Chapter 96

With a trance in her head, Anika went out of the orphanage alone and into the parked automobile at the
door.

As she got inside the car, Zac saw her eyes were vacant and frowned in bewilderment.

He opted to call up the navigation to Emerald Gardens first after checking the time on the vehicle
screen.

The vehicle, however, was gently pulled over to the side of the road after a few minutes.

"Anika, why aren't you allowing me to drive?"

Zac smiled and lowered his eyes.

He helplessly looked at the person who was hugging him tightly and was leaning against his shoulder.

Anika didn't let go.

She stopped for a while and looked up at him.

Her voice was very low, "But I want to hug you now.Then ...Can you let me hug you and drive?"

Zac grinned as he lifted his brows.

With his remaining hands, he unbuckled his seat belt, folded his two long arms, and brought her to his
lap.

He had a taunting tone in his voice "Didn't you already have a good time with me the other day? Anika
looked at his handsome eyes, her hand slowly touching his jaw, her voice slightly soft, "Why didn't you
tell me?"



"Hmm? What should I tell you?"

With drooping eyes and a nonchalant tone, he gazed at her.

"You requested Mr.Kes to send me the beautiful presents I received that Christmas” Anika said,
pausing for a minute before continuing, "You begged Mr.Kes to send me the wonderful things I received
that Christmas.’

He was also the one in charge of Mr.Kes's affairs.

Deon was a buddy of his, and it was only because of him that he was able to assist him at the time.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She stubbornly asked again.

Zac finally understood her emotions.

He smiled helplessly and rubbed her head, "At first, I didn't think it was necessary.’

Yasmin handed up the priceless presents because she realized Demi had felt too guilty when he left
out of school, and she had overlooked something.

He considered returning it to Anika after receiving it, but as he turned back, he noticed that she had put
on another item that Kayden had given her.

As a result, he grew enraged and refused to give it to her.

She later encountered Nataly by accident and learned that the other group was also carrying a lucky
charm bracelet.

It was only then that she realized it had been handed to her by their dean.



Mr.Kes grasped Anika's personality when he sent it to her.

He was well aware that she would not fall in love with him simply because she had bestowed the
priceless presents onto him.

Instead, she'd feel as though she owed him something, which would just add to her anxiety.

He couldn't stand the thought of letting go of her guilt.

He didn’t want her to feel bad about him, either.

Moreover, at that time, he had no way to get to her.

Hearing his casual tone, Anika stared at the man's pitch-black eyes.

Her eyes were moist and her head was buried beside his neck.

She muttered, "Hun, I'm sorry”

"Apologize for what?"

"I've kept you waiting for a long time.'' She wasn't going to fall in love with Zac simply because she
owed him a favor.

She may even decide to depart after everything was settled with.

But now that she knew it was him, Anika was irritated and distressed, but she also felt...

It was fortunate that he was the one she adored.

Anika wished for someone to love her unconditionally, but when she received it, she couldn't help but
feel terrible for him because he sacrificed so much to others during his lonely years.



Zac had already known about her misunderstanding.

And she didn't even notice his emotions at that time.

"Then why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Anika was adamant that things would have been different if she had known sooner.

He wouldn't be permitted to carry these feelings on his back, at the very least.

Zac was silent for a moment.

‘Why didn't I?’ He was probably worried that she'd be like this, which would add stress on her.

He sighed and embraced her, "Why are you wiping my tears again? Just think of me as a little more
cunning, waiting for you to find out...How about loving me more? Hmm?"

Anika shook her head.

Seeing him raise her eyebrows, she looked straight at him and said with a smile, "You're definitely more
than a little cunning.'' She also wanted to show him the same profound love, and she didn't want him to
let her love her that much on his own.

Zac pursed his lower lip and leaned closer to her ear.

He said, "Sure, then you can make up for it tonight"

It was self-evident that there would be recompense.

Anika’s face turned red, "Zac, I'm telling you something very serious right now”

‘How dare he casually tear the mood apart again?’



"What I'm talking about is the most serious thing.”

When Anika met his calm gaze, her originally astringent mood weakened a little helplessly, and the
tears that were stored at the corner of her eyes couldn't fall out.

Zac smiled and sighed in his heart.

‘How could I stand to let her be sad?’ The tears in her eyes eventually ceased.

Anika took up his face after calming down, a serious expression in her eyes, and asked, "Why are you
sad these few days?"

She could sense the emotions buried in his heart, but he never told her the reason.

"Anika, why do you like me now?"

Zac said, his eyelids drooping.

Anika was taken aback as she thought.

For a while...

"You are a really sweet person,’ she remarked as she glanced up at him.

She knew all there was to know about Zac.

His poorest and finest performances.

Why didn't she like him when he was at his best? Zac closed his eyes, his deep, inquisitive gaze
"Would you like it if someone treated you that well? Or would you prefer it if you discovered I wasn't all
that good?"



The process now began with his gradual knowledge of her.

To put it another way, he had employed some math to win her favor.

He was aware of the people and things she admired, and he made her aware of his positive qualities in
everything.

A sensible person like her didn't have as many emotions as she had, therefore she was able to
regulate them.

She was too skilled at managing her emotions and was always on the lookout for danger.

He loved her, but he also tried his best to seduce her and finally removed the walls inside her heart.

He did, however, experience jealousy on occasion.

He was not as calm as he seemed on the surface when he discovered that Kayden had come to seek
her.

He feared that she would embrace his wonderful qualities but not his flaws.

There were some words that he was truly afraid that she would know.

Zac assisted her in pulling up the hair around her ear after seeing her quiet grimace.

His eyes gradually lowered as he took a big breath.

"I'm not as magnanimous as I appear.I'll make things tough for Kayden if I don't like him getting close to
you.I'm at a loss on what to do if he gets too near.I sometimes wish you could just see me because I
don't want you to be distracted by a brat like Callum”

She was irritated with herself because she was unwilling to let go of her grief.



He would never let her go again after he had experienced the thrill of being cared for by her.

He didn't want to put any pressure on her, and he was even more scared that she'd uncover his twisted
and nasty mentality concealed deep within, After he finished speaking, Anika maintained her silence
until they finally reached the Emerald Gardens.

It wasn't that she was conflicted, but that she didn't know how to speak in order to make things clear to
him.

‘‘Could it be that because of what Kayden had done, she would give up the feelings she had with him
and go back to Kayden?’’

‘‘Or did she consider herself to be in a casual relationship with him at the time? It didn't matter whether
it was someone else”


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