Chapter 231

Zinnia stepped into the classroom, immediately surrounded by classmates who bombarded her with questions – they’d missed her during her absence. After reassuring them repeatedly that she was unharmed, the crowd finally dispersed, revealing Anne standing quietly at the back.

“Feeling better?” Anne asked, her worried gaze fixed on Zinnia’s hand. Unlike the others, she knew the real story behind Zinnia’s absence.

“Much better, thanks,” Zinnia nodded.

“That’s a relief,” Anne said. Since they weren’t particularly close, she quietly slid back into her seat.

Zinnia settled into her chair and smiled to herself, “Two weeks away, looks like everyone’s love for me is stronger than ever.”

Ethan turned with a laugh. “Zinnia, your ego is growing.”

Zinnia pulled a compact from her desk, eyeing her reflection. “With looks like these, a little vanity is allowed, right?”

Ethan stared at her stunningly beautiful face, his ears turning faintly red. “Yep, if I had a face this pretty, I’d be narcissistic too,” he babbled.

Gone was the baby fat that once gave Zinnia a sweet, innocent air. Illness had sculpted her features into sharp, exquisite lines – she was now a head-turner.

Ethan twirled a pen with one hand, grinning. “You’ve changed so much. Remember when you first joined? You were so quiet and barely spoke. Now you spout confident nonsense without blinking.”

He watched the radiant Zinnia behind him, lost in memory. When they first met, she was timid and withdrawn, always fearing she’d be a burden – the model of a meek, well-behaved girl.

But now, just three months later, she was a whole new person – radiant and confident. It was evident she’d been cherished.

The Lynn and Spence families' unconditional love, and Jackson’s patient guidance had nurtured her into a self-assured young lady. She’d retained her gentle core but developed a distinct edge – softness with spine.

“Really?” Zinnia studied her reflection: bright eyes, perpetual smile. She looked like a completely different person since she left the Shaws.

Back when she first left the Shaw family, she barely smiled even once a day. But now, even she had noticed that her smile was showing up more and more.

Zinnia had always struggled with emotions; joy and sorrow barely registered. After Nathan’s departure, she’d lost the ability to feel at all. The Shaws' oppressive environment had snuffed out what little happiness she’d known.

It wasn’t until Jackson brought her to the Lynn residence that her emotional freeze began to thaw. But true emotional awakening came with Jackson – he could always stir her depths.

The first time they met, she thought he was clueless. The second time, she realized romance-novel CEO tropes were real, and he ticked every box.

The third time, he gave her a “small gift.” When Maisie later revealed its exorbitant price, Zinnia figured this guy was outrageously generous – who gave such luxury to a virtual stranger?

Then came the fourth, the fifth, and the sixth – until daily encounters became the norm. With each interaction, his words and actions drew out new emotions: flutters of joy, waves of comfort, anchors of security, and occasional sparks of frustration.

Now, Zinnia’s full spectrum of feelings – joy, anger, sorrow, delight – shone clearly. People flowed in and out of her life, experiences filling each day. With every emotion, she transformed.

“Exactly,” Ethan and Brian in the front row nodded in unison. Zinnia’s changes were impossible to miss.

Once, she was like plumbago, calm and gentle. Although she was eye-catching, she didn’t compete for attention; she just wanted to blend into crowds before quietly slipping away.

But now, she was like a cappuccino rose, neither too bold nor too subtle, with a unique color all her own. She looked exquisitely tender yet radiantly vibrant, her light shining through slowly.

“No Lynn could turn out ordinary. The Shaws were energy vampires; only we could nurture a darling like Zinnia,” Maisie preened, though Jackson deserved the credit. As a family, she soaked in the glory unapologetically.

After earning the chance to pick her seat with her improved grades, Maisie had decided to sit behind Zinnia, while Zinnia and the others hadn’t bothered to move, maintaining their seats.

As the top student, Lydia had chosen Zinnia as her deskmate, keeping them side by side.

As the group chatted happily, Lydia walked into the classroom. Lately, taking care of Bonnie had made it tough for her to arrive early like she usually did.

“Hey, Lydia,” Zinnia beamed.

“Zinnia,” Lydia walked over, holding up a white package.

Zinnia’s eyes lit up. “Oh, what’s the treat today?”

Lydia settled into her seat and handed the box over to Zinnia. “See for yourself.”

Zinnia popped open the box and found pastries neatly stacked inside. “Pumpkin pies!” she exclaimed in delight.

She hadn’t been to that diner in ages and had really missed their pumpkin pies. Just the other day, she had said she wanted to go there for lunch, and now she could enjoy their pumpkin pies early.

“Try it. See if it matches the original,” Lydia said, her eyes crinkling with a smile.

Zinnia picked one up and took a bite. The taste was amazing – just like the ones from that store. “It’s exactly the same. How did you do it?”

“We’re the guinea pigs,” Ethan, Brian, and Maisie chorused wearily.

Zinnia turned, confused.

Maisie raised a hand dramatically. “For two weeks, we’ve been taste testing pumpkin pies daily. If you’d stayed away longer, we’d have developed a phobia.”

Since they’d all tried that diner’s pumpkin pies, Lydia had spent weeks perfecting the recipe, making them sample each batch. Two weeks of pumpkin overload had them teetering on sensory overload.

Zinnia blinked, cheeks puffing mid-bite.