Chapter 41 Chapter 41. Zoria Between Truth and Suspicion
Just the thought of Zoria carrying someone else’s offspring filled Zephyr with irrational fury, as if something that belonged to him had been dirtied and returned.
Zoria lowered her head and replied mechanically. "I do not know."
"You do not know who got you pregnant?" Zephyr almost ground his teeth as he spoke.
"I really do not know. Zephyr, my baby is already gone. Do not ask anymore."
The mention of the baby made her think again of the bloody mess in the basin. Her heart felt as if it were being torn apart.
Zephyr lifted her chin and stared at the bandages covering her eyes, as if trying to see through them. "Zoria, are you protecting that male?"
Her body stiffened. She spoke slowly. "I am not protecting any male. I only want to protect my family. If you want to know what I think of him, I can tell you. He is stubborn, worse than an animal, cold blooded and ruthless. Are you satisfied now?"
After she finished speaking, silence fell between them.
The stillness made Zoria uneasy.
"Zephyr, I could not control what happened when I got pregnant back then. Now I have nothing left. Go ahead and investigate it. If you suspect it was Evander’s, you can investigate him too. He and I are cousins, related by blood. We grew up together. If there really had been something improper between us, it would have been discovered long ago. Why would it wait until now?"
Zephyr did not need her reminder. He had already sent his assistant to investigate, and the results would come soon enough.
Zephyr held her and bared his teeth in a smile. "Do not let me catch you lying to me."
He was often away from home. If Zoria had not been able to endure the loneliness and had secretly cheated during that time, then the reason he had not dealt with her yet was not forgiveness. It was because he wanted her to live longer, so he could torment her longer.
Zephyr toyed with Zoria long enough before finally letting her go. He got off the bed and straightened his clothes, making himself presentable. "Zoria, as long as you behave and do what I say, when your eyes can see again, I will take you to the prison to see your father."
Zoria lay on the bed, her mind empty for a long while before she reluctantly gathered a bit of clarity. "Yes."
Satisfied, Zephyr patted her head, the gesture no different from stroking a dog. The hospital room felt more suffocating than the outside air, heavy with the sharp smell of disinfectant. Zoria was recuperating, and no matter how beautiful the weather outside might be, she was not allowed to leave the room.
"Stay put in the ward and do not make trouble. I will step out for a bit and come back."
As the sound of Zephyr’s footsteps faded away, Zoria knew he had left. She slipped one trembling hand out from under the blanket and carefully touched her neck. Waves of burning pain surged beneath her fingers, and even the lightest touch told her the skin there had been torn. It was the bite mark Zephyr had just left behind. He had even said that once she recovered, he would leave marks like that all over her body.
The moment Zephyr left, the ward fell into a terrifying silence, so quiet that even the sound of her own breathing became noise in her ears.
Not long after…
Footsteps echoed from the corridor outside, unhurried and steady. Zoria could not see, so she relied solely on sound to judge. It was not Zephyr, and it did not sound like a doctor either.
The footsteps drew closer, then stopped abruptly. She heard the door open, and he walked straight toward the hospital bed.
Just as she was guessing who it might be, the visitor spoke.
"Zoria, are you okay?"
The moment she heard that voice, Zoria knew who it was. Her breathing quickened, her heart raced wildly, and it felt as though the blood in her veins had frozen.
She could not stop herself from trembling. By instinct, she curled toward the corner of the bed, but as soon as she moved, the edge of the blanket was pressed down by someone else.
Zoria’s face had already been deathly pale. Now it looked almost translucent.
Faye looked at her, her blue eyes curving into a smile. But when her gaze landed on the bandages wrapped around Zoria’s eyes, the smile on Faye’s lips instantly twisted into something vicious.
"Zoria, do you seem very afraid of me?"
Faye had a face that looked innocent and harmless, one that easily made others let down their guard.. In truth, she was cruel and calculating. Zoria feared her no less than she feared Zephyr.
Zoria’s nerves had been severely overstimulated. Every time she faced Zephyr or Faye, her heart spiraled out of control, pounding hard while her limbs turned ice cold.
"Do not be afraid. I just came to ask you something." Faye smiled lightly, her voice so gentle it felt fake. "Your eyes… are they really blind now?"
Zoria clenched her teeth and said nothing. Her hand curled into a fist so tight that her fingernails dug deep into her palm.
After a long moment, she finally spoke, her voice shaking. "Get out."
Faye sat down on the edge of the bed. "I just got here and you are already chasing me away? That is so heartless of you."
The word "heartless" sounded absurd coming from Faye’s mouth. If Faye truly understood affection or loyalty, she would not have schemed against Zoria time and time again. If she did, the four month old baby in Zoria’s womb would not have been lost.
Zoria’s chest heaved violently. She took several deep breaths, forcing herself to suppress the rage boiling inside her. "Faye, are you not afraid of karma?"
"Karma?" Faye laughed. "The one who pushed you down the stairs was Zephyr, not me. So why should I be afraid of karma? If anything, you are the one who should be worried. Right now you are lying in a hospital bed, blind and crippled. Who do you think is really suffering retribution here?"
Faye’s words cut into Zoria like a blade, stabbing straight into her wounds. Zoria’s lips trembled uncontrollably as both hands gripped the bedsheets. Yes, the one truly facing retribution was her, Zoria alone.
Faye stared at Zoria with a vicious gaze. When she noticed the dark red kiss marks on Zoria’s neck, her eyes turned icy, and her blood boiled with fury.
If she could, she truly wanted to strangle Zoria to death right there. But she knew she could not. She had to endure it and let Zoria walk toward her own destruction.