Chapter 377
Lydia rushed to the shop, but when she reached the doorway and saw the figure sitting inside with their back turned, she froze, unable to take another step.
Lydia stared at the figure ahead. After years of reliving this memory and mistaking countless others for Zinnia, she knew instantly that this time, it had to be her.
“Mrs. Hollis, this jerky is really delicious,” Zinnia remarked in the quiet shop.
Hearing that familiar, sweet tone she hadn’t heard in years, Lydia felt her eyes grow moist.
“Zinnia, you’re finally back.” Lydia’s voice quivered, barely containing her emotion.
Zina turned around and saw the girl walking toward her, step by step. When her gaze landed on those reddened eyes, Zina froze, momentarily stunned by the flood of emotions.
The moment Lydia saw that familiar face, tears welled up in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.
Seeing her tears, Zina instinctively rose to her feet. Though she didn’t recognize who this woman was, an inexplicable heaviness settled in her chest.
“Zinnia, I knew you were still alive.” Lydia rushed forward and pulled her into a crushing embrace.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face as she spoke in a choked sob, “Zinnia, you’re finally back. We’ve been searching for you all these years."
Zina felt the warm tears soaking into her shoulder. A heaviness settled in her chest.
‘I really thought no one in Jinston would ever want me back,‘ Zinnia thought. ‘Daddy said that when they found me, I was already on the brink of death. I must have had a really hard time living in Jinston.‘
But now, hearing the girl’s choked sobs in front of her, Zina thought, ‘Maybe I wasn’t so unwelcome in Jinston after all. Maybe, in fact, I was even quite popular there. All because she said they.’
Zina was tightly hugged by her. She awkwardly patted the girl’s shoulder. “Um, don’t cry. I’m not good at this comforting thing, you know? It’s already noon. Are you hungry? Let’s have lunch first. You can talk while we eat!”
‘Damn, I’ve never had to comfort anyone before,‘ Zinnia thought.
Ever since she woke up, it had always been others comforting Zinnia. Because of her father’s status, she was always the one being fussed over, never the one doing the comforting.
Zina didn’t know who the girl was before, but that didn’t stop Zina from wanting to comfort a pretty girl. She simply couldn’t bear seeing pretty girls cry.
Bonnie added gently, “That’s right, Lydia. Why don’t you and Zinnia sit down and talk? She’s lost her memory and doesn’t remember any of us now.”
Lydia’s eyes were still red from crying as she looked at Zinnia. “You don’t remember me?”
‘No wonder. No wonder she never came back to us, even though she was alive. So she’s lost her memory?‘ Lydia wondered.
Hearing the disappointment in Lydia’s voice, Zina felt a pang of guilt. “It’s not just you. I don’t remember anyone at all.”
It wasn’t just Lydia she’d forgotten. She couldn’t recall anyone from her past. Zina thought to herself, ‘I must seem like such a jerk right now. I really don’t deserve how much she cares about me.‘
“Zinnia, try this fish,” Lydia said softly, sitting beside her. She carefully deboned a piece of fish and placed it into Zinnia’s plate.
Knowing how much Zina loved fish, Ian hurried into the kitchen and quickly whipped up a steaming plate of fish just for her.
“I can do it myself,” Zina said, feeling a bit embarrassed by Lydia’s thoughtful gesture.
Lydia smiled gently and said, “We used to take care of you all the time. Now that you’re finally back, let me do something for you, to help fill the emptiness in my heart these past years.”
Lydia’s voice was tender, like a gentle breeze in the warm sunlight–just hearing it made one feel at ease.
Zina mused, ‘I must’ve been quite the charmer back then. After all, I was lucky enough to meet someone as gentle and beautiful as Lydia.’
‘From the way she acts, it seems this is just how we always were together. I guess I really was lovable. Otherwise, who would dote on me like this?”
Then, with playful vanity, Zina teased, “Was I popular before? Otherwise, how could I have been lucky enough to meet someone like you?
Lydia’s eyes curved into a gentle smile. “Yes.”
Though Lydia’s eyes were still red from crying, they now sparkled with genuine happiness. In this moment, all she could feel was joy, joy that Zinnia was alive, and even more, that she was still as bright and full of life as ever.
Just thinking back to four years ago, seeing her lying lifeless in that hospital bed, Lydia’s heart still ached terribly.
And when Lydia later learned Zinnia had vanished without a trace, not knowing if she was alive or dead, her mind went completely numb.
That whole month, Lydia also searched for Zinnia, but she found nothing. No matter how hard she tried, nothing. Lydia even scoured every coastal surveillance feed, but there wasn’t a single trace of her.
Lydia asked, “Zinnia, do you really not remember anything?”
Lydia gazed at Zinnia’s captivating, alluring eyes, where a bright, pure smile now shone. Gone was the heavy heart Zinnia’d carried when leaving school four years ago.
Zinnia’s voice was clear and gentle now, utterly unlike the phone calls from back then, where her sadness was palpable.
Four years had allowed Zinnia’s features to fully bloom, making her even more breathtakingly stunning and captivating than before, impossible to look away.
Lydia couldn’t hide the emotions welling up in her eyes. ‘After four long years, I have finally found her,‘ she wondered.
“I don’t remember.” At the mention of her amnesia, Zina let out a quiet sigh. Without those memories, she just felt so empty inside.
“Don’t you remember anyone at all? Like Yannis or Nathan?” Lydia asked softly, her eyes carefully studying Zinnia’s expression.
As soon as the names reached her ears, Zina felt a sharp pang pierce her chest, like a needle prick.
“W–Who are they?” Zina murmured, her eyes clouded with confusion.
For some reason, just hearing those names sent a wave of sorrow through her heart. ‘Why does my heart ache when I hear their names?‘ she wondered. ‘But the memory slipped through my fingers–just who are these people?‘
Upon hearing that Zinnia didn’t even remember those two, Lydia’s pupils trembled slightly. Her fingers clench voluntarily.
“They’re people you used to know,” Lydia replied. She kept her explanation vague, glossing over the details of their connection. Her voice carried a slight stiffness.
Lydia worried Zina might blame her if she remembered later, but she just couldn’t bring herself to tell her the truth now.
Just a little longer,‘ Lydia thought. ‘Only a little longer.‘
Lydia desperately wanted to have Zinnia all to herself, even if just for a while.
‘I know it’s selfish of me, but I can’t help it,‘ Lydia admitted to herself. ‘Taking advantage of Zinnia’s amnesia, I just want to carve a place for myself in her world.’
‘I can’t bear to lose her again. These past four years have been pure agony!
Lydia thought, ‘There are always so many people in Zinnia’s world, so many who adore her. But to me, she’s truly one of a kind.
‘Now that she’s back, it won’t be long before everyone else notices her again. When that happens, I’ll just fade into the background in her world, just another nobody.
So Lydia wanted to take this chance, while it was still just them, to get to know Zinnia all over again. At least this time, Lydia would be the first to know her.
Hearing Lydia’s answer, Zina lowered her gaze, a hollow emptiness settling in her heart. ‘Just people I used to know?” she wondered. ‘But if that’s all they were, why does hearing their names make my heart ache?‘
It was just like last time when Zina heard that brief male voice. It grabbed her attention before she even realized it, something inside her tightening as she was unconsciously drawn in.
“Zinnia, where have you been all these years?” Lydia asked and wondered, ‘Where on earth has she been? Why couldn’t we find her, no matter how hard we tried?‘
“I’ve been living in a small town over in Yinecrest,” Zina said simply.
‘Yinecrest?‘ Lydia thought. ‘So that’s where she’s been all this time. I’ve been in Mealinia all these years–no wonder I could never find her.‘