Chapter 369

Zina was slowly eating her pasta when a call came through to Edward’s phone. He placed a glass of water beside Zina before picking up.

He didn’t avoid Zina either. He turned on the speakerphone. In a gentle voice, Edward said, “Hello.”

Toby said, “Mr. Hanover, Mr. Perkins would like to invite you to a meal. When would be convenient for you?”

Edward said, “Certainly. I’m a bit busy these days. Would next week suit?”

Toby replied, “That’s perfect. See you then.”

“Okay,” Edward murmured.

As the call ended, Zina caught an icy, emotionless voice from the other end. Someone was probably reporting in.

Hearing that brief male voice, Zina frowned.

At that voice, a sudden flash of memory jolted her, and even a sharp pang shot through her chest.

Edward noticed and asked with concern, “What’s wrong, Zina? Are you feeling unwell?”

Zina asked, “Edward, who was that just now?”

Edward didn’t hide it. “Someone from YanZin Group. Dad is working with them. They want to have a meal with us.”

Quincy was rarely at home, and her elder son often stayed abroad. Now that Edward was finally back, the responsibility for meeting with partners fell to him.

“YanZin Group?” Zina murmured softly, repeating the name.

Edward smiled gently, “Yes. Do you want to go, Zina? If you do, we can go together.”

“We’ll see,” Zina replied. Social gatherings had never been her thing.

Yet, just as she recalled that brief, cold voice, a strange twinge of pain unexpectedly welled up in her hollow chest. It was the first time in years Zina had ever felt such discomfort.

Edward, always accommodating, reassured her, “Of course. Just say the word, and we’ll go together.”

The phone call had delayed them for a while, and as they stepped out of the private room, they saw two men standing shoulder to shoulder just ahead, getting into a car.

Edward smiled and said, “Zina, let me show you around Jinston.”

Over the next week, Edward took Zina around every corner of Jinston, helping her get familiar with the city.

Back at the hotel that evening, as they rode the elevator, Edward asked gently, “Zina, after touring Jinston for days, does anything feel familiar to you?”

Zina shook her head. “No, not at all.”

They had visited numerous places in Jinston, yet nothing had sparked her memory, except that brief male voice she’d heard the other day, which had stirred something faint yet unsettling in her chest.

Before Edward could say anything, his phone vibrated. He pulled it out to check.

Zina glimpsed the screen. It was the same caller from last time. She leaned in a little closer.

Edward answered.

“Mr. Hanover, are you available this Wednesday? Mr. Perkins will be back from his business trip and would like to invite you to a meal,” someone said.

Zina checked the time on her phone. Wednesday was the day after tomorrow.

Remembering the male voice from before, she thought, ‘Will I get to hear it again?‘ and strained to listen.

Noticing her interest, Edward smiled and nodded, “Certainly.”

After hanging up, Edward looked down at her and asked, “Do you want to come along, Zina?”

Zina didn’t say no right away. “Are you going to be talking business for long? If it’s going to take ages, I’ll pass.”

Zina never liked high-society gatherings. She’d been to a few with Adrian before and always found them a headache.

Adrian and the others would tease her, saying, “If you’re this impatient with these things, how are you ever going to run the family business?”

To which Zina would retort, “That’s what I have you for. As long as you’re around, I can just mooch off you forever.”

That never failed to send the whole Evans family into fits of laughter. While other families fought tooth and nail over inheritance, the two Evans siblings couldn’t care less.

In this generation, there were only Adrian and Zina in the Evans family. The siblings were close, which made everyone in the family feel at ease.

With Adrian as her big brother, Zina always had someone to rely on. No one could ever bully her. Family was the strongest support of all.

Even though Zina had only recently come home, the family still felt deeply guilty for losing her all those years ago.

Adrian especially blamed himself. If he’d taken Zina away sooner, she wouldn’t have been in such a critical condition when Quincy finally found her.

If the emergency surgery had been delayed, they might have lost her for good.

That was why everyone in the Evans family knew just how much Adrian spoiled Zina rotten. Whatever she wanted, she got.

Edward gently ruffled her hair, his gaze warm and a soft smile on his lips. “Just a brief chat, nothing more. It’s mainly a meal to catch up, and you’ll probably see someone you know there.”

Zina’s curiosity was piqued. “Someone I know? Who is it?”

She’d been back in Jinston for a week and hadn’t run into anyone she recognized.

Edward had said she hadn’t spent much time in Jinston before, so she didn’t know many people.

Now that everyone had grown up and scattered, it was normal not to bump into anyone.

Honestly, Zina didn’t even remember the past. She had no idea if she was close to anyone in Jinston, and she definitely wouldn’t suddenly reach out to them. If they weren’t actually close, that would be so awkward.

With no memories, Zina felt nothing for Jinston or its people, so she hadn’t paid much attention to them.

But now that Edward mentioned she’d meet someone familiar, she couldn’t help but be curious.

‘If Edward says we’re familiar, I must have known the guy well before,’ she thought, but no matter how hard she tried, nothing came to mind.

Edward smiled indulgently, “You’ll know when you see them, Zina.”

He wondered if meeting that person might help Zina remember something. Edward’s gaze grew complicated.

Part of him wanted Zina to regain her memories, while another part dreaded the pain those memories might bring. Watching her suffer from headaches every day because of her amnesia was painful, too.

“Alright,” Zina murmured, feeling no particular urgency. She wasn’t in a hurry. After all, she’d find out when the time came.

‘But who could it possibly be?’ she wondered. Her thoughts drifted to that male voice. ‘Could it be him?’

Zina couldn’t understand why such a brief voice still lingered in her memory. Just thinking about it made her chest tighten uncomfortably.

In the three years since she woke up, this was the first time she’d experienced such a peculiar emotion.

Edward gently instructed, “Go back to your room and get some rest. I have a long surgery scheduled for tomorrow, so I probably won’t be back until the afternoon."

“If you need anything, just call me. If you can’t reach me, call my assistant, Dale Lopez. Got it?”

Edward hadn’t come back just to help Zina recover her memories. He was a renowned cardiologist, and this time, he had been invited back by a local hospital for a critical case.

There was a patient who needed him to perform surgery. The operation was scheduled for tomorrow. That meant he wouldn’t be able to accompany Zina.

Having spent too much time in hospitals, Zina had developed an aversion to them. So Edward thought it best not to take her along.

Zina replied, “Got it. Go do your thing. I’ll be fine alone. I’ve pretty much gotten familiar with Jinston already.”

She couldn’t help feeling a bit exasperated, thinking, ‘I’m twenty-two—hardly a naive little girl anymore.‘