Chapter 6 Breaking the Engagement

After a brief two-second pause, Zayden stepped into the room. Upon hearing Zayden's voice, Colton immediately put down his raised leg, his smile widening. "Zayden, what brings you here? Came to find Olive, right? You two seem to be getting closer than even your older brother." Zayden’s black eyes fixed on Quinn’s face. Her delicate features showed no emotion, which made him wonder if she had been just as indifferent and cold when she had said she wanted to break off the engagement. He walked over to Quinn, and after a moment of silence, his cold voice broke the stillness. "Did you agree to break off the engagement?" Quinn nodded, her demeanor so calm that Zayden couldn't help but wonder if she had completely changed after her time in prison. He had always thought Quinn would cry and beg him if they were in this situation. Her piercing gaze forced Quinn to meet Zayden's assessing eyes. She smiled, but the smile never reached her eyes. "Mr. Grant, I’m not worthy of you." Her words exploded like a bomb in Zayden’s ears. "You..." Colton, sensing the tension between the two, quickly intervened. "Zayden, are you here to discuss the engagement with my grandfather?" Zayden moved his gaze away from Quinn’s face, which now seemed both familiar and strange. "Yes, but Norman’s current condition..." Hearing about her grandfather, Quinn became anxious. "What happened to Grandpa?" Olive, who had been irritated by the prolonged eye contact between Zayden and Quinn, stepped forward and hooked her arm around Zayden’s. "Quinn, you don’t know? Grandpa’s been bedridden because you upset him. He hasn’t recovered yet." Quinn didn’t have the patience to correct Olive's twisted version of the story. The one who caused trouble wasn’t her, but Olive. "I need to see Grandpa now!" "The doctor says Grandpa needs peace and quiet to recover. If you bother him now, it could make his condition worse," Colton said sarcastically, his fake politeness slipping away to reveal his true arrogance. Quinn quickly regained her composure. Colton had refused so quickly, which made her suspicious. The entire Fairchild family knew Norman’s favorite person was her. She gritted her teeth. Grandpa was in the hands of the Fairchild family now, so this wasn’t the time to tear things apart. "When can I see him? When will he get better?" Quinn asked, staring into Colton's eyes. She was trying to read his subtle expressions for any clues. Colton, accustomed to putting on a front after years of working in the outside world, responded, "Who knows?" Her anger flared. Quinn clenched her fists, but before she could speak, Zayden took the opportunity to interrupt. "This engagement was arranged by Norman. If it’s to be broken, it has to wait until Norman wakes up." Colton was displeased. Only by hastening the union between the Fairchild family and the Grants would he be able to access the resources from the Grant family. With Zayden’s statement, no one could object, even if they wanted to. The group exchanged glances, each with their own thoughts. Quinn didn’t mind. Whether or not the engagement ended was just a matter of time. Olive, seeing the delay in the wedding arrangement, grew frustrated. She pulled on Colton’s hand, whining, "Colton, I’m not getting any younger. How long do I have to wait for you and Zayden?" With that, she shyly glanced at Zayden. Colton smiled indulgently. "Don’t worry, what’s yours will always be yours. No one can take it away." Colton’s words reassured Olive, and she excitedly walked over, wanting to take Zayden’s hand. But she noticed Zayden was still staring at Quinn. Olive was taken aback. "Zayden..." Zayden snapped back to reality and gave Olive a perfunctory smile, charming yet distant. "Be good. I need to speak with Quinn. I’ll join you later." Without giving Olive a chance to argue, Zayden took Quinn’s hand and led her toward the balcony, not waiting for her to react. Olive stared daggers at their retreating figures, stomping her foot in frustration. "Damn Quinn." Quinn, feeling slightly irritated, stared at his hand. "Let go." Zayden pretended not to hear. Before they could even settle on the balcony, Quinn forcefully pulled her hand away from his, as if touching something she shouldn’t have. "Stop pretending. I know you’re still blaming me," Zayden said, seeing the coldness in her eyes, his heart racing for a moment. His towering figure loomed over her. She seemed even smaller, more fragile than he remembered. "Three years ago, when I found out, you were already in prison. I didn’t have time to..." Quinn interrupted abruptly, "No need to explain. I’m not blaming you. But it’s my own fault for being too greedy. I brought this upon myself." Greedy for a warm, normal family. Greedy for a gentle, handsome boyfriend. And God punished her for her greed, sentencing her to three years in prison. Zayden felt a tremor in his chest, and for a moment, his facade seemed to crack. He quickly regained his icy composure. "Quinn, enough! How much longer do you want to keep this up?" "Keep it up?" How could he think she was making a scene? It was laughable. Even if no one accepted her, at least she had once thought Zayden was different. But now, it seemed like she had only been fooling herself. "When you were just brought back to the Fairchild family, Olive made you heat up a can of food, but you put the metal can in the microwave. It burned Olive’s arm so badly that she almost died. Now, you two are even." Zayden’s words froze Quinn, and she didn’t want to listen any longer. When she had just arrived at the Fairchild family, she didn’t even know how to open a car door. She had been so focused on the warmth of the family that she didn’t notice Olive’s malice. That day, Olive had brought her a can of food and eagerly wanted to share it with her. Quinn had sworn to herself she’d be a good older sister. But when Olive had coaxed her into putting the metal can in the microwave, with a sinister smile that didn’t fit her age, Quinn had sensed something was wrong, but it was too late. Olive’s arm had been burned, and the whole family had fussed over her injuries. No one noticed the scar on Quinn’s forehead. Afterward, Olive claimed Quinn had pushed her toward the microwave, intending to harm her. Everyone believed it was out of jealousy that Quinn had tried to hurt Olive. As the years passed, the scar on her forehead slowly faded. Quinn’s voice came from a distant place. "When I first came to the Fairchild family, I didn’t even know what a microwave was. How could I know that metal would cause it to explode?" What a bunch of fools, they had been manipulated without even realizing it, and they placed all the blame on her. But she had been even more foolish then, because she was so afraid of losing the only family she had, she endured the injustice, not realizing it would lead to a decade of tragedy. Zayden, his brow furrowed, adjusted the delicate ring on his pinky. He hadn’t fully believed everything Olive had told him, but there were some things beyond his control. He fell silent for a long time. Quinn, growing impatient, turned to leave. A sudden force from behind pulled Quinn into a wide, strong embrace. She froze for a moment, then instinctively struggled. "Zayden, what are you doing? Let go of me!" The man’s strength was overwhelming, and despite her best efforts, she couldn’t break free. Zayden spoke in a tone that carried an inexplicable sadness. "Quinn, I’ll do my best to make it up to you." Quinn could barely breathe, not wanting to delve into Zayden’s strange words. She had been restrained countless times in prison. In that terrifying place, being held down was the only way to win.