Chapter 23

Taye had just walked out of the meeting room when he saw the message from Zachary. The last time they had spoken was two years ago, on the day they had a fight. What had they fought about? It felt so distant now that he couldn’t quite recall. He only knew that Zachary had gone abroad after the fight.

Sitting back in his office chair, Zayn’s thoughts drifted to the days when he and Zachary were in school. Their families had been neighbors. Martha and Katen were best friends, so he and Zachary grew up together. They had always been close until Julie came into the picture. It was a classic love triangle.

The office door suddenly swung open. Stewart walked in with an exaggerated, eager smile.

Zayn evoked a cold gaze. “What is it?”

Stewart mumbled shyly, “Can you call me this evening?”

Stewart leaned a little closer and lowered his voice. “Is it about Julia? Don’t worry, I just did what any good cousin would do.”

Hearing that, Zayn’s brows furrowed. “What does she have to do with this?”

Stewart was taken aback. “What do you mean, what does she have to do with it? Zayn, don’t be so cold—beamed.”

Zayn’s expression darkened, impatience creeping into his voice. “What nonsense are you spouting? Speak clearly.”

Seeing his reaction, Stewart hesitated for a moment before saying, “You were drunk last night. I called Julia to come take care of you. And now, you’re—”

Before Stewart could finish, Zayn interrupted sharply, “What did you say?”

Stewart rolled his eyes. “I was going to say that you’re turning your back on people.”

“The part before that.”

Stewart paused and repeated, “I called her to take care of you last night.”

Seeing the shocked expression on Zayn’s face, Stewart cautiously asked, “Zayn, you didn’t forget, did you?”

“Was it really her?”

Stewart nodded. “Yeah, I still have the call logs.”

He pulled out his phone and showed Zayn the call history from the night before.

Zayn looked at the timestamp; it was 9:00 pm. So, it hadn’t been a dream. It was really Julia who had come to his side. She truly cared about him.

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

Noticing Zayn zoning out, Stewart waved his hand in front of him. “Zayn, snap out of it.”

He snapped back to reality and gave Stewart a faint smile. “Well done.”

Stewart beamed. He was stunned that Zayn, who usually put him down, was actually praising him.

“Zayn, you didn’t get possessed, did you?”

Zayn looked at him with disdain. “Pathetic. Don’t call me your cousin again.”

Stewart sighed in relief at the familiar tone and look. Now, this was the Zayn he knew.

Zayn said, “It’s lunch break. Why are you here looking for me?”

With that reminder, Stewart suddenly remembered why he had come. He said with a grin, “Zayn, please help me out, I beg you.”

Zayn shot him a dissatisfied look. “What’s going on? Did your parents cut off your allowance?”

Stewart hesitated, then mumbled, “Can you lend me some money?”

Zayn raised an eyebrow, leaning back in his chair. “How much?”

“Not much, just two million dollars.”

Zayn’s brows arched high. “Why do you need that much money? Did you go gambling?”

“Of course not! I don’t gamble,” Stewart insisted.

Zayn didn’t respond right away and just stared at him intently.

Stewart grew nervous under his gaze. He knew that when it came to Zayn, there were no…