Their Villain, The Mogul's Beloved

Chapter 279

Chapter 279

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Howard said, “Mom, if you’d brought Zinnia back and had a proper talk with her, maybe even let her sweet-talk Grandma a little, wouldn’t that have solved the issue just as well?

“Not only that, but it could’ve been a chance to fix your relationship with her. Instead, you made this choice, and now you’ve pushed Zinnia even further away. You’ve completely broken her heart, Mom.”

Howard felt tightness in his chest as he listened to Maelis’s words, frustration bubbling up inside him.

He continued, “And pulling the post down so abruptly will only make the online chatter worse. We should’ve taken a different approach to minimize the damage.

“Betty could’ve issued a sincere apology, and we could’ve released a statement saying that she’s family in every way that matters. Letting everyone know we’re standing behind her would’ve worked just as well, wouldn’t it?

“Over time, people would’ve moved on, and this whole mess would’ve blown over. Zinnia isn’t the type to hold grudges forever. So why did you have to make this decision?

“And another thing-we haven’t even officially acknowledged Zinnia as our daughter. She’s our own child, and we owe her that much.”

Howard rubbed his temples, his headache worsened. He couldn’t understand why his mom always seemed to make things harder for everyone. Before coming home, he’d even wondered if Zinnia had exaggerated the situation.

But after hearing Maelis’s reasoning, Howard realized with a sinking heart that convincing Zinnia to come back home would now be nearly impossible.

The image of Zinnia’s cold, distant gaze from earlier that afternoon flashed in his mind, and it stung deeply. This was the second time she’d been abandoned.

Howard didn’t have a particularly close bond with Zinnia, given how little time they’d spent together. But even with that distance, he had never once thought of giving up on her.

He figured their lack of connection was due to the short time she’d been back. He felt that Zinnia might be a bit

deteriorate to this extent.

headstrong, but he never imagined their relationship woe

“I… Betty has been so upset about the online backlash. Jackson refuses to take down the post, and so many people are attacking

grandmother said if I wanted the post taken down, I had to make a choice. I thought she was

hint of grievance, her voice

could she ever turn her

were mother and daughter by blood. She had reached out to Zinnia multiple times, but Zinnia

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Chapter 279

but you’ve broken her heart. And when the heart is wounded, it’s not something that can be easily mended,” Howard said, his voice

to the family after seventeen years apart. She hadn’t grown up with them, didn’t share deep bonds, and now, being treated like this, repairing their relationship in

aren’t a cure-all. If they were, Zinnia wouldn’t be ignoring

again and again.

she called him, it felt like a jab to Howard’s heart. He was supposed to be her third brother, yet after all their encounters, she hadn’t called him

posts-Howard frowned. He thought, ‘Mom might not grasp the consequences, but how could Dad not? Why would he make her

stayed quiet, her thoughts tangled. In her mind, they were mother and

truly be severed.

frustration bubbling over.

decisions. We could’ve worked together to figure something out. Please, don’t

me! You are all busy with your own lives, and I’m left here dealing with everything alone. Only Betty stays by my side. I just wanted to make

didn’t harm her in any way, so I thought asking

down was the best

went and complained to you?

me, Zinnia didn’t speak up to me. She just stood there watching. If I hadn’t been pushed to the brink, would

Zinnia didn’t come to me to complain. We were arguing, and she accidentally

hearing Maelis mention that Betty was right, he frowned. He thought, ‘Did Betty say something to Mom about Zinnia?’ The thought left him

and blame. She

on here?” Yosef’s voice cut through the

taking in

was wrong.” Maelis said, walking up to

happened?” Yosef asked, his piercing gaze locking onto

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