Chapter 95 Chapter 95. The Price of Exchange
After careful thought, Zephyr decided it was the best possible choice. Lysander was a man obsessed with cleanliness. To put it bluntly, he only wanted to “touch” her in the sense of tormenting and humiliating her; he would never actually have sex with Zoria. At worst, Zoria would suffer a little—Lysander would not rape her.
Once Lysander was done “playing,” Zephyr would go and rescue Zoria, soothe her properly. Maybe then, Zoria would forgive him.
Outside, it began to rain.
Zoria ran in from outdoors, hugging Hamburger tightly. A maid moved to take the puppy from her arms, but Zoria shook her head. She took the towel the maid handed her, squatted down, and carefully dried Hamburger herself.
As soon as she entered the house, just as expected, she saw Zephyr sitting on the sofa.
“Alpha, Ms. Zoria is back. May I start setting lunch on the table?” the maid asked softly as she stepped forward.
Zephyr glanced at Zoria holding the dog and nodded. “OK.”
The maid studied his expression. She could not tell if it was just her imagination, but Zephyr seemed even more brooding than usual today, which made her feel faintly uneasy.
During the meal, Zoria behaved herself. She teased Hamburger while eating, acting as though Zephyr did not exist. Once she finished, she went straight back to the bedroom. The door was not locked. Zephyr did not knock; he pushed it open and walked in directly.
Zoria was squatting on the floor, brushing Hamburger’s fur, when she flinched at Zephyr’s sudden appearance. He stood above her, looking down. She had changed into simple, light-colored clothes. As she squatted there, a slim stretch of her waist was exposed; from his angle, he could clearly see the curve of her back and the alluring hollow of her waist.
Zoria was undeniably attractive. Even during the times he hated her most, Zephyr had to admit that much. His gaze slowly traveled from her waist up to her cool, indifferent face. His eyes darkened as he spoke slowly, “I have something to tell you.”
Zoria stood up, sat on the bed, and looked straight at him. “Say it.”
Zephyr suddenly felt his throat go dry. “Faye was kidnapped…”
“What does her being kidnapped have to do with me?” Zoria sneered, the corners of her lips lifting in sharp mockery. “Is she dead? Do you want me to bring a wreath to her grave?”
Zephyr’s brows knit tightly together. In the past, he would have slapped her already. After a moment of silence, he continued, “Faye was badly injured. If she had been rescued any later, her life would have been in danger. The one who kidnapped her was Lysander. He said outright that he would only release Faye if I handed you over in exchange.”
Zoria had not expected Zephyr to say something like that. She burst out laughing at once. “You want to trade me for her? Zephyr, is something wrong with your brain?” She stared at him coldly. “She killed my child. She’s just like you—my enemy. So why should I save her?”
“I owe you. That has nothing to do with Faye,” Zephyr said, his voice growing hoarse. “Zoria, if you save her this time, I swear I’ll treat you well in the future…”
By the time he reached the last sentence, Zephyr did not dare meet Zoria’s eyes. “Besides… didn’t you say before that you were willing to go to Lysander?” His voice dropped, as if he were cutting into his own heart. “As long as he wanted you, you would accept being marked by him, you would be willing to have sex with him, right?”
Zoria curled her lips, unable to hold back a laugh. An inexplicable wave of sadness rose in her chest. Zephyr really was filthy.
Her heart trembled violently, as if pierced by countless arrows. She clenched her teeth and swallowed the pain. After a while, she lifted her head, pretending not to care, and gave a faint, indifferent smile. “To you, isn’t my only redeeming quality that I’m ‘clean’? If I no longer meet your standards now, then there’s no need for you to keep me anymore. Let’s sever the bond.”
Zephyr’s ears rang loudly. In that instant, it felt as though the blood in his body was flowing backward, his heart aching as if it were about to shatter. For a fleeting moment, he even thought about keeping Zoria, about not handing her over to Lysander. But as soon as the thought surfaced, the image of Faye lying in a pool of blood flooded his mind.
Faye’s anguished cries seemed to echo in his ears. She was waiting for him to save her. Zephyr clenched his fists, his expression darkening completely.
“Zoria, after this is over, I will treat you well.”
"Zephyr, can you stop disgusting me already?" Zoria said, her voice trembling. "You want this and you want that. Since when does the world allow one arrow to kill two birds? If you take me to Lysander, don’t even dream that I’ll come back to you afterward."
Zoria’s eyes were almost uncontrollably red. She knew she didn’t deserve to be cherished, but she shouldn’t have been trampled on like this either. She wanted to cry and laugh at the same time, yet couldn’t decide which expression she was supposed to show.
After a long while, she muttered, "Everything in this world comes at a price. Just like before. I stayed by your side, and in the end I lost my dignity, my life, even my parents. If you want to save Faye, then let me go. I’ll willingly take her place. Otherwise, all you’ll get is my corpse."
Zoria had never believed that Zephyr truly wanted to make things up to her. So when he used her as a bargaining chip for Faye, she wasn’t surprised at all. In Zephyr’s eyes, she had always been nothing more than an object.
Zephyr parted his lips, but no words came out. His mind was in chaos, his ears ringing. An indescribable feeling surged up, squeezing his heart so painfully that he couldn’t hold it back. He badly wanted a cigarette to numb his thoughts.
"Have you thought this through?"
Zephyr took a deep breath and pulled out a cigarette. His fingers shook so badly that it took several tries before the lighter finally caught. He took a hard drag, looking at Zoria through the thin veil of smoke. Half his face was swallowed by shadow, his gaze deep and dark like a bottomless abyss.