Their Villain, The Mogul's Beloved

Seeing Zinnia’s chewing slow down, Fiona gently fed her another bite of pancake.

“I’m full. Fiona,” Zinnia mumbled with her cheeks bulging. She squatted by the flowerpot and absentmindedly played with the rose petals in front of her.

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Fiona gently wiped the crumbs from Zinnia’s mouth with a handkerchief. “You barely ate anything, yet you claim you’re full? I bet you’ll have Nathan make you a midnight snack again tonight.”

Zinnia barely ate anything at Christmas dinner. In previous years, faced with a feast, she wouldn’t leave the table for at least an hour. But this time, she just took a few bites with Simon and the other kids before running off to play.

Hearing Fiona’s words, Zinnia could only blink.

Fiona fixed her deep eyes on Zinnia and asked, “Zinnia, what happened between you and Nathan? He looks so much thinner lately. At dinner, he barely touched anything. He only picked some vegetables.”

Fiona’s sharpness caught Zinnia off guard. Zinnia lowered her eyes and murmured, “Nathan’s fine. He’s just… been swamped with work lately, so he hasn’t had much of an appetite.”

Zinnia kept her head down, never once mentioning Nathan’s health to the townspeople.

However, Fiona didn’t buy her story. “Zinnia, something’s happened to Nathan, hasn’t it?”

Fiona didn’t know Nathan’s exact identity or what he did for a living, but she was sure he was no ordinary man. Exceptionally brilliant and gifted, he was, above all, a genuinely good person.

“No, Fiona, don’t worry,” Zinnia said with a faint but steady smile. “Nathan is brilliant. If anything happens, he’ll definitely be able to handle it.” Her voice was firm, though she wasn’t sure if she was saying this to reassure Fiona or to convince herself.

*****

As dinner was winding down and the night grew late, Chandler waved at Zinnia with a warm smile. “Come here, Zee.”

Zinnia walked over and said in a soft, sweet voice, “Yes, Chandler.”

“Zee, I wish you happiness and safety this Christmas,” Chandler said with a warm smile. Then he pulled a small present from his pocket.

“Chandler,” Zinnia said with a shy smile, “I’m all grown up now, and you’re still giving me presents?”

Chandler placed the present in Zinnia’s hand. “Presents are a must during Christmas,” he said warmly. “No matter how old you two get, you’ll always be children to us. And children should always receive presents for Christmas.”

“Take it, Zee. This is a little something from Chandler and me. We just want you to be safe and sound this Christmas,” Wendy urged.

11:25 Thu Oct 16

Chapter 350

Chandler and Wendy Zinnia said eftly we she accepted the

gentle smile, Giselle aid. Zee, come to

400

said. “Here you go, sweetheart. I

had all prepared Christmas

pull out yet another present for him, Nathan

Chandler insisted, pressing the present with “Merry Christmas”

still young, not married or settled down yet, so you’re still a kid in our eyes. When elders give you a

is so much easier now. If you hadn’t brought that large medicinal herb plantation to our small town, we wouldn’t be living so comfortably. We really should be

first settled in their small town. Now that he had grown up, he helped the

develop the local tourism industry, the townspeople no longer had to worry about money. Their children no longer had to leave their hometown to work in other

everyone knew it was

everyone pitched in to clear

himself around Zinnia’s leg, pleading, “Zinnia, come play with us

other little ones crowded around

“Yeah, Zinnia. We found some super pretty blossoms. We’ll

with us tomorrow. My mom bought tons of snacks, and Lindsay and the others said we were gonna

with a gentle smile, ruffling their

The kids instantly lit up

it tomorrow, Zinnia!”

25 THE Oct

Chapter 50

tom tomartes Zimis

B

Zinnia one last time With Prere helping

hurry to leave. With the last bits of cleanup left,

dishes into the dishwasher, Nathan came out and saw Fiona sweeping the floor. Let me do

‘If I don’t do it. Zinnia will end up helping you instead. Would you really let her?” With a few quick motions,

trash into

overcoat as the night air grew colder. Under the warm, amber glow of the overhead light, his silhouette appeared

head as a cough escaped him. “I wouldn’t let

at the outdoor faucet. “Alright, come on. No need to stand on ceremony