Chapter 4

Julian hurried after her and asked, "Zoe, are you still feeling uncomfortable? Did you sprain your ankle? Do you want to go to the hospital and get it checked?"

Zoe sneered inwardly.

Belated affection was not worth a thing.

Hector's gaze fell on Zoe's slender figure, his eyes so dark that they seemed to swallow all the light.

"Mr. Yates, you never fail to impress. You got Ms. Nelson's contact info in no time," Harry said, grinning from the side.

"Find out what happened to Zoe after those two left," Hector ordered, his voice icy.

Hearing the coldness in Hector's voice, Harry's smile vanished instantly.

"Yes, Mr. Yates," Harry replied, his tone serious.

*****

By the time Zoe woke up the next day, it was already ten in the morning.

Last night, Ethan checked her ankle and assured her it wasn't anything serious. He'd applied some medicine to it, and by now the swelling had gone down a little. The bruises, however, had deepened into blotches of gray and purple, making her ankle look frightening.

She was about to give it another rub when someone knocked on the door.

"Zoe, are you home?" Emily called out.

Zoe was caught off guard by Emily's voice. For a moment, she stood there, a little stunned, and got up to open the door.

"Emily? What are you doing here?" Zoe asked.

Emily replied with a sweet smile, "Ethan and Julian told me your door code."

Zoe's chest tightened, and she gave Emily a cold look. "They're not home. They went out," Zoe said.

With that, she started to close the door.

"Zoe," Emily called softly.

Emily pressed her hand against the door, stopping Zoe from closing it.

Then Emily added, "I came to see you today. You looked pale yesterday. I figured you must feel awful. Are you feeling any better now? It's my fault that they didn't pay attention to you."

Zoe narrowed her eyes and said with a cold smile, "Emily, with acting skills like yours, it's a shame you haven't won any awards yet. Aren't you here to flaunt how much they care about you?"

Almost instantly, tears welled up in Emily's eyes as she sobbed, "Zoe, how could you think that of me?"

"Guess your headache is gone, huh?" Zoe said, tilting her head. "I don't get it. You've already got what you wanted. So what's the point of all these games?"

She'd even been willing to risk Zoe's life for it.

Emily's tears faded away, and her face suddenly twisted into a cold, calculating smile. "What do you think?"

Emily tried to walk right in, but Zoe instinctively blocked her. Without a hint of hesitation, Emily shoved her aside.

Zoe winced, pain stabbing through her ankle. Zoe's face went pale from the pain.

Emily started scanning the room with a critical eye and snorted coldly, "You've lived with them for over twenty years, had their company all that time. Me? I've only known them for a month."

Zoe broke out in a cold sweat from the pain and said through gritted teeth, "So you came here to show off? Emily, you approached me with an agenda, didn't you?"

"No," Emily replied.

Emily suddenly turned around and continued, "I did like you at first."

Emily walked over to the nightstand, talking as she went. "But every time I saw Ethan and Julian being so thoughtful with you, it ate away at me," she scoffed.

"Why do you get to have such a good family? Why are your parents so great? Why are you the only child? Why do you get all that love from everyone?" she added.

Emily picked up the Mermaid's Tear sapphire necklace from the jewelry box and sneered, "It's not fair. Why is it all yours?"

With that, Emily clenched the necklace tight and hurled it viciously to the floor.

"No!" Zoe cried, her eyes wide with shock and panic.

Zoe wanted to stop Emily, but she was a second too late.

The sapphire splintered into fragments, scattering across the floor in a mess of glittering debris.

Ethan had given her that necklace for her eighteenth birthday. It was her favorite, the one she treasured above all her gifts. And now, it was nothing but worthless shards.

Emily brushed off her hands and sauntered over, feigning innocence with a mocking tone. She said, "Oops! Sorry, Zoe, my hand slipped and I broke it. With Ethan and Julian doting on you, I'm sure they'll buy you another one, right?"

Zoe clenched her fists, her anger boiling over. She couldn't hold back anymore and slapped Emily right across the face.

The sharp crack filled the air.

Ethan was coming up the stairs and caught the scene as Zoe's slap landed.

"Zoe!" he growled, his voice tight with anger.

He crossed the room in a few long strides, stopping beside Emily. Seeing the red handprint on her cheek, his eyes filled with pain and concern.

But when he looked at Zoe, his gaze turned icy cold, like the dead of winter.

"Emily came to see you out of kindness, and you hit her? Zoe, when did you become like this?" Ethan demanded.

Emily clung to his sleeve, tears glistening in her eyes as she sobbed, "Ethan, it's not Zoe's fault. It's my mistake. I'm not used to fancy things and only wanted to look at it. I didn't mean to break it."

Ethan gently wiped away her tears and comforted her, "If it's broken, it's broken. No need to beat yourself up over it."

His indifferent tone stabbed Zoe right in the heart.

She stared at Ethan, frozen in shock, her face full of disbelief. "That was my coming-of-age gift from you. Don't you remember?" she asked.