Chapter 1

Howard burst into the villa, tearing off his helmet and gripping it against his chest. His furious gaze swept across the empty living room before locking onto the servant, Lucy Lewis.

“Where’s Zinnia?” he demanded, his voice sharp. “Betty’s in the hospital, and she’s just hanging out at home like nothing happened? Get her here now!”

“Mr. Shaw,” Lucy said carefully, trying to defend Zinnia, “Ms. Zinnia Shaw is resting upstairs. What happened last night was an accident, and she was scared out of her mind.”

Lucy figured Zinnia was the kindest soul. She treated servants like equals—she’d even given Lucy special cream after knowing her leg was sore. If anyone had done the pushing, Lucy suspected it was Betty who’d tried first and wound up in the water instead.

But she kept these thoughts to herself. After all, Howard was all in for Betty and already had it in for Zinnia.

She figured if she spoke up, Howard would just brush her off–and worse, he might think Zinnia had paid her off. That would just make Zinnia’s life even more miserable in this household.

“She pushed Betty into the water! We haven’t even talked to her yet, and she’s playing the victim? And now she’s even sleeping peacefully?” Howard exploded, storming up the stairs.

Lucy watched anxiously from downstairs. But as a servant, she had no say in the Shaw family’s affairs.

“Zinnia, get out here!” Howard’s fist hammered against the bedroom door. “How can you sleep after what you did to Betty?”

Zinnia lay curled in bed, her flushed face half-buried in the blankets. Each breath came heavy and hot against the rumpled sheets.

The violent pounding jerked her from sleep. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly as she wriggled under the covers, slowly rolling over. Her hair was a mess from sleep, and she poked her head out, looking groggy.

Her eyes opened, heavy and warm, with thin red veins spreading across her pupils. She rubbed them with slender fingers, the delicate skin turning pink from irritation. Her eyes, now watery and flushed, made her look unexpectedly pitiful.

Last night, the window broke, and she had spent forever fixing it. She had barely been asleep when this commotion woke her up. Her mind was still foggy.

The door kept banging like crazy. Zinnia exhaled sharply through her nose, fingers curling into the sheets. Every muscle ached as she dragged herself out of bed and shuffled toward the door.

‘Why are these people so clueless? Can’t they see right through Betty at all?’ Zinnia thought bitterly.

She figured her master had been right–she couldn’t stay with people this stupid. She was sick of being treated unfairly by the Shaws, and it was draining her energy.

She was done with the Shaw residence. She couldn’t even get a decent night’s sleep here. She missed the little house where she used to stay with her master.

With those thoughts in mind, Zinnia opened the door and sighed, “What do you want?”

Howard had been knocking on the door for what felt like forever. His anger was rising, and his knocks got louder and more aggressive. When Zinnia suddenly yanked the door open, he barely pulled his hand back in time.

It was a close call, just a few inches away from hitting her face. He looked at her tiny face, smaller than his hand, and figured if he had hit her, she’d definitely be bruised and miserable.

But then he realized, if Zinnia hadn’t opened the door so abruptly, he wouldn’t have almost hit her. He became even angrier, his voice harsh and explosive. “Zinnia, did you lose your hearing or something? I’ve been knocking for ages!”

Before Zinnia could say anything, Howard got hit with a blast of cold air and shivered. “Are you trying to freeze yourself to death in here?” he grumbled.

Thinking about the uncontrollable air conditioning—either too hot or too cold–Zinnia dropped her eyes and let out a quiet sigh. “Do you need anything?” she asked, her voice sounding stuffy from her sore throat.

Howard frowned. ‘What’s with this weak voice? If someone didn’t know better, they’d think she was the one getting bullied instead of Betty, who’s still in the hospital.’

“You pushed Betty into the pool last night, and she’s still in the hospital. How can you just sleep at home? Get over there and apologize,” Howard snapped, reaching out to grab Zinnia.

Her hand was freezing cold, and he couldn’t help but shiver when he touched it. ‘It’s the middle of summer. How can her hand be this cold?’ He frowned and snapped, “What’s with your hand? It’s like ice.”

Zinnia was left speechless, a heavy feeling sinking into her heart at his dumb question—typical Shaw, always clueless.

“Let go of me,” she muttered, trying to pull away from Howard’s grip. She hated being touched by others like this.

Howard didn’t expect that Zinnia would be disgusted by his touch. A strange irritation washed over him.

“Like I’d ever want to touch you,” he snapped. “Get dressed. You’re going to the hospital to apologize to Betty."

“Is this just because you didn’t get a separate birthday cake? We already said that you two share the same birthday, and that cake was for both of you."

“Why are you so jealous? How could you take advantage of us not paying attention, lure Betty to the pool, and push her in? You did learn some bad habits from those people in the small town.

“You need to shape up and stop those nasty actions this instant. If you want to keep living here, you better stop bullying Betty.”

Yesterday was Betty and Zinnia’s birthday, and the family had thrown a joint birthday party for them. But the celebration ended with Betty in the hospital.

Howard figured Zinnia was furious because she didn’t get her own separate party or cake. She believed Betty was stealing everything from her. So in a moment of rage, she lured Betty to the backyard pool and shoved her in.

Zinnia frowned. Last night, Betty was the one who’d started trouble at the pool, calling her a gutter rat who only deserved to watch from the sidelines of her perfect life.

As for the birthday cake, Zinnia hadn’t even cared. She was allergic to cream and hated cake anyway.

Zinnia didn’t want to deal with Howard, but he’d crossed a line by trash-talking the villagers who had taken care of her. “I didn’t push her,” she shot back. “She jumped into the pool herself.”

“You dare to slander Betty? Zinnia, you are going to the hospital to apologize to Betty—and I mean right now!” Howard snapped, his anger rising.

‘What a malicious woman! Not only did she not admit her mistake, but she also tried to twist the story,’ he thought. Without caring whether Zinnia was cold or not, he dragged her downstairs, dead set on taking her to the hospital.