As Ethan headed upstairs to freshen up, a servant emerged from the kitchen and approached Zara politely.
"Miss Luna, shall I have breakfast served?"
Zara glanced towards the staircase, following Ethan's retreating figure for a brief moment before turning back to the servant.
"I'll have it later," she replied calmly.
The servant nodded and returned to the kitchen.
Zara made her way back to the sofa and settled comfortably into the cushions, pulling out her phone as she began scrolling through it. Her earlier flustered reaction seemed to have disappeared as quickly as it had come, leaving her with her usual composed expression.
"Liaaa... I'm here for you!"
The cheerful voice rang through the room.
Zara lifted her head and turned towards the entrance, where Marcus was striding in with a broad smile on his face.
A faint smile touched her lips at the sight of him.
"Hey, Marcus. Good morning."
"Good morning, Lia!" he greeted her brightly, raising a hand as he approached. His gaze settled on her lounging on the sofa, and he tilted his head curiously. "So, did you sleep well?"
"Yeah, I did," Zara replied, briefly glancing at her phone before looking back at him.
Marcus continued smiling, his enthusiasm showing no signs of fading.
Watching him for a moment, Zara raised an eyebrow, a subtle hint of playfulness appearing in her otherwise composed expression.
"So, what's with the cheerful morning?"
"Nothing!" Marcus answered a little too quickly.
Zara studied him for a moment, saying nothing. Then, as though a thought had just occurred to her, she asked casually, "Does it have anything to do with the girl we met yesterday?"
Marcus froze.
His cheerful expression faltered as he turned to look at her, surprise flashing across his face.
Zara noticed his reaction but made no immediate comment. Instead, she tilted her head slightly, searching her memory for the girl's name.
"Ah, what was the name..." she murmured before recalling it. "Yeah, Vivian, right?"
Marcus stared at her, momentarily at a loss for words.
Zara leaned back against the sofa, making no attempt to question Marcus further, a faint, knowing smile tugging at her lips. Her attention drifted back to her phone, as though the conversation had already come to an end for her.
Marcus stared at her for a moment, waiting.
And waiting.
When it became apparent that she had no intention of saying anything, he finally broke the silence.
"That's it?"
Zara lifted her eyes from her phone. "What?"
"You're not going to ask me anything?"
A faint look of curiosity crossed her face, though it disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared.
"Oh, nope."
Marcus blinked.
For a moment, he simply stared at her, seemingly unsure whether she was serious. But Zara's expression remained perfectly calm, giving him no indication that she was teasing him.
"You don't want to know anything about her?" he asked again, leaning forward slightly.
Zara looked at him as though she were genuinely considering the question.
"Should I?"
Marcus's mouth fell open slightly.
He had expected her to tease him, question him, or at the very least show some curiosity after discovering the reason behind his unusually cheerful mood. Instead, she was looking at him as though the matter had absolutely nothing to do with her.
"Lia, I'm talking about the girl we met yesterday!"
"I heard you the first time, Marcus."
"And you're not even a little curious about her?"
Zara blinked once before giving him a calm look.
"Not particularly."
Marcus fell silent.
He stared at her for another few seconds, searching her face for even the slightest hint of interest. Finding none, he leaned back against the sofa and let out a long, defeated sigh.
"Unbelievable," he muttered under his breath.
Zara merely glanced at him before returning her attention to her phone.
Marcus shook his head, mumbling to himself, "You and Ethan are exactly the same when it comes to these things."
His words earned no reaction from Zara.
He was just about to continue complaining when he lifted his head and caught sight of Ethan descending the stairs.
Ethan had changed into fresh clothes, his earlier workout attire replaced by a neatly fitted shirt and trousers. His steps were unhurried as he made his way downstairs, his gaze moving briefly across the room.
Marcus, on the other hand, looked as though he had just suffered a personal tragedy.
"Good morning, Ethan," he greeted, his voice noticeably less enthusiastic than it had been when he first arrived.
Ethan glanced at him and gave a brief nod. "Morning."
The answer was as casual as ever.
However, Ethan's gaze lingered on Marcus for a moment longer. Noticing his dejected expression, he raised an eyebrow slightly before shifting his attention towards Zara.
At the sound of Marcus greeting Ethan, Zara had lifted her head from her phone. Her gaze met Ethan's just as he turned towards her.
For a brief moment, their eyes locked.
The warmth that settled over Ethan's face was almost immediate. The faint smile that touched his lips softened his otherwise composed expression as he walked towards her.
Stopping in front of the sofa, he looked down at her with an affectionate smile.
"What's got Marcus looking so miserable this early in the morning, baby?"
Zara rose from the sofa, her gaze briefly shifting towards Marcus, who was still sitting there with an expression of quiet despair.
She looked back at Ethan and gave a small shrug.
"How would I know?"
The faint curve at the corner of her lips suggested that she might know a little more than she was letting on.
Ethan caught it.
His eyes narrowed ever so slightly with amusement as he glanced between the two of them, already suspecting that he had walked into the aftermath of something entertaining.
Marcus, meanwhile, looked at Zara as though he couldn't believe she had just abandoned him to his misery.
"Lia!"
Zara turned towards him, her expression innocent.
"What?"
Marcus opened his mouth, then closed it again, apparently deciding that arguing with her would only make things worse.
Ethan watched their exchange, a helpless smile tugging at his lips as he looked at Zara.
He knew that look on her face. Zara was deliberately getting on Marcus's nerves, and judging by the amusement dancing in her eyes, she was enjoying every second of it.
She was rarely this playful with people. But with those she considered close to her, she had a way of letting her guard down, revealing a mischievous side that few others ever got to see.
And Marcus, unfortunately for him, seemed to be bearing the full brunt of it that morning.
Ethan shook his head faintly, a trace of fondness lingering in his expression. The faint smile on Zara's lips was more than enough to tell him that she was thoroughly entertained by the situation, even if she had no intention of admitting it.
Zara caught him looking at her and briefly met his eyes before turning her attention back to Marcus, who was still sitting on the sofa with a thoroughly dejected expression.
She studied him for a moment before looking at Ethan again.
"Maybe it's related to Vivian," she remarked casually, the corners of her lips lifting a little further.
Ethan's expression shifted.
"Vivian?" he repeated, a slight crease forming between his brows.
The genuine confusion on his face made it quite clear that he had no idea who she was talking about.
Zara stared at him for a moment before glancing back at Marcus.
And that was when the latter finally snapped.
"Are you serious right now, Ethan?!"
Ethan turned towards him, one eyebrow lifting at the sudden outburst.
"What?"
"How can you forget the girl you met yesterday?!" Marcus exclaimed, throwing his hands up in disbelief. "We literally met her yesterday!"
Ethan paused, searching his memory for a moment before looking back at Zara.
"Are you talking about the girl we met at the restaurant yesterday?"
Zara nodded.
"Oh."
That was all Ethan had to say about it.
Marcus stared at him in disbelief.
"That's it? Just oh?"
Ethan glanced at him. "What else?"
Ethan continued looking at him, his expression suggesting that Marcus's outrage was making considerably less sense to him than Marcus seemed to think.
Marcus stared at him, utterly appalled.
"Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable!"
He ran a hand through his hair, looking between Ethan and Zara as though he had somehow ended up surrounded by two equally impossible people.
Zara, meanwhile, made no effort to hide her amusement. A quiet smile had settled on her face as she watched Marcus struggle to process Ethan's apparent lack of interest.
And suddenly, Marcus earlier remark about Zara and Ethan being alike made perfect sense.
Marcus had complained that Zara showed absolutely no curiosity about Vivian, only for Ethan to prove that he hadn't even remembered the girl's name.
One had no interest in asking.
The other had no idea what he was supposed to be interested in.
Marcus looked from one to the other, his face a picture of utter disbelief.
"Honestly, how are you two even real?"
Zara finally let out a small laugh, while Ethan merely shook his head, the helpless smile returning to his face.
Perhaps Marcus had a point.
When it came to things neither of them considered particularly important, Zara and Ethan were remarkably alike.
Unfortunately for Marcus, that meant he was unlikely to get the reaction he wanted from either of them.