C2 Lowly Woman

The woman continued to gyrate sensuously even as she whined. "Tiancheng, your phone is ruining the mood here!"

"Why don't you go get it for me?" he crooned and slapped her ass. "Turn the damn thing off."

The woman pouted, pretending to sulk, but she did get off of him and pattered over to the sofa to fetch the device. She took one glance at the caller ID displayed on the screen, then her lips slowly curved into a sly smile. "Well look what we have here... Your dainty little wife is calling."

Tiancheng's expression instantly darkened. "Ex-wife!" he bit out.

The woman flashed him a satisfied smile. "Should I turn it off then?"

"You know what, why don't you answer it?"

"You want me to speak with her?" His suggestion was surprising.

"Why?" Tiancheng smirked. "Are you worried she might recognize your voice?"

The woman scoffed. "She's bound to find out anyway."

She swiped on the screen to receive the call before striding back to the bed.

"Hello. Hello?"

Yanxi's gentle greeting was met with a throaty hum as the woman straddled Tiancheng's waist in a single, precise movement.

"Ah…"

The breathy sound struck Yanxi like a bolt of thunder, sending goosebumps across her skin and a flush to her cheeks.

"I—" Yanxi stopped short and swallowed hard. "I'm looking for Bai Tiancheng," she said in a low, tremulous voice.

"I'm afraid he's preoccupied at the moment. You can tell me what your business is and I will relay it to him. After all, I'm his fiancée."

The woman drew out a long moan. "Oh, slow down, Tiancheng. You're being too rough."

And then she laughed, and Yanxi thought she could hear the sound of a man's ragged breathing in the background. It was no mystery what was happening at the other end of the line.

The knowledge hit her like a physical blow to the chest, her heart stopping and squeezing into itself in pain.

Fiancée? They hadn't even settled the divorce arrangements yet, but it appeared that Tiancheng already had another woman slated to become his next wife.

Yanxi took a long, steadying breath and did her best to keep her tears at bay. "Please tell him that I am unable to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau tomorrow."

She ended the call without waiting for a reply. It took nearly all of her just to finish speaking without breaking down.

But now that it was quiet again, reality came crashing down and she crumpled to the floor in despair. Yanxi held nothing back and cried her eyes out.

'Where did I go wrong? Bai Tiancheng, how can you treat me like this? I loved you so much, even when I knew you you will never reciprocate my feelings. Did you never really, not even once, feel sorry for me?'

Two o'clock in the morning.

Yanxi had been sitting in a daze on the sofa, staring blankly ahead for hours on end. The sound of the front door opening jolted back to her senses.

She gathered herself and forced a smile on her face before walking to the foyer to greet her husband.

"Tiancheng, you're back! Welcome home."

Yanxi was the very picture of a docile wife, a woman whose joys in life revolved around serving and satisfying her husband.

And why wouldn't she be happy right there and then? She had initially thought that he wouldn't be coming home, that she wouldn't even be able to see him one last time before she left.

And yet here he was. He had still returned to her.

But the moment Tiancheng noticed the faint traces of happiness on her face, he scowled. He didn't bother greeting her and proceeded to change from his shoes to his house slippers. "I thought I told you that we're signing the divorce papers tomorrow."

Yanxi's smile froze and her face paled.

Her throat worked as she struggled with a response. "I... I have a prior engagement for tomorrow..." she finally managed in a small voice.

He turned sharply to her direction and glared. "Is this a pathetic attempt of yours to stall the divorce proceedings?" he sneered. "I knew you wouldn't give me up so easily, Qin Yanxi."

She swallowed the lump in her throat and blinked away the tears that threatened to fall. "Tiancheng," she cajoled. "Let's not talk about this for now, okay?"

The fact of the matter is that she was indeed unwilling to give him up.

He took a step toward her, then another, his face twisted in disgust.

He stopped when he was right in front of her, then grabbed her by the chin with such a force that made Yanxi wince.

The words that came out of his mouth were dripping with mockery. "Are you really too naïve to understand what you heard on the phone earlier, or are you simply so stupid that you choose to turn a blind eye to it? I suppose you're just another sad, disgraceful woman who can easily ignore her own sense of self-respect."

His blatant loathing of her clawed at Yanxi's skin and pierced at her heart.

Her shoulders trembled, and her hands shook.

"Tell me, Qin Yanxi, are you perhaps still holding out some miserable hope that I, Bai Tiancheng, might one day love you? I'm telling you right now, that's not happening. I never loved you these past two years, and I certainly never will.

The only thing I can bring myself to feel for you is disgust."

Yanxi let out a choked sob then, and her tears freely streamed down her face.

Tiancheng flicked her face away and headed upstairs without another word.