Chapter 56 Chapter 56. Zephyr Unmasks Faye’s Lie
Zoria clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms until blood welled up. The tears in her eyes had yet to fully dry, yet deep within those dull gray irises, if one looked closely, a faint glimmer of fragile hope still flickered.
It was a long while before Zoria finally spoke. “Evander, help me arrange my dad’s funeral. Find him a good resting place. I want to see him off on his final journey.”
Outside, dark clouds blanketed half the sky, heavy rain threatening to pour down at any moment.
“But your health right now…” Evander began, then stopped himself.
Zoria had just suffered a miscarriage, and her body was extremely weak. On a cold, damp, rainy day like this, she really shouldn’t be going out at all—she should have been resting quietly indoors. If she caught a chill, it could seriously affect her health later in life.
Zoria shook her head. “Even if I can’t walk… I’ll crawl if I have to. I have to see my dad off.”
……
The moment Zephyr stepped out of the hospital, the rain came pouring down. His assistant quickly opened an umbrella over him.
“Boss, where are we heading?” the assistant asked.
“Back to the villa.” There were some things he had to ask Faye, no matter what.
The assistant hesitated, then asked, “And Ms. Zoria?”
Zephyr replied coldly, “Have someone keep an eye on her. Don’t let her wander around.”
Then, as if remembering something, he added, “Release Evander.”
The assistant faltered. “Boss, aren’t you worried that—”
“Worried about what?” Zephyr shot him a narrow glance. The chill in his eyes shut the assistant up instantly.
Zephyr let out a faint, mocking laugh. “Zoria is my female. No one is allowed to take her away. Evander can’t pull anything off.”
Keeping Evander detained served only one purpose—to reassure Zoria, to keep her from spiraling into dark thoughts. Zephyr had no intention of losing a “toy” that was already firmly in his grasp.
The moment he walked out of the hospital room, Zephyr reminded himself that he should never develop any feelings for Zoria. An Omega as soft and weak as her—at least in his eyes—wasn’t worth his patience, his consideration, or his mercy.
He was furious with Zoria for hiding the truth about the baby being his. Furious enough to want to crush her throat with his own hands. Yet beneath that rage, there was also a deep loathing for himself. Even so, he shoved all the blame squarely onto Zoria.
Her helplessness, her complete inability to resist—she was the perfect outlet for his anger.
Sitting in the car, Zephyr propped an elbow against his temple and squeezed his eyes shut. Zoria’s despairing face flashed through his mind, and a strange, unfamiliar ache welled up in his chest.
Zoria had better behave herself and stay by his side, continue being the luna of the Hawthorne pack. Otherwise… even he didn’t know what kind of horrifying things he might end up doing.
……
At the Hawthorne villa.
“Ms. Faye, Boss is back,” Jenna reminded her.
Faye lit up with joy. She turned off the TV, sprang up from the sofa, and rushed straight for the door.
“Zephyr!”
Moments later, Zephyr came into view. As usual, Faye moved to run into his arms—but the instant she met the dark, oppressive look in his eyes, her body stiffened. She stopped short, frozen in place.
Zephyr’s gaze was icy cold, his face devoid of any smile. The Alpha pressure radiating from him was like an invisible shackle, forcing a fragile Omega like Faye to tremble uncontrollably.
Faye stammered, her voice shaking. “Ze… Zephyr…”
Zephyr walked toward her. A smile hung at the corner of his lips, but there was no warmth in it at all.
“Faye.”
Faye instinctively stepped back. Seeing the ferocity gradually surfacing on Zephyr’s face, she was so frightened her limbs began to shake. He hadn’t even said anything more, yet cold sweat was already soaking through her clothes.
She was afraid.
An irrational yet razor-sharp fear—aimed straight at the male who had been by her side for over a decade. The male standing before her now looked like a predator drawing in its claws, poised to tear its prey apart.
“Zephyr, why are you home so early today?” Faye forced herself to calm down, squeezing out a stiff, awkward smile.
Zephyr had lived long enough to see every kind of nature someone could have. One glance was all it took for him to tell whether a smile was genuine—or fake.
The corner of his mouth curled up into a restrained, meaningful smile. The moment Faye saw it, her own smile vanished. A chill ran down her spine, her scalp prickling with dread.
"Faye, you were the one who let Zoria out, weren’t you?"
Faye’s heart skipped. Her mind raced. He had to be talking about what happened today.
"She ran out on her own. But it was also my carelessness… I’d just turned on the TV and saw the news that her father had committed suicide. She got too emotional. I couldn’t stop her in time, and she took the chance to bolt."
The smile on Zephyr’s face deepened. He grabbed Faye by the wrist, his grip tight, and dragged her straight into the house. She stumbled forward, nearly losing her balance.
"Zephyr, what are you doing?" Faye panicked for real this time.
Zephyr spoke slowly. "I’m going to show you something interesting. All you need to do is answer me honestly."
He pulled her into the study, turned on the computer, and opened a video. It showed the moment Faye fell down the stairs that day. The instant she saw it, her face went deathly pale. Why was he showing her this? Had he started to suspect her?
Zephyr asked, "That day, was it really Zoria who pushed you down the stairs?"
Faye forced a stiff smile. "You’re doubting me, Zephyr? The video captured everything, didn’t it?"
She had deliberately chosen a blind angle for the camera back then. From that perspective, it really did look like Zoria had pushed her.
Zephyr gripped Faye’s chin and forced her to look up at him. "Then tell me—what did you say to Zoria at the time? Why were the two of you talking for so long?"
Faye’s gaze flickered away, uneasy. "We argued. Because I found her bottle of lubricant…"