Chapter 36

It was Jackson’s first time seeing that look on Zinnia’s face. She looked serious, totally different from the careless vibe she always gave off. She really seemed to love medicine.

Yannis didn’t expect much. He had seen way too many doctors over the years, and none of them helped. But seeing how focused Zinnia looked, he didn’t want to crush her hopes. He was already used to disappointment.

Perry sat nearby, watching as Zinnia checked Yannis’s pulse.

“Did something really bad happen to you before?” Zinnia frowned as she asked.

Yannis wasn’t just losing sleep—he couldn’t sleep at all, night after night. His body was totally worn out, and his mind was stretched thin. If it went on like this, one day his body might just give out. It could leave permanent damage. If it got bad enough, he might even end up with brain damage and never wake up again.

Yannis’s raised brows dropped a little. “I had an accident when I was a kid,” he said. He didn’t deny it, but he didn’t go into details either.

“Wear this for now. You really need sleep. If you keep going like this, your body won’t be able to take it,” Zinnia said.

She didn’t press him—she knew every patient had their own privacy. She turned and rummaged through her small backpack, then pulled out a little herbal pouch and handed it to him.

“Put it under your pillow. Don’t think about anything,” she said seriously.

“Okay. Thanks, Zinnia,” Yannis said.

The moment she took out the pouch, he smelled that calming herbal scent. It was similar to Jackson’s pouch but stronger. The smell made him feel comfortable. Maybe it was just because he was in a good mood today, but his aching, tired head finally felt a bit lighter.

Yannis accepted the pouch. Even if it didn’t work, he wasn’t going to turn down Zinnia’s kindness. Still, he didn’t really believe a herbal pouch could fix his insomnia. Every time he thought about the past, all he saw was blood. Every time he closed his eyes, those pale, lifeless faces came back. There was no way he could sleep.

It had been more than ten years. He’d tried everything—pills, hypnosis—nothing worked. When things got really bad, he had to be knocked out just to rest for a little while. But even then, he’d wake up in under thirty minutes.

“Here, take this too. Eat one before bed,” Zinnia said, digging into her bag again and pulling out a small wooden bottle.

Yannis looked at the plain bottle she handed him. It had no label, probably something she made herself. It even had a faint medicinal scent, kind of like the way she smelled.

Maybe it was because she studied medicine, but Zinnia never wore perfume or makeup. She always had this light herbal scent on her, with a hint of bitterness if one paid close attention.

Yannis held the bottle tightly in his palm. It still felt warm from her hand.

He looked at Zinnia and saw that she was looking at him too. “Try it first. If it doesn’t work, tell me and I’ll make you something else,” she said.

“Take the medicine after dinner if you can,” she added. “Your body’s really tired. You need a good night’s sleep.”

“Okay. Thank you.” Yannis tugged at the corner of his lips and gave a small smile.

He’d heard this kind of reminder way too many times before. But somehow, hearing it from Zinnia, with that serious look on her face, made him feel… at ease. Even he thought it was kind of strange. But he didn’t argue. He was afraid he’d see her frown again or that puzzled look she gave when she didn’t understand him. He was honestly kind of scared of the way Zinnia stared at him–like she was about to scold him for being disobedient.

Their first meeting had been super awkward. And during the second, he totally embarrassed himself. Now that it was their third time meeting, he really didn’t want to mess it up again.

Yannis carefully put away the herbal pouch and the small wooden bottle.

“Zinnia, can I have one too?” Perry looked at her hopefully. “I can’t sleep well at night either.”

“Weren’t you just having trouble eating?” Zinnia turned to him, confused. He didn’t look like he had insomnia.

“I can’t eat, so I get really hungry at night. And then I can’t sleep,” Perry explained.

“Then I’ll give you one.” Zinnia didn’t think too hard about it. She reached into her small backpack again and pulled out another herbal pouch for Perry.

She thought the timing was kind of perfect. These two pouches were ones she had made earlier for Yosef and Timothy, but before she could give them out, the whole situation with Betty happened. After that, she never got the chance to hand them over, so they’d just stayed in her bag. Since Yannis and Perry asked, she just gave the pouches to them instead.

Zinnia started to notice that rich people always seemed to be sick somehow. If it wasn’t insomnia, it was stomach problems–or something else. The Shaw family was like that. Jackson too. And now even Jackson’s friends.

She shook her head. She really didn’t get it. These people had everything—money, power, nice clothes, great food—and yet they were all messed up somehow. But then she remembered the kind of food the Shaw family usually ate, and it started to make a little more sense. If she had to eat that bland vegetarian stuff every day, she’d probably get sick too.

“Thanks! I’ll take good care of it,” Perry said happily, accepting the pouch.

Since Jackson and Yannis both had little gifts from Zinnia, Perry felt like he needed one too.

“All right, eat up,” Jackson said, starting to pick out more food for Zinnia.

Zinnia went back to eating meat. The delicious flavors made her eyes crinkle with a smile. The other three watched her enjoying the food and couldn’t help but feel happy too.

“You guys didn’t feed her or something?” Yannis looked up at Jackson.

Zinnia looked so happy and grateful just eating chili con carne, like she hadn’t had anything good in a long time. She was skinny and small. Yannis wondered if she’d grow any taller in the future.

“It’s the Shaw family that starved her,” Jackson said without even lifting his head. Seeing how much she liked meat, he added another plate of it in front of her.

He glanced at Zinnia, about to ask if the Shaw family really hadn’t been feeding her properly.

“The Shaw family?” Yannis frowned. He had just come back to the country not long ago and hadn’t kept up with the Shaw family drama. However, his cousin had mentioned that there was this super annoying daughter in the Shaw family. Based on her story, Yannis didn’t like the Shaws much either.

Even though the Lynn family was connected to the Shaw family by marriage, Yannis didn’t have much to do with any of the Shaw Boys. The Shaws basically got rich thanks to the Lynns, so they weren’t exactly on the same level.

Now hearing Jackson bring them up, Yannis frowned, guessing that Zinnia might be that switched-at-birth daughter the Shaw family had just gotten back.

Back when he was abroad, Yannis had heard Jackson casually mention that his aunt’s kid had been switched at birth. Jackson didn’t seem to care much at the time.

Since Jackson had always acted like he didn’t care about that new daughter, and now he seemed to care so much about Zinnia, Yannis hadn’t made the connection that Zinnia was that kid the Shaw family had recently brought back.

When Jackson introduced her, he had only said her name; he never mentioned her last name. So Yannis just assumed Zinnia was a Lynn too.

“Jackson, Betty Shaw isn’t as sweet and gentle as she looks. You better protect Zinnia,” Perry said.

Perry knew the whole story with the Shaw family. The moment he saw Zinnia, he figured it out. And thinking of the Betty he had met before, he shook his head and glanced at Jackson again. He felt like Zinnia was no match for someone like Betty. Zinnia wasn’t the type to fight or push for anything.

“Of course,” Jackson nodded, then looked at Yannis.