Love After Marriage: Mr. Lancaster's Hidden Wife

Chapter 209 Forced To Comply Unwillingly

"Why can't I go against my word? We haven't signed any contract yet," Henry said.

Yvonne frantically blinked her eyes. "Yes, the contract hasn't been signed, but..."

"I already said just now that I'm helping the village for you," said Henry as he folded his arms. "I only said I have a duty to help you because I’m your husband, yet you still insist on divorcing me. Well, if you're going to divorce me, that means we'd no longer be related, so why would I help this village then?" 1

Yvonne was startled. All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

That's right. They were about to get divorced, so why was he still helping the village?

"Cat got your tongue?" Henry looked at her coldly.

Yvonne bit her lip and replied, "What do you want?"

"I told you, I'm only helping the village with the condition that you’re my wife. If you’re no longer mine, it'd be meaningless for me to help any further. D o you understand?" asked Henry as his lips curved up slightly.

Yvonne clenched her fist.

She wasn’t dumb, so of course she could understand his point. He meant that she could never divorce him. I f she kept on insisting on the divorce, he would most definitely give up helping the village.

Had he not discussed and agreed on the terms with the chief, there'd be no problem for him to pull back. But it was too late as everything was now set in stone.

If he were to pull out now because of her, the chief would be very disappointed and the village would lose their source of income before it even began...

She did not want the village to lose this new opportunity, yet the condition for its execution was for her to not get a divorce. She was now lost - what should she do? Should he do as he said and forget about the divorce?

She was so frustrated she couldn't decide what she should do in that situation. Luckily, the chief walked into the living room.

"Henry, Yvonne, food’s ready, come eat," said the chief warmly.

Henry signalled Yvonne with his eyes and said, "Let’s g o, the chief’s calling us."

Yvonne stood there motionless.

Henry reached out to grab her hand.

But before his hand could reach her, she hid her hands behind her back as if she had sensed something dangerous and needed to hide.

Henry’s hand was awkwardly held mid-air, he clenched his fist into a ball and pulled back his hand.

The chief had sensed that something was wrong between them and could not help but ask, "What's the matter Henry? Have the two of you really gotten into a fight?"

Henry’s pupils contracted. "It's nothing, let's go chief."

Seeing that both of them weren't willing to say anything about the matter, the chief could only sigh and ignore them. "Let's go."

At the dining table, the chief poured two glasses of wine and passed Henry a glass. "Thank you for giving our village such a wonderful opportunity today, I’m so happy about it. Cheers Henry." 1

He raised his glass at Henry.

Henry had raised his glass as well.

Yvonne saw what they were doing and got nervous. She grabbed onto Henry’s hand without thinking to stop him from bumping glasses with the chief. “Chief, he can't drink."

"What?" the chief looked at her with a puzzled expression. "Why not? I thought Henry could drink, can't he?"

"It's not that. It’s just that he has some bruises on his back that require healing, and that’s why he shouldn’t be drinking." Yvonne shook her head as she explained.

Henry's face calmed and had a gentle expression as h e saw how protective she was of him.

The woman hadn't actually meant what she said.

She was constantly reminding him that she wanted to divorce, yet mindful of his actions and being protective at the same time.

Doesn't she feel tired from this charade?

"Is that true Henry? Are you hurt?" asked the chief in shock.

Henry gathered his thoughts and nodded. "Yes, I was involved in an accident previously and am still recovering from it."

"I see," said the chief, somewhat regretful. "It's my fault. I shouldn't have brought alcohol to the table without knowing your current situation. Then, allow m e to pour you some tea as gratitude for what

you've done for our village instead."

As he said this, the chief poured two glasses of tea instead.

Henry received a glass of tea and passed it to Yvonne instead of drinking it. “Chief, you should be thanking her instead, not me."

Yvonne was slightly aghast. "Thank me?"

The chief couldn’t understand what was happening and looked at Henry.

Henry chuckled. "That's right, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn’t have helped the village. That's why you should be the one to be thanked."

The chief seemed to have realized what was happening - he smacked his forehead and laughed." You're right, I should thank Yvonne, if she hadn’t found such a splendid husband, we wouldn't have been able to receive such an opportunity. Yvonne, thank you."

"What?"

"Why are you startled? The chief is thanking you, don't just stay there dumbstruck," said Henry half jokingly.

Yvonne was forced to comply and could only bump glasses with the chief.

She knew that Henry had done that on purpose.

He had deliberately made her the foundation of their agreement.

That would mean she was not allowed to mention the divorce anymore, otherwise the investment would cease and the chief would not let her off easily if that happened.

"Despicable." Yvonne drank the tea and glared at Henry while the chief was not looking.

Henry sneered. "Still going to divorce?"

Yvonne bit her lip and pouted instead of replying.

Would she dare insist on getting a divorce?

If she continued to insist, she would have become the bane of the village and would be hated by everyone.

Henry felt even elated as he saw her pouting and being angry. "Chief, I'll head back and ask someone to draft up the agreement, I should be able to have it sent to you tomorrow including a car to pick up the goods."

"That's wonderful." The chief's face glowed bright red. "I’ll inform the villagers of this wonderful news and ask them to bring out the goods to load into the car tomorrow."

"I'll leave the arrangement to you chief," said Henry as he picked up some food and placed it in Yvonne's bowl.

Yvonne was glaring at the food in her bowl as if she was looking at Henry and it was laughable.

After their meal, the couple left the chief’s home and went back to their own.

Along the way, Yvonne didn't utter a word and was walking in front of Henry deliberately without waiting for him.

Henry didn't mind and continued to follow behind her.

As they arrived at the entrance, Yvonne suddenly stopped and turned around, her eyes puzzled as she looked at the man and said, "Why?”

"What do you mean why?" Henry had stopped in front of her and slightly lowered his head to look at her directly.

She didn't avoid his gaze but raised her head to look him in the eye instead. "I'm referring to the divorce of course. I just can't seem to understand, why won't you agree to the divorce?”

"Like I've told you many times over, the Lancasters have never had a divorce before, and I wouldn't want t o be the one to break that tradition," answered Henry.

Yvonne took a deep breath and said, "If it’s because of this, then forgive me for not believing you. The Henry Lancaster I know isn’t a man who plays by the rules."

Henry’s eyes lit up, "You're right, I don't tend to follow the rules, but I was speaking the truth when I said I didn’t want to be the first in the Lancaster family to have a divorce. Hence why I’m refusing to continuously. Other than that, there is another reason why I do not want to have a divorce, would you like to know why?"

He looked at her with his deep pupils which seemed like they could suck a person inside.