The Villain's Wife (WN)
The Villain's Wife (WN) - Chapter 430: Defense Mechanism

Old Man Zhou narrowed his eyes at his son. He felt his blood boiling in fury. "How dare you—"

His words were interrupted when Zhou Kang held his hand against his father's face. "Please… father." He said, almost lazily. As if talking to his father was such a bother. "This is the time to celebrate. Why don't you join me instead?" His lips slowly curved into a smile. "Come… Come… lets toast for that…"

*PAK*

"You ingrate!" the old man fumed as he slapped his son's hands. "How dare you kill your own brother?"

"Ex- Brother." Zhou Kang corrected him. "He stopped being my brother when he decided to betray us."

"How could he betray us? Lily is already dead! There is no way that he would go to Zhou Jingren!"

"He did." Zhou Kang responded. "He went to see him. So I… I blew him up before he could say any incriminating words against us."

"You —" The old man's face contorted into an ugly scowl as he clutched his chest. He held unto the chair and used it to support himself. "My medicine…"

Instead of panicking, Zhou Kang only raised an eyebrow at his father. "What medicine?" He smiled. Seeing this, horror flashed across the old man's eyes. "What medicine are you talking about, father?" His words were laced with mockery. It was as if he was talking to a clown.

The old man opened his mouth in a silent scream. For the first time, fear flashed in his heart as he realized the monstrosity that Zhou Kang was about to do. He clutched his chest tighter as he tried his best to breathe.

"Father?" The smile on Zhou Kang's face didn't falter. He leaned towards the old man, a sinister glint in his eyes. "You know… I wouldn't stop you from dying, right?"

The old man stared at him in response before he fell down to his knees, creating a loud thud in the process.

"Dying is a part of our lives. Preventing you from this is just… an abomination. It is against God's will." Zhou Kang beamed at his father on the floor. "Goodbye, father. I will make sure to create many opportunities from your death."

The old man's gaze turned hazy as he continued to stare at his son. "You will regret this." He uttered inwardly as darkness swallowed his consciousness.

........................….

Sky City.

"People from Luxembourg are already on their way. Because of his hectic schedule, the Grand Duke will stay one night then leave the next day." Secretary Go said. "Mikaela, Eliza, and Levi, as well as the Duchess, will stay for the funeral. Fernando and Li Shanshan will also arrive today and will stay with us."

"Hmmm…" Zhou Jingren nodded. "What about Jack Arison?"

"He is also on his way. He said… he needed to finish something and make sure his father is taken cared of while he is gone. One thing though…" Secretary Go gave him a hesitant look before he continued. "The Madam's brother will not come."

Zhou Jingren nodded. "And her father?"

"He is coming."

"Good. I want to know why Yuanfeng won't come. Just don't make it too obvious that you are asking questions. I don't want Jack to think that I am doubting him."

"Got it." Secretary Go said before he bid Zhou Jingren and Bei Tian goodbye.

"You still think it was Jack?" Bei Tian asked when Secretary left.

"He tried to tell Lily not to marry me." For Zhou Jingren, that was already a red flag. "Plus… His father, George, is still unconscious until now. Instead of being supportive of the marriage, Jack had been acting… weird. Something about him is not right."

"Is that why you wanted Qin Yuanfeng to come? After what you did to him… do you think he will still help you?"

Zhou Jingren turned his gaze towards Bei Tian as memories of what happened to Qin Yuanfeng flashed in his mind. "I told Lily that I was the one who killed Yuanfeng's woman. Is there something wrong with not wanting her to think that his brother is also a monster for killing the woman that he loved with his own hands?"

"That — You have a point." Bei Tian agreed. "What I meant was… what if he hated you for… I don't know that man was unstable. What if he hates you for forcing him to kill that woman?"

"I didn't force him. We both knew that."

"It would have been different if you just… didn't show him that woman."

"Are you telling me that having him killed the woman who played him, was wrong?" Zhuo Jingren scoffed. "Have you magically developed some conscience?"

Bei Tian sighed in response. He avoided Zhou Jingren's gaze and gritted his teeth. Just as he expected, Zhou Jingren had become more ruthless. His words and actions are different compared to when Lily was here. But how could he blame him? He just lost Lily.

Bei Tian lowered his head as he thought of the DNA test that they received a couple of days back. It confirmed that the body was not Lily's. Yet, Zhou Jingren still insisted that it was a lie, a fake result. While everyone else was truly grieving about the matter, Zhou Jingren was still insisting that Lily was alive. And that this was all a scheme.

Once again, Bei Tian looked at his friend. Sadness laced his eyes. He wondered, when will Zhou Jingren stop all this and just accept that Lily was dead.

"Did you contact the Yang Family?" Zhou Jingren said after a few seconds of awkward silence. "I want as many people as possible for this funeral."

"You wanted a perfect stage."

"I do." Zhou Jingren nodded. "I want the culprit to think that I am taking this seriously. I need to show them that I am grieving." He sneered. Whoever was behind this did not know that Zhou Jingren knew the DNA was fake. He must have thought that Zhou Jingren would just fall into the pit of agony and grief after seeing the result of the DNA.

His lips thinned as he thought of the fake DNA test result. He knew it was fake from the moment that he opened it. The only thing that he regretted the most was losing the only evidence that he had to convince everyone that this… whatever he felt was not just some defense mechanism because of Lily's death.