Chapter 354

---- Chapter 354. Zachary was lounging on the couch. He was scrolling through his phone while casually smoking a cigarette . Even when he saw Anne coming in, he barely reacted. "Zach." Anne walked into the room with a smile. She initiated the conversation. "Sorry for keeping you waiting. Traffic was bad." Zachary only gave her an indifferent glance. Her striking beauty didn't impress him much. While tapping the ash into the tray, he asked flatly, "You don't mind me smoking here, do you?" "Not at all. Go ahead.

The ventilation is good by the window anyway," Anne replied with an easy smile, even though she usually hated secondhand smoke. She called the server over, ordered some food, and had two bottles of red wine brought up. "It's been a while since we last met. Have you been busy with studies? You're graduating with your master's this year, right? " Anne rested her chin on her clasped hand as she gazed at him intently. Zachary shifted uncomfortably under her open gaze and looked away.

He responded casually, "I've graduated .I'll be working at our Usna branch for the next two years." "You're staying in Usna?" Anne was a little surprised. "Don't ---- you plan to stay here long-term?" "Why would I?" Zachary retorted. He snuffed out his cigarette and added coldly, "Some things are better left out of sight and out of mind." Anne poured him half a glass of wine. "Yeah, I get it. After all, that woman is your aunt now. Watching her all over him every day must be torture." Zachary remained silent. "We're in the same boat.

Here's to us getting screwed over by the two same people!" Anne filled her own glass and clinked glasses with him. Zachary had thought he had made peace with everything. But ever since he heard about Donovan and Giselle's marriage, old memories crept back, leaving him in an unexpected slump. So when Anne invited him out for dinner tonight , he agreed without much consideration. Listening to Anne's bittersweet words in a closed -off private room made Zachary feel even more depressed. Without a word, he chugged down another glass of wine.

When he finished it, Anne immediately refilled his glass. They ate their light meal between slow sips of wine. The tension between them gradually softened into an unexpected harmony. "In this whole mess, I always thought I was the one who got hurt the most. But now I realize, Zach, you're the one who ---- really got screwed over..."" Anne's voice was soft and emotional. "Even you think I'm the pathetic one, huh?" Zach asked flatly. Anne nodded and locked eyes with him. "You probably have no idea what that woman is really like deep down.

She's far more ruthless and manipulative than you could ever imagine." Zachary's expression tightened with irritation. "We can talk, but I don't want to hear you trashing her in front of me." Anne let out a cold laugh and shook her head. "I can't believe you're still defending her now. You really have no clue, do you? Do you know why she picked you back then? Because you were young, naive, and easy to manipulate."