In the middle of the night, Zoey stretched her body, spreading her arms around the bed as she slowly opened her eyes. She opened and closed them, blinking her eyes until her sight could adjust to the dim room.
The room was lit with soft amber dim lights, not painful to the eyes but one that offered a warm and cozy feeling. It illuminated the large bedroom that was akin to a royal bedroom for a noble. It was furnished with vases, well-crafted wooden stands and chairs that screamed class.
Her eyes wandered around, skimming the entire room where her eyes could reach. The interior was not too modern, but it was designed to match someone who was deserving of the title of a king. She then turned towards the window. Next to it was a glass framed door that was leading to the balcony.
Zoey blinked her eyes, her brain was loading as she absorbed the place she was in. Upon the sight of the dark sky through the transparent glass window, she blinked her eyes repeatedly.
Slowly, as her mind began to function, her eyes widened in disbelief. "Sh*t!" She cursed, sitting straight up before turning to the side of the bed which was apparently empty.
For some reason, she heaved a sigh of relief without Matthew sleeping beside her, and her clothes were intact. "Jeez… I fell asleep." She muttered airily, her chest heaved in and out as she scanned the room once again.
"This room is rather big for a guest room." She uttered, patting her chest lightly as she assumed she was in a guest room. "Good thing he's in his right mind for not doing something silly." Zoey plopped her back down on the bed.
"That was a weird experience…" She whispered, recalling what happened before she fell asleep. For a second, she thought her husband was back; he was back to protect her this time. But well, it was a fleeting moment.
Still, during that fleeting moment, she agreed to stay with him and do the training he proposed. "It's really not a bad thing," She mumbled, thinking of the good side of training with his men, strengthening and honing her skills.
"I should bring Ivan here too. Maybe Cora and Mel?" As she stared at the ceiling which was obviously also designed to look exquisite to match the room's interior, Zoey narrowed her eyes. "Nah, scratch that last part." After a second of pondering, Zoey shook her head.
There was no reason Cora and Mel needed this training. First, Cora would freak out -- maybe, even faint -- at the sight of Matthew's big cat. On the other hand, Mel didn't really need that. She might find it interesting, but she's just a side character, a piece to lighten up the mood of the story.
However, Ivan certainly needed this. Or rather, Ivan could be some kind of instructor to Matthew's men. After all, Ivan's skills could par or even surpass the current squad captains in this place.
After all, Ivan had experience -- tons of real-life experience. The reason Zoey questioned his unprecedented death in her previous life. There was no way Ivan could be killed that easily. That's why Zoey narrowed it down to betrayal.
That Ivan died in the hands of someone close to him; from someone who Ivan wouldn't suspect having a malicious intent. Thus, Zoey could only think of Angelo, his current partner in this lifetime and probably his permanent partner in the future.
Zoey didn't really know. She didn't have, or rather, rarely communicate with Nikolai because the man was persistent. Moreover, she didn't try to see the Silva Family's affairs as she had nothing to do with them anymore.
"But Angelo is now by my side…" Zoey whispered, thinking of the other person that she unexpectedly took under her wing. "Not that I trust or don't trust him… it's just that it seems that something has changed on the enemies' side as well." Slowly, Zoey narrowed her eyes.
She had been thinking about it ever since Angelo sought for her help. Angelo admitted to being a double-agent, working under Inigo to spy on Nikolai. If that was true, then, he played a huge part of the Silva Family's demise.
All fits together perfectly. And Zoey wouldn't question that.
However, in this lifetime, Angelo turned his back against Inigo. Although she was uncertain what awaited her, what she was certain of was that the future of the Silva Family would also change.
"Still…" Zoey, still having her eyes narrowed clicked her tongue. Perhaps, the cozy and spacious room could make her think more unlike when she was in her cramped room full of documents and stuff. "Why?" She wondered, pursing her lips into a thin line as her mind pondered over what could have happened.
"Even if I say Inigo doesn't trust Angelo anymore, there must be something that happened that Inigo did that pushed the former to revolt." Zoey murmured, wanting answers at the moment but she couldn't.
Also, she couldn't really probe further and ask Angelo as the man just kept giving her vague answers. It was just stressful. "Unless…" Her words trailed off, shaking her head as a terrifying conclusion struck her head.
"No, that's impossible…" She chuckled, trying to shrug off the idea in her head." Inigo wouldn't time travel -- that's impossible…" Yet, as Zoey spouted her last remarks, her voice trailed off in silence.
"Is it?" She asked herself, the person who also time-traveled from the future. "Ugh… why didn't that annoying dumpling brief me enough so I'd know if it's possible for two souls to time-travel?" Frustrated, Zoey grunted as she hated the idea of Inigo coming back to the past with her.
After all, the only conclusion why there were changes on Inigo's side was because the said man also went back to the past. There would be minor changes if everyone acted and took the same decision they made in this lifetime. Unless, they were like Zoey who had lived eight years later and wanted to change the current present.
Just as Zoey was feeling deeply aggravated by the conclusion hovering over her head, she heard a faint thud that was coming from outside.. "Huh?" Her brows knitted, turning her head to the door.