Chapter 95

Maisie had her fill and then went to get cleaned up. She changed into Zinnia’s pajamas and told her, “Zinnia, don’t worry about the scratch on my face. It’s probably already scabbed over. No need to put anything on it.”

Zinnia dragged Maisie over to the vanity and sat her down. She pulled out a white jar holding a milky-white cream that smelled fresh and soothing. As Maisie stared at the jar, it struck her as strangely familiar.

“This works as skincare too,” Zinnia said as she scooped out some cream with a spoon and gently smoothed it onto Maisie’s face.

Maisie saw the stubborn look in Zinnia’s eyes and knew she couldn’t say no to her kindness.

“Zinnia, this feels amazing,” Maisie exclaimed. The cream felt cool and soothing on her face. She even thought it was better than the fancy Moon Scar Cream she’d used from the Moore family.

“I made this myself,” Zinnia said, carefully smoothing the cream over Maisie’s face. “If you like it, I can whip up a fresh jar for you in a couple of days.”

“Wait, what? You made this yourself? Since when are you this good at stuff?” Maisie stared at her, surprised. She never thought this cream would be something Zinnia had actually made.

Zinnia nodded. “Back when I lived in Tareston, my Master taught me some medicine. If you ever feel sick or anything, just let me know. I’ll check you out.”

“That’s so cool. Sweetie, you’re amazing.” Maisie beamed. She kept staring at that white jar, the nagging feeling that she’d seen it before getting stronger.

“Zinnia, did you make Moon Scar Cream yourself?” Maisie picked up the jar, her fingers tracing the raised letters on its surface. That was when it clicked. She’d seen this exact jar at James’s place.

The jar had “Moon Scar Cream” written on it in raised letters. It didn’t just make old scars disappear completely–it made your skin look years younger, slowed aging, and basically worked magic on your whole body.

It was said that a single gram of this stuff cost over 100 thousand dollars. Every rich woman in high society was dying to get her hands on it.

Medical labs everywhere had tried cracking the formula, but they’d only figured out a handful of ingredients before giving up. The authentic recipe remains exclusive to the Moore family.

But over a decade ago, the main Moore family was wiped out overnight in an explosion. The original Moon Scar Cream recipe vanished with them. The Moore family’s distant relatives had pieces of the formula, so the cream they made was nothing like the original.

Still, women in high society fought tooth and nail for the low-tier version. Maisie’s mom had actually snagged some a few times, and Maisie loved how it worked. She couldn’t wrap her head around how incredible the real Moon Scar Cream must’ve been.

Maisie noticed the mark on Zinnia’s jar was totally different from the Moon Scar Cream jars sold now. The Moore family had changed the packaging since the cream wasn’t as effective anymore.

Zinnia’s jar looked exactly like the old-school ones. In fact, Maisie started to think that Zinnia’s jar might be the real deal.

Maisie remembered something her mom had told her. Back in the day, Yannis was totally wrecked–his whole body was just one big mess of wounds. James spent a fortune buying up the last of the original Moon Scar Cream from the Moore family.

Yannis used the cream every day, and his cuts ended up healing without a single scar.

One time at James’s place, Maisie spotted an empty Moon Scar Cream jar. James noticed how much she liked it and gave it to her. She used to play with that jar all the time as a kid, so she knew every detail about it.

The jar looked like an authentic one. She thought, ‘But Uncle James bought up every last drop of the original stuff. And everything on the market now is made from the Moore family’s distant relatives. How could Zinnia get an original jar?’

“Yep. You like it?” Zinnia asked, not quite grasping why Maisie looked so surprised, “I can whip up a fresh jar of cream for you later."

“Zinnia,” Maisie said, trying to push down her confusion, “you said you made this cream yourself? So, where did you even get this jar?”

“Yeah, I made it,” Zinnia replied. “This jar? My Master gave it to me. He just found it.”

Zinnia had plenty of these jars. When she was little, her Master noticed she really liked the bottles. So one day, he showed up dragging a whole box, absolutely stuffed with them. He just told Zinnia he’d found them.

In Tareston, they always seemed to stumble upon all sorts of odd things–Master would often bring them back. Zinnia never doubted him. There were still plenty of these strange finds lying around their house in the countryside.

“I see…” Maisie still felt like something was off. But Zinnia wasn’t the type to lie, and Maisie knew that. Maybe the jar really was something Maisie’s Master had found.

‘Maybe this jar just happens to look like that one,’ Maisie thought. ‘After all, over the years, plenty of people have tried to counterfeit the Moore family’s mark, hoping to sell more of their own scar creams.’

Still, Maisie couldn’t shake off that strange feeling. ‘I should go home and dig out my old Moon Scar Cream jar to compare,’ she thought. ‘Zinnia’s looks just like the real thing.’

Early the next morning, the doorbell rang. Maisie shuffled to the door, her hair sticking up as she rubbed her eyes and yawned. “Yannis, what brings you here so early? Oh, right. I forgot you have insomnia. Couldn’t sleep again?”

Last night, Zinnia and Maisie had been up till all hours talking about everything under the sun, so they’d crashed pretty late.

“What were you doing last night? You look like a zombie.” Yannis eyed Maisie as she kept yawning.

“Hey, it’s still early. Classes don’t start until eight. And school’s only like ten minutes away,” Maisie said, already used to her cousin Yannis’s sharp tongue. He only bothered being nice when Zinnia was around.

“Maisie, who is it?” The sweet voice drifted over. Both Maisie and Yannis turned to Zinnia. She shuffled out in her slippers, slowly brushing her teeth, a ring of foam still clinging to her lips.

Her hair hung loose around her shoulders, with a few pieces sticking up funny. She had on a pale blue sundress and yawned mid-brush.

“Hey, Zinnia,” Yannis said, smiling at her.

“Yannis? Morning.” Zinnia was still groggy from staying up late, yawning every few seconds. But the sight of Yannis standing at the door–his good looks hitting her like a shot of espresso–snapped her right out of her drowsiness.

Then she realized she had toothpaste foam all over her mouth and slapped her hand over it. ‘Oh no, I look like an idiot in front of this stunning guy,’ she thought. The embarrassment jolted her completely awake.

“Figured you’d be up by now, so I ordered breakfast for you,” Yannis said, lifting the takeout bags and flashing a charming smile. “Just eat up before you head to school.”

“Sure. Yannis, come on in. Just grab a seat,” Zinnia blurted out, then quickly spun around and hurried off.

Yannis kicked off his shoes and padded inside barefoot to drop off the food.

The apartment had the same layout as his place upstairs, but it couldn’t have looked more different. His place was minimalist and cold, while this one radiated cozy warmth, like a storybook princess’s room. Jackson had hired some fancy designer to make it just right.

Being in this space, Yannis felt warm and comfortable, like he was wrapped up in a cozy blanket. He smiled as he glanced around–this was the perfect place for someone as sweet and gentle as Zinnia. A cold, minimalist style would never do for her.

After breakfast, Yannis drove both girls to school.