Jujur atau Tantangan: Aku Pilih Pergi

“Let’s get a divorce.”

The man, dignified yet arrogant, gazed emotionlessly at the small woman in front of him.

“I’ll pay for the alimony,” he said indifferently. “If you need money, a job, or a good doctor for your mother, I’ll provide them for you.”

Rose fought desperately to hold back the tears in her eyes.

When Jay Ares's fiancee ran away the day before their wedding, they were forced to find a temporary substitute bride to feed the appetites of the ravenous paparazzi and media outlets.

He believed that she had accepted the role to claim the title, to be known as Mrs. Ares. However, the woman, Rose, alone knew that the reason she agreed was to fulfill her two lifetimes' worth of love for him.

He never knew how much she loved him.

“I didn’t marry you for money,” she whispered. The intensity of her love for him had given birth to an inferiority complex.

The man's deep, quiet eyes flashed a hint of skepticism.

If two complete strangers got married, what reason could it be if not for money?

"My patience runs thin. If there’s nothing else, I’ll arrange for my lawyer to meet you tomorrow with the divorce papers." The man took a final sip of coffee before placing the cup on the table and turning away to head upstairs.

Rose's eyes fell on the coffee cup, her timid face slowly becoming stubborn and grudging.

The wind lingers, the geese leave their marks!

Twice she had loved him with all her heart. She refused to give up on him that easily.

Half an hour later.

Upstairs.

"Husband!" Rose called out meekly, standing demurely at the door.

Jay, who was fixated on a document, was taken aback at the word "husband", and he instinctively looked up. He stared intently at Rose.

In their one year of marriage, he had forbidden her to address him as her husband. She had followed that rule obediently all this while. He was certainly not expecting an increase in boldness from her as their divorce drew near.

“Yes?”

“I’ll agree to the divorce,” Rose announced. “I don't want a house or any money. But I want a child.” Although she spoke softly, Jay could sense the resolution in her words.

His eyes widened slightly in surprise. ‘Huh, someone’s getting bolder,’ he thought.

“You and me? Never,” he spat, disgust in his voice.

Rose calculated the time that had passed and the dosage she had used when she spiked his coffee. ‘The drug should kick in before long, right?’

"After all, we are husband and wife,” she said. “If this whole thing is going to blow over, I feel I deserve to get something out of it!” Rose steeled her gaze and straightened her back. Her timid demeanor melted away to reveal a gritty resolve.

Jay raised his eyebrows slightly. ‘Well, well, well, the little fox’s tail is finally poking out of the sheep’s skin.’

"Rose, don't play hard-to-get with me. I assure you the alimony will more than satisfy you. If you're too greedy, you will end up with nothing—"

"Sir Ares, I’ve told you it’s not about the money." Rose emphasized again. She looked more determined than ever, her eyes fixed on him. “But I’ll have to borrow something from your body.”

"What?" Jay frowned, getting a little impatient. At that moment, his body started to feel unnaturally hot.

"Rose, you dare drug me?" Jay instantly understood her intentions and his handsome face contorted into countless layers, like deep snow unmelting for millennia.

Rose looked calm and kept quiet. She neither confirmed nor denied it. Then, she pursed her thin lips lightly and slowly stripped off her clothes until her body was completely bare. Unhurriedly, she walked over to him and nestled by his body...

Jay clearly wanted to resist, but he could not fight the urges of his body and he found himself forcefully embracing her in his arms.

The demons sealed in his body clamored to take him from the dark valley to the peak of the sky.

And they shared a spring night of intertwined atrophy.

…

Early in the morning, the first faint rays of dawn trickled through the translucent beige curtains and fell on the room’s marble floor.

On the bed, the man opened his bleary eyes. His handsome, chiseled face exuded a dignified charm.

The passionate yet chilling rendezvous with Rose last night flooded his mind and Jay Ares sat up immediately.

He threw open the blanket and saw a few drops of blood staining the white bedsheets. They looked like blossomed lotus flowers, provocative and incredibly beautiful, blooming right in front of his eyes.

A cold fury spread across his face.

Damn. Had he been toyed with?

His slender and well-proportioned legs touched the floor. As he donned a bathrobe, he accidentally knocked something from the bedside table onto the floor.

Jay bent over to pick it up. It was a debit card and an elegantly handwritten note.

"The money in the debit card is the payment for last night. We're even now! Goodbye!”

The handsome man's already insidious-looking expression became even more threatening.

"Rose!" His furious voice, like a clear note of a cello, cut through the air and shook the entire building like a flame.

Did she think his body was for sale?

How dare she use his money to insult him!

Jay's slender jade-like fingers curled and clenched into a tight fist, to the point that his knuckles began to turn white.

"Rose, you better pray that you don't get my hands on you!"

…

In a secluded rental house in the East side of the city.

Rose laid on a simple fabric sofa, bit into the apple in her hand, and stared at the television screen.

The host was holding up a black-and-white photo of Rose and was announcing importantly:

"Lady Rose of the Ares Family ran away from home a few days ago. There are no surveillance tapes found that recorded her current location. There are also no records of her checking-in at any hotels in the city. If anyone has any information about her whereabouts, please give a call to the program hotline. Informants will be rewarded with one million dollars."

Rose angrily tossed the apple core at the television.

"I'm not dead yet,” she said indignantly. “What’s that supposed to mean, Jay Ares? Why would you use a black and white memorial portrait for a missing person’s advert?”

Then she burst out laughing. "If you want to catch me, try again in your next life!"

Rose exclaimed with confidence as she caressed her face which was very different from her memorial portrait.

All Jay knew about her was that she was Royan’s daughter out of wedlock and that she grew up in a backwater mountain village. All the time, he had looked down on her and written her off as an ignorant, vulgar country girl.

However, what he did not know was that she had lived two lifetimes.

In her previous life, she had been known as Angeline, a well-educated honor student and the eldest daughter of the Severe Family, one of the four aristocratic families in Swallow City. Not only was she a talented student in the Cyber Security Department of the First Academy, but she was also born with a silver spoon in her mouth and had the versatile skills befitting a lady from a wealthy family.

Her expertise in makeup was impeccable; she was able to disguise herself as just about anyone.

Before she left the Ares mansion, she donned a new disguise and carefully avoided all the surveillance cameras in the surrounding villas.

Why should she make it easy for Jay to find her?

Ten months later.

Rose gave birth to three adorable babies in the rented room.

She fell into a daze as she looked at her beautiful babies in their crib, two boys and one girl.

For the past ten months, the search for her had never stopped.

A man as proud as Jay Ares would never release the grudge of being toyed with for his entire life.

If she was caught by him, Rose knew that it would be the end for her. She doubted that his vengeance would be dated even if he tossed her into the ocean and fed her to sharks.

Now that she has children to look after, it was impossible to live a life of hiding.

Rose thought for a long time and made up her mind. She would endure the pain of parting with her love in order to live out the remainder of her life in peace.