Maia had seen it all now. It was hilarious to know people this shameless did, in fact, exist.“There are no mirrors in the world big enough to show you how thick-skinned you are.” The middle-aged women weren’t pleased with what she said.“How rude! How dare you talk to us in that way? We’re much older than you. Show us some respect!”Maia crossed her arms and sneered, “What about all the noise you’re making out here? Isn’t that rude too? Why do you deserve my respect just because you’re older than me? My ancestors are way older than you. Are you going to pay your respects to them, then?”They had nothing of value to say to her, so they raised their voices and hurled profanity at her.“I demand to see that bitch now! What makes her think she could disrespect us just because she got rich?”“Who exactly are you? Who are you to speak on her behalf?”“I’m her older sister! Is that good enough for you? Who are you guys to demand Hope to buy you houses?” The grit in Maia’s voice was
Maia’s eyes widened. Cedric was the last person she would expect to see here!“Maia…” Hope said to her. “What’s Cedric doing here?” Cedric used to be Maia’s husband. That made him her former brother-in-law.Maia frowned. She had no answers for Hope. Hope was frightened to see Cedric advancing toward them. “I’m going to go help Buck!”Hope might be naive, but she had spent a long time in the entertainment industry. Her emotional intelligence and intellect were solid. She knew how to read a situation, and knew when to make herself scarce.Maia started backing off when she saw Cedric taking steps toward her. She needed to keep a distance from him. He suddenly caught her arms when she took another step backward.“You’ll fall into the ditch.”Maia was startled. She turned and saw that there was indeed a ditch at the side of the apartment. “Let me go!” Maia said coldly. She could not even look at him. He did as she asked. Maia could hear humming in her mind as her hand fell. Was th
“Get in the car, now!” Cedric lowered the car window and said impatiently.“Right away!” Baz nodded and hopped in immediately. The air conditioner was turned on in the car. Baz felt much better now. He drove the car out of the old neighborhood. They were in the city very soon. “Has my mom been discharged from the hospital?”“Ms. Rita was discharged two days ago,” Baz answered instantly. Then, Cedric spoke again with a terrifying voice, “Is Josephine still alive?”“She is. We acquired a lot of rotten eggs from farmers and egged her. She stinks to high heaven now.”Cedric tapped his thigh with his fingers. “Take her to the Larkin Manor.” It was time to end this!“Roger.” Baz made a few phone calls and ordered the bodyguards to transport Josephine to the Larkin Manor when the traffic light turned red. Then, he turned the car around and drove to the aforementioned manor.They arrived at the Larkin Manor in about half an hour. Cedric had not been here for the better part of a mo
“Speak carefully now, Josephine. Did someone pull your strings? Did Maia bribe you and ask you to stage the whole thing? You’re such a good girl. How’s it possible for you to do such a thing alone?”Rita smacked her chest to show how heart-wrenching it was for her. She could not stop herself from trying to frame Maia for it. Josephine clenched her fist and closed her eyes. She knew what Maia meant to Cedric. She was not going to fall for the same trick twice. “I did it all by myself. I wanted to avenge Zera.”No one bought what she said. Baz was particularly skeptical about it. Cedric maintained a gloomy face, not saying anything.Then, Judy said, “You let Ms. Rita down, Ms. Josephine! Did you not think about her reputation? She took pity on you and took you to Prismara. I can’t believe this is how you repay her! You deserve everything that’s coming to you!”Rita and Judy did a good job at keeping up the ruse. Cedric grinned slowly. It was amusing to watch them.He lit a cigaret
He applied pressure with the sole of his foot. Moments later a loud snap was heard. Judy’s arm was broken. “Ah!” Judy yelped as her already weakened body trembled. “If you dare hurt her again, I’ll make sure you regret it!” Cedric threatened as he applied more pressure.Judy could no longer yelp from the excruciating pain she felt as she laid motionless in a puddle of blood. “Did you think I would have forgotten what you’d done?” Judy was horrified as her face turned as white as a sheet.Rita immediately tried to ease the tension by warning Cedric, “This is your grandfather’s home. How could you do something so cruel here? Are you trying to kill her? Let her go, she already apologized for it! You should forgive and forget!” “Forgive and forget?” Cedric smiled mockingly at Rita.“Did you ever show that same grace to my wife?” He questioned mockingly. “I never abused Maia. These two incidents are totally different, how could you expect me to do the same?” Rita would never
Fernando looked at Hans and shook his head helplessly. “Mr. Larkin is constantly asking for something sweet. We’ve agreed that he could only have some once a week, but I’ve caught him stealing dessert from the kitchen a few times. I had no choice but to report this to Mr. Cedric and from then on, he hadn’t spoken to me for a few days.” “Don’t worry about it. It’s grandpa’s fault for not keeping his promise. If he continues to refuse talking to you, then you should just ignore him too!” Maia said, intentionally speaking loud enough so that Hans could hear them. Hans quickly stood up and tip-toed to the kitchen door as he continued to eavesdrop on their conversation. Maia knew Hans was already listening to them behind the door and continued. “I think grandpa is also angry at me now since he refuses to talk to me too. Such a shame, he can’t have these cream puffs and the pudding I brought! Why don’t you help me finish them?” “I’d love to, Mrs. Larkin!” “Fernando, just call me
“Maia, why don’t you stay for dinner? Mr. Larkin told me to inform the chef to prepare your favorite dishes. It would be a shame if you left without trying them.” Fernando was somewhat of a scourge. He could not bear to see food going to waste. “Maia, if you don’t stay for dinner, then I’ll starve myself starting tomorrow!” Hans said while he limped toward the living room. His back gave off a sad aura. “I’m glad that you’re willing to give up on desserts!” Hans froze on the spot when he heard what Maia had said. “Fine, I won’t eat desserts. She’s not staying for dinner either way. Maia doesn’t love her grandfather anymore.” Maia felt sad as she heard Hans complaining. This was not what she had wanted. She knew that Hans had been excited to see her. Cedric lowered his head and whispered into her ears, “So, are you running away from me?” Maia glared daggers at Cedric as she debated internally. She was not going to admit that he was the cause of her wanting to leave. Momen
“Mr. Larkin, you should really watch what you eat,” Fernando said.“Don’t you think I’d know my own body well? All you ever do is nag. I know that I have several illnesses, you don’t have to keep reminding me!” Hans looked at Fernando in annoyance. Fernando could only remain silent as he knew how stubborn Hans could be. “Grandpa, Fernando is only doing what’s best for you,” Maia said, patiently.“Fine, fine. I know that you’re only looking out for me.” Fernando only smiled. He knew that was as much of an apology as he’d get from Hans.Moments later, Hans passed a dish over to Cedric and told him to have some. “This is good for your health, especially if you want to have a baby soon!” Hans continued to fill up Cedric’s plate with food that he deemed useful in increasing their chances of having a baby.As Cedric looked at his full plate, he could only frown. Did his grandfather think that it was his fault that they’re not producing an heir for the family? Maia could not hel
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