Chapter 242

Upon arriving home, Zinnia rushed excitedly into her room with the flowers, whipped out her phone, and started snapping photos of the bouquet from every angle, her face beaming with joy. Finally, she pressed the flowers to her cheek and took a selfie.

Her eyes curved into crescents, radiant eyes and pearly white teeth shining in a bright, generous smile. It was hard to tell which was more beautiful—the flowers or the girl holding them.

After taking the photos, Zinnia edited and posted them on Tweet with the caption: "Lovely flowers, gorgeous me!"

The moment she posted, likes started pouring in.

MaisieBeauty: [What gorgeous flowers! Where did you get them, Zinnia?]

EthanUpUp: [Gorgeous flowers and an even more gorgeous sweetie.]

Brian Brilliant: [Can’t decide—the flowers or you.]

LydiaH: [So beautiful! Major thumbs up for the caption.]

After posting, Zinnia put down her phone. She felt discomfort in her stomach. She needed to find some digestive tablets.

Night had already fallen. The spacious living room was brightly lit. Zinnia stealthily cracked open her bedroom door and peeked out.

She saw no one was there, and Yannis was nowhere in sight. Relaxing, she swung the door wide open, stepped out, and made a beeline for the cabinet storing the first-aid kit.

She’d run out of her homemade digestive tablets and hadn’t had time to make more. She planned to check if there were any left at home. She’d gotten so carried away with happiness today that she hadn’t even noticed she’d overeaten.

Zinnia rarely overate, mostly because Yannis always kept a close watch on her during meals to make sure she didn’t eat too much. But today, her “two stomachs” excuse actually fooled him. He completely fell for it.

Stepping into the living room and finding no sign of Yannis—he was probably busy in his study—Zinnia immediately relaxed.

With him gone, she swaggered around, trying to recall where the first-aid kit was kept. Yannis usually took care of these things, so Zinnia had never really bothered to keep track herself.

She checked the coffee table—nothing. Then the storage cabinet—still nothing. She searched every other cabinet—nothing. She sighed in frustration. Her stomach felt overstuffed and queasy; she frowned, her face pale. She wanted to throw up, but just couldn’t.

“What are you looking for?” Yannis’s voice came from behind her.

“Digestive tablets,” she replied instinctively, still rummaging through the cabinet. But the words had barely left her mouth when she froze. She suddenly realized that only she and Yannis were in the house.

Zinnia muttered, “I ate too much. Now I feel kinda sick.”

Zinnia was crouched on the floor and the shadow in front of her fell across the ground. Feeling guilty, she turned around.

“Yannis, why are you out here?” she asked, tilting her head up to look at him, her bright, teary eyes flickering with guilt. She was too nervous to meet his gaze.

Yannis set his cup down on the kitchen island and crouched beside Zinnia, rummaging through the cabinet until he pulled out a box of digestive tablets. With a teasing smile, he remarked, “Looks like your second stomach isn’t digesting so well.”

“Well, it had a little malfunction today,” Zinnia said, batting her eyes. “I ate too much, so digestion is running a bit slow.”

“Get up,” Yannis said as he stood and offered her his hand.

Zinnia took Yannis’s hand and pulled herself up. As she stood, she noticed a new cup sitting on the kitchen island. “He must’ve come out here to get water,” she thought.

“Sit down. I’ll get water,” Yannis said, glancing at her pale face, his expression calm and unreadable.

Noticing how quiet Yannis was, Zinnia didn’t dare say another word. She meekly sat down and waited for him.

Without a word, Yannis walked over to the kitchen island, picked up a small pink cup, filled it with water, and set it before her. He peeled two digestive tablets, placed them on his palm, and silently held them out to her.

“Yannis, I’m scared when you’re silent,” Zinnia said, stealing a glance at his face. His expression was unreadable, but his steady gaze lingered on her. For some reason, Zinnia felt a pang of guilt.

Zinnia obediently took the two digestive tablets from Yannis’s hand, popped them into her mouth, and washed them down with a sip of water.

Yannis asked gently, “Will these digestive tablets be enough? If not, I can call a doctor for you.”

Zinnia cautiously studied Yannis’s expression. Yannis let out a sigh, his eyes resting on her face, deep concern swirling beneath the surface.

“Yeah, that’s enough,” Zinnia replied meekly, relieved that Yannis was finally willing to speak to her.

Yannis sat across from her. “Why didn’t you come to me when you felt unwell?”

“Just overate, no big deal,” Zinnia murmured, cradling the cup in both hands and taking another sip. She added in her heart, “If I hadn’t run out of my homemade digestive tablets, I probably wouldn’t even be here. It’s nothing serious.”

“Even overeating is uncomfortable. What if I hadn’t come out and you couldn’t find the digestive tablets? Were you just going to tough it out and wait for it to pass?” Yannis’s eyes locked onto her, noticing how indifferent she seemed.

He totally read her mind. Zinnia was at a loss for words. They’d only been together for a few months, yet it already felt like he knew all her little quirks.

It was a bit uncomfortable from overeating, and if she couldn’t find the digestive tablets, she’d just let it be. It was not a big deal, and some rest would do the trick.

She didn’t want to bother Yannis. If he knew it, he would just fuss over her, finding medicine, making sure she took it, asking endless questions. That would only waste his time.

“Zinnia Moore,” Yannis called, his voice deep and steady.

“Yannis.” Zinnia immediately sat up straight, nervously pinching her fingertips. He had only ever called her by her full name a handful of times. It made her anxious. There had only been two serious occasions.

The first time was when Zinnia was about to move out of Cloud Harbor and he came back to find her. This was the second time.

“Zinnia, do you truly see me as family?” Yannis sat across from her, his eyes searching her face, desperate to know what she really felt.

“Huh?” Zinnia blinked in bewilderment. She couldn’t figure out how things had suddenly jumped from her just looking for some digestive tablets to whether she saw him as family.

‘That’s a bit of a leap, isn’t it? How did things get so off track? What do these two even have to do with each other?’ she wondered.

Yannis asked quietly, “If you felt sick from overeating, would you tell your master?”

“Of course, I would,” Zinnia blurted out without thinking. She thought, “If anything comes up, I always go to Master. He keeps everything in order at home. If I can’t find something, he’s always the first person I ask.

‘And if I’m not feeling well, I don’t even have to say a word. Master can always tell right away. He’s always looking out for me.’

As soon as Zinnia finished speaking, she felt the air around her turn icy cold. “You’d go to your Master when you’re not feeling well, but not to me?” Yannis said quietly, his voice tinged with hurt. “Is he the only one you truly trust?”