Their Villain, The Mogul's Beloved

Chapter 396

71

5 youchete

The faint scent of mint lingered around her nose, making Zinnia’s eyes sting with tears. “Yannis...” she

whispered.

“Zinnia!” Maelis gasped in pain as she struggled to sit up. When she saw the bloody scratches on her arm, her

anger flared up and her voice becshrill.

Even though it was Yannis who had thrown her aside, she only dared to scream hoarsely at Zinnia. Deep down,

she knew Zinnia was the only one she could lash out at, so she blamed everything on her.

Maelis’s cutting words pierced her heart, causing Zinnia’s chest to constrict. She clenched her teeth hard and

swallowed the pain.

She shoved Yannis aside, revealing her slender frame. Her clear eyes burned with fury. “You hitfirst; why

shouldn't I hit you back?”

Zinnia stood tall, her delicate frshowing no hint of fear. Her gaze was cold and detached as she looked at

Maelis, who had fallen to the ground, eyes full of hatred and resentment.

A faint, mocking smile tugged at her lips. This woman, her so-called mother, truly hated her to the bone.

“Maelis, what are you doing?” Howard and Timothy rushed over and helped Maelis up from the ground.

Maelis didn’t respond to him. Her eyes were wild, filled with twisted hatred as she glared at Zinnia as if she could

tear her apart piece by piece. “I'm your mother. Hitting you is my right. Who dares say otherwise?”

“Is it your right, Mrs. Shaw? And then isn’t it also my right to bankrupt the Shaw family?” Yannis’s eyes darkened

menacingly, a cold, sharp smile playing on his lips.

“How dare you!” Maelis’s face twisted in fury, her lips trembling uncontrollably.

“Mom, stop it,” Timothy and Yosef said in unison.

Yannis’s gaze turned glacial. “Who says | wouldn't dare?”

“You-" Maelis’s voice caught in her throat, rage twisting her features. Her eyes burned red as she stared at

Yannis with venom. “She’s my daughter. What right do you have to step in?”

A stream of curses welled up in her throat. She knew Yannis wasn’t bluffing. True to her bullying nature, Maelis

only targeted the weak and always backed down in the face of the strong.

“Don’t kid yourself, Mrs. Shaw,” Yvette snapped. “Zinnia is my daughter. Just because you claim to be her

mother, you think you can discipline her? You don’t have that right.”

Yvette walked over in heels, poised and radiant, every step brimming with power. She looked down at Maelis,

who sat crumpled in disgrace. One shone with composure, the other drowned in defeat-the gap between them,

stark and unforgiving.

Maelis sneered, “Your daughter? Did you give birth to her? Did you raise her? And yet you dare call her your

daughter? Yvette, have you no shat all?”

12:28 Thu, Oct 2

Chapter 396

Maelis stared at Yvette with a distorted and venomous look. Her pent-up rage was boiling over, and her sharp

eyes seemed as if they could skin Yvette alive. Any trace of her former elegance had disappeared; now Maelis

looked every inch a spiteful shrew.

Yvette retorted, “Shameless? Not half as shameless as you. Acting like you ever raised Zinnia. The only one you

raised is that ungrateful brat Betty, and now you keep hounding Zinnia like it’s your right.”

Yvette’s voice was ice-cold. “Don’t you ever dare use that so-called biological debt to control Zinnia. When she

was born, your family’s negligence almost cost her life. If anything, that alone has repaid whatever you think she

owes you.

“We, Zinnia, owe you nothing. It's not her fault she was switched at birth. Betty's mistakes weren't directed by

Zinnia. You can't tell right from wrong and just make a mess. Are you even fit to be Zinnia’s mother?”

Maelis’s face turned deathly pale. Her eyes were bloodshot with fury as she raised her hand to strike Yvette.

Jackson intercepted her raised hand. His handsface was tinged with frost. “Enough, Maelis. Haven't the

Shaws endured enough because of you?”

Maelis shivered as a chill ran down her spine. Her eyes were bloodshot with anger. She hissed at Jackson,

“Jackson, I'm your aunt.”

“Maelis, you don’t need to be my aunt anymore. Our family has done more than enough for you,” Jackson said

coldly and indifferently.

Maelis, her voice quivering with rage, shouted, “You bastard. Do you really think you're in charge of the Lynn

family now? Henry and Sofia are still here.” His defiant words made her whole body tremble.

Maelis also resented Jackson deeply. She thought, ‘If he hadn't pulled his investments from the Shaw family,

would we have fallen into such a dire, besieged state?’

Henry's aged, stern voice cut through the crowd. “So what if Jackson heads the Lynn family? Maelis, you're the

outsider here.”

Everyone turned to see Henry and Sofia arriving, their expressions stern. Right behind them cYosef and

Donald, both wearing solemn looks.

They were at a business reception when, out of nowhere, someone rushed in to report a commotion in the back

garden-Maelis was making a scene with Maisie from the Jenkins family. Donald couldn't help but curse inwardly,

‘What an idiot."

ork

“Zinnia, does it hurt? Letput sointment on you.” Maisie rushed to her side. Her heart ached at the sight

of Zinnia’s red and swollen face.

Maelis, whose anger had been simmering for far too long, slapped Zinnia hard across the face. Immediately,

Zinnia’s cheeks swelled up, turning red and already showing signs of bruising; a truly horrifying sight.

Maisie barely had tto unscrew the ointment cap before Yannis abruptly snatched it from her hands.

Il, UELZ

Chapter 396

*Zinnia, this might sting a bit. Try to bear it,” Yannis said, his expression cold, his eyes frosted with suppressed

emotion. He unscrewed the ointment tube and, as gently as he could, applied the ointment to her face.

As the cool ointment touched her burning cheek, Zinnia winced. She had never been hurt this badly in her life.

Seeing Zinnia frown, Yannis pressed his lips into a hard line. His fury towards Maelis burned white-hot. He

crouched beside her and forced himself to soften his voice. “Zinnia, letcall a doctor to check you out, okay?”

He kept his tone extra gentle, remembering how she’d just been knocked to the ground.

“No need,” Zinnia murmured weakly, refusing to budge. She couldn't possibly leave now-Jackson and the others

had already seen the swelling on her face, their expressions darkening with shock and anger.

Yannis turned to Charlie as he approached, his voice tight with worry and guilt. “Charlie, check her over. She just

had a bad fall.”

Charlie's expression grew solemn as he listened. “Zinnia, where are you injured?”

Zinnia thought, ‘I fell on my bottom. There's no way | can say that out loud! Her cheeks burning with

embarrassment.

“She fell and landed on her butt. I'm not sure if her coccyx is injured. Could you quickly give her a check? Later,

I'll take her for an X-ray just to be on the safe side,” Yannis said, his voice thick with worry.

As she walked, Yannis didn’t miss the pained look that flitted across her brow. Since it was obvious that she

didn’t want to move at the moment, he had no option but to leave her alone.

“Zinnia, lettake a look,” Charlie said, his fingers gently pressing on her tailbone. “Does it hurt?”

Zinnia replied shyly, “It’s not hurt here.”

Yannis gently let down her hair to hide the swelling. As more people gathered to watch, Zinnia stole a glance at

him and bit her lip, burying her injured cheek deeper into her hair. She thought, ‘This is so embarrassing’

“I'm sorry. | should have protected you,” Yannis murmured. As he gazed down at her, his eyes were so filled with

emotion that they seemed bottomless. Veins stood out on his hand as he tightly gripped the ointment, hardly

able to hold back his self-reproach.

“It's not your fault,” Zinnia murmured, her head bowed. “None of this was your fault. You don’t need to

apologize.”

sok

“Mom, how could you hit her so hard?” Timothy stared at Maelis in disbelief, his eyes fixed on Zinnia’s badly

swollen cheek. Just then, Sofia and the others walked over and happened to hear his accusatory words.

“What the hell kind of mother are you? If you've gone mad, go get yourself treated!” Sofia shaky and angry, was

held up by Henry. Hearing about the fight and seeing Zinnia’s swollen face, she turned pale and yelled at Maelis,

trembling with rage.

12:29 Thu, Oct 2

Chapter 396

0

In her youth, Sofia was a force to be reckoned with. However, as she got older, her temper gradually became

milder. Even so, today Maclis’s actions made her extremely angry-this daughter of hers was truly unrepentant

and seemingly beyond redemption.

word

word

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

mmMwWL1i10f1ifl0&1

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

word

word

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

mmMwWLIII0fiflo&1

mmMwWL1i10f1ifl0&1

mmMwWLIiI0fiflO&1