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17:58 Mon, Oct 6
Chapter 418
Chapter 418
Today, a madam hosted a luncheon for several elite socialites. The hobby was buzzing with lively chatter, bur as
soon as that remark was made, the conversation died down.
“Well, now that you mention it, it really does sound familiar. | remember my husband's sister-in-law had a baby,
but the child was switched at birth by someone unknown. It wasn’t until a few years ago that the truth
cout.
“It turns out that it was her husband who did it.
“He kept telling her to be extra kind to the child who was not born by her, so she treasured that child like the
apple of her eye.
“But one day, she found out she’d been raising her husband's illegitimate daughter while her own child was
suffering in someone else’s home. His sister-in-law was furious.
“She brought her real child back, took back the company, and kicked out her husband and her fake daughter.
She's been making amends to her real child ever since. Honestly, what's happening with the Shawn family really
remindsof my sister-in-law’s story.”
“Well, in our elite circles, little secrets happen all the time-things like this are commonplace. If that’s really the
case, it suddenly all makes sense.”
“If Maelis ever found out about this, she'd totally lose it. Nobody could possibly accept raising her husband's
illegitimate daughter.”
Someone sighed, and the moment the words left their lips, an awkward silence fell over the room. The ladies
exchanged uneasy glances. “Surely that can’t be true, right?”
“Let’s not tell them about this,” Zinnia said to Isaac and Maisie.
“We thought it'd be best to let Grandma enjoy her birthday first. We'll tell her about Maelis after today’s
celebration,” Isaac said. It was Sofia’s birthday, and none of them wanted Maelis’s situation to ruin her special
day.
“Of course,” Zinnia replied.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAs they entered, the cheerful voices of Sofia and Yvette chatting drifted out, and a smile lit up Zinnia's face.
“Zinnia’'s here!” Yvette was the first to spot her.
“Zinnia, my baby girl.” Hearing of Zinnia’s arrival, Sofia’s face lit up. She turned around, her kind features
radiating warmth.
Zinnia hurried in, beaming. “Happy birthday, Grandma!”
“I am so happy to see you, Zinnia,” Sofia said, taking Zinnia’s hand, her loving eyes brimming with unreserved
affection.
17:58 Mon, Oct 6
Chapter 418
Isaac, trailing behind, teased, “Grandma, every tZinnia’s around, you don’t even see us anymore.”
“You've been withall day. Why can’t | spoil my sweet Zinnia for a while?” Sofia said, giving Isaac a playful
glare.
“Mom, Dad, Grandpa” Zinnia greeted everyone warmly.
Sofia kept her birthday gathering small-just inviting Raymond's family, the Lynns, and Yannis. All told, it was just
one table of guests. Jackson's parents, stationed at an overseas embassy, only cback for Christmas and
rarely returned otherwise.
For Sofia’s birthday, the couple had arranged for someone to deliver their gifts to her well in advance.
Sofia pulled Zinnia down beside her on the sofa, still holding the gift Zinnia had brought. “Zinnia, you didn’t have
to bringa gift-just coming is enough.”
With a smile, Zinnia said, “It's nothing fancy, just a painting.”
Zinnia’s gift for Sofia was a masterpiece by a renowned artist valued at around $1.5 million at auction. She had
acquired it at an auction with her Master, when a buyer who couldn’t afford her medicine exchanged the painting
for it. K
Knowing Sofia’s birthday was coming up, Zinnia called Chandler several days ago and asked him to retrieve the
painting from the storage room of her Master's house and send it to her.
Henry and Raymond were playing chess on the coffee table, their faces flushed as they argued heatedly about
fishing. Aaron sat nearby, watching their gand hoping to learn a thing or two.
Jackson and Yannis were still tied up with work, and Charlie had surgery so he’d be late. Isaac and Maisie arrived
first, and when Zinnia showed up, the three of them ended up playing Go Fish.
Zinnia wasn’t very good at it—even though Isaac and Maisie went easy on her, she kept losing, and soon her
face was covered with sticky notes as a playful punishment.
“Zinnia, remember the rules,” Isaac explained as they played.
“Got it,” Zinnia nodded attentively. But when the round ended, she had lost again.
“Zinnia, how cyou lost again? You're really having a bad run of luck today,” Isaac said as he and Maisie
leaned in to check Zinnia’s remaining cards. The two shrugged. They'd been deliberately playing to help her win,
but Zinnia was so unlucky.
Maisie scratched her head. “Isn't there supposed to be beginner's luck? How cZinnia’s always so unlucky?”
she joked, grabbing another sticky note. “Con, letstick another one on you.”
Zinnia obediently leaned her head forward, letting Maisie stick another note on her. Even though she kept losing,
she couldn't help but smile. ‘I've never played this gbefore, but it's actually pretty fun,’ she thought,
genuinely enjoying herself.
“Here, Zinnia, letstick one on you,” Isaac said, grabbing a sticky note and sticking it on Zinnia’s cheek. By
now, her face was covered in sticky notes, sof them barely hanging on and fluttering with her every
17:58 Mon, Oct 6
Chapter 418
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Watching the three of them with amused smiles, Sofia and Yvette teased, “Con, you two, give Zinnia a
break.”
“No need, Grandma, Mom,” Zinnia said, waving her hand. “It won't be fun if they letwin.”
When Jackson and Yannis arrived together, they saw Zinnia in the private room with sticky notes covering her
face-sfluttering comically in the breeze from the doorway-a sight that made it impossible not to chuckle.
“Hi, Jackson, Yannis.” Sofia beamed, her smile widening as she and Yvette looked up from their conversation.
The three card players looked up, the sticky notes on their foreheads fluttering upward. Zinnia blinked in surprise
and quickly reached up to press down the notes dancing atop her head, looking adorably flustered.
Isaac, Maisie and Zinnia all greeted Yannis and Jackson when they saw the two of them coming in.
Yannis’s gaze landed on Zinnia, his eyes brimming with amusement. When Zinnia caught him smiling, she shot
him a playful glare. She knew he was mocking her, and his smile was getting more obvious.
“Happy birthday, Sofia. May you enjoy everlasting health like the evergreen pines,” Yannis said with a warm
smile as he entered the private room.
“Thank you.” Sofia’s face lit up with delight at his sweet words.
“Grandma, Charlie will be here soon,” Jackson added from the side.
“I see,” Sofia.
Yannis and Jackson walked over to the small sofa where the three card players were sitting. Yannis looked down
at Zinnia, her face plastered with sticky notes, his lips twitching as he struggled to suppress a smile. “What are
you guys playing?” he asked.
“Go Fish,” Zinnia replied in a slow tone, having clearly noticed Yannis laughing at her but choosing to ignore it.
She blew at the sticky notes on her face.
“You lost, right?” Yannis said with a teasing grin. “Letwin it back for you.”
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