Chapter 212
โI want to be dealer again this round. Is that okay?โ Zinnia turned and looked at Yannis hopefully. She had won a few rounds with his help.
โThatโs fine,โ Yannis nodded.
โZinnia, draw your cards,โ Jackson said with a smile.
โOkay.โ Zinnia drew 5 cards โ 2 fours and 3 sixes.
She turned back and looked at Yannis with shining eyes. It was the first time sheโd gotten such a good hand.
โHush.โ Yannis raised a finger to his lips.
Zinnia fell silent, but her eyes were shining.
The other four glanced at their little interaction and felt a bit left out.
This time Zinnia had to draw from the pile. She kept her eyes on it without blinking, her soft fingertips resting on the stack. Inside, she kept praying to draw a 6.
She prayed for a while, feeling excited. She didnโt even dare to look at the card she drew.
โYou look at it.โ Zinnia turned her head away and pressed the card into Yannisโs hand.
If it was a 6, Zinnia could complete her set. She hadnโt gotten a hand this good in a long time, and she truly believed Yannis was lucky and hoped his luck would make it even better.
โWhat card do you want?โ Yannis tilted his head and whispered close to Zinniaโs ear.
So excited that she hadnโt noticed him get close, Zinnia whispered back, โ6.โ
โCongratulations, little princess. Your wish came true,โ Yannis said with a smile.
The winner of this round was clear โ it was Zinnia. Zinnia smiled so much that the corners of her lips stayed up for a long time.
โYannis and Zinnia are so close,โ Sofia smiled as she watched them play.
โItโs nice when a family gets along like this,โ Raymond smiled, too.
Jackson stared at Yannis and Zinnia sitting side by side. He felt something was a little strange. They looked almost like a couple.
Just as Jackson was about to say something to get them to move apart, Aaron came to call them for dinner.
Zinnia tried to pull the sticky notes off her face.
โLet me help you,โ Yannis rushed forward.
He was alarmed when Zinnia started tearing all the sticky notes off at once, tugging at her skin. He hadnโt expected her, a little girl, to be so rough and careless with her face. He was nervous just watching her.
โIt doesnโt hurt,โ Zinnia said. It really hadnโt hurt. Zinnia was impatient and didnโt want to pull them off one by one โ that was too much trouble. There were at least twenty sticky notes on her face.
โIt may not hurt, but you shouldnโt do it that way. Here, let me. Itโs not a trouble.โ Yannis knew exactly what she was thinking. He removed the notes from her face carefully, one by one.
Zinnia remained sitting on the sofa. Yannis bent down and, with his slender fingers, gently peeled away each sticky note.
She looked up at Yannisโs charming face. He was close enough for her to see his thick eyelashes, his pretty eyes, his straight nose, and every mole on his nasal bridge if she looked closer. She suddenly felt an urge to touch it.
She pressed her fingertips together, holding back that feeling. She could even feel his soft breath on her cheeks, making them tingle.
Zinnia turned her face away.
โOne more. Donโt move.โ Yannis cupped her face to keep it still and peeled away the last pink sticky note under her eye.
โLetโs go. Time for dinner.โ After removing all the notes from Zinniaโs face, Yannis stood up and held out his hand.
Zinnia took it and stood up.
โZinnia, come on. Letโs sit together.โ Maisie, who hadnโt gotten many sticky notes, peeled them off, washed her face, and came back to tug Zinnia away.
Yannis didnโt stop Maisie. He handed Zinnia a wet wipe. โWipe your face.โ
Zinnia took it and cleaned her face.
At that moment, Sofia called them again. Zinnia and Maisie walked toward her immediately. โWeโre coming.โ
โYou planned Zinniaโs cards, didnโt you?โ Jackson walked up to Yannis and asked.
In that last round, Zinniaโs luck seemed unbelievably good โ no matter what, she won. The truth was, it was all because every card Zinnia drew was carefully chosen by Yannis.
โI just wanted to make her happy,โ Yannis let out a small laugh.
Zinniaโs luck at cards really was bad. Although she hadnโt lost a single game afterwards, the cards she drew were actually quite poor. Yannis could tell she hadnโt been very happy back then.
โYou treat her so well. Anyone who doesnโt know you might think youโre Zinniaโs real brother,โ Jackson teased. He noticed the happiness in Yannisโs eyes and heard the affection in his voice, which made him feel a little unsettled.
Yannis listened without saying a word. He just smiled. He thought to himself that if Maisie heard what Jackson said, sheโd surely burst out laughing.
โMaisie, I need to use the restroom,โ Zinnia said.
They were in the lounge and were about to move to the dining room in the adjacent suite. As soon as they walked outside, Zinnia suddenly felt the need to use the restroom.
โZinnia, Iโll go with you,โ Maisie turned back toward their suite.
โItโs okay. I see a restroom over there. Iโll just use that one,โ Zinnia said. โMaisie, please let Sofia know.โ
Zinnia glanced around. They were in the middle of the two suitesโ corridor, and there was a restroom just a few steps away โ much closer than going back.
โAll right,โ Maisie nodded when she saw it was nearby.
Zinnia kept her head down as she walked out of the restroom and turned a corner, bumping into something hard.
โSorry,โ Zinnia instinctively took a step back.
โItโs okay. Are you all right?โ A slender hand reached out to steady Zinnia by the arm.
The two spoke almost at the same time. At that moment, Zinnia noticed a deep, woody sandalwood scent. She felt the voice was a little familiar.
She looked up and saw a charming, delicate face. It was Adrian.
โAdrian?โ For some reason, Zinnia felt a rush of hidden happiness when she saw him.
โZinnia, are you here for dinner?โ The moment Adrian saw Zinnia, his icy demeanor seemed to lift, and a spark of happiness appeared in his eyes.
He looked carefully at the right side of her face, trying to find something, a hint of concern hidden deep in his gaze.
Adrian knew Zinnia was well cared for, but heโd still gotten someone to show him her recent photos. Her faceโs injuries were already healed, but without seeing it in person, he hadnโt felt at ease.
Theyโd only met once, which made it hard for him to find a chance to ask her out.
The last time Adrian saw Zinnia at the Bacon Mansion was pure coincidence. His friendโs grandfather was having a birthday, and Adrian went to drop off a gift.
He and his grandfather were staying low-profile to recuperate and didnโt want to be disturbed, so Adrian hadnโt made his presence known. As he was about to leave after delivering the gift, he walked past the garden and stumbled upon Zinnia being bullied by Maelis.
The moment he saw her, a rush of happiness filled him; but when he saw her being treated unfairly, a deep rage rose within him.
โThatโs right,โ Zinnia nodded.