Their Villain, The Mogul's Beloved novel Chapter 593

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Chapter 593

Yannis pulled out a whole bucket of tokens, ready for a fun session at the claw machine. He asked, “Which plushie do you want to try for?”

Zinnia glanced around, and her eyes landed on a claw machine ahead filled with bear plushies. She said, “I want that bear plushie.”

“Alright, let’s go for that one,” Yannis said, and the two of them walked over together.

Yannis handed Zinnia some tokens with a gentle smile. “Give it a try,” he encouraged.

Zinnia said, “I’ve heard these plushies are hard to grab.” She picked up two tokens and popped them into the slot.

During her first few days back home, Zinnia had been too busy indulging in all the local delicacies to try out these games. So now, she was genuinely bubbling with excitement.

Yannis said gently, “We’ve got a whole bucket of tokens. We can take our time. If you get tired or don’t feel like playing anymore, I’ll take you for some delicious food.”

Zinnia looked down at a bear plushie inside the claw machine, her expression serious. She carefully maneuvered the claw above a plushie that seemed easiest to grab and pressed the button. The claw descended and grabbed the plushie.

Zinnia’s eyes sparkled with excitement as the plushie was being lifted, but just as the claw started moving, the plushie slipped out of its grip. She exclaimed, “Oh no, it fell!”

“It’s okay. Let’s try again,” Yannis said gently, handing her some tokens.

Undeterred, Zinnia grabbed two more tokens and popped them into the slot.

Yannis stood by her side, his gaze never once leaving her.

Zinnia lowered her head, slightly bent over, her brows knitted in concentration.

The soft light overhead illuminated them both, casting their intertwined shadows on the floor.

Suddenly, Zinnia exclaimed, “Got it!” Her eyes were fixed on the plushie as it dropped into the prize slot. She bent down to retrieve the plushie, gave its soft fur a gentle squeeze, then affectionately nuzzled it against her

cheek.

“You did amazing,” Yannis said. His eyes were fixed on her beaming smile, unable and unwilling to hide the admiration in his gaze.

Zinnia smiled and said, “Don’t praise me. I can’t handle compliments. It’ll go straight to my head!”

As if by magic, Yannis suddenly produced a giant lollipop. He said, “Go ahead, be proud. You are amazing.”

Zinnia looked at him in surprise. She asked, “Where did you get this?”

Yannis handed her the lollipop and said, “Your reward.”

Zinnia laughed and said, “I’m not a little kid anymore, you know.”

Yannis replied with a gentle smile, “You don’t have to be a kid to get a reward.”

Zinnia’s eyes sparkled as she smiled. “Thank you,” she said warmly.

With a lollipop in her left hand and a plushie in her right, Zinnia realized she had no free hands left to keep playing.

Yannis reached out with a gentle smile. He offered, “Let me hold the plushie for you.”

Caught up in the thrill of the game, Zinnia promptly shoved the plushie into Yannis’s arms, eager to try again. She announced, “I want to try for the hamburger plushie!”

With that, she made a beeline for the claw machine stocked with hamburgers, fries, and egg tart plushies.

Yannis followed close behind, game tokens in his left hand and the plushie tucked under his right arm. His eyes mirrored her joyful silhouette, while something deeper, something like longing, shimmered in their depths.

Zinnia failed twice in a row and ran out of tokens. She darted to Yannis’s side and urged, “Quick! Give me some tokens. I’m so close to getting it.”

Yannis handed her the tokens he was holding.

Zinnia grabbed two and fed them into the machine. She was now trying for a five–patty burger plushie. It was huge, as big as two of her heads put together, and looked irresistibly soft and squishy. She adored it.

The bigger the plushies were, the harder they were to grab. But Zinnia didn’t let that get her down.

She inserted four tokens into the machine, her hands trembling as she nervously maneuvered the claw and pressed the button. But the claw missed. She hung her head and sighed, “Missed it.”

Yannis handed her a few more tokens with an encouraging smile. He said, “Try again. This burger plushie is pretty big. It’s normal to need a few tries.”

Zinnia nodded as she slipped the tokens in, leaning forward intently over the machine.

Yannis mirrored her movement, bending down close beside her, their shoulders nearly touching.

Zinnia carefully adjusted the angle of the claw, tweaking it left and right, but nothing seemed quite right. A slight frown creased her brow.

As Zinnia pondered, a sudden warmth enveloped the back of her hand, Yannis’s hand gently covered hers. The cool scent of mint filled her senses. She turned and met his sharply defined, handsome features.

“Now’s good,” Yannis murmured.

Zinnia lowered her head just in time to see the claw descend and clamp tightly onto the burger plushie. A

Yannis paused slightly. Then he said, “You used to live with your Master.”

Hearing the word “Master“, a sharp, uncontrollable pain shot through Zinnia’s chest. It was so sudden, so intense, and so clear that her breath caught for several moments. She asked, “My master? Did I have a Master?”

Yannis knew there was no way he could keep this from Zinnia. He thought, ‘Nathan isn’t doing too well right now, but if he knew Zinnia was still alive, it would surely lift his spirits.

Yannis said gently, “Yes, you have a Master. You’ve lived with him for the past seventeen years.”

Zinnia tightened her grip on the seatbelt, her voice barely above a whisper as she asked, “Is his name Nathan?”

Yannis said, “Yes. Zinnia, did you remember something?”

Zinnia slowly shook her head. She said, “No. Lydia once told me that I used to have two very important people. She told me about Nathan.”

She thought, ‘No wonder just hearing Nathan’s name makes my chest ache. Seventeen years. We must have been close.’

Zinnia’s voice was thick with emotion as she asked, “Then where is Nathan now?”

Yannis replied honestly, “Nathan is currently staying on a small island. Give it some time. I’ll help arrange for

his return.”

Nathan had retreated to his island hideaway once again. He completely cut himself off. He refused to see anyone. Now that Zinnia had returned, Yannis felt it necessary to arrange for someone to contact Nathan.

Yannis thought, ‘Nathan’s vision is only partially restored now. If Zinnia finds out, she’ll surely blame herself.

Suddenly, Zinnia found herself asking, “Is Nathan okay now?”

Yannis said, “He is fine.”

Back when Zinnia left, Nathan was barely clinging to life. But now, Nathan had made a remarkable recovery. However, his eyes had gone untreated for four years, and full recovery would take some time.

Nathan refused to cooperate with the treatment for his eyes. It was his way of punishing himself for failing to protect Zinnia.

Zinnia lowered her head and murmured, “Mm.”

Before they knew it, their casual conversation had carried them to their destination. Zinnia looked out the window and saw a claw machine arcade. She saw all sorts of adorable plushies inside.

“A claw machine arcade?” Zinnia asked, a hint of surprise in her voice.

Yannis pulled into the parking spot and said gently, “Yeah, let’s hit the claw machines first. Later, I’ll take you

out for a nice meal.”

Since they had just had a meal, Yannis thought it was not the best time to take her out to eat. He decided to take her to have some fum instead.

Zinnia chuckled and said, “I figured you’d take me to places we used to go together and see if anything would jog my memory.”

Yannis got out of the car, walked around to the passenger side, and opened the door for her. He said, “I bet Edward has been showing you around Jinston quite a bit these days, hasn’t he?”

Zinnia got out of the car and replied, “Yes.”

Yannis said, “You’ve lost your memory. Just looking around or walking through familiar places probably won’t help you get it back. We need some hands–on experience. Edward doesn’t know what your life in Jinston was really like, but I do.”

He thought, ‘Even if the Evans family could trace Zinnia’s past in Jinston, the specifics would always remain unknown to them. But I know. I lived with Zinnia for three months, personally attending to her every need.

“Then I will trouble you for that, Mr. Perkins,” Zinnia replied with a light smile.

A shadow of sadness crossed Yannis’s eyes. He said softly, “Zinnia, you used to call me just Yannis. You still can, you know.”

Zinnia was stunned for a moment. She wanted to say that she had lost her memory and couldn’t recall their past, which made it feel inappropriate to address him by his name directly.

But looking at his desolate expression, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse him. She fell silent.

Yannis knew better than to push it. He said, “It is okay, let’s take our time.” He thought, ‘Zinnia has just returned, I should give her more time.

Zinnia followed Yannis into the claw machine arcade.

All the plushies in the arcade were adorable.

Zinnia glanced around and remarked, “This arcade is pretty nice, but where are all the other customers?”

Dazzling overhead lights bathed her face in a radiant glow. Her delicate features were exquisitely beautiful, her face radiant under the lights. Zinnia outshone even the most exquisite plush prizes in the claw machines.

Yannis said, “This whole claw machine arcade is just for you, Zinnia.”

Zinnia frowned in confusion.

Yannis explained, “You like the plushies in this shop, so I bought the whole place for you.”

Not only did Yannis buy the whole arcade for Zinnia, but he also had someone regularly update the plushies to ensure Zinnia always got the finest ones.

Back when Zinnia was still in school, if Yannis was running late to pick her up after class, Zinnia would pass the time at the claw machine arcade, trying to win a plushie or two.

Yannis led Zinnia to the token machine. “Let’s grab some tokens first,” he said.