Chapter 90

Maisie grinned and gave Zinnia’s cheek a playful squeeze. “Zinnia, would you like to be my little sister? I’ll always protect you. Just call me Maisie.”

Having grown up in a loving family, Maisie never hesitated to share that love with others.

Yannis and Yvette watched silently from the sidelines, choosing not to interfere. After all, this was a matter between the two girls.

What mattered to Zinnia was also Maisie’s opinion.

Zinnia lowered her gaze, her eyes meeting Maisie’s warm, smiling ones. She pressed her lips together, hesitated for a moment, then softly called out, “Maisie…”

“Zinnia,” Maisie beamed even more brightly upon hearing her words.

Yvette beamed at her and called out affectionately, “Sweetheart.”

Yvette and Maisie exchanged a glance and burst into giggles. They’d just landed themselves the cutest little gem. As total beauty fanatics, they both melted at the sight of Zinnia. ‘How can Zinnia be so adorable?’ they both thought.

“Yvette,” Zinnia murmured, a shy smile playing at the corners of her lips.

“Oh my. I’m so happy today. Now I have two daughters,” Yvette responded cheerfully, clicking her high heels excitedly as she did a happy little dance.

Yvette took out her phone from her handbag and said cheerfully, “Come on. Let’s treat Zinnia to something delicious.”

Maisie looked at the freshly deposited 300 thousand dollars in her account, cupped Zinnia’s face, and gave her two quick pecks. “Zinnia, you’re my lucky charm. I’ve really hit the jackpot today.”

Yannis’s eyelid twitched as he watched. He grabbed Maisie by the scruff of her neck and pulled her away. “Did you brush your teeth?” he muttered.

Yannis turned to Zinnia, his expression serious, and told her, “Don’t let just anyone kiss you, especially not on the face.”

“Okay,” Zinnia replied sweetly, unusually happy today and more obedient than usual.

“Yannis, come on. I’m not just anyone,” Maisie rolled her eyes.

Yvette watched with amusement and then turned to Zinnia with a gentle smile. “Sweetheart, could you give me your bank account details?”

Zinnia wasn’t sure what Yvette was up to but gave her the account details anyway.

The very next second, a transfer of 300 thousand dollars hit her account. She was stunned.

“Yvette, I can’t accept this,” Zinnia said, suddenly feeling the phone burning in her hand.

Zinnia thought, ‘300 thousand dollars isn’t a huge sum, but it feels weird that she’d transfer that much to me when we barely know each other.’

“It’s nothing, sweetheart. It’s just your monthly allowance, the same as Maisie gets. If you ever need more, just tell me and I will send it over,” Yvette beamed.

“Just take it. Your godmother is loaded,” Yannis chimed in casually.

“Exactly, Zinnia, just take it. This is nothing. When Mom is happy, she loves handing out money. And she’s overjoyed today. Trust me… there’ll be plenty more where that came from. You’d better get used to it, Zinnia,” Maisie said breezily.

Soon, they said goodbye to Yannis and Yvette. Yannis had urgent work to catch up on; he’d taken time off for this. Yvette had a skincare appointment in the afternoon.

With all the fuss, it was already 1 p.m. The school day ended at 11:20 a.m.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs and Zinnia and Maisie were about to head out for a meal, Yannis stopped, looked at her gently, and said, “If you ever need anything, just call me. With Jackson away, I’ve got your back.”

“Alright,” Zinnia nodded.

Then the two girls went to rejoin their classmates.

“Yannis, you’ve got a thing for Zinnia, don’t you?” Yvette teased as they walked out of school together, remembering how extra careful he’d been. She thought, ‘I bet even your dad, Layla, and Devin have never seen you so gentle before.’

Yannis said leisurely, his gaze lingering on one of the retreating figures, “Aunt Yvette, Zinnia gave me a herbal sachet. Now I can finally sleep. She knew about my insomnia and went out of her way to prepare it for me. She even promised to make me a calming tonic.”

“Zinnia can cure your insomnia?” Yvette was stunned and then overjoyed, barely registering the meaning behind his lengthy explanation.

Yannis’s insomnia was the biggest headache for them. They had consulted every specialist imaginable, yet found no cure. It broke their hearts to see him suffer, yet there was nothing they could do.

“Aunt Yvette,” Yannis added, his voice softening with uncharacteristic warmth, “Zinnia is such a sweetheart.”

Yvette smiled gently, “Of course, I know. Don’t worry. Since I decided to take Zinnia as my goddaughter, I mean it with all my heart.”

Yvette rolled her eyes at him. ‘Of course, I know Zinnia is an adorable sweetheart. Why else would I have taken her in as my goddaughter?’ she thought.

Then it dawned on Yvette that Yannis was actually showing off to her.

Yvette thought, ‘Ever since I took Zinnia in as my goddaughter, Yannis has been a little jealous. That’s why he’s showing off, telling me about what Zinnia did for him, just to prove she cares about him too.’ She couldn’t help but laugh in frustration.

“Yannis, won’t you go back home? You’ve been back for a while now. Your dad must miss you. Actually, what happened back then wasn’t really his fault. That decision was agonizing for him too…” Yvette looked at him, her words trailing off.

“We’ll see. I’m leaving now,” Yannis said, his expression turning impassive.

Toby was already waiting outside in the car.

Yvette watched Yannis walk away and sighed, “Yannis still hasn’t moved on…”

Ethan and the others rushed over, concern written all over their faces. “Hey, how did it go? Are you guys okay? You didn’t get scolded, did you?”

The office door was shut tight. They waited outside, barely catching the heated argument inside, especially Maelis’s words, which really got their blood boiling.

They never thought a parent could act like that. It was unbelievable. They had never seen anyone like that before.

Maisie waved her hand casually. “Don’t worry. Everything is fine. The treat is off for now. When we’re free, I’ll take you all to celebrate Zinnia becoming my little sister and to thank you for helping us today. It’s getting late, so let’s just grab something at the cafeteria.”

Her words left them momentarily speechless.

Maisie grinned and couldn’t help but show off, “Zinnia is officially my little sister now. She’s my mom’s goddaughter too!”

“Really? Congrats, Zinnia. And you too, Maisie.” Since they hadn’t been listening outside the office, they still had no idea what had happened.

They smiled and congratulated Zinnia and Maisie, truly hoping Zinnia could break free from the Shaw family. They’d be genuinely happy for her if she did.

Just by watching Maisie’s free-spirited personality and the playful banter between her and Yvette, it was clear the Jenkins family had a super warm and loving vibe.

“Okay. Enough with sweet talk. I’m starving,” Maisie finally cut in after hearing enough compliments. “Have you guys eaten yet? If not, join us to just grab something at the cafeteria for now.”

After all that commotion, it was almost 2 p.m. Going out to eat wasn’t practical anymore. They decided to just grab something quick and head out for dinner later.

“Nope, we have been waiting for you guys,” Ethan shook his head.

He thought, ‘How can we even think about eating when the two of them still haven’t come out?’

Ethan sighed regretfully, “Too bad Lydia isn’t here today. Evershine F5 is missing its chief strategist. If she were around, writing this reflection letter wouldn’t be such a pain. With Lydia’s brains, she’d rattle it off in no time, make me sound like a total hero, highlight my chivalrous spirit, and get the whole school buzzing about how awesome our class is.”