My Alleged Husband

Chapter 300 - 280 Xia Jing Left_1

After leaving Old Master Zhang’s house, Zhang Zhentian returned to his own place. He had been pondering his father’s words all day. Would he really not regret this decision? If one day he found himself regretful, would anyone offer him a pill of remorse that could bring his wife back to his side? He thought it over and over, and finally concluded that he couldn’t allow himself to regret. He couldn’t abandon the wife who had stood by him through thick and thin, and he couldn’t let a lie cast her adrift in a foreign land.

While Zhang Zhentian was alone at home, thinking things over as the moment of decision drew near, bad news arrived. Xia Jing had left without waiting for Zhang Zhentian to tell her he didn’t want a divorce.

Zhang Zhentian went to Xia Jing’s house to find her. He knocked on the door for a long time, but no one answered. Only then did he learn from Xia Jing’s neighbor that she had left a week before. Even her neighbor didn’t know where Xia Jing had gone.

Zhang Zhentian was frantic. He immediately called his son. When Zhang Yichen saw his father’s number on the caller ID, he knew it had to be about his father not finding his mother and calling him. He answered the phone leisurely, waiting for his father to speak first.

"My dear son, do you know where your mother has gone? I can’t find her anywhere. It’s as if she’s vanished from the face of the earth!" Zhang Zhentian asked in a panicked voice.

Zhang Yichen felt a small surge of happiness when he heard his father ask about his mother’s whereabouts. He knew that his father cared about his mother after all, but just wouldn’t admit it. Some things could be resolved so easily, yet his father, with his stubborn wooden head, always failed to think of simple solutions.

"Oh? My mother can’t be found? Dad, are you kidding me? Didn’t you say you were going to divorce my mom? What do you need her for now? Or do you just want to hurt her again before you kick her to the curb? I have to say, you are really heartless. After more than a decade of marriage, you can just forget and toss my mother aside so casually. Is she that insignificant to you? She is your wife, not a doll, not an object to be wanted or discarded at whim, nor a pet that you can summon or dismiss. When you made that decision, did you even consider my mom’s feelings? Now that she’s already left, why do you bother looking for her?"

No matter how much harm Xia Jing might have caused Zhang Yichen, he couldn’t bear the thought of his mother getting hurt.

When Zhang Zhentian heard the tone in his son’s voice, he knew that his son must know where Xia Jing had gone. But he was unwilling to tell him. Maybe his own actions had become so intolerable that even his son couldn’t stand them anymore.

"Son, I was impulsive before. I shouldn’t have made the decision to divorce your mother. I shouldn’t have abandoned the wife who shared my bed for over a decade, the wife who’s been through thick and thin with me for so many years. All of this was my fault, and now, I truly regret it. I want to find your mom and bring her back home. I won’t talk about divorce with her ever again, let alone hurt her. Can you please tell me where your mom is?"

"Since you were the one who decided to divorce her in the first place, then you shouldn’t regret it now and you shouldn’t come looking for her again. Doing so just makes me look down on you. When you decided to leave her, I tried to talk you out of it. I told you not to do it, but you still went through with it decisively, without seeking the opinions of me or Grandfather. So why are you trying to find her now? With your impulsive ways, she might make a mistake again, will you then once more unreasonably demand a divorce? If you can propose divorce to your wife time and time again, what right do you have to live with my mom? You don’t deserve her..."

Zhang Zhentian knew that he had completely enraged his son with this matter. He also knew it would not be easy to resolve. The initial decision had been made stubbornly, willfully centered on himself; what right did he have now to ask his son to tell him where his wife was? The world was so vast; where should he even begin to look for his wife? The UK, the United States, or France? He was in a state of utter confusion now, genuinely clueless about where his wife might have gone. His only hope was to plead with his son to disclose her whereabouts.

"My dear son, please, think of it as your father begging you, tell me where your mom has gone, okay? I truly regret it now. I want to find her and have her come back to live with me. No matter what happens in the future, I’ll never mention divorce to her again!"

Zhang Yichen thought his father was ridiculous, disdainfully saying, "The one who decided to abandon her was you. The one who wanted to divorce her was you. The one who disregarded over a decade of marriage was you. The one who stubbornly and resolutely chose to give up this marriage was still you. The one who ignored everyone’s advice and went ahead with the divorce was even more you. What right do you have now to come to me? Let me tell you, when she left, she made me promise repeatedly not to tell you where she went, because what you did chilled her heart. She had never bowed her head to Grandfather, but in order to live with you, she sought him out. Yet even after Grandfather’s persuasion, you still chose to divorce her. She then came to me and, despite my efforts to reason with you, you were determined to proceed with the divorce. You alone created this mess, so why should we help you fix it now? You should bear the consequences of your own mistakes and not expect others to share the burden. I will absolutely, definitely not tell you where she has gone. If you want your mom back by your side, then you should search for her all around the world. If the world is that big and you really can find her, then it proves there’s still a marital bond between you, and you can continue with the rest of your lives together. If you can’t find her, then it shows that your relationship has come to an end. Please don’t pester her anymore and let her live her life in peace!"

"You used to hate your mom so much, so why are you speaking up for her now?" Zhang Zhentian couldn’t understand why his son was taking his wife’s side now.

"Yes, I used to genuinely hate my mom, but I hated you just as much. However, no matter what, she is still my birth mother. Even if I have deep hatred for her, I won’t hurt her. Now that you two have ended up like this, I’m even less likely to hurt my mom. Instead, I will protect her. She won’t be harmed ever again. You’ve done so much, and now it’s time for you to face the consequences. I have other things to handle, so I won’t waste any more time talking with you here. Goodbye!"

Zhang Yichen then hung up the phone!