Chapter 176
Zoe took a stroll on the stone pathway. There were more plants and vases in the garden, giving it an abundance of life even in winter. Her late mother’s painting was hung on the marble porch.
The living room, however, was completely redone. The furniture was all changed but it retained the previous fashion. The carpets were changed as well. There was a giant mural behind the couch.
In the painting, the skies were decorated with stars and a very young Zoe was sleeping in the tent in summer.
She stared at it for a long time, only leaving the place when her eyes were tired. The snow was falling heavily by the time she came outside. Some of them fell on her eyelids akin to white feathers in the dark of night.
One of the winter jasmines in the corner bent from the weight of the snow piled on top of it. Its yellow petals looked more tender and lovely in sharp relief against the white of the snow.
After Zoe left, Mason returned to the private room and ate dinner listlessly. Ava came in by the time he was about to finish. She gave him a report, “This is Dr. Norbert’s latest result for the
psychoanalysis. His assistant sent the bill to us too.”
He motioned for her to sit across from him. Wrapping up his dinner, he read Zoe’s psychoanalysis. It was well worth every penny. His analysis was very much detailed and on point.
Closing the report after finished reading it, he said lightly, “Issue a check and send it to him. We’ll clear the remaining payment!”
+25 BONUS
She was surprised. She said, “Ms. Zoe hasn’t returned to you, Mr.
Mason.”
He raised his eyes and looked at her. It was hard to guess what he was thinking.
After a brief pause, he wiped his lips with a napkin and said, “She’ll return to me soon enough! We’ll put our collaboration with Dr. Norbert on hold for the time being.”
His confident look sent chills down her spine. She was leaving the restaurant with him when she couldn’t help but ponder something. Was it Zoe’s fortune or misfortune to have married Mason?
Mason drove back to his manor. The servant came to him and served him, but he reacted listlessly to them. He wasn’t in the mood to talk to them.
Going into his study on the second floor, he tossed the report and the bill onto the desk. Then, he sat and leaned on the couch, cracking his knuckles and relaxing himself.
Snow was falling outside the window, adding an almost lyrical sense with their whimsical twirls in the dark of night.
He missed Zoe.
Her place might be small but her couch was very comfy. He cast his mind back to the moment when Zoe was drunk and fell asleep in his arms for the whole night. He recalled that she had never been this intimate with him ever since her family’s downfall. In the past, she would’ve clung to him all the time, just as Sherry was doing now.
He was in the middle of his thoughts when his phone rang. It was Zoe. Gripping the phone, he raised his head slightly and gulped. involuntarily, “Are you at Kirk Manor or are you at home? I can pick you up if you’re at Kirk Manor.”
07
+25 BONUS
She remained quiet for a long while before saying softly, “I’m home.”
Chuckling, he said, “I believe you’ve seen the manor. Do you like it?”
She didn’t respond to him.
Listening to her light breathing, he sat up a little and said, “Why are you crying? How about I come over right now?”
She murmured, “No.”
They had been married for several years, so he could tell that she had compromised a lot for his sake, and that included this phone call itself.
He won. He got what he wanted, but he couldn’t stop feeling that he was a despicable man.
He must’ve been mistaken! Why would he feel guilty and that he was despicable when his mother taught him to use any means necessary if he wanted something for himself?
With that said, Zoe was crying….
Perhaps, he thought, it was because he had spent too much time with her and he went soft in the process! This had nothing to do with love. They were simply together for so long that he had the tiniest feelings. for her. There was nothing more than that!
+25 BONUS
