Lianna cleared her throat, visibly awkward.
"Our wedding is coming soon," Shin said smoothly. "We've been busy with preparations."
The trio immediately wore matching expressions of realization.
Ah. That kind of exhaustion.
Yeri: ???
There was definitely something wrong with these people.
Soon, the conversation shifted to Lianna's case as she sought Shin's assistance. Zahn remained silent, though the tension in his posture said enough.
Between the Neri family's mounting issues, especially his mother's scandal, he was already stretched thin. And perhaps, he didn't want another argument with Lianna if he tried to stop her from seeking help elsewhere.
Later, the three men stepped outside.
Smoke curled into the air like unspoken thoughts refusing to settle.
"How's your mother?" Shin asked.
Zahn's expression darkened instantly. When the scandal broke at the economic forum, he had expected at least a trace of shame.
Instead, his mother had clung to Xavier Song without hesitation, discarding dignity like it was an outdated accessory.
For a moment, he had been anxious. Now? He was simply done.
"It's her business," Zahn said coldly. "What does it have to do with me?"
"When did you start smoking?" Saeki asked, eyeing him curiously.
"Will you stop passing by my villa?" Zahn countered.
Saeki blinked.
Confusion, pure and unfiltered.
That road was the fastest way out of the estate. Even Shin and Tristan used it. Why was he being singled out like a suspicious pigeon?
"What does passing by your villa have to do with you smoking?" Saeki asked, genuinely trying to connect the invisible dots.
Zahn stubbed out his cigarette and turned to Shin. "Can I speak to you alone?"
"Why am I excluded?" Saeki protested. "I can keep secrets too!"
Zahn ignored him and repeated, slower this time, "Will you stop passing by my villa?"
Saeki stared at him, utterly baffled. "Stone Face… are you sure you're not possessed? Why can't I pass by your villa? If that road's banned, you should inform Tristan and Big Brother too. Fair is fair."
"I just don't like you passing through there," Zahn said.
"Why not? You don't own the road. I also have a share in Sin Miele Estate. I can even camp there if I want," Saeki argued. "Besides, isn't that villa no longer yours?"
Zahn fell silent.
Shin didn't bother playing peacemaker.
Unlike Tristan, he was never one to waste his breath mediating between the two. If anything, he found it strange. Zahn Neri, who had always been a no-nonsense person, was now practically emitting jealousy.
As for Saeki, well… he had always been unpredictable. Sometimes sharp, sometimes slow, depending on whatever cycle his brain happened to be running on.
"By the way, that woman, Xavier's ex-wife, was bailed out by him," Shin said, cutting through their argument.
"You mean Vanessa?" Saeki's eyes lit up at the mention of gossip.
Shin nodded, not even remembering her name.
After Vanessa tried to take advantage of Zahn when he was drunk, Zahn had filed a case against her. It seemed, however, that Xavier had bailed her out this time.
"After she tried to commit suicide, I heard she was in a coma for days," Saeki muttered. "But it's honestly terrifying how she managed to gain sympathy from netizens. Now she's sticking with Xavier Song, and Auntie isn't having it. I guess the three of them are tormenting each other now."
Realizing he was talking about Zahn's mother, he added, "You should really talk some sense into her."
"Mom asked me to let her deal with that woman," Zahn replied.
Saeki's eyes widened. He had almost forgotten how ruthless Zahn's mother was.
As the saying goes, it takes a villain to deal with another villain.
"Aren't you afraid she might end up committing a serious crime?"
Zahn didn't answer immediately.
Was he afraid?
From the very beginning, he had never truly been in control of his life. Telling his mother not to do something she might regret later wouldn't stop her. After all, he had only recently come to understand her true nature.
"She's not a child," was all he said.
At that moment, Sean came running over.
"Uncle Saeki, can I give Lulu a steak?"
Saeki crouched slightly. "Of course, but we should ask the waiter for a new one. Dogs can't have too much salt, and some ingredients can be toxic to them."
"How do you know that?" Zahn asked, displeased.
Saeki rolled his eyes and left with Sean to order another steak.
"Don't you think he'd make a good father?" Shin muttered.
"Based on what? I'm a doctor. I know those things too," Zahn replied.
"You're not a vet," Shin said, giving him an odd look. "What's wrong with you lately?"
"Nothing is wrong with me," Zahn denied.
Shin shrugged. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. How's the situation with the Songs?"
Zahn fell silent.
The two discussed how to proceed now that Bryce had entered the scene and the Songs' attempt to usurp the Neris had become known to both sides, making things far more delicate.
"What if Yeri betrays you someday?" Zahn suddenly asked.
Shin raised an eyebrow. His gaze drifted to Yeri, who was chatting with Lianna inside, visible through the glass wall.
"It doesn't matter. I don't run away, and I don't let go of what is mine."
Zahn glanced at him. Talk about toxic.
Should he feel any better knowing that Shin doesn't seem to be a good person either?
"So you'd do the same thing I did? That it doesn't matter as long as she stays by your side?" Zahn pressed.
Shin's gaze remained fixed on Yeri. "Your relationship was never complicated. You made it complicated. She never betrayed you, you just convinced yourself that she did."
Zahn stiffened.
"You could have figured it out yourself, but you chose to run, didn't you? And now you're doing it again by denying you're jealous."
"I'm not denying it," Zahn said, his expression conflicted. "I just don't want to burden her or make her think I'm being hypocritical after everything I put her through. Besides… she wouldn't forgive me anyway."
Shin finally looked at him. "Is it that she wouldn't forgive you, or that you wouldn't forgive yourself? Excuses are for the weak. You're venting your frustration onto others, why? Can't handle it? Or are you waiting for things to resolve themselves? Or for someone else to fix it for you… perhaps your mother?"
It was like a lightning strike.
Zahn grabbed Shin by the collar, like a wounded beast cornered by something it couldn't understand.
"Shin Keir, don't go too far!"
"It's not easy to escape someone's shadow, Zahn Neri," Shin said calmly, unfazed. "In this matter, I actually admire your mother. She knows exactly what she wants."
"What's going on?" Lianna hurried out with the others, seeing the two on the verge of a fight.
Zahn glared fiercely at Shin, but his eyes carried a storm of conflicted emotions, as though even he couldn't untangle what he was feeling.
"Doctor Neri, you should calm down," Yeri said softly. "Sean is watching. You might scare him."
Only then did Zahn realize he had overreacted. He glanced back to see Sean peeking from behind Saeki, looking worried and confused.
Zahn opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but no words came out.
Lianna looked at him with quiet disappointment but said nothing in front of Sean.
"We should get going. The wedding planner is meeting us in an hour," Shin said, as if nothing had happened.
"I'll just get my bag," Yeri replied, saying goodbye before leaving with him.
After they left, Lianna distracted Sean while he fed Lulu.
"If you haven't been sleeping well, you should get some proper rest," Saeki said. "Your emotional state has been all over the place today. Trust me, I've been there."
"It's not that," Zahn muttered.
Saeki sighed. "I get it. A lot has been happening lately. But it's hard to think clearly when you're exhausted."
Zahn looked toward Lianna and Sean, then said abruptly, "I have something to take care of. Can you stay with them for me?"
Without waiting for an answer, he left.
Saeki blinked, baffled. Earlier, Zahn had insisted on driving his ex-wife and son, and now he had just left?
"Even doctors need doctors," he muttered.
---
Meanwhile, inside the car, Yeri couldn't help but ask, "What happened back there?"
Shin glanced at her. "He asked what I would do if you betrayed me someday."
Yeri blinked.
That was… oddly suspicious coming from someone like Doctor Neri.
"Do you want to hear my answer?"
"Ah… sure," Yeri said, already regretting it.
"It doesn't matter. I don't let go of what is mine."
Yeri frowned. "It doesn't matter? So you're assuming I'll betray you? And what do you mean 'yours'? Do you hear yourself? You sound like a psychopath."
Shin chuckled softly and pulled her into his arms.
"Don't try using that handsome face on me. I'm immune," Yeri said, scooting away slightly, only for him to close the distance again. "Honestly, I think I'm the one who should say it doesn't matter."
"Oh? Why?"
Yeri lifted her chin proudly. "Did you forget? You said I could take all your assets if I ever feel wronged in this marriage. So maybe you should think carefully before doing anything that makes you lose your life's work."
Shin looked at her, utterly unbothered, amusement flickering in his eyes.
Back then, she would avoid him, grow awkward, or fall silent in his presence. Now she sparred with him effortlessly, her guard lowered, her emotions her own.
It pleased him more than he let on.
In truth, he had never taken Zahn's question seriously.
Betrayal?
That word was far too small to encompass the thousands of years they had spent together in the demon realm, the lies, the doubts, the torment, the countless times he questioned whether his feelings were real or merely the result of a curse.
Now that Yeri finally had emotions of her own, a mere betrayal would never be enough to destroy him.
"Wait… what does that have to do with Doctor Neri getting mad at you?" Yeri suddenly asked.
Shin gave a brief explanation, and Yeri quickly understood. The topic of Madam Neri was indeed a sensitive one.
"Why did you have to provoke him?" she muttered.
Shin shrugged. "I don't know how to sugarcoat things. Besides, if he can't save himself, how is he supposed to protect your friend and their son?"
So Doctor Neri is struggling internally?