The moment their eyes met, Zoe Rhodes froze on the spot.
She stared at the somewhat unfamiliar figure, only realizing after a moment that it was Zane Hawthorne!
It was a completely different feeling from seeing his official photo on the company's homepage.
His face was still handsome, but the Zane Hawthorne before her was much more disheveled than in the picture. He had none of the high-spirited energy of the young man she remembered.
'It made sense. Ten years had passed, after all.'
The lighting in the banquet hall was dim. Zoe Rhodes was petite, and standing in a corner, most of her body was hidden in the shadows. Consequently, when Vance and Lawson hurried over and followed Zane Hawthorne's gaze, they didn't notice her.
Zoe also figured Zane hadn't seen her, so she simply pretended not to see him either and continued to eat by the food cart.
Until—
"Zoe Rhodes."
A deathly silence fell over the surroundings.
Zane Hawthorne's voice was hoarse. Beneath its softness was a stubborn resolve, like the surface of a calm lake rippling after a stone was suddenly tossed into it.
Zoe's heart skipped a beat, and the small cookie at her lips fell to the floor.
She looked up at him again.
Through the crowd, his gaze landed precisely on her.
'He saw me!'
In that instant, Zoe was struck by a strange feeling.
It didn't matter where she stood; Zane Hawthorne could always find her in a crowd.
It was true now, and it had been true in the past.
No matter the occasion, he would always spot her at first glance.
"Mr. Hawthorne, everyone is looking..." Vance didn't know why Zane was suddenly acting up, but now wasn't the time to question it.
The most important thing right now was this engagement ceremony.
The old patriarch placed great importance on the marriage alliance between the Hawthorne Family and the Kingsley Family. If anything went wrong with today's engagement party, Vance had no doubt the old man would declare that whoever in the Hawthorne Family could marry the eldest daughter of the Kingsley Family would be the next head of the family.
After all, the illegitimate sons Zane's father kept on the side had long been eager to make a move.
The most audacious of them was Hawthorne. Ever since he learned about Zoe Rhodes, he had spent years secretly and openly sending stand-ins to Zane's side—women who looked like her, sounded like her, had a similar figure, or a similar personality. The stream of them was endless.
Fortunately, although Zane would have his episodes, he never took the bait.
On average, none of these stand-ins lasted more than a minute with him.
He would basically take one look and throw them out.
At first, Vance had thought Zane's condition wasn't that serious—that it was just a deep obsession he couldn't let go of so quickly.
But later, when Zane had another episode, he realized that Zane had never wanted a replacement!
Zane would always say that no one was like her, while simultaneously hoping that the next person Hawthorne sent over would be Zoe Rhodes herself...
From then on, Vance knew Zane was a lost cause.
He tried to persuade Zane in a low voice, but the latter paid him no mind. It was as if his soul had drifted off somewhere, leaving only a wretched shell standing there, like the silent, tormented statue that stood at the intersection every year on the anniversary of Zoe's death.
Vance's thoughts snapped back to the present.
'That's right, today is the anniversary of Zoe's death.'
'No wonder Zane suddenly lost it.'
The crowd grew restless again. Through the rustling murmurs, Zane's Adam's apple bobbed as he struggled to speak. "Why did you only come now?"
If one listened closely, there was even a trace of grievance in his voice.
Vance sucked in a sharp breath, knowing Zane was having an episode. He gestured for the bodyguards behind him to take him away.
At almost the same moment, a very soft "Huh?" came from some unknown corner of the banquet hall.
It was a completely subconscious expression of confusion. The moment she realized what she'd done, Zoe's pupils constricted, and she quickly clamped a hand over her mouth.
The faint sound was so surreal that even Vance thought he was hallucinating. He widened his eyes and looked toward that dark corner again.
The young ladies who had just been gossiping were now being stared at intently. They looked terrified, thinking Zane had overheard their conversation.
Just as anxious was Zoe Rhodes, who stood behind them.
The atmosphere was just too strange.
'This is his engagement party, not my resurrection match.'
She didn't really want to reunite with Zane under everyone's watchful eyes; it would inevitably steal the show.
If people recognized her, she figured no one would care about Zane's engagement party anymore.
After all, who here had ever seen a dead person come back to life?
What could be more sensational than that?
With that in mind, Zoe took out her phone.
As she was about to message him, she noticed a missed call he had just made.
Her fingers paused for two seconds before she quickly typed, [Go ahead and finish up. Just message me when you're done.]
The message sent successfully. Zoe turned, grabbed two more small cakes from the table, and ducked down to slip out from the back.
She ran so fast that she naturally didn't hear the sound of a table being overturned behind her, nor the guests' screams...
---
The back door was a dedicated staff-only passage, and no one was passing through at this time.
Zoe held a small cake in her mouth, freeing up a hand to check her messages.
Two minutes had passed since she sent the message, but Zane hadn't replied.
'The ceremony has probably started by now, so he must be busy.' Zoe silently closed the chat window, planning to find a cool spot to sit, eat, and wait.
She turned to go in another direction, but before she could even take a step, her wrist was suddenly gripped tightly.
"..."
Startled by the sudden movement, Zoe's hand trembled, and the small cake fell to the ground. She turned her head in alarm, but upon seeing the familiar face, she let out a sharp breath.
She forcefully slapped his hand. "Are you crazy?! You scared me!"
Zane didn't even dare to blink, his bloodshot eyes locking onto her figure.
He remained silent, carefully feeling the strong, steady pulse beating beneath his palm.
It was vivid, and it was warm.
It was the living, breathing... Zoe Rhodes!
Before Zoe could even steady herself, she was pulled into a scorching embrace.
An unfamiliar scent instantly enveloped her completely, like hitting a solid, impenetrable wall.
The words on the tip of her tongue died. She sniffed lightly and, on a whim, asked, "Zane, did you change your cologne?"
Zane never used to wear cologne. Not until she gave him a bottle for his seventeenth birthday.
After that, he started wearing it often. Gradually, she had grown accustomed to his scent.
The man hugging her stiffened. After a long moment, he denied it. "No."
He was lying.
That cologne had been discontinued long ago.
So, he could never bring himself to use the bottle she had given him ever again.
Zoe didn't think much of it. She poked his arm. "A quick hug is enough. Let me go already."
She struggled to squirm out of his arms. Putting a little distance between them, she looked up at him. When her gaze fell on the glint of moisture in the corner of his eye, the words she was about to say caught in her throat.
The incandescent light overhead was bright and glaring. Zoe instinctively squinted. Before her eyes could adjust, she quickly took a step forward, leaning in to get a better look.
In her memory, Zane hadn't shed a single tear when his own father died.
At the time, she even suspected that if the media hadn't been at the funeral, he probably would have laughed out loud.
But now, he was actually...
"You're... crying?!"