Chapter 4

The Shaw family stiffened at Zinnia’s blunt accusation.

“I’m not apologizing for something I didn’t do,” Zinnia said flatly. They never believed her, and she wasn’t about to start hoping now.

Suddenly, a bitter ache spread through her chest—she missed her master terribly. ‘Why did he dump me back with these awful people? I hate him now anyway,’ she thought, her vision blurring.

Howard’s heart sank when he saw Zinnia’s eyes. They were red and looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.

The other Shaws shifted uncomfortably. ‘No one’s even scolded her yet. Why the sudden tears?’

Zinnia had no clue they thought she was on the verge of tears. If she knew, she’d definitely snap back; even if she did cry, it sure wouldn’t be over them.

But she didn’t realize she looked tearful. She just felt her eyes burning, her nose stuffy, and her head all fuzzy.

She wanted to get this over with and leave. She couldn’t stand being around the Shaws; it felt like she was being suffocated.

Zinnia fished out a candy from her bag and popped it into her mouth—sugar always helped her shake off the bad mood. She decided that when her master returned, she’d give him a piece of her mind for ditching her.

“Yosef, if there’s surveillance footage, have the butler check it now,” Howard turned to his brother, his voice tinged with a hint of urgency. “We’ll see exactly what happened. No more baseless accusations.”

“That brat’s already on the verge of tears. If we don’t clear this up, guess who’ll have to comfort Ms. Waterworks here?” Howard thought.

“Mom, Dad, Zinnia didn’t push me,” Betty said quickly. “We were talking by the pool yesterday when I slipped in. Let’s not trouble the butler with checking cameras. He’s already swamped with household duties.”

Betty hadn’t expected Zinnia to fight back. She also hadn’t expected Zinnia to bring up the surveillance by the pool. Her expression shifted—Zinnia was actually using her head.

“Check it, so they can’t claim I pushed you,” Zinnia said, her voice light and calm.

Yosef looked from the nervous Betty to the calm Zinnia. Years in business had taught him to read people, and Betty was definitely hiding something.

He rubbed his forehead and said quietly, “Enough. Let’s just drop this. It could be a simple misunderstanding.”

Betty, sitting on the hospital bed, let out a small sigh of relief. She realized she’d have to be more careful next time she tried to scheme against Zinnia—Zinnia was a lot sharper than she’d thought.

“So when you guys thought I messed up, you hauled me here to apologize. But when it’s Betty, suddenly everyone’s cool?” Zinnia said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

She stared at Yosef with a bitter smile that didn’t touch her lips. She knew better than to expect anything from this family.

Timothy tried to argue, but Yosef quickly grabbed his arm. When he followed Yosef’s look, he caught Betty’s nervous expression. His brow furrowed, and an odd discomfort settled in his chest.

Then he caught Zinnia’s calm, disappointed look and felt his anger rising. ‘What’s with her attitude? We’re the ones who should be pissed off. She’s been wreaking havoc in our family since she came back.’

“Zinnia, even if there was a misunderstanding, you’re responsible for Betty’s falling in. After all, you were the one who invited her to the pool,” Timothy snapped, his voice sharp.

“Fine, my bad. I’ll stay a thousand miles away from Betty. That way, if she loses a single hair, you won’t pin the blame on me,” Zinnia said, her face expressionless, as if she’d already gotten used to it.

“Since when did you get so sharp-tongued, Zinnia?” Timothy narrowed his eyes.

Zinnia’s lips twisted into a bitter smirk. “Wasn’t it you who labeled me the family screw-up? I’m just playing the part.”

She knew in the Shaws’ eyes, she’d always be a country bumpkin—crude, unrefined, never matching their cherished Betty who’d been coddled since infancy. What shot did a small-town girl have against their golden child?

“Zinnia, Timothy’s just joking,” Charles chimed in, trying to smooth things over. He realized they might have wronged her today.

“That’s not even close to funny,” Zinnia said flatly. Nobody enjoyed being mocked like this every day.

Donald’s face burned with embarrassment, and he immediately shut up.

“Zinnia,” Maelis called softly, feeling her heart break seeing Zinnia’s defensive posture. She moved closer and wanted to pull Zinnia into a warm hug.

The Shaws never thought to check the security cameras by the pool. When Zinnia brought it up, they felt a sharp pang of guilt.

They’d avoided reviewing the footage because Zinnia had been such a problem in the past, like when she bullied Betty. Old patterns died hard.

But now they were having second thoughts. They realized they should have checked the camera first. After all, maybe there was a misunderstanding.

“Thanks for looking out for me. I’ll move out,” Zinnia said. She stepped back from Maelis, her eyes now cold and distant, stripped of all tenderness when looking at Maelis.

Zinnia knew dragging this out was pointless. The Shaws would always choose Betty—how could she, who hadn’t grown up with them, ever measure up to their cherished daughter?

‘If I can’t have all of it, I want none of it,’ Zinnia thought. That was what her master had always said.

A glint of triumph sparked in Betty’s eyes. ‘What an idiot Zinnia is, walking away like this. Once she’s out that door, I’ll make sure she never comes back.’

“This family is mine. Since the mistake had gone on this long, why not let it continue? Why did Zinnia have to show up and mess everything up?”

Howard stood frozen, his eyes widening as he caught the subtle smirk on Betty’s lips. He blinked hard. ‘Wait, did I just see that? Did Betty actually look pleased that Zinnia was leaving?’

Sensing Howard’s gaze, Betty felt a chill in her heart. She forced her smile into a troubled expression, faking distress.

Howard looked at her sad face and decided he must’ve imagined it.