“If we wait any longer, they won’t be able to resist,” Nathan said. “If we don’t give them any openings, they might resort to desperate measures, Emily- team has noticed surveillance on them recently.”
Yannis learned that the tinderground syndicate was involved. He kept Zinnia under tight security. Emily and Stephen provided constant protection, escorting her to and from school every day. Once she was home, she didn’t step outside.
After Nathan returned, Zinnia headed straight home after classes without lingering. Cloud Harbor’s security was top–notch. There was no way they could have slipped in unnoticed.
With no chance to get close to Zinnia, they were inevitably growing restless. Once they got anxious, things were likely to go wrong.
“Let’s wait until Zinnia’s on break,” Nathan said as he continuring the food.
Jackson sliced the sausage, then looked over at Nathan. “How are you feeling?” he asked. His searching gaze swept over Nathan, looking for any sign of improvement. He couldn’t shake the feeling that Nathan looked even thinner than before. Jackson frowned slightly.
Nathan lowered his eyes, his expression calm. “I’m fine,” he replied.
Yannis winced as a sharp sting in his hand snapped him out of his thoughts. He glanced down and noticed a fresh cut on his finger.
Jackson turned his head to ask Yannis to pass him something, only to see blood welling from a cut on Yannis’s hand.
“Yannis, how could you be so careless? Put the knife down and grab some tissue,” Jackson said. As he spoke, he set aside what he was holding and quickly fetched a tissue to wrap the wound.
“It’s nothing, just a scratch,” Yannis said, casually wrapping it with a tissue. He’d been nicked by a shrimp while prepping them.
Noticing the cut on Yannis’s hand, Nathan set down what he held. “Let’s go to the living room. I’ll treat your wound.” Yannis followed Nathan into the living room.
“Have a seat. I’ll grab the first aid kit,” Nathan said, turning away. Yannis sat down on the couch.
Nathan quickly found the kit and turned around. In a gentle voice, he said, “Don’t show anything unusual in front of them.” His tone was soft.
Nathan removed a cotton swab, dipped it in some antiseptic, and carefully cleaned the wound on Yannis’s hand.
“How are you feeling?” Yannis lowered his head, his heart growing heavy as he remembered the words about entrusting Zinnia’s care to him.
A few days ago, Nathan was still coughing, but the coughing had almost stopped. Yannis worried that Nathan might be hiding his symptoms somehow.
“Have you heard of Florivive?” Nathan asked as he gently applied a band–aid to his hand.
He had already instructed all Moore Group–affiliated pharmacies nationwide to be on the lookout for it and had contacted several research institutes. However, there still hadn’t been any news.
The Moore family had been out of the country for two decades, during which many of their old connections had gradually faded away.
“Florivive?” Yannis repeated, his brow furrowing at the strange name. He pondered it for a moment, then admitted, “I’ve never heard of it. I’ll ask my grandpa; he might know something.
“Tonight, I’ll get back to the Perkins residence. I’ll check with the butler to see if we have Florivive. If we don’t, I’ll have someone inquire further.”
“Thank you,” Nathan said with a gentle smile.
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Yannis shook his head. “No need for all the niceties.” He hoped Nathan would get better soon.
“The Perkins family has an excellent medical team. Would you like them to examine you?” Yannis asked, concern evident in his eyes.
“Did you forget I’m a doctor?” Nathan said, closing the medical kit.
Yannis fell silent and thought, ‘That’s right. Nathan is an exceptional doctor. But he couldn’t help himself, so he entrusted Zinnia’s care to me.
Yannis’s voice was hoarse as he asked, “Can you tell me how you’re feeling now?”
“I probably have about half a year left,” Nathan replied quietly.
“Half a year.” Yannis’s throat tightened. He had known that Nathan’s time might be limited, but he hadn’t anticipated it would be so brief.
“Does Zinnia know?” Yannis asked, then immediately realized how pointless the question was. He thought, ‘If she knew, Nathan wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to keep it from her.’
“No,” Nathan replied, his voice steady. With his back to Yannis, he placed the first aid kit into the cabinet and said, “It’s enough for us to know about it.”
“What were you talking about?” Jackson called out. “I’ve pretty much finished prepping everything. Zinnia wants shrimp, right? Since you said she doesn’t eat garlic, what flavors do we have?” By the time they came back in, Jackson had nearly finished prepping the ingredients.
“Yeah,” Nathan said, glancing at Yannis, who was about to step into the kitchen. “Yannis, could you check on Zinnia and let her know dinner’s almost
ready?”
Yannis paused, pulling his foot back from the kitchen doorway. “Sure.” He turned and headed toward Zinnia’s room.
The layout of her room mirrored Yannis’s, with Zinnia’s room being the farthest from Nathan’s. The room had a fresh and airy aesthetic. Since Zinnia loved flowers, Nathan had arranged exquisitely crafted bouquets on the coffee table, display shelves, dining table, and bar cabinet.
Even though Yannis hadn’t visited in the past few days, he and Zinnia stayed in constant contact over the phone. His phone buzzed daily with a flurry of chirpy voice messages from Zinnia.
One moment, she’d tell him about the delicious meals Nathan had cooked for her; the next, she’d gush about the cute braids Nathan had styled in her hair or share which beautiful new flowers Nathan had arranged.
Even though they no longer lived together, their relationship hadn’t faded. If anything, absence seemed to make the fonder. Zinnia took every opportunity to pester him with her messages.
Zinnia: [Yannis, send me a pic of your gorgeous hands.]
Zinnia: [Yannis, what are you wearing today? Don’t tell me it’s that same all–black outfit again.]
Zinnia: [Yannis, did you wash your hair? I wanna braid it. Since I can’t, you do a little braid and show me.]
Listening to Zinnia’s bubbly voice messages, Yannis would always smile indulgently. He never refused her anything.
Yannis walked to Zinnia’s door and knocked.
“Who is it? Wait a minute!” Zinnia called from inside.
Zinnia was in the middle of something when she heard a knock. She frantically shoved everything under the cabinet. Only after making sure everything was hidden did she hurry to open the door.
Zinnia opened the door. “What are you doing here?” she asked with flustered breath, her eyes darting nervously when she saw it was Yannis.
“What mischief are you up to?” Yannis teased. She looked like she used to when she snuck snacks. It was obvious she’d been up to something.
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“Nothing, don’t tease me,” Zinnia said with a light snort. Her gaze dropped to the band aid in his hand. “What happened?” she asked her size ultering
with concern.
Yannis replied, “Nothing serious. I got nicked by a shrimp.”
