The Plane Tickets He Hoarded The Wife He Hid novel Chapter 282

282 Chapter 282 The Terms Of Surrender

282 Chapter 282 The Terms Of

Surrender

Blanche’s POVO

The moment that massive dog disappeared completely, I finally allowed my rigid muscles to unwind.

I straightened up slowly, then pivoted to face Zain and Carry.

The second I caught Zain grinning at me, the real meaning behind that smile hit me like a slap.

But then I caught myself thinking, ‘Since when does Zain give a damn about what goes on in my head?‘

Before I could shove that thought away completely, Zain let out a low chuckle. “See? You still give a shit

about us.”

I adjusted my bag strap with deliberate calm, then met his gaze head–on. “I would’ve done the same for

complete strangers.”

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Zain shot back without missing a beat, “Say whatever makes you feel better, Blanche. You can’t fake what your gut tells you to do–it shows you still care about me, and you still care about Carry.”

His words actually made me laugh out loud.

‘When the hell did I miss that he was this much of a

narcissist?‘ I wondered.

I wasn’t about to waste energy arguing with Zain, so I snapped, “You better move fast, or Ms. Vins might lose that leg.”

Before Zain could even process the worry, Carry jumped in first.

Carry gazed up at him, her tiny fingers brushing against Zain’s rough stubble as she said urgently, “Daddy, we need to go see Miss Joanna right now!”

Zain crouched down, letting his stubble scrape playfully against Carry’s small hand while he smiled. “You got it, sweetheart. Daddy’s taking you there this second.”

With that, Zain lifted Carry into his arms and strode

282 Chapter 282 The Terms Of Surrender

toward the car.

That’s when I called out to his retreating figure, “Zain, you two go on without me. I’m not coming.”

‘Honestly, I couldn’t care less about going, I told myself.

Zain froze mid–step and spun around to face me, his voice dropping low. “You promised you’d come with me, remember?”

Standing several feet away, I looked right at him and said, “If I tag along, I’ll just mess up whatever you’ve got going on with Ms. Vins.”

Zain’s brow furrowed as he shook his head. “That’s not

what this is about. I just need to make sure she’s okay, then we’re gone.”

I held my ground. “I want to go home. Don’t drag me into something I have zero interest in doing.”

The thought of Vincent waiting back at the Callum Mansion made something dangerous flash through Zain’s eyes. His voice turned rough as he pressed, “You absolutely sure you want to head back there?”

282 Chapter 282 The Terms Of Surrender

I nodded firmly. “I am.”

Zain looked down at Carry in his arms—she was getting fidgety.

After a beat, Zain told Carry, “Baby girl, hop in the car for a minute. Daddy needs to have a quick word with your mom.”

Carry opened her mouth to argue, but something in Zain’s fierce stare made her swallow her protest.

Finally, Carry could only nod and whisper, “Alright.”

Once Carry was buckled into the back seat, Zain clicked the car locks.

Then he took his damn time pulling a cigarette from his pocket.

He flicked it to life, then deliberately blew a thick cloud of smoke directly into my face.

I couldn’t help but cough twice as the acrid haze burned my throat.

Seeing my annoyed expression, Zain’s voice turned gravelly and dangerous. “You really dead set on divorcing me?”

282 Chapter 282 The Terms Of Surrender

I nodded. “I am.”

I was way calmer now than I’d been when this whole mess started.

But when Zain asked if I was actually serious about the divorce, something in me hesitated for just a moment.

There was a time when he never would’ve bothered asking me something like that.

Zain studied me intently, and seeing how determined I looked, it was like watching him take a punch to the

gut.

After a long silence, Zain finally said, “We’ve got one week left before the divorce cooling–off period ends. Just do this one last thing for me during that week, and we can wrap this up without any drama.”

He looked so damn serious that my brain immediately went to that “one last time” suggestion he’d been dropping hints about.

Even though I had a pretty good idea where this was heading, I still asked, “What exactly do you want?”

The cigarette was still burning when Zain noticed my

282 Chapter 282 The Terms Of Surrender

eyes tearing up from the smoke. He immediately flicked it away.

The butt hit the pavement, and Zain ground it under his heel a few times before stepping closer to me.

“Let’s just try living the way we used to, even if it’s only for a couple days.”

The second those words left his mouth, I started to

refuse.

But Zain cut me off, “For these last few days, I’ll actually make an effort to be a real husband to you. Just like a normal married couple, nothing

complicated. When the time’s up, if you still want out, then we’ll call it quits for good.”

I

gave Zain a skeptical look. “And what exactly makes you think I should trust you?”

Zain replied, “We’ve gotten this far with the divorce paperwork. What part of this don’t you believe?”

I wavered, saying nothing.

Seeing my hesitation, Zain added, “Just keep in mind- even though we’ve made it this far, the divorce won’t

282 Chapter 282 The Terms Of Surrender

go through unless we both genuinely want it.”

Zain might’ve been wearing a smile, but the underlying threat was crystal clear.

I stared at Zain, completely thrown. “Do you really need to make this so damn uncomfortable?”

Zain looked away, closed his eyes for a second, then spoke with steely determination, “Like I told you—just agree to this one final request, and we can part ways cleanly.”

My face drained of all color as I locked eyes with him, feeling the resentment boiling hotter in my chest.

‘Seriously, after everything that’s happened, why is he still clinging to something so meaningless?‘ I thought with growing bitterness.

But this was Zain through and through. When he wanted something, he found a way to make it happen.

I let out a harsh, bitter laugh, then said to Zain, “Words are worthless. Let’s put it in writing.”

Zain didn’t even blink. “Fine.”

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Watching him agree so easily just made the whole thing feel more absurd.

I stayed quiet as Zain went on, “Starting now, you stay with me. You move back into Blissfield Villa, sleep in my room, and-”

Maybe sensing what Zain was about to demand, I quickly interrupted. “Zain, I’ll go along with everything else, but not that. If you try to force it, you might as well just put me out of my misery.”

I was ready to burn everything down with him if

necessary.

Zain paused, probably remembering how desperately I used to want him–now I couldn’t even stomach

discussing it.

Back then, I was the one practically begging him for it.

In the end, Zain didn’t push it further. He just gave a quiet “mm“-his way of accepting my boundary.

As Zain headed toward the car, I silently followed behind him.

My legs felt like they were made of concrete, but I had

<

282 Chapter 282 The Terms Of Surrender

no choice except to go along with his plan.

Right now, I didn’t dare–and honestly, I didn’t have the strength or guts to fight him.

All I wanted was to end this joke of a marriage and walk away with my dignity intact.

Only by keeping things clean could my family and everyone I cared about avoid getting sucked into this disaster.

I forced myself to pick up the pace, pushing my body to move faster and leave all the bullshit behind.

‘Just one week,‘ I reminded myself. I just need to clench my jaw and survive this.

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283 Chapter 283 She Is His Chosen One