Chapter 243

Zinnia fell silent.

“Is that so?” Yannis’s voice was slightly hoarse. Her silence spoke volumes. He knew he could never measure up to Nathan. Whenever something happened, Zinnia’s first instinct was always to turn to Nathan.

Yannis had never expected to surpass Nathan. If he could do that so easily, that would be the real problem. All he wanted was for Zinnia not to hide things from him, to know she could always turn to him when she needed to.

Now that Nathan wasn’t around, he hoped he could be the one she truly trusted and relied on.

Zinnia sensed something was off about Yannis. “Are you okay?” she asked, concern in her eyes.

Yannis met her worried gaze, and for a fleeting moment, his usually controlled emotions surged unexpectedly, like being struck over the head. He froze, thinking, ‘Why am I suddenly so emotionally unstable?’

He recalled the phone call from Jackson half an hour ago. After a long silence, Jackson finally spoke, “The person behind MZ Group… is most likely Nathan.”

Jackson couldn’t meet Nathan anytime soon. Nathan kept refusing to see him, and it seemed Jackson wouldn’t be able to come back for a while. But from what Jackson had gathered, the person behind MZ Group was expected to return to the country once before the New Year.

With just over two months until the New Year, the time felt far too short for Yannis. He was certain that once Nathan returned, Zinnia would surely leave his side.

Once Nathan returned to her side, Yannis was afraid that Zinnia would forget him completely. Just thinking about that possibility made his chest tighten. That was why, as the conversation shifted to this topic, he found himself getting unusually serious.

Yannis hoped that she would think of him too, whether it was something big or small, and that she wouldn’t keep things from him just because she thought they weren’t important. Above all, he wanted her to turn to him whenever she faced difficulties.

“Sorry, Zinnia. I lost control just now.” Yannis took a deep breath, forcing down the turmoil in his chest as his expression gradually softened.

“Yannis, are you okay?” Zinnia asked, her eyes filled with concern.

Yannis looked up at her, his gaze earnest. “Zinnia.”

“What?” Zinnia asked.

Yannis fixed his eyes on her. “Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t feeling well?”

Her discomfort from overeating was just a minor thing. But what really troubled him was the meaning behind it. If she wouldn’t even tell him about something so small, she would not come to him if something truly important happened.

Zinnia blinked and said softly, “It’s just something minor. You’ve been so busy lately. I didn’t want to bother you.”

Zinnia really thought it was not a big deal. Besides, Yannis had been so swamped lately, barely finding time to eat, still burning the midnight oil in his study. She didn’t want to disturb him.

“Zinnia, nothing about you is ever trivial to me. Don’t worry about disturbing me. I’d actually be happy if you came to me with anything. It would make me feel like you truly see me as family."

“Zinnia, you never need to hold back with me,” Yannis said simply yet earnestly.

“I’m really not polite to you at all,” Zinnia mused. Sometimes, she even felt she was going too far, but Yannis never seemed to mind. In fact, he would even praise her for it.

Thanks to Yannis’s constant indulgence, Zinnia had completely shed her inhibitions around him. She acted and spoke without restraint, doing whatever she pleased.

Sometimes, when she was in a bad mood, she would even sneak into the kitchen while he was cooking and tie his apron strings into impossible knots just to mess with him.

Sometimes, while Yannis was working, Zinnia would sneak a butterfly clip into his hair. He never got angry, just chuckled helplessly as he took it out, and then gently grabbed her wrist and pulled her to sit beside him.

He’d smooth her messy hair, fasten the clip onto her braid, and then fish a piece of chocolate from the drawer to press into her palm.

When Yannis came back from a business trip exhausted, Zinnia would go pick him up. As soon as he got in the car, he’d fall asleep, and she’d playfully poke his cheeks and gently stroke his eyelids.

Seeing he didn’t wake, she’d tie his hair on top of his head into a heart shape. If she accidentally tugged too hard and hurt him, when he woke up, he wouldn’t say a word. He’d just quietly take her hand and guide her to undo it.

Because of Yannis, Zinnia had lost count of all the mischievous things she’d done. Her once quiet and reserved nature had been transformed into something playfully excessive under his pampering.

Yet every time, Yannis would just smile at her antics, never getting annoyed, never scolding, never losing his temper. That always turned Zinnia’s initial guilt into bold confidence.

Yannis leaned in, his gentle eyes meeting Zinnia’s, his own reflection shimmering in them. “Zinnia, you say you don’t hold back with me, but would you tell your Master about something this minor?” he asked softly.

Zinnia said, “I never keep anything from Master. Honestly, even if I don’t say a word, he knows exactly what I’m about to say. It’s like he can read my mind just by looking at me.”

Telling Nathan or not made no difference. She and Nathan had grown up together through thick and thin. There was nothing she could hide from him.

He was the one who knew her best in this world. He could read her like an open book. It was never about words between them.

Yannis felt his lips stiffen slightly. ‘Yeah,’ he thought, ‘they’ve known each other for over a decade. That kind of deep bond isn’t something an outsider can just break into.’

He’d always known this, but now, experiencing it firsthand, a pang of loneliness and a twinge of envy washed over him. More than anything, he regretted not being part of Zinnia’s formative years.

However, Yannis wasn’t the type to give up easily. Though he’d missed the first decade or so of Zinnia’s life, there was still plenty of time ahead for them. But before anything else, he needed to carve out a place for himself in her heart.

Yannis knew Nathan’s place in Zinnia’s heart was unshakable. There was no way he could ever replace that. What he had to do was carve out a special place for himself in her heart, so that whenever something happened, she would think of him too.

He didn’t ask for much. He just wanted to be someone she could turn to when she needed.

“Zinnia, what about me?” Yannis leaned in slightly, his eyes intense yet tender as he gazed at her.

Zinnia blinked in confusion. “Hmm? You what?”

“What place do I hold in your heart?” Yannis asked bluntly and concisely, knowing she wouldn’t understand subtle hints.

“What place?” Zinnia blinked, baffled. “What are you even talking about now?”

Yannis gave her an example. “Let’s say your heart is like a pie cut into ten slices. How many slices do I get?”

“Ten slices?” Zinnia pondered. When she counted all the people she cared about now, ten just didn’t seem enough. Before, it was only Nathan. He alone filled her entire world.

But now, there was Yannis, her parents, Maisie, her grandparents, and Lydia. They all held special places in her heart. There simply weren’t enough slices to go around.

“I can’t split it,” Zinnia admitted honestly, shaking her head. She just couldn’t make it even.

“How about you just make a list? Rank the people you care about most, in order,” Yannis suggested, a faint smile touching his lips as he took a step back, knowing this would be tough for her.

Before Zinnia could say a word, Yannis blurted out, “Who comes first in your heart?”

“Master,” Zinnia answered without a second thought.

Yannis wasn’t surprised at all by her answer. He gave a slight, wry smile and asked softly, “Then… who’s second?” Deep down, he was eager to know where he stood in her heart.

“The second?” Confusion clouded Zinnia’s eyes. Her world had always been all about Nathan–so now, who else could there be?