Zane Hawthorne's hand trembled.
His gaze fell in a fluster. He grabbed a tissue from the side and helplessly reached toward her. After a moment's hesitation, he sighed in resignation, gently cupped her face, and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes as he spoke:
"Why are you still the same, always…"
Before he could finish, he seemed to realize the woman before him was the same one from his past, and he quickly changed his tone.
"Alright, don't cry."
"I'm fine."
"Look, isn't everything fine now?"
It would have been better if he hadn't said anything. The moment he spoke, Zoe Rhodes felt a sting in her nose again.
"After I came over, I saw on the company's homepage that you were the CEO. I thought you'd had a good life all these years."
She knew the Hawthorne Family had many rules, but in her memory, even though Zane Hawthorne was bound by conventions, he was still the family heir—the only successor acknowledged by the elder Mr. Hawthorne.
But…
