Chapter 308
“How is she?” Yannis rushed forward, his eyes clouded with worry. Ever since he learned about Zinnia’s condition, his heart had been in turmoil.
If he weren’t afraid of disturbing them by barging in, Yannis wouldn’t have been able to just wait outside.
“Thanks to your quick action, she’s stable now. You really don’t need to worry too much,” Nathan said, his voice heavy and hoarse.
Clearly, the fact that Zinnia found out so suddenly had made things complicated.
She had just woken up, silent, refusing to speak or even acknowledge him, just staring at him with red-rimmed eyes.
Honestly, Nathan would rather she lost her temper at him than just sit there staring in silence.
“Nathan, I’m so sorry. I failed to take good care of Zinnia last night,” Maisie said guiltily.
“Maisie, don’t blame yourself. What happened to Zinnia was just an accident.” Nathan forced a gentle smile.
“Nathan, may I go in to see Zinnia?” Maisie asked, her worried gaze drifting toward the room.
“Yes.” Nathan gave a nod. Maisie hurried into the room.
Yannis also wanted to follow her in, but Nathan called out to him, “Yannis, come with me for a moment.”
Yannis stopped in his tracks and, with no choice, followed Nathan to the side.
Yannis asked anxiously, “Nathan, how’s Zinnia doing? Is she stable?”
“I told Zinnia everything about my condition.” Nathan let out a sigh, an uncharacteristic worry clouding his usually composed features. “But after hearing it, she wouldn’t vent at me or make any fuss.
“Could you talk to her later? At least help her let her feelings out. Bottling everything up like this isn’t good for her.”
Sometimes, Zinnia was easy to comfort, melting at the slightest coaxing. But when she dug in her heels, even Nathan felt helpless.
Especially now, with everything happening so suddenly, Zinnia was swallowing all her emotions, no tears, no complaints. Watching her like this was truly heartbreaking.
“Okay.” The worry in Yannis’ eyes grew heavier.
“Zinnia, what’s wrong?” Maisie asked softly as she stepped into the room. Zinnia lay curled under the covers, her face barely visible, cheeks still pale.
Having missed the shouting last night, Maisie was completely in the dark about what had happened.
As Maisie walked in, Zinnia saw the worry in her eyes.
Zinnia spoke in a hoarse, weak voice, forcing a smile. “Maisie, I’m fine. Really, you don’t have to worry about me. You should go home. I’ll be heading back to the small town with Nathan this afternoon anyway.”
After Maisie left, Zinnia felt completely drained. She closed her eyes, ready to drift off again. The emotional outburst had left her utterly spent.
However, the door creaked open quietly, and a sliver of hallway light spilled into the dim room. The room was shrouded in darkness.
Yannis appeared in the doorway and gently turned on the light. In his hands was a bowl of soup.
Chapter 308
Zinnia hadn’t eaten a single bite since yesterday.
At the sight of Yannis, Zinnia ducked her head and buried her face in the covers. She refused to even look at him.
Upon seeing her action, Yannis’ smile froze. ‘She’s mad at me,’ he thought.
“Zinnia?” Yannis murmured tenderly. He carefully carried the soup toward her, but Zinnia stayed silent, just burying her head under the covers.
Yannis set the bowl on the nightstand and sat down at the edge of the bed.
The mattress dipped slightly under his weight, and Zinnia stirred. With a deliberate huff, she rolled over and pointedly turned her back to him. Yannis gently lifted the edge of the blanket.
As soon as half of Zinnia’s head showed, she immediately ducked back down, burrowing even deeper under the covers. She was clearly giving Yannis the cold shoulder.
Obviously, Zinnia had found out that Yannis had known about Nathan’s illness all along and kept it from her.
“I made you some soup,” Yannis said gently.
Zinnia lay perfectly still under the covers. Even through the blanket, Yannis could see the curve of her back, showing how angry she was.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have kept it from you,” Yannis murmured. He lowered his gaze and, once again, tentatively reached out to lift the blanket. This time, it gave way more easily.
“I know I was wrong. I promise I won’t keep things from you again, alright? How about getting some food first? You haven’t eaten all day. It’s not good for you.
“After you’ve eaten, you can be mad at me all you want – yell at me, hit me, whatever you need.” As he spoke, Yannis gently tugged at the covers.
Staying buried under the covers like that wasn’t good for her health.
“Zinnia?” As Yannis gently lifted the blanket, Zinnia’s face, flushed from being hidden so long, peeked out.
The moment their eyes met, she was greeted by the exhaustion and worry etched deep in Yannis’ gaze.
Zinnia’s eyes reddened as she abruptly sat up, grabbed Yannis’ wrist, and sank her teeth into it without mercy. Her sharp canines pierced the thin skin, leaving behind bloody marks.
Yannis didn’t even flinch, simply gazing down at Zinnia. ‘At least she’s letting her emotions out, though in this way,’ he thought with quiet relief.
“Is this hand enough, or do you want the other one too?” He even loosened his palm deliberately, making it easier for her to bite.
Upon listening to his words, Zinnia’s grip on his hand loosened slightly. As she kept biting, her eyes reddened again, tears welling up.
Noticing Yannis wasn’t resisting, Zinnia gradually released her hold, pulled away, and lowered her gaze to the bite marks she’d left on his hand, fresh beads of blood oozing from the wounds.
Zinnia had been bottling up too many emotions lately with no outlet. The moment she saw Yannis, the dam finally broke and everything came pouring out uncontrollably. Her teeth sank deep into his hand with surprising force.
Her fingertips trembled as she frantically wiped at the blood. But as soon as she cleared it away, fresh crimson beads surfaced again.
No matter how desperately she wiped, the blood wouldn’t stop, and soon, her hands were stained crimson too.
“It’s alright. It doesn’t hurt. Don’t worry. I’ll just bandage it later.” Seeing her distress, Yannis gently took her bloodstained hand and soothed her softly.
As he spoke, he casually grabbed some tissues from the nightstand, loosely wrapped them around his wound, then used another tissue to wipe the blood from her trembling fingers.
Chapter 308
Zinnia hung her head, silent as a guilty child.
“It’s alright. It doesn’t hurt.” Yannis reassured her, carefully wiping her hands clean. He wasn’t angry at all. Instead, he focused on comforting her.
“I’m sorry,” Zinnia whispered, her voice hoarse from long silence. Her lashes, wet with tears, trembled.
Yannis felt something wet land on the back of his hand. A single tear fell onto his skin. One drop after another followed, until a small pool formed.
Her silent sobs made Yannis’ heart ache. “Shh, it’s alright,” Yannis murmured softly, pulling her into his arms. He stroked her hair rhythmically, resting his chin atop her head.
“You are a liar.” Zinnia’s fingers clutched at his shirt, her lips trembling as her voice quivered with hurt. “You’re all liars. Nathan deceived me, and you too.”
Zinnia felt like everyone had lied to her.
‘If it hadn’t been for this accident,’ Zinnia thought bitterly, ‘would they have only told me when Nathan was on his deathbed?’ She couldn’t accept it at all.
Zinnia knew perfectly well that Nathan had kept it from her to spare her worry. That was why she couldn’t bring herself to lash out at him.
But she just couldn’t get past it. She couldn’t accept that Nathan had endured so many hardships without her even knowing, even nearly losing his life.
Just imagining that Nathan’s days might be numbered made every breath feel like agony.