘talk’ between us. Now I only want revenge. And I will get my revenge when you and Liu Jinhai separate forever.”
Revenge?
“Revenge for what? What have I done?”
She doesn’t remember offending anyone in her life.
The stranger sneered. “You are not qualified to know about it. You only need to know that from this moment on, you will only do as I say. If you tried to disobey me or warn Liu Jinhai, then there will be dire consequences.”
She said nothing.
The voice laughed. “You have not got any choice, because I’m not giving you any. Let’s see; your dear husband is having a meeting at Starlight hotel at three pm. Now what if…his car breaks suddenly fail and there is an accident?”
“NO!!!”
“Or A truck collides with his car, and he is smashed under it?”
Her eyes filled with tears, and she couldn’t stop herself from crying silently.
“Tch. Tch. You will become such a young widow. And what about your unborn child? He will be fatherless. And you will be the reason for that ‘untoward mishap.'”
Nana was stunned. This person knows about her pregnancy. He is already keeping an eye on Jinhai. This person even knows about his schedule.
No…I cannot lose Jinhai. If I lose him, then I will lose myself. She cannot imagine her life without him. If anything happened to him, then she will never be able to forgive herself.
The stranger continued with a mockery in its voice. “Don’t you love Liu Jinhai? Naturally, you cannot see him in danger, right?”
A few moments of silence passed by.
“What do you want?” Nana plainly asked.
“Good that you understood your position soon enough. The outcome must be your and Liu Jinhai’s separation. But we have to do that slowly. He is one smart man. He would figure out that something is wrong if you suddenly asked for divorce without any rhyme and reason.”
Divorce…Separating from Jinhai?
She was feeling suffocated and breathless. She clutched the side of her dress tightly in her fist.
“So, we will do this step by step. For your divorce to seem reasonable, you will have to start becoming unreasonable. So, listen to what you have to do…”
—
At the breakfast table, Jianyu said, “Serena, I think you should participate in Huo Corp’s bid coming up next week.”
But Serena was lost in a daze. She was merely twirling the chopsticks in her hand. Her eyes were unfocused.
Jianyu asked, “Serena?”
“Huh?” She snapped out of it.
Jianyu was concerned. “Serena, if you are worried about anything, then please tell me.”
She smiled. “I-I am fine.”
“No, you are not.” He shook his head. “These days, you seem very stressed out about something.”
He remembered how he saw her crying one night in the balcony. She was talking to somebody, and from that day on, her mood always seemed to be downcast. He knew she wanted to hide it, so he didn’t ask about it.
Maybe she had her past just like him. So he wanted to give her time to come out with it just like she had.
“It’s just my pregnancy. I don’t feel much hungry, and then suddenly I would feel a little out of sorts…”
Jianyu knew that she was lying.
“What were you talking about?” Serena tried to divert the conversation.
Jianyu understood that and sighed.
“I was talking about Huo Corp’s bid coming up next week.”
Serena froze. “H-Huo Corps?”
“Hm. They want to broaden their market by entering design industries like graphic design, fashion design, interior design, advertising, and much more. There will be a competition, and they will be selecting a company for every industry type. Huo Corps will award the winning company by investing in them. That would surely result in a big profit.”
The construction of her company was almost ready under Jianyu’s influence.
Jianyu even secretly hired some of Chen Corp’s staff to work for Serena until she gets a foothold and gains more employees. Once she establishes herself in the market, they can withdraw.
Chen Corps had already invested in it, so money wasn’t a problem, but he thought it would be an excellent exposure if she joined this competition. With the Chen Corps deal last time, she was under Design Premier, but this time she will be solo.
Huo Corps investment as the prize was just an added benefit.
“So what do you think? You can participate in the interior design competition.”
This touched Serena. Jianyu was always very thoughtful and supportive. She couldn’t have come this far without him. She felt so lucky to have him.
It eased her restless heart.
“Alright.”
Jianyu smiled in satisfaction.
Serena clutched the chopsticks. She didn’t mind participating, but the company who was organizing it…
Huo Corps.
—
It was eleven in the night when Jinhai returned home. But, he didn’t find Nana in the room.
He checked all over the villa but didn’t see her anywhere. He saw one maid and asked, “Where is Nana?”
The maid respectfully bowed. “First young master, Lady Liu hasn’t returned yet.”
Jinhai was puzzled. Nana never comes this late.
He called her, but she didn’t pick up. He got a little worried, but then she finally answered on his third try.
“Nana, where are you?”
“Natsukashi.”
“Still at Natsukashi?” He frowned. “Nana, it’s already eleven, why haven’t you returned yet?”
“I was very busy tonight. I am just leaving for home.”
“Wait, I will come to fetch you.”
“No, don’t bother. I’m already on my way.”
“But Nana, you shouldn’t-“
She cut him off mid-sentence. “Jinhai, I’m exhausted now. Can we talk when I come back?”
Jinhai didn’t mind her tone. “En.”
In the car, Nana felt terrible that she spoke so coldly to Jinhai. She was polite by nature, and now talking so rudely was like mental harassment for her.
He must have felt so bad, she thought while biting her lips.
But she had decided to take the chance and tell him everything. That blackmailer couldn’t possibly have his eyes at home.
—
Jinhai was waiting for her in the living room when Nana entered the villa.
Jinhai immediately took her in his hug. He reprimanded her. “You shouldn’t work this hard when you are pregnant. You will get exhausted. You already look so much tired.”
She said, “There was too much work. I couldn’t help it.”
He looked sternly at her. “You have to come early from tomorrow. Otherwise I’m not letting you work anymore, okay?”
She nodded.
Nana was then fidgeting with her fingers.
Jinhai cupped her cheeks. “You want to say something?”
She looked at his probing gaze. “Actually l-last night-“
Suddenly, they heard a vase shatter.
They got startled and turned to look.
A maid was hurriedly picking up the pieces. She was the same maid to whom Jinhai asked about Nana. “I’m sorry, first young master! The vase slipped from my hand. Please forgive me.”
Jinhai ignored her. He was going to ask Nana again when his phone rang.
“One minute.”
He went away, and the maid immediately came to Nana. She looked at her, confused.
The maid smiled.
“Lady Liu, my master advises you not to tell anything to Mr. Liu Jinhai about your conversation.”
Nana froze. Looking at the maid, she widened her eyes.
“Otherwise, next time, this vase would fall on your husband’s head.”