Nigel knew that Maia only saw him as a friend, but he was willing to wait. He hoped that with time and effort, she would eventually see him as a man. He would do anything to make it happen. "You know that I’ll only do what’s best for you. The issue here isn’t distancing yourself from him. He’s the one that keeps coming back to you.” Nigel looked at her with a serious face and said, “The best way to solve this once and for all is to marry me.” Maia did not want to hurt him because he had such a sincere look in his eyes. Rejecting him would seem too cruel. However, she did not want to give him false hope. “Nigel, I-”“Let me finish. I know you don’t love me. Unfortunately, Cedric is a powerful man. You could not get rid of him that easily. If you’re married to someone else, that would stop his advances for good!” Maia drew her lips into a fine line as she thought hard. This would seem like a solution to her problem. Nigel continued to persuade her, “I’m not trying to take ad
When they arrived at Prismara Hill, Maia did not even bother getting out of the cab. She simply handed the bag of items to security and asked them to give it to Cedric. Before the security guard got a clear look at her, he spoke crudely, “Just take it home. Do you know how many women have tried to send gifts to Mr. Cedric? Yours would only end up in the trash." When the security guard got close enough to the taxi, he was surprised to see Maia inside. He immediately greeted her politely. “Ms. Maia, how can I help you?”“Pass these to Cedric.”“Got it. Ms. Maia, would you like to come in as well? Mr. Cedric had told us to welcome you whenever you’re back.” “There’s no need for that. I’ve seen enough of this place.” Maia closed her window. Then she told the driver to leave the place. The driver was momentarily stunned as he finally realized who his passenger was. He managed to recover from his petrified state the second time Maia addressed him. “Sure thing, right on it,” th
“Maia, you’re the CEO! You should lead by example!” “It’s fine. No one dares to judge the CEO.” Maia continued to mumble sleepily. Tess refused to give in as she dragged Maia out of bed and patted her gently on her cheeks. “How about this? Are you awake now?”“Ouch!” "It looks like you’re awake now! Hurry up. Breakfast is ready. You should have some and leave for work!” Tess instructed as she left Maia’s bedroom. Maia shook her head in defeat as she reached for her phone to check the time. It was only 8 a.m. so her usual routine would only start in an hour. It's no wonder her alarm didn’t go off. “Aunt Tess, there’s still an hour to go! I’m not anywhere close to being late!” Maia yelled helplessly. Unfortunately, she was already fully awake. There was no way she could go back to bed now. She dragged her tired body into the bathroom and got ready. As she was about to leave after finishing her breakfast, Tess immediately interjected. “Let me send you to work.” “It’s
Maia did not expect Tess to approach Hope personally. She knew that things were getting complicated. “I got it. I’m coming over right now.” She instructed her secretary to adjourn her upcoming meeting and left the office in a hurry. "What are you planning, acting all weak and innocent?" Tess asked Hope as she sat down. You made Maia leave her assistant here just to look after you? I’ve underestimated you.“Tell me, is this part of your plan to make her assistant work as a mole for you instead?” Tess was crude with Hope. She did not want to waste time beating around the bush. “Let me warn you. Your mother killed my sister and took her place as the mistress of the Burgess household. We’re done playing nice. How could you have the audacity to ask Maia to help you with your contract issues?“Maia is kind enough to see you as her sister, but how could you claim to be hers when your mother has done such despicable things to us? How dare you ask such a huge favor of her?”Hope was confuse
Maia knew that Tess was doing what she thought was best for Maia. However, this was not fair to Hope. “I’ve overheard your conversations. Hope had never asked me for favors, nor has she told me about her contract dispute.” “Never? Then why would there be such news all over the internet?” Tess was questioned in surprise. “They’re all just tabloid rumors. Starlight Entertainment has never contacted Hope privately, nor did we offer to settle her contract dispute. You should stop reading that nonsense. They’re all fake!” Hope had never brought up the issue of her contract dispute with Maia. Maia had found out about this through Hope’s manager. Maia had planned to help Hope with her problem, but before she could take action, the tabloids had already spread the news around. “It doesn’t matter. I’m just glad that they’re all fake! However, I would still have to remind her of the horrible things her mother had done to us!” Tess's words were sharp and hurtful. Buck had been standi
The message read, “I’ll always be your sister.”Hope received the text in the ward. Already teary-eyed, she read it and burst into tears. Puzzled, Buck and Wesley tried in vain to console her.Hope then broke into a smile for the first time in a while. Buck and Wesley were bewildered by this.After Maia rushed back to her office, she said to Paige, “Help me get information about Hope Burgess’s contract with Nebula Entertainment and the company itself.” Paige was taken aback. “Ms. Maia, are you going to help her sort out her contract problem?” “Why do you ask?”“There’s a rumor that says that you’re going to help her. Anyway, her problem is an open secret. She was forced to sign an unfair contract that would bind her to the company for 50 years, among other unreasonable terms. Nebula sure treats their artistes like shit.” Paige shook her head, sympathizing with Hope. “I’m not trying to resolve her contract problem,” Maia said. “I’m trying to take over Nebula.” “I see. I’ll get on i
Glancing at his script, Aiken saw that Fiona was noted to be the daughter of a sponsor. That explained the group name—it was to boost her own exposure.He said, “Let’s ask the mentors. Do you guys like her name?” Letting out embarrassed yet courteous smiles, the mentors nodded stiffly. “Great, the mentors love your name. You may begin your performance now.”The music then played, and the girls started to dance and sing. “I love to shower… my skin is so soft… ah oh oh…”Despite being at the forefront from start to finish, Fiona was only responsible for singing “ah oh oh.” Her dance moves were unbearably stiff. All she did was wink, turn, wink, take a few steps, and wink again before repeating the routine. When the song finished, the mentors removed their headphones. Smiling awkwardly, Aiken asked, “Whose feedback would you like to hear? You guys get to choose.” Fiona took a step forward and said smilingly, “Here’s the thing. We’re big fans of Cedric Larkin. Since only M
“Well, she’ll always be my wife, and I enjoy following her around.” Cedric’s reply made the crowd go wild again. “But based on what I know, Ms. Maia is very close to a famous attorney. She doesn’t even care about you, okay?” Fiona said, acting like a spoiled girl. “What matters is that I care about her.” The commotion grew so loud that it was impossible to continue record the show. Maia had the urge to leave immediately, but she knew she had to wait until the show was over. Fiona was stumped by what Cedric said. The crew didn’t dare to offend the daughter of a sponsor, but they couldn’t afford to have her upset Cedric and their boss, Maia, either. Born with a silver spoon in her mouth, Fiona could hardly take the humiliation and sobbed pitifully after they managed to persuade her to leave the stage. Someone then uploaded a video of Fiona crying online, entitled “Maia Burgess humiliated a participant for having bad teeth and problematic eyes.” It was a viral hit.As
Amanda came to sit next to Maia as she said, “I’m glad you’ve noticed this as well. Lauren is usually quite into the drama that she’s watching on TV. Today’s episode was a sad one, so I was wondering why she was still so happy watching it.” Lauren smiled back at them and replied, “I’m just really happy. I’ve never thought that I’d be able to see my eldest son again and that he has such a kind and beautiful wife by his side. “Eddie was also able to find his loved one, and I was lucky enough to be a grandmother. I never thought that I’d be able to go on a family trip with all my sons.” She started to tear up.“Lauren, don’t cry,” Maia said as she handed Lauren a handkerchief to dry her tears. Lauren wiped her tears as she smiled and nodded. “Don’t worry about me. I’m just being dramatic.” She looked around and asked, “Where’s Cedric? Is he with Eddie?”Maia nodded. “Yeah. This new project is a bit of a hassle, so he went over to try to help.” Lauren sighed, “Eddie’s father an
Cedric just smiled when he saw Maia’s worried reaction. “You sure you’ll keep your promise?” Maia tugged the blanket closer to herself and nodded. Maia would not dare to say no. If Cedric decided to do as he had said, she would just end up in bed the whole morning. “We can register our marriage anytime. You mean it?” She knew that Cedric was just baiting her, but she had no choice. She did not know what he would do next. When she glanced at his handsome face, her heart could not help but skip a beat. Just then, Cedric took out two pieces of paper from the bedside drawer. Maia was taken aback as she saw the document. They were marriage registration forms, and they were already filled in. “T-This was a setup! You’ve already had this all planned out from the beginning!” Maia scanned through the forms and was surprised to see that the only section left empty was the signature. Maia did not know when Cedric had started to prepare all this, but it looked like it had been a whil
Cedric glanced at Baz and asked, “How does it feel to miss someone so much?”Baz’s smile froze as he shook his head quickly. “Now, I can finally understand why you hate being separated from Ms. Maia.”Cedric just looked at Baz coldly. Baz quickly added when he noticed Cedric’s glare, “I’m just saying that you love your wife very much, and that man who’s like you would definitely understand.”“That’s a fact,” Cedric replied as he turned around and walked back into the bedroom. Baz immediately stopped him as he asked. “Mr. Cedric, why don’t you tell Ms. Maia the real reason why you’re so against calling Ms. Lauren your mother? Why didn’t you tell her the scars on your back were inflicted by Ms. Rita?” It was a horrible and unimaginable part of his childhood. “I don’t want to frighten her.”“But it’s difficult for you as well, Mr. Cedric. Calling Ms. Lauren your mother brings back horrible memories for you too.” “It doesn’t matter. I’ll do anything for her.” Cedric replied as he
“Is that true?” Gigi asked her grandmother.Lauren nodded and said, “Of course it is. Has grandma ever lied to you?”“Wow! Grandma, what was Daddy like when he was a kid?” Gigi was excited. She was not sleepy anymore as she pestered Lauren to tell her more. “Whenever I brought him to attend events, he would always cry. I still remember he had wet his pants once in kindergarten.” Gigi covered her mouth and giggled happily. Amanda laughed and looked at Eddie. “Did you really wet your pants?”Eddie palmed his forehead and told his mother, “Stop embarrassing me in front of my daughter, Mom.” Lauren just smiled happily back at her son. At the same time, Maia tugged on the hem of Cedric’s shirt and questioned cheekily, “Did you wet your pants when you were a kid?” Cedric drew her into his arms in response and threatened, “Maia, it seems like you won’t be able to go to bed tonight.” “I’m not afraid of your empty threats,” Maia replied. “Are you sure about that?”Maia nod
It was hard to believe he’d change his mind out of nowhere. She blinked and gawked at him. She almost forgot to breathe because of the sheer shock. Her face turned red from it, too. “Hey, breathe.” Cedric frowned. He realized her eyes were widening and her cheeks were completely reddened. Then, her lungs worked, and she started drawing breath again. She gripped the hem of his shirt instinctively. “Hmm?” Cocking his brow, he looked at her casually while taking her hands in his. “Do you want to know why I changed my mind?”She nodded immediately. Needless to say, she wanted to spring that question on him, but she wondered if she should. On the other hand, he merely chuckled and didn’t say anything. All he did was fix a deep, passionate stare at her. His eyes were filled with love and affection when he did it. Realizing that he wasn’t going to talk, she was bewildered. “W-Why aren’t you saying anything?”His grin widened at what she said. Reaching out, he pinched her fair ch
Taking his hands, she rested her fair cheeks on his palm.“Is there another reason you did it?” She asked. “I had someone plant something in the painting.”“What do you mean?” She pressed.“A wire.”Then, it hit her. “D-Does this mean you knew Fidelia would buy the painting at all costs?”“Mm-hmm.” He nodded.Pursing her lips, she said, “I guess it tracks. After all, Fidelia will surely buy anything you donate to Nordic College. She loves you so much that she peeled an entire bowl of prawns for you.”“Do peeling prawns mean she loves me?” He cocked his brow.She nodded instinctively.“Well, then. Do you know how much I love you now?”Maia was initially pondering something, but she was scattered the moment she heard what he said!Her face turned red. She couldn’t decide if she should nod or shake her head now. The only thing she could do now was change the topic. “Wait a minute. I just asked Gigi to bid on it. Did I almost mess up your plan?” Her brows were furrowed. She
“Maia!” Amanda called out to her and hastened over. “D-Did you just say I was already on trending search?”“Mm-hmm.” Nodding, she handed her phone to Amanda. Amanda saw the search topic ‘Amanda Tate Burst Out Laughing.’ and was rooted to the spot.“H-How’s this already up there?”Maia chuckled. “There are so many people in the dining hall. There’s no way you can keep it from spreading on the internet for long. Even Gigi and Eddie got on the trending search. They were right behind you. “Valentines Group has also started working on the public relations angle. I browsed the internet and didn’t find any overly vicious remarks either. None of the marketing accounts were trying to stir up trouble either. All of Gigi’s pictures were censored as well. So, there’s nothing to be worried about here.”Amanda let out a sigh of relief at what she said. “It’s a good thing that no one attacked Gigi on the internet. Otherwise, I’m going to start chasing them with a machete that’s one foot long!
“Why, you!” Fidelia took the glass of fruit juice from the table and spilled it all over him!The sticky juices clung to his cheeks for a second before rolling down them.“Listen up, plastic face! It doesn’t matter if I can’t lay a finger on Maia because Cedric loves and protects her. It isn’t your place to make fun of me! Who do you think you are, Neilson? “You’re nothing more than my family’s lap dog. Look at how stiff your face is. You’ve wasted a perfectly good glass of fruit juice!”Staring at him angrily, Fidelia warned him nastily. She was so gripped with rage that her chest was rising and falling hastily. Then, she gritted her teeth and threw the empty glass at him.Catching the glass midair, he lowered his head. “You make a fine point, Ms. Fidelia.” Wiping the fruit juice from his cheeks, he apologized again. “Please calm down, Ms. Fidelia. You have to look at where we are now. It’d be wise not to make Mr. Thomas mad again.”“Are you seriously warning me again? Who do
Maia made up a reason so Amanda could take Gigi away. Amanda nodded, carried her daughter, and left the scene. All Gigi did was speak the truth, but Fidelia’s face grew grim and shot the three-year-old girl a terrible look. It was clear that Fidelia might do something outrageous to Gigi again if she didn’t divert her attention from the little girl. After all, Fidelia didn’t care about the consequences of her actions at all!So, she looked at Fidelia and said, “I’m not sure why you kept trying to win my husband’s heart, but I’ve been sitting here the whole time. Are you ignoring me on purpose? Or, are you so arrogant that you care only about Cedric and nobody else?”Fidelia immediately shifted her gaze to Maia. Glaring at her, she directed all of her anger and frustration at Maia. “What are you trying to say, Maia? My dad saved Cedric’s life. So, is there anything wrong with me peeling the shrimp for him? What’s the problem if I try to win his heart? What does it have to do with