Forced by fate – Destined to be his Wife

ZhengLi wandered into YuZhi’s apartment with a heaviness on his chest that was suffocating, unable to really shake this awful feeling of shame and guilt that slowed his steps and weighed down his posture. YuZhi was standing in the kitchen making them food after he told him he was on his way as he needed to see him. Oblivious to what ZhengLi was about to tell him and ZhengLi braced himself for the worst of reactions. Hating to be the one to do this.

“Hey, bud. What’s with this late evening guys night? You seemed tired today and thought you were heading home for an early one.” YuZhi was in a pretty neutral mood. Never really okay since breaking up with TangShi and he hated being in this apartment nowadays, but he was trying to move forward with his life. He was glad ZhengLi called him to come over as he was starting to regret the early evening here when these rooms held all her memories, and he was sure in certain places he could still smell her perfume. It was a unique kind of torture since she left.

“I don’t know how to say this so….” ZhengLi furrowed his brow, swallowed hard and then dumped the brown envelope on the counter between them. His inability to come up with the right way to broach this eating at him.

“What this? I thought we agreed to leave work until tomorrow and both have a much-needed break.” YuZhi frowned sliding it away and carried on making Ramen instead.

“It’s about TangShi…….. please just look.” ZhengLi’s tone was husky and low, his eyes slightly reddened and YuZhi glanced from him to the document in hesitation, seeing the somber and almost emotional state of ZhengLi. Confused why he was getting vibes of something being wrong and it pushed aside his impulse to refuse.

“What about her?” Despite telling himself a million times a day to put her out of his head, he couldn’t stop himself when he felt like something might be wrong with her. “Did her injury turn out to be worse than a sprain?” He grabbed at the file thinking it was a hospital report and hurriedly yanked it open, concern taking place of heartbreak and hauling out the papers to read.

ZhengLi stood watching him, too gobsmacked with everything Linlin showed him this afternoon to formulate words. His mind a mess of shame and regret but also anger and pity. Knowing they failed their friend and pushed her aside while she had been going through hell and left her to fend for herself in finding evidence to face this monster.

ZhengLi had sat in his car for a long while, unable to really forgive himself for abandoning his girlfriend and his friend. Because of his dumb pride and loyalty he had been blinded. He knew YuZhi was about to feel a thousand times worse in this when the truth was laid out for him.

YuZhi read the first paper which seemed to be a hotel booking form for that scumbag Cai and clicked on the date right away. Unsure if ZhengLi was trying to tell him something and confused as to why he would need to. It was already over.

“This is from the day before. You’re saying she planned to stay with him even before the dinner? That she was having an affair?” His hands started shaking and his heart shuddered thinking there was more pain to be had, not really swallowing this as truth, but ZhengLi shook his head.

“No, read the next one….. don’t jump to any conclusions until you see what else I have to show you.” ZhengLi slid into a bar stool and propped his elbows on the table, supporting his head as he tried to let it all sink in. Staring down at the black granite and exhaling slowly to try and ease his stress.

YuZhi flipped to the next papers; a three-page file from a lab and froze as he scanned the name and results, a swirling of realization coming over him as he had to start over to read it again. Momentarily unable to process what he was seeing and he screwed up his face and scanned one more time.

“GHB? Isn’t that…” His voice broke in his throat, raggedy and harsh. His skin paling as coldness overtook him and his mind scrambled to make sense of this.

“Date rape drug. I have CCTV from the hotel too. TangShi didn’t do anything, YuZhi….. She was drugged by him until she passed out and he carried her to a room he booked in advance. He planned this. She did nothing wrong.” His words were like a death sentence to YuZhi’s heart. A piercing awful pain that stabbed him in the guts and ripped up through his body to his brain. “It’s all on film. Even him spiking her drink while she seems sober and taking her phone away from her. She tried to leave and passed out. She didn’t know what was happening and she was left at the mercy of that asshole all night. Linin told me she woke only seconds before you walked in, as she was running to the bathroom to vomit, confused, panicked, and scared about where she woke up.”Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

“That asshole….. drugged her. Carried her? He ……” YuZhi could barely get the words out, his throat closing and his eyes filling with moisture as his lungs caved in. Running the end of the sentence through his mind was enough to make him lose his sanity.

YuZhi experienced swimming and spiraling confusion and pain as this sunk in and the flashes of her tearful begging face hit him like a smack in the forehead. She kept saying she didn’t know and couldn’t remember, tearfully staring at him for some kind of help. She begged him and he left her there with the guy who assaulted her, in that room. He walked out and abandoned her with the scum that had done awful things to her.

YuZhi covered his mouth as his insides upchucked with violent reaction and had to spin to the sink as he emptied the contents of his stomach. Throwing up with shock from the depths of how bad all of this was and his part in causing Tang more harm. The girl he swore to cherish, love and protect and he turned on her and left her in the clutches of some sadistic rapist who drugged her.

“Jesus Christ.” ZhengLi sprung to his feet and ran around the counter to come to him, patting his back and grabbing a glass to get him water. “Are you okay?”

“What have I done?” YuZhi choked out the words through another bout of gagging, his insides crumbling to dust and his chest heavy with the inability to catch his breath. “Is that why she came to the office? To tell me? Why didn’t I let her tell me?” YuZhi couldn’t stop the tears which fell in dramatic fashion. Running down his nose and dripping into the sink where he was still bent over. His head woozy as a dizzy spell hit him and he had a full physical reaction to his own regret.

“What we both did. We were so sure she hurt you because she couldn’t deny it and accepted blame. We both have a lot to be sorry for but what matters most right now is making sure that fucker gets nowhere near her again. We need to make him pay for what he did to her and make sure TangShi is really okay.” ZhengLi pulled him upright, grabbing a napkin to dab his mouth and forehead which had turned clammy and damp and frowned at the obvious despair etched on his friends face. Hating seeing him visually distraught.

“I need to see her….. I need to ..” YuZhi knew that he had a hell of a lot of groveling and begging to do. His heart near exploding with agony as he thought about what she must have been going through this past week without him.

Afraid, alone, knowing she had been locked up with a scumbag who did god knows what to her for endless hours. Just the thought of it, of her being in that room vulnerable like that made him spin back to the sink and upchuck another bout of liquid and food remnants. Gasping through the gags before his legs gave out and he slumped down, sliding against the kitchen cabinets with a thud as he ended up on his ass on the floor with his knees bent in front of him. Propping his elbows on his knees and cradling his head as he tried to regulate his erratic breathing.