Their Villain, The Mogul's Beloved

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Maelis said, “Zinnia, | never should have taken you back! Look how you've ruined our family!” She stormed

toward Zinnia, raising her hand to strike.

“Mom!” the three Shaw brothers gasped in unison.

However, Zinnia intercepted Maelis’s hand and shoved her back hard. Last time, Zinnia had been caught off

guard by Maelis’s cruelty and nearly got hit.

But now, seeing that ferocious look on Maelis’s face, Zinnia was determined not to let Maelis lay a hand on her.

Zinnia thought, ‘My Master never laid a hand ongrowing up. What right does this outsider have to hit me?’

Maelis stumbled back two steps, nearly falling before Howard caught her. Her bloodshot eyes glared at Zinnia

with resentment. She never expected Zinnia would dare fight back.

Yosef frowned at Zinnia and said, “Zinnia, even if Mom was out of line, you shouldn't have pushed her like that.

She's getting on in years. What if Howard hadn't caught her? What if she'd fallen?”

Zinnia shot Yosef a cold glance, her clear eyes flashing with defiance. She snapped, “Should | just stand there

and take the hit? It’s easy for you to talk when you're not the one getting slapped.”

Yosef was left speechless. He never expected Zinnia to speak to him with such blunt disrespect.

Zinnia took two deliberate steps back, putting clear distance between herself and the rest of them.

Maelis steadied herself, her bloodshot eyes burning with anger. Her voice was razor-sharp with fury as she

asked, “Zinnia, do you still wantas your mother or not?”

“No, | don’t,” Zinnia shot back without hesitation.

Maelis choked with rage, her face flushing crimson as she pointed a trembling finger at Zinnia. It was clear that

Zinnia had pushed Maelis to the brink.

Maelis felt torn between guilt and resentment toward Zinnia. She thought, ‘Why didn’t she speak up for herself?

‘If only she had told us the truth, that those things weren't her fault, we wouldn't have misunderstood her for so

long, and things wouldn't have cto this!

Betty's actions had left the entire Shaw family in turmoil, but the deepest blow fell on Maelis. She never

imagined Betty, the girl she'd always believed to be pure-hearted, could harbor such venom or be capable of

such cruelty.

But Maelis had already made her choice. Especially when she thought of how Zinnia showed no understanding

toward her as a mother, Maelis still simmered with anger. This visit, while she did feel sguilt toward Zinnia,

was fueled even more by disgust.

10:36 Fri, Sep 26

Chapter 325

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Maelis thought, ‘Why did Zinnia have to air our family at school? She humiliated the Shaw family and

dragged the Carsons into this mess. Even though the Carsons aren’t pursuing it anymore, the bad blood between

our families is already set.

‘And now Betty is holed up at home, refusing to go to school. Donald beratesfor being useless, and even my

three sons have started siding with Zinnia instead of me.

‘They're no longer as attentive toas they used to be. My whole family life has been turned upside down. Why

did I ever bring Zinnia back? If only | hadn’t, our family would still be whole.

Zinnia's guarded expression stabbed like a knife into the hearts of the three Shaw brothers. Seeing Zinnia turn to

leave, Howard released Maelis and moved to chase after Zinnia.

“Security! Stop them!” Zinnia shouted as she backed toward the residential area.

At her shout, the security guards who had been monitoring the situation from the booth sprang into action.

Howard found himself abruptly cut off outside.

Seeing Maelis glaring furiously at Zinnia, Howard frowned and said, “Mom, weren't we here today to apologize to

Zinnia? | get that you're upset about what happened with Betty, but this time, it wasn’t Zinnia’s fault; she’s the

real victim here!”

Betty chyesterday after just five days in the detention center, looking visibly thinner. Seeing her like

that, Maelis was torn between anger and heartache.

Though the brothers understood how much Maelis had worried about Betty, they felt it was still no excuse for

Maelis to take it out on Zinnia.

Betty's actions left Howard utterly disillusioned. No matter how tearfully Betty apologized or how much she

insisted it wasn’t intentional, Howard could never see her the sway again. Between them now stood an

unbridgeable rift.

The love Howard once showed Betty now struck like a cruel boomerang, mocking the fact that their sibling bond

meant nothing.

Howard thought, ‘To frZinnia, Betty was even willing to play with human lives. As her brother, | probably

don’t hold an ounce of affection in her heart’

Right now, all Howard wanted was to make things right with Zinnia.

“Mom, this incident has nothing to do with Zinnia. It’s all Betty's fault. We're the ones who spoiled her rotten,”

Yosef said sternly.

Yosef was also deeply disappointed in Betty. He complained inside, ‘Mom spoiled Betty rotten. I'd already warned

Betty not to cause any more trouble, but within a day, she made such a huge mess, completely ignoring my

warnings.

‘And after all the mess Betty caused, Mom still blamed Zinnia. How does Mom end up being so unreasonable?

“This morning, Howard said he wanted to cto see Zinnia, so Timothy and | decided to join him. Just as we

were about to leave, Mom said she wanted to cwith us.

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Chapter 325

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‘Who would have thought that the moment she arrived, she'd try to hit Zinnia? Didn't she realize that if she did,

there would be no turning back between us and Zinnia?‘

Timothy stayed silent, but his thoughts were a tangled mess. Thinking that he had spent the entire afternoon

suffering from diarrhea caused by his Betty, he felt extremely conflicted.

Then Jackson's words from last techoed in his mind. He thought, ‘Did Betty think Morn would like that set of

jewelry, or was it just something she wanted for herself?

‘Cto think of it, this kind of thing happened way too often. At least twice a month, Betty would drag me

along to pick out gifts for Mom, but they rarely matched Mom's taste. In the end, they all ended up in Betty's

possession.”

It suddenly hit Timothy that Betty, whom he’d grown up with, wasn’t at all the person he’d imagined her to be.

Once again chastised by her sons, Maelis seethed with scalding fury churning within her chest. The past few

days had left her mentally exhausted, teetering on the edge.

Her venomous gaze locked onto Zinnia, who was shielded behind the security guards, as if she could kill Zinnia

with a single glare.

The way Maelis glared at Zinnia was no longer that of a mother but of someone facing a sworn enemy. She shot

back, “So what if Betty did something wrong? It’s all Zinnia’s fault! Why can’t we settle our family matters

privately?

“Zinnia made such a scene at school and turned our family into a laughingstock. She’s the source of our family’s

troubles. If she hadn't cback, we wouldn't be in this situation.

“Betty would never have done those things if not provoked by Zinnia. Zinnia is the root of all our troubles. | wish |

had never brought her back into our lives.”

Zinnia replied coolly, “If I'm the jinx, then what are you? The mother of a jinx? You're a jinx, too. And your three

sons? Jinx No.1, No.2, and No.3. Your whole family is just as much of a jinx as | am.”

Maybe it was because she’d spent so much twith Yannis lately that even her way of speaking had begun to

mirror his.

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