Their Villain, The Mogul's Beloved

Chapter 288

Time passed in a flash, and over half a month had gone by. During this period, Zinnia hadn’t encountered Betty. Today, Betty was back, but Zinnia didn’t give it much thought.

Zinnia sat down at her desk, feeling the emptiness beside her–her deskmate hadn’t come to school today. “Where’s Lydia today?” Zinnia asked, poking the back of the seat in front of her with her pen to get Ethan’s

attention.

“Lydia took the day off. She should be back tomorrow,” Ethan replied casually. Lydia often skipped school, but since she always ranked among the top three in their grade, neither the teachers nor the school ever made a big deal about it.

“She took the day off? Did something happen?” Zinnia frowned slightly. Lydia loved studying so much; it was unusual for her to miss school.

“Lydia skips school sometimes. You’ll get used to it,” Ethan said with a dismissive wave of his hand. The classmates were all accustomed to it.

“Alright then.” Zinnia nodded, but the empty seat beside her still made her feel uneasy. She pulled out her phone.

Opening Lydia’s contact, Zinnia hesitated for a moment before typing just two words: [Hey, Lydia.] In the end, she decided to send a peeking bunny emoji instead. Almost immediately, the chat showed that Lydia was typing.

[Zinnia, I have something to take care of today, so I couldn’t come. If you have any questions about the homework, I’ll send you a voice message later.] Lydia replied quickly.

[Lydia, if something’s going on, don’t keep it from us.] Zinnia typed back, pursing her lips. She hadn’t contacted Lydia because of homework; she was genuinely worried something might have happened.

[Alright.] Lydia replied, adding a bunny–patting–head emoji.

Seeing the bunny emoji patting her head, Zinnia felt her ears turn hot. It was just a virtual image, but she couldn’t help imagining her usually cool and distant Lydia sending it with a straight face.

She couldn’t figure out how Lydia felt when she sent that emoji.

that on the other side of the screen, Lydia’s ears were also a bit

soon put down her phone and pulled out her homework. Senior year moved fast; by now, everything depended on self–discipline. Teachers rarely checked assignments; if she didn’t push herself, no one could

like doing homework, she still tried her best, waging her own war

*****

Chapter 288

E55 vouchers

us for lunch today. Lydia’s not around,” Maisie

what do you think, Zinnia? Should we go out to eat or stay in the cafeteria?” Maisie

the cafeteria,” Zinnia replied. She thought, ‘Why do they cram all the science classes into Tuesday mornings? My

cafeteria. The food there is decent, and they also have desserts. We can get something

As long as she was with Zinnia, everything was fine. The two walked side by side

a few weeks of settling in, Zinnia had grown used to the attention. Some girls had even started giving her little treats–cookies, chocolates, candies–saying they wanted

and Maisie stepped out of the hallway, ready to head downstairs, two

still looked pale, likely still shaken by the online drama. Anne, holding onto her arm, was softly

eyes fixed on Zinnia. The false sweetness had disappeared, replaced by a sharp, unwavering glare. She wasn’t even pretending to be nice

Any hope for peaceful coexistence, as Maelis might have wished for, was

Zinnia not only charmed the Lynn family but also struck back fiercely. Betty thought, ‘Truly, it’s the quiet dogs that bite

in that mess?‘ Zinnia, who always seemned

“Well, what if we don’t move? What’s Ms. Betty Shaw gonna do? Can’t keep up that sweet and graceful act anymore? Not even a polite greeting for Zinnia? Guess the ‘good sister‘ mask is slipping. What

Zinnia, planning to trap her again?” Maisie slipped one hand in her pocket, lifting her brows slightly as she gazed up at them from one step below, her presence calm

Maisie? The online drama is old news. What’s the point of dragging it out?” Anne

look. “What, are you gonna tell me where

families were on equal footing, so