CHAPTER 27: CHAPTER 27: CRYSTAL SUTTON TAKES A BEATING FOR NOTHING

"Sister, I obviously bought this bracelet with my own money, so how could it belong to the Forrest Family! You can’t just make up excuses to falsely accuse someone like this."

Crystal Sutton shed tears again while Zinnia Lawrence was still holding her wrist.

Zinnia lowered her head to carefully examine the bracelet and noticed something was amiss. At a glance, this bracelet looked similar to the Forrest Family’s, but the band was narrower, and the large green sections were about twenty percent paler. Upon closer inspection, it also had impurities and wasn’t as translucent as the Forrest family’s heirloom. It was of a much lower quality.

Crystal Sutton just happened to be wearing it with the highest-quality section facing outward, and since Zinnia Lawrence hadn’t looked at it up close, she hadn’t been able to tell the difference.

"It hurts..."

As Crystal Sutton cried out in pain, Mandy Lowe raised her hand and swatted the back of Zinnia’s hand.

"Let go of her!"

With a dark expression, Jenson Forrest pulled Zinnia Lawrence away and shielded her in his embrace.

At that moment, Timothy Cohen arrived with a bouquet of flowers and a fruit basket. He had been sent to apologize on Julia Forrest’s behalf.

"Mr. Forrest, this..."

Jenson Forrest glanced at him before addressing Simon Sutton.

"This was all a misunderstanding. Eighth was reckless and hit Miss Sutton, but your wife struck my wife without understanding the situation. That being the case, let’s call it even."

He then looked at Timothy Cohen. "I left a card in Miss Sutton’s room. Go and get it."

Timothy Cohen immediately complied and entered the hospital room.

Jenson Forrest didn’t linger. He put his arm around Zinnia’s shoulder and turned to walk toward Eighth’s room.

Timothy Cohen quickly emerged with the card, not leaving the fruit basket or flowers behind. He gave a polite nod to the three people standing stiffly at the door and hurried to catch up.

Crystal Sutton was so furious that fresh tears began to fall. She clenched her fists, which aggravated her injury. The pain caused her pale face to blanch, and she began to tremble.

"What does he mean, ’call it even’? My hand was so badly hit it feels broken, but Zinnia only got slapped. How is that the same? Besides, how can he take back a card he already gave away? Jenson didn’t even mention making Julia apologize again. Does he think I deserved it? How could he do this to me!"

Wasn’t all this pain she endured for nothing?

"Crystal, don’t get so upset. Mom knows you feel wronged. We won’t let this go so easily."

Mandy Lowe comforted Crystal Sutton for a long time before finally coaxing her back into the hospital room.

「In Julia Forrest’s room」

When Jenson Forrest brought Zinnia Lawrence in, he immediately let go of her hand. Zinnia automatically took a step away from him.

Katherine Rhodes was standing by the bed wiping Julia’s face. Seeing them enter, she turned and asked, "How is Crystal? Did you apologize to her?"

Her gaze then fell on Zinnia. "You’re always causing trouble!"

"Mom, I already said I did it! I’ll take the blame. It has nothing to do with Seventh Sister!" Julia Forrest protested from the bed, pushing her hand away.

Jenson Forrest also frowned. "Eighth is the one acting up. Don’t take it out on others."

Seeing both of them protecting Zinnia Lawrence and glowering at their own mother, Katherine Rhodes felt a chill in her heart. Her dislike for Zinnia grew.

She threw the towel into the water basin. "Fine! So I’m the villain here. You’re all a team, is that it? I’m leaving!"

Katherine Rhodes grabbed her bag and stormed out, unable to stand the sight of Zinnia.

Only the three of them remained in the room. The man sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, his presence naturally imposing.

Remembering the bracelet blunder, Zinnia’s confidence wavered, and she lowered her head.

Julia Forrest, however, started babbling, "Brother, Seventh Sister and I weren’t wrong. Who told you to give our family’s heirloom jade bracelet to Crystal Sutton? Is she even worthy? I may have failed today, but next time I’ll... MMPH! MMPH!"

Zinnia quickly ran over and covered Eighth’s mouth, whispering, "You’ve got it wrong. The bracelet wasn’t the Forrest family’s. Now, hush."

Julia Forrest blinked. "It really wasn’t?"

Zinnia nodded in frustration. Julia glared with wide, bewildered eyes. "But they looked exactly the same..."

Stubborn Eighth Forrest, refusing to admit defeat, glared at Jenson Forrest and argued illogically. "Well, it’s still your fault, Brother. If you had given the bracelet to Seventh Sister earlier, we wouldn’t have misunderstood."

Zinnia wanted to smack the boy. Who wanted to be a part of his "we"?!

Jenson’s aura grew colder. He let out a dry laugh.

He looked at the two big, innocent idiots sitting side-by-side on the hospital bed. "Yes, it’s all my fault. Should I also praise the two of you for your great work, like the PAW Patrol on a roll? So goofy and cute?"

Zinnia was speechless.

"Even rats know to steal food in the dead of night, but you two? You cause a huge scene in our own mall in broad daylight. Are you trying to show the whole city how clueless you are?"

Julia’s face flushed red from the scolding. He wanted to retort, but Zinnia tugged on his sleeve.

Seeing the two of them sitting there silently, Jenson’s expression softened slightly.

"Do you understand what you did wrong?"

Zinnia nodded and looked at him. "I’m sorry for causing you trouble. And... thank you for what you did just now."

Her polite, detached apology and thanks sounded even more grating to Jenson Forrest’s ears. A chill flickered in his eyes, and an intimidating coldness emanated from him.

Zinnia’s bravado crumbled. After all, he had just helped her, at least maintaining her public image as Mrs. Forrest.

Julia Forrest pouted. "Brother, when are you going to give the bracelet to Seventh Sister?"

Zinnia’s eyelashes trembled slightly. Deep down, she really did care.

The fact that Jenson Forrest hadn’t given the family heirloom to Crystal Sutton brought her immense relief and sparked a secret glimmer of hope.

However, Jenson’s voice was as cold as ever. "After what you two did, you still expect to get the bracelet? Even if I didn’t give it to Crystal, that doesn’t mean it automatically belongs to her!"

A chill shot through Zinnia’s heart. Jenson Forrest looked at the woman with her head bowed, unable to make out her expression.

He was on the verge of saying that if a certain someone would just soften up, admit she was wrong, and stop making a fuss about divorce all day, then giving her the bracelet wasn’t out of the question. But just then, Zinnia looked up and smiled at Julia Forrest.

"I don’t care about the bracelet, Eighth. Don’t bring this up again."

Jenson’s handsome face turned grim. Of course she doesn’t care, he thought bitterly. She doesn’t even care about me.

The man stood up and said coldly, "When you do something wrong, you show remorse. Go face the wall and reflect on what you’ve done!"

Julia Forrest could see he was truly angry this time and didn’t dare to talk back. "Okay," he mumbled.

The boy jumped off the bed and ran to stand in the corner.

Zinnia, however, didn’t move. I’m not his little sister, she thought. I’m not going to stand in a corner for punishment.

She turned, picked up the water basin, and started walking toward the bathroom.

As she passed Jenson Forrest, he shot out a hand and gripped her wrist. His hold was so forceful that the basin nearly slipped from her grasp.

She bit her lip to keep from crying out in pain, meeting his gaze stubbornly. She sneered, "Are you trying to break my hand to get revenge for Crystal Sutton?"

This woman must be going through a delayed rebellious phase. She used to be so obedient, but now she’s like a little porcupine. She could find ten things to say back to him even if he said nothing.

Jenson released her hand, a cold smile tugging at his lips. "You’re overthinking it. Your hand isn’t as valuable as Crystal’s. She’s a violinist."

He left with that cutting remark, turning and walking out. The door slammed shut behind him with a loud BANG.

Zinnia felt a sharp pang in her heart. Of course. Crystal Sutton’s hands were precious. Just playing one song was enough for Jenson Forrest to lavishly spend two million on her. And what was she, Zinnia Lawrence, in comparison?

She had to take a few deep breaths to calm herself before she finally entered the bathroom.

Jenson has probably gone to see Crystal Sutton again, she thought. He must feel bad for hurting his beloved’s feelings and now needs to find a way to gently comfort her.

She lowered her head, washed the towel and wrung it dry, then turned to hang it on the clothes rack in the corner. Just then, she heard the door open behind her.

Without looking back, Zinnia said gently, "Eighth, stop being naughty. That old demon is so cunning; he’ll definitely double back to check if you’re really reflecting. You’d better get back to your spot. When he comes in and sees you standing there obediently, he’ll calm down. Then you can pinch your thigh to squeeze out a few tears, act pitiful, and you can smooth this whole thing over."

When she finished speaking and heard no reply from Julia Forrest, she was about to turn around. Just then, a sinister male voice sounded right next to her ear.

"Old demon? Cunning? Smooth it over?"

The man’s voice was so chilling it made the hairs on the back of Zinnia’s neck stand on end.

She straightened her spine, pressing her hands tightly against her legs, standing as straight and still as a soldier at attention. She looked even more timid than Eighth Forrest had when he was sent to the corner.

The realization sent a fresh wave of anger through her. She was about to turn and walk away when the man braced his arms on either side of her, trapping her. She could feel his broad chest against her back, radiating a powerful warmth.

Zinnia stiffened. "Why are you eavesdropping!"

Jenson Forrest scoffed. "You’ve gotten quite good at turning the tables, haven’t you? I came in openly. You were the one talking to me. How did I become the eavesdropper?"

"The proverb says to ’hear no evil.’ I was talking to Eighth. Since you heard it, you were eavesdropping."

She was spouting nonsense, and Jenson couldn’t be bothered to engage in such a childish debate. He just let out a cold snort. "Oh really? And if I hadn’t ’eavesdropped,’ how would I have known you have so many little tricks for dealing with me?"

Acting obedient, crying, playing cute... those were her three secret weapons against him. If all else failed, she’d add pretending to be sick. But in truth, growing up, she had always listened to him and rarely had to resort to these tricks.

Still, being called out on it made Zinnia’s face flush. The stinging heat on her slapped cheek intensified.

Just as the discomfort became unbearable, something cool was pressed against her swollen right cheek. It was Jenson’s large hand, holding an ice pack and gently applying it as a cold compress.

The sudden change in temperature made Zinnia flinch.

"Does it hurt?" His voice was low and soft, right beside her ear.

Zinnia’s defenses crumbled in an instant. The tip of her nose stung, and her eyes welled up. She asked softly, "Do you... feel sorry for me?"