Chapter 329 - Oscar Award Goes To...

After some time, Melanie finally bid her farewell with a heavy heart. When she departed, Zoey raised her head towards Cora Ma who was sporting a poker face at the moment. Zoey awkwardly chuckled, glancing at Ivan which Cora's eyes unconsciously followed.

"My brother. Hehe." Since Zoey ws trying to resort to pushing all the blame to her innocent darling, she decided to divert her best friend's attention to the other person inside the room: Ivan.

"Yo." Ivan greeted, perking his chin up without much interest in knowing Zoey's friend. Well, he already knew her, her occupation, family background, and so on. So, it was safe to say that Ivan knew Cora Ma, although this was technically their first meeting; Ivan knew her entire life story.

"Yo?" Cora's right brow arched, crossing her arms under her chest once again. She gazed at him from head to toe, scrutinizing him thoroughly and her judgemental thoughts immediately showed on her face. She turned to Zoey, her expression screamed 'mind to explain' kind of look.

"Since when do you have a delinquent brother?" Without a pause, Cora inquired as she glanced at Ivan in disdain. Although Ivan didn't understand her, he somehow grasped that she was badmouthing him which made him frown.

"Sis, what did this granny say?" Since Cora Ma wouldn't understand him either, Ivan chimed in as he asked Zoey coldly.

"Nothing. She said you look cute." The strong aura emanating from the two, who couldn't understand each other seemed to understand one thing: their disapproval against each other. Gosh… how could someone dislike another despite not exchanging a few words with each other?

"Hah," Ivan scoffed, now convinced that Cora Ma was indeed badmouthing. However, since she was Zoey's friend -- a decent one at that -- he decided to behave. Thus, Ivan could only glare daggers at Cora, insulting her old fashioned style and anything that he could find fault.

"That's Ivan, he is like a brother to me from long ago." Zoey stretched her lips upward, summarizing who was the person with them. "He might look like that, but he's a very kind and decent person." Zoey added, putting up a smile on her lips that appeared forced.

"Really? But why are you here since the moment he appeared?" Laced with sarcasm, Cora blinked her eyes slowly while Zoey sighed.

"No, you got everything wrong. I went to race last night and --"

"You, what?" Cora interrupted her midway, her disbelief level slightly rose up upon the word 'race'. "You raced? Like a street race, really?" She repeated, widening her eyes as her gaze were glued to Zoey. If one didn't know better, they would surely think that Cora was Zoey's mother.

Not because of the way she interrogated Zoey, but because of how she looked like. "Pfft--!" Ivan covered his mouth, trying to suppress his laughter as he could not help but think that Cora was a granny in a young woman's body.

"Why are you laughing?" Obviously, Cora was not the person to let that faint mockery as she turned to Ivan.

"Sorry, I don't speak an alien language." 

"Ivan," Zoey called out firmly, she widened her eyes as a warning for him to shut up. Ivan responded with a shrug as he wouldn't bicker with Cora if not for the language barrier.

"Sissy, believe me; I have my reasons, alright?" Since Ivan listened and shut up, Zoey sighed as she returned her focus back to Cora. "Also, I didn't get hurt. It's just that the person I raced with was a bit overbearing and forced me to stay here last night. I'll get discharged tomorrow!" Zoey explained in one go. However, that wasn't enough to satiate Cora's displeasure about Zoey returning to her old habits.

"Z,"

"I know, I should've returned last night or informed you that I wouldn't be able to make it home." Before Cora could start speaking, Zoey spouted and verbally reflected before pausing. "It's just that… Zeke has another woman." In the end, the thought of Ezekiel Tang struck across Zoey's mind and used his name to her advantages for once.

As expected, Zoey's nonsense improvisation worked effectively as Cora got swayed. Her upset expression gradually changed into worry. "What? He's cheating?!" 

"He is, but…" Since this excuse was effective, Zoey continued the act of a broken-hearted maiden. Good thing she was trained to smile and act modestly in her previous life as the CEO of Z Image Group. Thus, she gained the ability to lie naturally and flawlessly.

"But?"

"But it turned out I was the other woman! That I am the third party!" Zoey burst into tears, covering her face with both her palms. "It was our anniversary, but he had been deceiving me for two long years!" Zoey continued, crying her heart out that caused Cora to purse her lips as her eyes softened.

"Z…" A little guilty for getting mad before knowing the reason, Cora perched on the side of the bed with a worried face. 

"Sissy, what did I do wrong to deserve this?! I gave him everything he wanted, and even tried to understand that he was just tired, that's why he didn't have time for me! But -- but, huhuhu…" While Cora rubbed her back gently, Zoey mimicked the script in the movie she last watched in her previous life.

She even hiccuped just so she would look more believable. Zoey bawled her eyes until Cora and Ivan forgot about their dislike against each other. Now, both of them were focused on giving Zoey time to let it all out. To cry her heart out before they get back on Ezekiel Tang.

"No, Z. It's not your fault, and you surely didn't deserve this. Actually, he doesn't deserve you. You're beautiful, smart and have a golden heart. It's not your loss, it's his." Like a good friend she was, Cora spoke beautiful comforting words while patting Zoey's back. "It's fine, it's fine. Don't cry… we're here for you." She added, her tone was gentler than usual.

"Sissy, I don't want to live. *hiccup* My heart… it hurts *hiccup*" When Zoey wiped her tears, she muttered in between her hiccups, her eyes swollen as she indeed shed real tears; the tip of her nose red as she sniffed.

"I know, but don't say that." Cora stroked Zoey's hair as she shook her head sideways. "I know you're hurting right now, but you did nothing wrong. It's his fault and he will surely regret what he has done to you." She stared at Zoey straight in the eye, her tone tried to cheer her up by boosting her confidence.

"Z, you're still young. You'll meet a more capable man in the future; who will treasure you, respect you, and love you unconditionally because that's what you deserve. This might hurt now, but treat it as a blessing in disguise." Straight from the heart, Cora advised while Zoey listened. This time, the last tear that fell from her eyes was a genuine tear of joy.

Cora never changed. Be it this lifetime or their previous lifetime, she would say beautiful and positive words to cheer Zoey up. One of the reasons Zoey made it that far was because Cora supported her all the way and even if she outshone her, her best friend kept on cheering on the side lines with a genuine smile on her lips.

"Bestie! Waaah!" Real tears flowed down from Zoey's eyes, she bawled once again as she threw herself into Cora's arms and cried her heart out.