After the divorce, the CEO forced me to have his child.

Chapter 122 A Guilty Embrace

Upon hearing this, Lin Yu stopped trying to persuade him.

Love is so blind; once you're caught up in it, it's not so easy to get out.

We can only play it by ear now, and hope everything goes smoothly and peacefully.

The next day, Gu Zhiyao returned to the law firm and formally submitted her resignation to Lin Houze, who was immediately stunned.

"So fast? You just told me yesterday, I thought it would be at least..."

"I'm sorry, Houze, I want to get there as soon as possible." Gu Zhiyao's eyes were full of apology.

Lin Houze smiled bitterly, "It's nothing, I just feel like I'm not mentally prepared yet. Although I know you don't have those feelings for me, and we may never have that kind of relationship in this lifetime, at least if you work with me, we can see each other every day, so there's always a glimmer of hope, or it can be a kind of comfort."

Gu Zhiyao was still heartbroken. Sometimes she wondered if she would have accepted Lin Houze if she hadn't met He Yi and fallen in love with him, but she never seemed to get a definite answer.

Because her love has already been given to He Yi, there is no such thing as "what if".

Therefore, she was even more eager to leave, otherwise, it would be even more sinful to keep giving Lin Houze hope and dragging him along.

Although Lin Houze was reluctant, he was not one to force anyone. He agreed to Gu Zhiyao's resignation, just as he had discussed with her yesterday. He would keep the shares for her and give her dividends every year. He would be ready to welcome her back whenever she wanted in the future.

With tears in her eyes, Gu Zhiyao said emotionally, "Once I've learned something and feel ready to come back, I'll try my best to return. I won't consider other companies then; this is my first choice."

“Then I’ll take it as an agreement between us. By the way, when do you plan to go abroad? Have you set the date?” Lin Houze then regained his composure.

"I'm thinking of leaving by the end of this month. I've already applied for my visa, and now that I've settled things at the law firm, I can set off."

"It's good to get there early and familiarize yourself with the environment. Will someone there help you arrange accommodation? I have a friend there; if you need it, I can ask him to look after you."

"Everything is arranged, but you can also tell him to give him my phone number so we can keep in touch when we have the chance." Actually, what Gu Zhiyao wanted most was to cut off all ties with everyone she had ever known, at least until the baby was born, to avoid unnecessary trouble and accidents. But she felt really guilty towards Lin Houze, so she said it like this.

I thought I'd act according to the circumstances.

Lin Houze nodded and continued, "Would you like me to go with you then? I'll treat it as a short trip and also get to know the local customs and legal knowledge."

"No need, Houze. I appreciate your kindness, but there's no need to make such special arrangements for me. You can come to see me anytime in the future and find out more then," Gu Zhiyao politely declined.

"Alright, since you've put it that way, there's no need for me to insist any further," Lin Houze said with a slight smile.

Gu Zhiyao looked at him, then said, "I have a request. Could you please not tell anyone about my resignation for the time being? Not until this year? If those people come to me to take on cases, please tell them that my schedule is already full in the short term."

Lin Houze paused for a moment. Although he was curious about why Gu Zhiyao wanted to do this, he didn't press her for an answer and readily agreed, "Sure, it's actually better not to announce it yet. You know how many people are here because of you."

Seeing his relaxed and joking manner, Gu Zhiyao didn't know whether he really thought that way or was deliberately putting on an act to avoid making her feel burdened. So she simply shook off those heavy thoughts and started talking about the handover of work.

She hasn't been here long and hasn't taken on many cases yet, so the handover process is quite convenient and should be completed within a week.

In order not to alarm everyone, Lin Houze and Gu Zhiyao agreed not to tell even their colleagues that she was about to resign, but only that she was going abroad for a period of time for work.

Therefore, no one thought much of it. Today is Friday, and Gu Zhiyao has finished handing over all her work and having dinner with Lin Houze as a farewell dinner.

Lin Houze stopped talking about sentimental things, and instead, everyone chatted casually about things from their university days. After dinner, Lin Houze took Gu Zhiyao back to her apartment complex. When it was time to say goodbye, Lin Houze suddenly hugged Gu Zhiyao tightly.

Gu Zhiyao froze for a moment, but didn't push him away.

Lin Houze held her like that for a while, then murmured, "Zhiyao, although I know that dream in my heart is very far away, and I may never have the chance to realize it in this lifetime, I still can't bear to give up completely. I'm here, waiting for you to come back!"

Gu Zhiyao's throat burned and her eyes immediately welled up with tears. She wanted to tell him not to do this, but she felt that even if she said it, it wouldn't be of much use and would seem somewhat hypocritical. So she could only quietly let him hold her, which was a kind of comfort for his unrequited love.

Her hands, which had been frozen, gradually closed up and hugged him back.

No one spoke; they simply embraced quietly, and to outsiders, the scene resembled that of a couple deeply in love, inseparable.

Later, Lin Houze took the initiative to let go.

He gazed at her, imprinting her fair and beautiful face deeply into his mind. Then he lowered his head and kissed her forehead deeply, saying, "If you need anything over there, remember to contact me anytime, Zhiyao. Even if there's no future with you, knowing you and falling in love with you is still a precious memory in my life. Don't feel guilty. Even if life is painful, I'm still grateful!"

Gu Zhiyao's eyes were filled with tears, and she nodded heavily after a while, "Take care, I'll call you later."

Finally, everyone parted ways. Gu Zhiyao turned and walked into the building. Lin Houze watched her until her beautiful figure disappeared from his sight inch by inch. He stood there for a while before leaving.

When Gu Zhiyao returned to her residence, she felt completely drained. Although she couldn't love Lin Houze, she still had some feelings for him. Tonight's farewell was truly heartbreaking.

A buzzing sound—the cell phone's ringing suddenly shattered the somber silence.

The caller ID showed Lin Yu.

Lin Yu is going to a neighboring city to attend a live broadcast today and will be staying there overnight. She thought about Gu Zhiyao being home alone, so she called Gu Zhiyao to chat and ask about her situation.

Gu Zhiyao told Lin Yu about what happened tonight, and Lin Yu felt sad and melancholy after hearing it.

In fact, she had previously hoped that Gu Zhiyao could be with Lin Houze, because Lin Houze was a very good match in terms of his own qualities, and Gu Zhiyao could let go of He Yi and get over that painful love after being with Lin Houze.

Unfortunately, it never succeeded.

Hearing Gu Zhiyao say this, he said with a hint of regret, "Since you feel guilty towards him, you should treat him well in the future if you have the chance. You may feel that you don't want to hold him back and hope that he can focus on finding other suitable partners, but how do you know that he hasn't looked? If he really meets the one destined for him, he will naturally fall in love. If he can't find her, it means that she is not the one he wants. Therefore, you don't need to persuade him to stop thinking about you and go find other girls. We all understand each other without saying anything. Anyway, he is an adult and knows how to arrange his own life."