Chapter 92

Yosef frowned. “How is that possible? We give you pocket money every month. If we didn’t, where would you get the money to eat here today? Zinnia, I can’t believe you’d lie.”

She grew up in a small town and brought almost nothing with her when she was taken back – a clear sign of her impoverished life before.

The food at Cloudy Moon wasn’t cheap by any means, so it was impossible for her to have gotten the money to pay for it herself.

Zinnia looked at Yosef with impatience. “I’ve never received any pocket money from you,” she said, her eyes full of confusion. She was shocked that each of the three Shaw brothers could be so shameless in his own way.

Yosef shook his head firmly. “No way. Mom would never withhold your pocket money,” he insisted, refusing to believe a word Zinnia said.

“Believe it or not. The fact is, you never gave me a single cent,” Zinnia said wearily. After just a couple of exchanges with Yosef, she already felt emotionally drained and had no energy left to argue.

Yosef stared into her eyes. She spoke earnestly, her gaze sincere, without a trace of deceit. “There must be some misunderstanding. Mom is supposed to give you pocket money every month,” he said.

He believed his mother, yet Zinnia didn’t seem to be lying. There had to be some explanation for this.

Zinnia looked up at Yosef, her eyes calm and sincere. “This has nothing to do with me. I owe your family nothing.

“If you’re bothered by the two months I stayed at your house and the scraps I ate, I can pay you back for every meal.” She couldn’t care less about any misunderstanding—she’d long since given up on the Shaws.

‘Honestly, it’s almost an insult to my money to pay for something so worthless,’ she thought wryly, ‘but if that’s what you want, I can certainly afford it.’

“Zinnia, that’s not what I meant,” Yosef said, rubbing his temples. “I just want to have a proper conversation with you. Can we talk this through?” It felt like Zinnia was truly determined to sever all connections with them.

Zinnia shook her head. “I don’t think we have anything to talk about. We’re practically strangers–I’ve only met you a few times, and there’s no sibling bond between us. There’s just nothing to discuss.”

Yosef sighed. “Zinnia, if you truly didn’t care about us, then why did you make food for me and Charlie? We only just found you, and before we even had the chance to really get to know you, so much has already happened.

“There are misunderstandings between us. Let’s talk this through, okay? We’re family, bound by blood.” He studied Zinnia’s face–so like their mother’s- and wondered how people who share the same blood could end up as strangers.

Yosef honestly didn’t know how to get along with Zinnia, as they’d never really spent time together before. Swamped with work at the company, he had no energy left for family matters.

He knew his real–born sister had been found, but she was timid and soft-spoken, never speaking unless spoken to. Most of the time, she seemed to be nonexistent – only when she caused trouble did they remember there was another sister in the house.

That was when Zinnia would show her naughty, bossy, and petty side, always seeming to pick on Betty.

Yosef still remembered how furious he’d been when Zinnia tore up his bidding documents, causing him to lose the contract. Though he eventually let it go, an invisible barrier had formed between them.

At first, the Shaw family felt guilty about Zinnia and genuinely wanted to make amends, but she never gave them the chance. She obsessively tried to drive Betty out, constantly putting the whole family in a difficult position and leaving Maelis heartbroken.

Gradually, their guilt faded and was replaced by resentment – even hearing her name gave them a headache. When she finally stormed out in anger, the entire Shaw household was plunged into gloom.

When she was home, no one seemed happy, but even after she left, the gloom lingered. Not long ago, Howard even got into a fight with Maelis.

Before Zinnia returned, the house had always been harmonious, but now everything has changed – Maelis is constantly worried, Betty gets bullied from time to time, and the brothers are caught in the middle, not knowing what to do.”

Even Betty has changed. Yosef wasn’t stupid. After what happened today, it dawned on him that the conflict between Zinnia and Betty was far more serious than they’d thought – this was no simple quarrel, but an irreconcilable feud.

Yet, when he learned that the food for him was from Zinnia, he realized she had been quietly looking out for them all along. Maybe she did care about the family after all.

Yosef began to see that Zinnia wasn’t all bad – there were just too many misunderstandings between them, too tangled to unravel in a short time.

That’s why he wanted to talk things through properly with her – to sort out this mess once and for all. After all, in this world, family is all they really have to rely on.

Zinnia’s expression stiffened for a moment when Yosef brought up the tonic, but she quickly composed herself. “Oh, that? I must’ve lost my mind before.

“Now I’m thinking straight and realized that you’re simply not worth the effort,” she said, her tone sharp. After spending time with Maisie, Zinnia had grown much sharper-tongued.

“Zinnia,” Yosef asked, “are you still mad? When the teacher asked you to contact your guardian today, why did you call Yannis instead?” Yosef felt Zinnia was so stubborn. Her refusal to communicate was as frustrating as talking to a wall.

He wanted to have a real conversation with her, but she just shut him down with a few words. Her attitude left him speechless.

He thought, ‘Does she really think they aren’t worth her effort? Have they disappointed her that much? Especially after what happened today – she’d rather turn to an outsider than them.’

“You’re not worth my anger. Who I choose to call is none of your business – you’re not my family. The day I was born, I was strangled until I stopped breathing. Your real sister died that day. I owe your family nothing.

“You didn’t raise me, so don’t try to bind me with blood. Master is the only one I consider family – he saved me. If not for him, I’d never have come back. The Shaw family is nothing for me.

“If Betty wants to stay, let her. But if she dares lay a finger on me again, she’ll regret it.” Too weary to keep arguing, Zinnia tossed out these words and strode into the private room.

Haven’t even had a few quiet days before Yosef showed up. She thought, ‘I don’t owe them a thing. Back then, when I was switched at birth, someone strangled me unconscious and dumped me in a dumpster.

‘It was Master who risked everything to save me. As far as I’m concerned, Master is my only family.

Yosef was still shocked by what Zinnia claimed as he watched her walk into the private room. His heart lurched violently, and a suffocating lump rose in his throat.

Yosef had always assumed that after Zinnia was switched, she’d just had a tough life – he never expected to hear such a horrific account from her own lips: that she’d been strangled unconscious the moment she was born.