Wild Young Miss: Mister, Let's Kiss!

After an hour or so, Zoey finished showering and dolling up. Although choosing which clothes to wear was quite challenging, she managed to pull off the branded clothes to look normal and not too flashy. Still, Zoey's usual style had an enormous change as these clothes still emanated money unlike her clothes which she bought in the thrift shop.

"Right… I should arrive early and knock Ivan out to avoid his endless nagging." As she stared at herself in the mirror, Zoey nodded in satisfaction as she looked decent again.

For some reason, she stared at herself longer. Her eyes moved from her head to toe, the corner of her lips curled into a satisfied smile. 'I used to wear something like this before.' She thought internally, recalling how she dressed up when Z Image Group became the number one Design Company for signage, badges and all sorts in the country.

Not that she missed those times… well, she does. After all, those times were the days she was only stressed with her employees. Unlike now, it was not only the company affairs she needed to look after, but also everyone's lives.

"I have him now…" She whispered, cheering herself to take courage and trust her husband. "You have someone now." She added, offering herself a comforting smile as she recalled Matthew's words from last night. 

Indeed, Zoey realized that her actions till now were nothing but her own foolishness. She wanted to keep everyone safe, carry all the burden alone, and even considered staying away from them if possible.

She thought that by doing so, it wouldn't make a change. She was seven years early from all those. Even if she would follow everything and manage to take down Inigo, there was no telling what could still happen. 

Changes happened. Her time-traveling had defied the natural order of the universe. Therefore, what if Matthew, Cora, Ivan, and everyone she had been protecting would still die in seven years for another cause? 

Everything was possible. Therefore, Zoey realized to just go with the flow. She might interrupt some events here and there, but she was unwilling to let him go. Now that Matthew had been associated with all this shady stuff, Zoey just couldn't turn a blind eye and not consider the pros and cons of it.

After all, his business was also hers, technically. She knew there were things Matthew wouldn't know despite having all the powers because he was never part of the deepest part of the underworld. Although being a part of the underworld was still unclear to her, Zoey discerned that Matthew having powers in politics as well was the same.

"There's no point in dwelling in the past. Just move forward with him, okay?" One last time, Zoey talked to her reflection with a forbearing smile. 

With that being said, Zoey took a deep breath. Without further ado, she trudged outside the room and headed downstairs. Since she already knew the way towards the dining area, she didn't go anywhere and headed straight to where she assumed Matthew was in.

When Zoey drew closer towards the dining area, her steps grew slow. 'What the heck is this atmosphere? I can smell the problem brewing from here.' She thought internally, walking cautiously towards the dining hall.

Upon arriving at the dining area, Zoey was welcomed by a thick air, suffocating everyone who wanted to choke to death. Still, instead of Zoey stopping in her tracks, she walked slowly and carefully with her brows knitted together.

"Uhm, good morning?" She greeted in a questioning tone, her eyes scanned the people inside. There, Matthew was sitting on the head seat, the food in front of him was left untouched. His hands were linked together, resting in front of his lips as he was deep in his thoughts.

Paul, who was standing not far away from Matthew bore a solemn expression. He wasn't saying anything either. 

Kenneth was also there, sitting on the left side of Matthew. He was sighing heavily, raising his eyes towards her. He gestured, shaking his head sideways while putting his finger in front of his lips.

Just then, Zoey heard footsteps behind her. She turned and saw Owen, Carter, and Ryan walking towards her. The three glanced at her before walking past her without a word. 

"Master, you called for us?" Carter was the first one to speak after bowing his head slightly. 

Zoey glanced at the three, walking to their side as she discerned the utter seriousness in their demeanor. Well, Carter was always like that but seeing Ryan and Owen act the same, Zoey figured something major happened.

'What could it be?' She wondered, pursing her lips as she felt speaking nonsense and the sunshine in this gloomy air was unnecessary.

"This mail arrived at the main residence today." Without further ado, Paul was the one to speak for Matthew. He took out a folded paper while walking towards the three. He gave the paper to the three which Owen accepted.

Curious, Zoey tiptoed to peek at what kind of mail Paul was showing them. She was fortunate to have a glimpse of it. It was a letter. The letters were from cut out magazines or from books, making it untraceable.

"F*cking…" After skimming through the short message, Owen ground his teeth as his cursing trailed off. He wanted to crumble the paper but Paul snatched it away in his hands.

"You found someone who sent those? How did they get inside the main residence?" Ryan, who was baffled and alarmed inquired. 

"No." Paul didn't even bat an eye as he answered almost immediately. "The guards guarding the main residence were put to sleep. From the CCTV cameras, the person who delivered this mail didn't intrude further. Still, we're looking into it." He explained, his gaze shifting to the three who found the half of the explanation a little strange.

"Why didn't they only leave a mail and not go further inside?" Carter queried, finding everything strange. If the intruder got access inside, why didn't they go further inside? Not that the security in the main mansion of Matthew was as tight as this place.

Unless… 

Once again, a dreadful silence enveloped the entire dining area. Unless, whoever sent that wanted to show he was not afraid. He wanted to display that no matter how powerful Matthew was, he could walk in and out his territory freely.

Just as everyone was silent, Zoey took up the seat near Matthew. "Darling, say ahh…" Zoey served herself some food, and then cut a small bite of the omelette, offering it to Matthew.

Her lack of seriousness regarding the matter caused not just the three but everyone excluded -- around the table frown. Yet, none of them expressed their displeasure as they didn't think she was someone who takes serious matters seriously.

"Just eat. This is not worth skipping breakfast." In a matter-of-fact tone, Zoey smiled sweetly as she hovered the food in front of his lips. "I think everyone should chill too and enjoy breakfast." She added, sounding relaxed as if she didn't share the same worry as everyone else did...