Wild Young Miss: Mister, Let's Kiss!

[PRESENT TIME]

Before Zoey could reach the VIP Lounge, she halted as soon as she felt the vibration inside her purse. Without a second hesitation, she took her phone out and glanced at the phone screen.

"Hey darling~!" Zoey answered, her tone from earlier changed drastically as the side of her lips stretched from ear to ear.

"Not home yet?" From the other side of the line, Matthew's ever inexpressive tone caused Zoey to chuckle.

"I'm at The Palace. It's a nightclub." Zoey informed, not feeling the need to lie about her whereabouts.

However, before Zoey could explain, she immediately sensed the sudden shift of mood. Even from 'miles' away, Zoey knew Matthew was displeased.

"I trust you, love." Matthew replied after the long stifling silence.

"Hey, are you trying to guilt trip me?" Zoey humored, shaking her head as the 'young' Matthew surely gets jealous easily.

"I am. I don't mind if you want to unwind. But, I can't let my guard down especially if my girlfriend is too pretty and very unpredictable under the influence of alcohol."

In a matter-of-tone, Matthew said. He didn't deny his own worries while his girlfriend could go crazy tonight. Not that he didn't trust Zoey, but with Nikolai trapped in the country, anything could happen.

"Tsk. How am I enjoying this toxicity?" Zoey humored, chuckling in glee as she felt very toxic -- the happy kind of toxicity.

"Should I send Carter to you?" Matthew asked, ignoring the answer she sought as it was obvious. Zoey had become a corrupted cancer in the society.

"Hehe. Darling, I'm with my brother. You know, I'm accompanying him so I am not drinking. Also, Ken and your other cousin are here. The world is too small for the elites." After chuckling, Zoey informed nonchalantly.

"So, don't you worry, okay?"

Zoey added, reassuring him that he was worrying for nothing. Matthew, on the other end of the line, raised his brows.

"Which cousin?" He asked.

"That cousin." Zoey answered vaguely. "The superstar."

For a moment, Matthew furrowed his brows. He knew Zoey and Enzo were close friends in their previous life. It was already odd that Zoey was avoiding Enzo. Not that it was bad for Matthew, it was just odd.

"Enzo?" Matthew asked to confirm.

"Yes. That one." Zoey answered, nodding as she didn't feel the need to explain herself. 

After all, Zoey believed Matthew wouldn't be suspicious. Zoey and Enzo hadn't built their friendship just yet. Therefore, it would only be normal if Zoey feigned as if she didn't know Enzo.

Little did she know, Matthew had known more than she knew. However, he couldn't tell her and could only pretend to be living the life of the young Matthew.

"I see." After a while, Matthew spoke in understanding. He nodded his head even though Zoey couldn't see his action.

"You have fun with your brother. I will see if I can join you later if you're still there." Matthew said and Zoey smiled.

"Sure. I'll see you later if you manage to escape Paul's eyes." Zoey giggled as Paul had become more and more like a nagging mother for Matthew to get his business affairs done.

"Mhmm," Matthew let out a soft hum followed by a brief chuckle. "We'll see." He added.

With that, Zoey felt that Matthew would end the call. So, she cleared her throat and spoke up. However, at the same time, Matthew also spoke.

"Hey, I want to…"

"I love you. You know that, right?" Matthew said which caused Zoey's voice to trail off.

In her previous life, although Zoey and Matthew got married, they didn't usually say these loving words through the phone. For them, their actions were more important.

However, after everything that had happened, Zoey wanted to verbally express her love more. They could die any moment and she wanted to make sure he knew that she loved him to the heavens.

Who would have thought Matthew would express his love more verbally than her? This moved and softened her heart.

"Mhmm," Zoey softly hummed, the corner of her lips tilted into a subtle smile. "I love you too, you know that right?"

She added as she leaned on the wall of the long corridor. If she could, she didn't want to hang up and stay on the line. However, she knew Matthew would be in an important meeting.

"I do." Sounding overly gentle, Matthew answered. 

Zoey wondered what kind of expression he had on his face. Probably, he was smiling just like her.

"I don't want to hang up." Matthew said and Zoey giggled.

"I don't either. But you're probably in an important meeting." Zoey explained, shaking her head as she could stay on the line forever. 

This call wouldn't end if Matthew wouldn't cut it short. Zoey didn't plan on ending the call and was only waiting for him to hang up.

"You're more important." Matthew argued in his usual tone. 

"I know that. But appeasing Mother Paul will grant us free dates. I don't want us sneaking behind him." Zoey chuckled as it sounded that Paul had the power to hinder their blooming relationship.

Paul was like an empress dowager at the moment. He was far stricter than Vivian. But, thanks to him, Matthew had kept a stable and balanced schedule between the company affairs and personal affairs.

"Haha. you're right. Paul has been on the edge. He's glaring at me." Matthew humored, glancing at Paul's poker face who was standing not far away from him.

"Shhh! Don't taunt him. He holds the power for us to see each other. Let's not get on his bad side." At this point, Zoey could not help but laugh out loud thinking what kind of expression Paul had at this moment.

"Young Master, I believe we have made the other party wait for long enough." Suddenly, Zoey heard Paul's voice from the other end of the line which made her chuckle.

"Zoey called you Mother. I don't want you to be my in-law."

"Young Master, I understand you're using me to entertain Miss Zhou. However, you have an important business meeting to attend." Paul replied flatly, obviously not amused by Matthew's humor.

Meanwhile, Zoey was laughing out loud, shaking her head as she didn't expect her darling sunshine to goof around right now. Surely, Paul would put her at the stake if they see each other right now.

"Don't hang up. Let us stay… connected." As if Matthew had read Zoey's mind, Matthew uttered.

"Be honest, you can read minds, huh?" Zoey teased, shaking her head sideways. "Alright, I won't hang up but if it ends, that means my phone's dead, okay?"

Zoey agreed while chuckling. Well, the thought of knowing he was just there brought this utter comfort in her heart. Especially after her encounter with Enzo, Zoey just needed a little dose of Matthew to keep her from drinking.

"Mhm," Matthew hummed.

"I'll put you inside my purse. You behave and don't mess with my stuff." Zoey informed, humoring him in between before she placed her phone inside her purse.

Zoey smiled as she stared at the connected line on the screen of her phone. With this, she could manipulate her mind into thinking that she's with him.

After that, Zoey's elevated mood made her skip her steps back to the VIP Lounge. As soon as she reached where she had left her brother and Kenneth, Zoey furrowed her brows seeing it was empty.

"Huh? Where did they go?" Zoey muttered.

"They went to Big Brother Ken's private party. It was on the opposite wing." Just then, Zoey heard Enzo's voice as she turned and faced him.

"Brother Ken texted me. Follow me if you want to. I won't force you if you don't want to." Enzo shrugged as he pivoted on his heel and started walking away.

Zoey clicked her tongue and watched Enzo's back. "I will kill this Kenneth Bai tonight.." She muttered through her gritted teeth before she followed Enzo's tracks.