Chapter 137
Zinnia gave Yannis a puzzled look, wondering why he was covering her ears.
But with that gesture, the world around Zinnia seemed to fade, and his words became barely audible. Her gaze was drawn to Yannis’s lips instead,
She couldn’t make out any of the words. She could only see him talking animatedly.
Faced with Yannis’s relentless accusations, Howard felt completely choked up, as if his throat had turned to stone. He just couldn’t get a single word out,
Yannis glared at Howard and said, “If you can’t even take care of people properly, then just mind your own business. Don’t use your self–righteous attempts at making amends to trouble others.
“Your so–called apologies are just because you can’t live with your own guilt over what you’ve done.
“You’re only trying to ease your own conscience, never once considering if your actions are just a nuisance to Zinnia.
“Right now, it’s nothing but a fleeting sense of guilt. You’ve never truly accepted her. Only when one sister got hurt did you suddenly remember you had another.
“If Betty hadn’t gotten into trouble, would you have even noticed Zinnia? If you really want to make amends, clear your mind first and think it through before you come back.
“Don’t dump your guilt on her and make her feel even worse.
“You think a few half–hearted apologies can heal a heart that’s been wronged over and over?
“Not a shred of sincerity. Are you serious?
“You can’t even clean up your own mess, yet you want to drag someone else into it. How dare you,” Yannis said.
Yannis hadn’t known exactly what Zinnia had endured in the Shaw family, but today’s investigation ignited an inexplicable rage within him.
No wonder Jackson was so furious and refused to ever send Zinnia back there.
In the end, Zinnia never found out exactly what Yannis had said. All she saw was Howard’s face turning deathly pale as he staggered away.
‘He looked completely shattered,‘ Zinnia thought to herself.
“Yannis, can you let go now?” Zinnia tapped lightly on the back of his hand.
Only then did Yannis realize his hand was still covering her ears, his palm growing strangely warm.
He quickly withdrew his hand, hiding it behind his back, his fingers unconsciously rubbing together.
‘This girl is delicate in every way–her skin unbelievably soft,‘ he thought, flustered. ‘Even now, I can still feel that silken sensation lingering in my palm. Is it just the heat, or am I actually sweating?‘
The Shaw family’s actions were truly infuriating, so Yannis ended up saying more than he intended.
“What did you say to him? He looked completely shattered,” Zinnia said. After all, she’d been raised by her Master since she was little. He took care of everything for her, from washing her face to brushing her hair and dressing her.
She was curious about what Yannis had said to Howard. ‘He was going on and on–must’ve used all kinds of fancy wo were covered. I couldn’t even learn from it!
she thought. ‘Too bad my ears
‘I’m a good student who loves to learn,‘ Zinnia thought to herself.
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Chapter 137
“Don’t pick up all that weird slang from Maisie,” Yannis teased. “What’s with saying someone’s ‘shattered‘? That just means he can’t handle things emotionally.”
Hearing her choice of words, Yannis immediately knew she’d picked it up from Maisie.
Zinnia only ever uses a handful of phrases–something like ‘shattered‘ definitely isn’t one of hers.
“Nope,” Zinnia mumbled, her eyes darting away, unable to meet his gaze.
“You look guilty. Come on, let’s go home for dinner,” Yannis said with a chuckle, gently patting Zinnia’s head as he took her backpack. They walked into the residential area together.
He’d been so busy lately that by the time he got home, Zinnia was already asleep. It had been ages since they’d shared a meal.
A
