CHAPTER 63: CHAPTER 63: REVERSAL, I’LL WAIT FOR YOU

Zinnia was incredulous. "I’m not wearing any clothes or shoes!"

She had been in her pajamas when he carried her out, and now he was going to abandon her on the side of the road.

Jenson Forrest sneered. "You could always apologize."

He waited for her to beg for mercy.

However, in the next second, the woman who had been glaring at him, refusing to get out, suddenly turned, yanked open the car door, and jumped out.

BAM!

She slammed the door so hard it reverberated.

Jenson’s face turned ashen, and his hands, resting on his knees, clenched into tight fists.

Uncle Cohen, the driver, got back into the car. "Drive!" Jenson ordered coldly.

As a long-time employee of the Forrest Family, Uncle Cohen tried to reason with him. "Sir, this road is pitch-black. Madam is barely dressed, she doesn’t have her phone, and the weather is turning..."

"She wanted to get out herself," Jenson cut him off.

Uncle Cohen pondered whether Jenson’s words were a subtle hint for him to get out and persuade Madam back.

Just then, Zinnia turned and began striding resolutely in the opposite direction. The temperature inside the car instantly dropped by at least five degrees.

Zinnia hugged her shoulders, but it did little to block the cold wind. The autumn night was chilly, and the weather had indeed turned. The nightgown she wore was thin and reached only to her knees. Her bare feet on the road were cold, the surface hard beneath them.

But she refused to go back and beg Jenson. She had a temper, too, and she wasn’t about to let him walk all over her.

From behind her came the sound of a car driving away and of something being thrown out.

Zinnia turned her head. The car, already far in the distance, kicked up a swirl of fallen leaves. A quilt lay on the ground where the car had been.

He probably thought her things were dirtying his car.

Zinnia paused for a moment before turning back. She shook out the quilt and wrapped it around herself.

She started walking again. A light drizzle began to fall through the gaps in the leaves overhead, and Zinnia quickened her pace.

She calculated that the car hadn’t driven far. A half-hour walk should be enough to get her back to Violetwood Community.

Luckily, the weather was bad, so there weren’t many people around. Otherwise, walking barefoot down the street with disheveled hair and wrapped in a quilt, she’d surely be mistaken for a madwoman.

A car drove up from behind and honked.

Her nose tingled with the urge to cry, and she walked even faster.

Someone got out of the car, ran to catch up, and grabbed her arm.

"Zinnia..."

"Didn’t you leave? You bastard..."

Zinnia spun around, tears falling uncontrollably. She was like a bristling kitten whose defenses would crumble at the slightest gentle touch.

But her expression quickly froze. The person in front of her wasn’t Jenson; it was Alaric Hawthorne.

"What happened? Never mind. Don’t say anything yet, just get in the car first." He glanced down at her feet and added, "Come on."

「In the car.」

Alaric turned on the heat and handed Zinnia a towel. "Here, dry yourself off," he said gently.

Zinnia’s hair was damp. She took the towel and began to dry it. "Alaric, what are you doing here?"

"I have an apartment in Violetwood Apartments, so I live around here too."

Zinnia paused. "Did you just get off work?"

"Yes. Two car accident patients were brought in right as my shift ended. I had to perform two surgeries, which is why I’m so late."

Zinnia nodded, her gaze lowered, and didn’t speak for a moment. Her previous interactions with Alaric Hawthorne had mostly been related to Mason Lawrence and had usually taken place at the hospital. But Alaric’s recent behavior made Zinnia feel something was different.

Alaric knew Sienna Forrest and casually owned two apartments in Violetwood. His background definitely wasn’t simple. Violetwood Apartments wasn’t close to the hospital, so why was he living here? Zinnia couldn’t help but wonder.

"By the way, I’ve printed the rental contract," Alaric said, opening the glove compartment and handing her a document.

Zinnia didn’t take it. She smiled and said, "Alaric, Yara and I talked it over, and we feel this place is a bit too far from her school. We’re already looking for a new place and plan to move out in a day or two. Thank you so much for letting us stay."

They were both smart people. Alaric understood this was her gentle way of refusing him.

His hand, holding the contract, paused in mid-air before he withdrew it. His smile remained as warm and gentle as ever. "Alright. If you can’t find a suitable place, there’s no rush to move out."

"Okay, thank you, Alaric," Zinnia said again.

By now, the car had stopped. Zinnia reached for the door, but Alaric hadn’t unlocked it.

She looked at him, and he bent down, pulling a pair of shoes from beneath the driver’s seat. "I just put these in here a few days ago. I haven’t worn them."

They were a pair of surgical clogs. Zinnia instinctively curled her dirty toes.

"You don’t have to return them," Alaric added. "Just leave them at the apartment."

Zinnia couldn’t refuse again, especially since the ground outside was already wet with rain.

"You should get going," she said as she took the shoes and put them on. Then she got out of the car and ran into the building.

Zinnia knocked on the door to find a shocked Yara Fairchild.

"You’re a mess! What happened? And where’s That dog Forrest?" Yara asked, pulling her inside and pouring her a glass of hot water.

Zinnia drank it, sneezed, and was promptly pushed into the bathroom by Yara.

After a hot shower, Zinnia sat on the sofa and briefly explained what had happened, including her refusal of Alaric’s offer.

"Yara, I’m sorry. We have to find another place again."

"What are you talking about? Don’t be sorry. Besides, Alaric seems nice, and That dog Forrest is becoming more of a beast every day. Are you sure you won’t consider him?"

Zinnia shook her head. "It wouldn’t be right."

Not to mention she was pregnant and had no intention of remarrying. Even without the baby, the wounds in her heart needed a long time to heal. She couldn’t reciprocate his feelings, so why waste his time?

"Fine. Aren’t you supposed to have an interview with Master Lise soon? You focus on your dance practice. Leave the house-hunting to me."

Warmth spread through Zinnia’s chest. She leaned in to hug her friend, and Yara winced with a hiss.

"Are you hurt? Was it Jenson’s men?"

Zinnia tried to pull aside Yara’s shirt, but Yara dodged. "It’s nothing, I just twisted it a little."

Zinnia firmly held her in place and saw a large bruise on her shoulder blade. Wordlessly, Zinnia went to get the first-aid kit. She took out some herbal liniment and began to rub it into the bruise.

Zinnia’s aura was surprisingly intimidating, so Yara didn’t dare to speak, quietly letting her work.

When Zinnia pulled her shirt back down, Yara smiled and shrugged. "That feels really good."

Zinnia glared at her. Yara linked her arm through Zinnia’s, trying to coax her with a playful tone. "Alright, it really doesn’t hurt. I started it, anyway. Besides, I’m always taking tumbles on set. I’ve always got a bruise somewhere. This is nothing."

Seeing her smiling face, Zinnia’s eyes stung. "It’s different."

"Okay, okay. Let’s talk about something happy! You won’t believe it, but that bitch Crystal Sutton totally screwed up. Nathan Nash’s fans are experts at calling out fakes, and they’ve completely taken over her Weibo. They pointed out how passive-aggressive her post was. With her meager following, she’s no match for them. Now everyone is demanding she post screenshots of her charity donations."

Yara showed Zinnia her phone.

Indeed, Crystal Sutton was hemorrhaging followers. For Zinnia, it was a blessing in disguise; her own follower count was approaching six million.

[My Little Hubby has a good eye! I’m stanning a goddess! Her songs are amazing and her dancing is fire! 🔥]

[SOBBING! I’ve been a fan of Hubby Adverse for over a year and Little Hubby Nathan for nine months, and now I feel like my two hubbies are cheating on me WITH EACH OTHER. Who gets it?!]

[OMG @ the comment above, same! I cried in bed for 9 hours, had 1999 breakdowns, banged my head against the wall 888 times, and slapped myself 99 times. In the end, I’ve decided they can just kill me to spice things up for them! AHHHH, it’s the crossover of my dreams!]

The top comment was a direct call to action, with a long thread trailing below it.

[Adverse, when are you going to follow Nathan back? He’s cried himself unconscious in the bathroom!!]

Zinnia’s eyes curved into a smile and she tapped the ’follow back’ button. Yara then eagerly snatched the phone to check Crystal Sutton’s Weibo.

The atmosphere on Crystal Sutton’s page was toxic, just like Zinnia’s had been before tonight.

"Sutton the Bitch has already lost fifty or sixty thousand followers," Yara said gleefully. "She must be tearing her hair out right now! Serves her right!"

[Some ’pale, rich beauty’ she is. Everything she says reeks of that fake sweetness. Always showing off her relationship. If she’s so great, let’s see her post how much she’s donated to charity.]

[Why is she hiding? Don’t tell me it’s because she hasn’t donated a single cent all year and has made zero contribution to society? Yuck.]

The tables had completely turned. Zinnia glanced at the screen briefly, then urged Yara to go to sleep.

"Don’t keep scrolling. Have you been online all day? You’re getting dark circles under your eyes!"

"Really? It’s all that Sutton the Bitch’s fault!" Yara exclaimed as she ran into her bedroom.

Zinnia shook her head with a smile. Back in her room, she made a phone call.

After hanging up, Zinnia opened WeChat, removed Jenson Forrest from her blacklist, and sent him a message.

[I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow at 9 a.m. at the Enjoy Cafe, downstairs from the Stellar building.]