Female Novel
Chapter 1288
When Zoey climbed back into her car, she slumped against the back seat, exhausted. Her sleep had
been restless the night before, and now, her cheeks were throbbing with an intermittent aching pain.
Through the car window, she saw Belinda still sitting inside the diner, looking quite pleased with herself.
A stack of bills sat beside her, their presence sparking a twinkle in her eyes.
Before long, a man approached and entered the diner. Even after all these years, Zoey recognized him
instantly. He was her stepfather, the man who had almost violated her all those years ago.
When Belinda had caught him that time, he had remained calm, confident that Belinda would never
side with Zoey. Sure enough, Belinda slapped Zoey that night.
"Why are you so cheap, trying to seduce your stepfather at such a young age! You're not afraid of
making a fool of yourself! Go to bed already!"
Zoey didn't understand why she, the victim, was being slapped and scolded by her mother.
It wasn't until she met Murray that her stepfather finally stopped his advances.
Zoey gripped the steering wheel tightly, almost tempted to slam on the accelerator and run the man
over. He had gained weight, and from a distance, he resembled a wriggling worm. She couldn't fathom
why Belinda would treasure such a man.
Feeling nauseated, she stumbled out of the car and vomited into a nearby flowerbed. The sight of the
man brought back her childhood trauma, causing her vision to spin and blur.
She wondered if her mother had also invited this man to their meeting. The thought alone made her
sick to her stomach. She vomited again, but only brought up bile, as she hadn't eaten anything all day.
She grabbed a bottle of water from the car, intending to rinse her mouth, when she heard a greasy
voice.
"Zoey, it really is you. I didn't recognize you from a distance."
The worm had slithered over to her.
Zoey looked up to see his greasy chin and shiny forehead, which glowed like a light bulb. Her face
contorted in disgust as she opened the water bottle and splashed it on the man.
"Get lost!"
She glared at the man who had given her nightmares, wishing she could tear him apart. But the man
only smirked, his gaze unabashedly roaming over her body.
"Zoey, you have grown up, playing games with you boyfriend now, huh? Remember when I wanted to
play games with you and you'd cry? But you know, your mom would hit you really hard every time you
cried. How about it, want to play games with me now that you're all grown up?"
Zoey trembled with rage, wishing she had a knife to stab the man. Even after all these years, her
hatred for him hadn't lessened.
The man was now soaked from the water, and he moved to embrace Zoey. But Belinda's voice rang
out, "What are you two doing?"
The man quickly retracted his hands and laughed. "I haven't seen Zoey in years. Just came over to say
hello."
Belinda looked annoyed. "Zoey, aren't you leaving?"
It was clear she didn't want Zoey around her man.
Zoey felt a mix of amusement and sadness.
She was even more saddened by the fact that after being neglected by Belinda, she was still in pain. It
seemed money couldn't buy affection anymore.
She stumbled back into her car, hearing the man tell Belinda, "You should be nicer to her. After all, she
bought you that bag. But Zoey really has changed. Women change a lot when they grow up."
"What are you trying to do? Did that slut say something to seduce you?"novelbin
"No, no, honey. Let's go, let's go get some noodles."
The worm escorted Belinda towards the place they had just visited.
Zoey watched this scene, her hands shaking as she tried to start the car, but she didn't have the
strength.
It took her a long while to gather herself. She felt as though her soul had been drained, leaving her
shriveled.
It wasn't until Maja called, inquiring about recent company matters, that Zoey could muster up her
energy.
"Mr. Pennyfeather, everything's fine. Shawn has been nominated for another award, Wilma's script is in
progress, and Cornelia's Hollywood debut news has been leaked. She gained fame from that photo
initially, right? Now, with the upcoming movie, she's amassed close to a million loyal fans, and she's
constantly active on Twitter, always posting a grid of nine photos. She sure is diligent."
Maja sighed in relief. She was currently blind and unable to handle documents.
"Zoey, I'll have to rely on you for the company matters for now. My health isn't the best and I can't
review documents."
"Of course, Mr. Pennyfeather. You focus on getting better."
After Maja hung up, she sighed as she felt the wind blowing from outside.
Earlier, she had mentioned wanting to see a therapist, but Ian had refused, insisting that she just
needed to rest.
Truth be told, Maja herself was unwilling to admit that she had a psychological problem.
She groped her way out of the room and towards the study, where she heard Ian's voice. He was
dealing with a pile of documents from the Raymond Corporation.
Maja walked in, guided by the sound of his voice. She slowly approached him, encircling his neck with
her arms.
"Maja, what's wrong?"
"Does your wound still hurt?"
"It's not hurting anymore. Are you still worried? I told you I'm fine. Why don't you rest in the room?
Maybe you're having nightmares because you haven't been sleeping well."
Maja wanted to say something to reassure him, but suddenly, it felt like a string in her mind had
snapped. She heard Ian's voice change, one moment sounding like Mr. K, the next like Ian's.
She stood up abruptly, stepping back in horror.