Chapter 87

Under everyone’s stares, Betty bit her lips so hard that they turned red and swollen. A lump formed in her throat, and for a long time, she couldn’t say a single word.

Betty sneered inwardly, ‘Apologizing to Zinnia? Never. How could I possibly stoop so low as to apologize to someone beneath me?’

Betty refused to apologize, but Yvette and Yannis weren’t in any rush. In fact, the longer this dragged on, the more embarrassing it became for the Shaw family.

Yannis turned to Zinnia beside him and grinned. “Want some candy? I’ve got some right here.”

Meanwhile, Maisie was quietly whispering words of comfort to Zinnia.

The moment Yannis spoke, Maisie instantly froze, as if struck mute.

Yannis shot Maisie a disdainful glance.

Seeing this, Maisie remained speechless.

Zinnia shook her head gently and said, “No, thanks.” She didn’t feel like having any right now.

However, Yannis slipped a piece of sweet hard candy into her mouth the next second. Instantly, a rich sweetness flooded her senses.

“Try one,” Yannis said with a grin. He slipped the candy wrapper into his pocket and smiled at her.

Zinnia looked up and met his warm, smiling eyes. The sweetness seemed to seep into her heart and gently wrap its bitterness in a comforting warmth.

Yosef watched as Zinnia leaned into Yannis across from him. Yosef, as her brother, was right there, yet Zinnia clung to someone else, barely sparing him a glance.

Yosef felt uncomfortable tightness in his chest. He thought, ‘We’re supposed to be family, but Zinnia looks at us like we’re complete strangers.'

“Betty, is this how our family taught you?” Yosef demanded. His brows furrowed as he glared at her.

Yosef thought bitterly, ‘Betty is so stubborn. She was clearly wrong from the start, but now she has dragged the whole thing in front of the teachers and still refuses to apologize. She’s really causing us so much trouble.

‘She hasn’t spared a thought for our family. She should know our Shaw family is barely clinging to second-tier status now.’

Though the Jenkins family’s roots weren’t in Jinston but in Gioriham, their influence was nothing to scoff at. If the Shaw family really went head-to-head with them, the Shaw family would come out worse for wear.

Besides, behind the Jenkins family stood the Perkins family, the very top of the social pyramid. Yosef could only dream of reaching their status in his lifetime.

Though the Shaw family was related to the Lynn family by marriage, Sofia had never really approved of Donald. The Shaw family still hadn’t established solid foundations. They were simply not compatible with old-money families.

Not long ago, Jackson took Zinnia back to the Lynn family again. Clearly, the Lynns were holding a grudge against the Shaw family, or Sofia wouldn’t have stopped Zinnia from coming back, not just once, but twice.

Yosef thought he should visit the Lynn family later.

“Apologize to her.” Yosef’s voice turned icy.

Watching Betty stubbornly clamp her lips shut and refuse to apologize, Yosef felt a headache. He thought, ‘She’s clearly wrong. Why can’t she just say sorry?’

“Why must you be so fierce?” Maelis cut in, unable to watch any longer.

Maelis shot Zinnia a furious glare and said, “Zinnia, are you satisfied now? You’ve made our whole family a laughingstock.”

Her voice was laced with venom. She thought, ‘If you hadn’t hit Betty, things wouldn’t have escalated to this point!’

“Yes, I am,” Zinnia said flatly. Her gaze was steady as she met Maelis’s furious glare.

She no longer cared about the Shaw family’s attitudes. From the moment Maelis raised her hand to hit her, the concept of “family” in Zinnia’s heart completely shattered.

Zinnia thought to herself, ‘From now on, I won’t give a damn about the Shaw family. Whether they thrive or crumble, live or die, it’s got nothing to do with me.’

“Zinnia!” Maelis’s voice rose sharply. She felt Zinnia was completely out of line.

“What? Are you going to hit me again?” Zinnia arched a brow. Her crystal-clear eyes shone with an almost unnatural clarity and an even more unnatural coldness. She deliberately stressed the word “hit.”

Maelis choked. Her anger stuck in her throat, so she couldn’t get a word out.

“Mom.” Yosef watched as Maelis still pinned the blame on Zinnia. He felt a throbbing pain in his temples.

He wondered, ‘How did things get this bad? It’s obvious Betty is at fault this time, so why is Mom still blaming Zinnia?’

Maelis’s eyes still blazed with undiminished fury as she glared at Zinnia.

Suddenly, Maelis’s gaze was drawn to another figure stepping into view.

“Now isn’t this fierce, Mrs. Shaw? Yet just a moment ago, you were about to slap Zinnia. Didn’t think you were being fierce then?” Yannis sneered.

Maelis asked, “Mr. Perkins, must you be so aggressive?”

Maelis was seething with anger. With Yannis butting in, she momentarily forgot about his status and shot him a furious glare.

She thought, ‘He’s so insufferable. Just as the rumors say, he’s really arrogant, overbearing, and sharp-tongued. So what if he comes from a powerful family? He’s still impossible to stand. Otherwise, why would Mr. James Perkins have thrown him out of the country?’

Yannis smirked. “So now I’m being aggressive? Well, Mrs. Shaw, since you’ve labeled me as such, wouldn’t I be doing you a disservice if I didn’t live up to this glorious reputation you’ve bestowed upon me?

“Mrs. Shaw, since you’re so eager, I suppose I can grace you with a few more words.”

Yannis slipped one hand into his pocket. A faint smile played on his handsome face, but his eyes stayed cold.

“Mr. Perkins, my mom didn’t mean that,” interjected Yosef.

Yosef watched as Yannis stepped into the fray and realized this situation wouldn’t be resolved anytime soon.

Though Yosef was older than Yannis, the prestige of the Perkins family and Yannis’s status meant Yosef still had to address Yannis respectfully as “Mr. Perkins”.

Yosef thought, ‘We still haven’t secured the deal with the Perkins Group. After today’s mess, who knows if there’s any hope left for this partnership?’

Yosef glanced at Zinnia standing beside Yannis and was surprised to realize she had managed to connect with him.

It dawned on Yosef that he had never truly paid attention to this younger sister of his.

Yannis asked, “Since when does your word decide what she meant?”

When Yannis was in one of his moods, he didn’t care about anyone’s reputation.

He had heard from Jackson that the Shaw family didn’t treat Zinnia well, but he had never imagined they would be so reckless.

Yannis thought, ‘Zinnia stayed with the Shaw family for two months. She must have suffered a lot.’

As Yannis thought about how much Zinnia had endured, he felt uncomfortable.

He thought, ‘What a sweet little girl she is, yet the Shaw family shows such monstrous behavior. They even resorted to violence today. If I’d arrived a moment later, that slap would have landed right on her delicate little face.’

The more Yannis thought about it, the angrier he became. He couldn’t allow anyone to bully the miracle doctor who had helped him.

Besides, Jackson specifically asked him to look after Zinnia. After what almost happened today, Yannis felt Jackson would absolutely rip into him when Jackson got back.

There was no way Yannis was going to let anyone scold him. So he had to let off some steam today.

“Mrs. Shaw, between the girl standing behind you and Zinnia here, which one is actually your daughter?” Yannis arched an eyebrow at Maelis.

Maelis remained silent.

Yannis turned to Zinnia with a smirk. “Looks like your mom is disowning you, Zinnia.”

Before Zinnia could respond, Yvette reached over and pinched Yannis, warning him to stop speaking.

“I’m the one disowning them. They didn’t raise me anyway.” Zinnia frowned and retorted matter-of-factly. Her voice was filled with indifference toward the Shaw family.

Zinnia already knew what Maelis would decide. She would only feel it was boring if she heard it again today.