Chapter 18 Chapter 18. Zephyr Is Trash
Zoria lowered her head to pick up the bank card, clutching it tightly in her hand, silent and wordless. Juliette spoke softly "Take the money and leave this city. Staying by Zephyr’s side will bring you no good. Look at how he devoured Everhart. One day he will devour you too, and when that day comes, you will have nothing left."
Zoria understood that, but at this moment she could not abandon Zephyr. She drew in a deep breath, then slipped the bank card back into Juliette’s pocket.
"You..."
"I know you are about to mate with another male, but I cannot attend your mating ceremony. The money in this card is a gift, my way of repaying the kindness you showed me for raising me all these years."
Zoria released Juliette’s hand and stepped back two paces. Just then, the bus arrived, and she hurriedly climbed aboard. She did not look back at Juliette, afraid she would not be able to hold back her tears.
Zoria found a seat by the window. Her right hand unconsciously rested on her stomach, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked outside. At last she understood why Evander had told her to share her sorrow with him. It seemed that everyone knew she had been abandoned by Everhart, and now even her own mother had cast her aside.
Now, apart from her father in prison, the only family she had left was the baby in her womb. He would become her only kin, her only hope.
By the time Zoria returned to the castle, night had already fallen. By then, Zephyr and Faye must have come back from the hospital. Indeed, before she even stepped into the living room, she heard the sound of objects clattering inside.
When Zoria entered, she saw Zephyr sitting silently on the sofa.
He lifted his head to look at her, his eyes filled with suppressed fury.
"Where have you been? Did I not tell you to stay in your room?" His voice was heavy with danger.
"You took Faye to the hospital, but what about me?" Zoria lifted her chin, her gaze carrying a trace of defiance.
"What illness do you have that requires the hospital?" Zephyr said coldly as he rose and walked a few steps until he stood before her.
The chill radiating from him spread like a sheet of ice, making Zoria tremble uncontrollably. Yet she still lifted her head to meet his eyes, her own carrying a glimmer of determination.
At that moment, a loud crash echoed from upstairs, like the shattering of crystal. The sound came from Zoria’s room.
"Your room has been cleaned out. Tonight, Faye will move in there."
Once again, loud noises echoed down from upstairs as if responding to Zephyr’s words. Zoria’s face stiffened. Her belongings were still in the room, along with the prenatal medicine Evander had prescribed for her.
That medicine absolutely could not be discovered by anyone else. Startled, Zoria used one hand to push Zephyr aside before running upstairs.
The room was in chaos. The photo of her and Zephyr that had been hanging on the wall had been thrown down and shattered. She recalled that while still downstairs, she had heard the sound of glass breaking. It must have been the picture falling to the floor.
Faye was directing the servants to clear out Zoria’s belongings. The wound on her forehead had been bandaged. Though her complexion was haggard, her eyes still gleamed with satisfaction.
She pointed at the servants, ordering them to clear away all of Zoria’s things, then pointed at the wardrobe and commanded that all the clothes inside be thrown away.
Hearing footsteps behind her, Faye slightly reined in her arrogance. When she saw Zoria enter, her eyes flashed with provocation. Faye stepped forward and deliberately stomped on Zoria’s face in the shattered photograph.
Her foot pressed down as if to grind the image to dust, as though it were not a picture but Zoria’s actual face.
Zoria’s heart trembled. She had thought she no longer cared about such things, yet when she saw the broken photograph, her chest still tightened in pain. This habit of hers truly was not good.
She turned her gaze away. Her eyes rested on the desk, beneath which was a drawer still firmly closed, untouched by anyone. That was where she had placed the medicine.
Zoria walked over to open the drawer, intending to take the medicine out. Unexpectedly, Faye, standing beside her, asked in a dark voice, "Zoria, are you not angry?"
"What should I be angry about?" Zoria lifted her eyes, coldly looking at Faye.
"All your belongings have been taken by me, do you not feel any resentment?"
"Belongings? If you call Zephyr a belonging, then I do not need him anymore. Besides, nothing here belongs to me, what could you possibly take from me?"
Faye’s face flushed red as she shouted angrily, "Zephyr is not a belonging!"
"Indeed." Zoria’s eyes revealed mockery, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "You are right, Zephyr is not a belonging, he is trash."
Perhaps it was because she knew her parents had severed their bond, or because she had been constantly misunderstood by Zephyr, Zoria’s heart brimmed with resentment. Every word that left her lips was as sharp as a blade, leaving Faye unable to argue back.
"You..." Faye’s face burned crimson, she pointed at Zoria, but could only choke out a single word, "You."
Zoria looked at Faye, her gaze full of disdain. Just as she was about to turn away from this place, she unexpectedly collided with Zephyr standing at the door.
Zephyr narrowed his eyes slightly, staring intently at Zoria’s pale face. When their eyes met, Zephyr’s expression softened, but his gaze remained cold and shadowed.
"Did you just call me trash?"
Zoria knew her words had reached Zephyr’s ears, but she did not wish to say anything further. She simply held the medicine and intended to leave. Yet as she walked past him, she was suddenly seized by Zephyr’s grip on her left wrist.
Her left wrist had already been badly injured, and now with Zephyr’s grasp tightening, she felt as though the bones there might shatter again.
Zoria cried out in pain, "Zephyr, let go of me!"