“Of course, I’d start feeling suspicious when you’re looking at Hope like that. It’s as if you’re trying to steal her away.” Maia smiled cheekily at Buck.“N-no, that’s not true.” Buck tried to deny it but he was not very convincing. “Stop trying to deny it. Just admit that you like her. I could tell right away just from the way you look at her.” “W-was I that obvious?”“See? You’ve admitted it.”Buck was rendered speechless. He did not expect Maia to be so cunning with her words. “Ms. Maia, how could you?” “Don’t make me out to be the bad guy. You were the one who had something to hide.” She turned to stare at Hope, who was standing at the balcony. “If you like her, you should do something about it. Hope clearly doesn’t hate you and since her mother is not here anymore, she needs someone else to look after her, right?” Buck nodded and added playfully, “I guess Hope’s sister is not against this relationship.” “My acknowledgment means nothing. You need Hope to agree.” “
A man walked toward the runaway. He had an intimidating aura as he walked toward Maia and took out a black handkerchief to clean the residue from her forehead. “It’s swelling.” He looked at her gently, but his tone was upset. Moments later, Baz came into the hall with a group of security guards and restrained the woman who threw the egg at Maia. “Unhand me! She was brave enough to commit murder, so why is she so scared of hearing what people are saying? We’re not allow to even ask for justice for Zera, just because Mr. Cedric is protecting Maia Burgess!” The woman continued to struggle against Baz as she yelled. The woman had managed to ignite a storm of anger in the once silence hall. The organizers had also rushed over to check on the situation. They were shocked as something this controversial had never happened in the history of the fashion show. The organizers immediately apologized to Cedric, but Cedric only turned to them and asked for a microphone. The person-in-cha
“Don’t look at me like that. You gave Ms. Maia a huge gift, so naturally we would have to give you something huge in return too. Mr. Cedric instructed us to take good care of you.” Baz explained patiently. ”It’s such a shame to let all these eggs you brought go to waste. Let’s put them to good use.” The woman started yelling, “How dare you touch me! You piece of trash! Do you know who I am?” “Of course, you’re one of Ms. Rita’s distant relatives!”“If you already knew who I am, you wouldn’t dare do this to me.” She glared daggers at him.Baz shook his head helplessly and asked, “Do you know who you just messed with?” The woman was momentarily taken aback. How could she not know Maia Burgess? “What do you mean?” Baz moved closer to her and elaborated helpfully, “Since you’re clearly not the brightest person, I’ll explain it to you. The lady you just offended is an important person to Mr. Cedric. He would do anything for her.” He went on. “Meanwhile, you’re just a distant
Baz was too afraid to say anything now.“You don’t think Maia is beautiful? Choose your words carefully.” Cedric continued to question him with an intimidating glance. Baz could only swallow nervously as he thought of what to say. He was beginning to feel bad for himself for being stuck in such a difficult situation. Back at the main hall, the 1S11 fashion show had already started as models appeared on the runway to show off the new season’s pieces. The socialites seated around the stage started a round of heated discussions as they fought to bid on the limited fashion pieces shown. When Maia appeared at the scene in her expensive aqua blue gown, people around her started talking again. “Wow, look! Isn’t that the most expensive piece in this year’s 1S11 show? She looks so beautiful in it!”“I knew it looked familiar! This gown was just displayed in the middle of the hall moments ago. It costs a few million dollars. I would never be able to afford it!” “I’m pretty sure it’
“Do you think I’d let some random man to touch you?”Maia wanted to remove her foot from his knee as she could feel the glances coming from around her. She could not help but curl her toes in embarrassment.Cedric smiled at her reflex as he removed the heels from the dust bag. “Relax.” If it was not for the fact that they were in public, she would have kicked him already! When he finally finished putting the heels on her feet, he looked straight into her eyes and smiled lovingly. His eyes sparkled as though they had a galaxy of stars in them. Maia stood up with a frown as people around them started to clap. Her dress and her shoes made her the exact fit for tonight’s theme. All that was missing was just an embrace from a lover.Before their fantasy became a reality, Maia quickly moved away from Cedric and this reaction disappointed everyone in the room.It was obvious now that Cedric had an unrequited love for his ex-wife. It was also fascinating to see someone of his status
Maia lifted her eyes and looked at her. She didn't say anything. She just nodded and quietly entered the apartment."May I use the bathroom?" Maia's voice sounded teary. Even though she tried to control it, emotions are difficult to control."Sure thing." Hope quickly nodded in response.Maia walked to the bathroom. Buck and Hope looked at her back, completely clueless."What happened?" Hope nudged Buck lightly with her elbow.Buck shook his head. "I don't know. I rarely see Miss Maia cry. She's so strong that she didn't even show fear when facing those old shareholders. “But today, after getting in the car, she suddenly cried so much. Did someone bully her? Impossible... Miss Maia would have fought back had anyone bullied her."Buck could not figure out what happened."It must be something at the fashion show."Hope quickly took out her phone from her pajama pocket, logged into Twitter, and checked all the news related to the 1s11 Fashion Show.Suddenly, several headlines
Rita looked at Polly, exclaiming, "What did you say? Baz retaliated against Josephine, and she was hit by eggs?"Polly nodded, truthfully recounting the events at the fashion show to Rita."Yes, we arranged for audience members to cooperate with Josephine to stir the public. They said she rushed onto the stage and threw eggs at Maia, and then Mr. Cedric arrived. “Not only did he publicly prove that Maia was innocent, but he also defended her in front of everyone! Now, the videos are all over the internet, and based on the footage, everything they said is true. Mr. Cedric is still holding Ms. Taylor, and we don't know the exact situation...""What a dumb thing! How could we have such a stupid relative in the Larkin family?” Rita said, "I told her to go after Maia, get everyone to attack her, kick her out of the fashion show, and make it go viral! But she actually went and threw eggs at Maia?"Rita clutched her chest and sat on the nearby sofa. "This is the 1s11 Fashion Show. What an ig
"Did everything really come to light?" He settled down with his teacup and looked at Maia. "I actually feel like this whole thing has become even more confusing."Maia paused as she was sipping her tea."What do you mean, Jordan? Yvette had a motive, and she admitted to her crime in her suicide note...""Maia, have you seen the surveillance footage that the tech department restored?"Maia thought about the surveillance footage, which was currently in her office drawer."I have not watched that footage since confirming Yvette as the culprit.""The tech department knows about my relationship with you, so they made a copy for me. I watched the restored footage in detail, comparing it with Yvette's figure... “I was planning to talk to you about this even if you didn’t come over today. I don’t think the person who entered the company was Yvette. The figure doesn't match hers. The real culprit might be someone else."The teacup in Maia's hand suddenly fell onto the carpet, staining