The next second, Alden frowned, deeply astonished by the rising annoyance he'd felt just moments ago.
Not even when his father called him out in front of the board of directors saying he wouldn't stop until he took the company out of the hands of a 'cripple' like him had he felt such irritation.
He'd simply treated that like a pesky inconvenience and moved on with his day. But something about the sweet, boyish grin on Austin's face made it impossible to sit still.
"There's no need for that. I'll take her home." He said dismissively, turning to wheel himself away, when he heard Austin's curious voice.
"Is he your uncle?"
His face instantly darkened.
Austin hadn't been around when Zoey gave Alden her dog tag, so he hadn't heard her call him Wealthy Mister.
It was only now, in the middle of everything, that he realized—he didn't even know who this man was.
Without waiting for Zoey to respond, he bent slightly at the waist to greet Alden. "Good evening, sir. I'm Austin Cross. Your niece and I go to the same school. It's so nice to meet you."
Alden's face turned ashen.
U-Uncle?
This little punk!
He was at least the same age as Zoey, so Austin couldn't be more than five years younger than him. And yet, he was being referred to as uncle?
Still fuming with his back turned to them, he didn't notice Zoey wrinkling her nose as she looked him over.
"What, uncle?"
He wasn't wearing a suit like last time—just a plain black shirt over plain black trousers.
She refused to admit it, but he looked… quite handsome.
Those furrowed, thick dark brows. Thin pink lips. Enchanting brown eyes.
And his arms…
He'd rolled up his sleeves when she handed him the four dog leashes, exposing strong, veiny forearms and large hands.
He may not be able to stand on his feet, but at least he was putting effort into building up his arm muscles.
In fact, if she didn't already know who he was, she would've thought he was just another student playing dress-up to bully her.
"What uncle? Don't be rude. What part of him screams uncle?" She scoffed, then promptly faked a cough, covering her entire face with both hands when Alden turned his head and caught her staring.
Austin's face twitched awkwardly.
Scratching the back of his head, he shifted his gaze to Alden and bowed apologetically. "Sorry if I offended you by calling you uncle. I really thought you were her uncle, given how you said nothing and let us do as we pleased."
"I was just going to tell her she had a cool uncle once we got away from you. But you're still cool. Coolest adult I've ever met."
Alden, who was on the verge of getting upset, immediately calmed down seeing Austin's wide grin.
He placed a hand on his chest, frowning slightly at the familiar feeling of warmth spreading through it from the sweet-talking he'd just received.
This kid is dangerous. With a tongue like this and words so smooth, he'd get all the girls.
No wonder there was some divine interference that led to him getting bullied until Zoey stepped in.
But now that she'd stopped that from happening… the poor girl was now in danger of being swayed by his silver tongue.
It was now his responsibility to save her from such a 'disaster'.
Briefly glancing at Austin, he slowly tapped his finger against the armrest and shook his head.
"I doubt you know where she lives. I do. So I'll drive her home."
At this, Zoey beamed, clearly relieved.
"Ah, that's right! You do know where I live. Wealthy Mister, you just saved me the hassle of missing my way home several times."
With that decided, Austin bade Zoey goodbye before crossing the road to get into his car. It sped off almost immediately—just as the same BMW from that night pulled to a halt in front of them.
Only then did she realize Sebastian was no longer behind them.
He got out of the car to open the door for Zoey and help Alden in before walking around to get into the driver's seat.
The ride back was quiet.
Not pin-drop silent, since Zoey kept playing a shooting game, but no one spoke a word until they got to the estate.
Along the way, she paused and raised her eyes, only to realize they were already there.
Recalling what happened the last time Kate photographed her with them, she asked Sebastian to drive past the street.
"Mister, they keep giving me amateurs as teammates. Play with me next time." She told Alden as she alighted.
"Oh, he doesn't…" Sebastian began from the front seat, but Alden hurriedly cut him off.
"Of course. What's the name of the game? I've got a lot on my phone and can't tell which one you're playing."
Sebastian snapped his eyes toward Alden in surprise.
Zoey didn't suspect anything and gave him the name, even writing down her username.
Watching her leave through the side-view mirror, Sebastian scoffed. "You and I both know you've never installed a game. Ever."
"There's a first time for everything," Alden shrugged, already downloading the game.
After downloading, he opened it.
He could come up with brilliant business strategies in a matter of seconds, but now, staring at his screen… he was completely lost.
After thinking for a long while, he tossed the phone to the side and turned to Sebastian.
"Find someone who can teach me to get better in two weeks."
"Mhm." Sebastian nodded and started the engine again, not forgetting to mention, "I can't imagine how proud her mother would be once she finds out her daughter defended herself from being hurt by fifteen boys."
Alden turned his face toward the window with a proud smile, the biggest stretch his face had seen in years.
As they left, Zoey stepped into the house.
It was a few minutes to nine and to be honest, she knew she deserved whatever was coming tonight.
She hadn't just skipped school—she'd returned hours after school ended.
But in her defense, she finished high school at fourteen. How could a genius like her possibly sit through such a boring school day?
She had just stepped into the living room when the lights came on… and instead of the scolding she expected, she was greeted by a cake.
Smashed into her face.
Frowning hard, she wiped a huge chunk of it off her eyes, raising them to see Henry, Kate and… a redhead.
Upon a closer look, she realized it was the same redhead who sat with them during lunch today. Kate's best friend, Natalie Langley.
She had just gotten used to the sight when Natalie leered at her, "You're finally back. Because of the nonsense you said at school today, I lost my temper with Kate and made her cry."
"I get that you've only known her for a few days, but as her sister, shouldn't you have her best interest at heart instead of going around bragging about how you'll be playing the female lead in Day of Reckoning?"
Zoey had no idea what was going on, but she was already irritated.
She spent a fortune on skincare, only to have some lousy cake smashed into her face?
Seeing her standing at the door without a word, Natalia got up in pure rage to charge toward Zoey.
Maybe it was her lean figure which gave Natalie the confidence to try beating her up.
Never did she expect Zoey to grab her by the hair, reach for the cake on the floor, and smear it right into her scalp.
Tightening her grip on Natalie's hair, she smacked her lips in realization and sneered, reaching for more cake.
"I get it now. Playing with cake is kind of fun. Should I smear it deeper into your hair?"