It was unseasonably warm. The night breeze was both hot and dry. Errol was sitting quietly on a bench in the hospital yard, smoking a cigarette.He reached into the case to take another cigarette when the last one burned out. However, the case was already empty. The ashtray on top of the trashcan was already full of cigarette butts.Errol pulled his hair, frustrated. Then, someone offered him a cigarette. He stood up abruptly when he saw who it was and signed, “Greetings, Cedric.” “There’s something on your mind.” Cedric stood next to him and said firmly. He knew Cedric was not well-versed in sign language, so he took out his phone and started typing. “What made you say that?”“You know the answer,” Cedric said coldly. Errol took a sharp breath and typed, “No. I’ve nothing to say.”Cedric sneered. “So much for your love for Celia.”“What about your love for Maia? You hurt her so badly in the past! You know all too well how much pain she went through!”Cedric said sharply, “
Errol watched as Cedric left. Then, he stared at the pack of cigarettes on the bench and smiled. He had to admit that men shared an unspoken language sometimes. A pack of cigarettes would help alleviate his unease.Errol headed back to Celia’s ward once the reek of cigarettes on him had worn off. It was seven o’clock. Thanks to Maia’s soothing attitude, Celia was smiling and speaking now. He was a little surprised.“Have you eaten anything, Celia?” He smiled and signed. She nodded and said affectionately, “I have. Were you able to rest? Why do you look so worn out?” “I rested. I’m not tired at all. You’ll see. We’re going to count the stars on the moonlit sky tonight.” Celia turned and looked out the window, “I’m sure the moon is going to be brilliant and there‘s going to be a sea of stars tonight!”“Exactly.” Errol nodded. Maia smiled and rose. They were such a lovely couple. She was going to give them some privacy.She waved at Celia. “Get some rest. I’m going to leave now
Cedric lowered his head, looked at his beloved wife, and grinned lovingly. It was wonderful for him to have her as his wife. “Mmph…” Maia kicked her blanket away. She always did this in her sleep. He smiled and tucked her in again. This was going to happen many times throughout the night. She was just like a kid.He brushed her hair back behind her ear as his smile deepened. She’ll always be his little Maia.…Maia could hear her phone ringing the next morning. She had always had a habit of sleeping in. Today was no exception either. She kept her blanket on and rolled in her sleep, but the ringing never stopped.She was finally roused from her sleep and eventually grabbed her phone from the bedside table. It was Buck. She picked up the call, laid back down, and said drowsily, “Hello?”“We found Celia’s attackers, Ms. Maia!” Maia snapped wide awake and sat upright on her bed, “What did you say? We got them?”Buck answered instantly, “That’s right. Mr. Cedric lent his men to th
“Go on.” Cedric instructed coldly.The executive managers of different departments continued to brief Cedric with their daily reports. Baz stood aside and tried to hide his laughter. He could imagine how they felt as it was unusual for Cedric to smile so happily.When the meeting came to an end, Cedric looked at his staff members who were clearing up and ready to leave, “Are you married?”Everyone froze in their seats as the turned to him. One of the managers smiled at Cedric and replied, “Most of us are.” “What are the traits of a good husband?” Cedric asked as his question surprised everyone in the room. Why is someone who had the business industry at his beck and call asking them this question? Baz, who was standing in the corner, was also taken aback by Cedric’s question. He really was doing everything he could to win Maia back! Someone commented. “Ahem. First, a man needs to have enough money to support his family!” “I already have more than enough.”The person quic
“Ms. Maia.” Paige greeted her and continued to keep her head down.Maia acted like she did not know what was going on as she handed her the documents. “What’s wrong?” Paige just shook her head as she looked at her with red eyes, not daring to utter a word. “Why were these documents on the floor?” Maia questioned in a seemingly calm tone. In truth, she was restraining herself from throwing these files at Tess.Before Paige could reply, Tess interrupted eagerly. “Maia, you’re here. Why are you carrying a bag of food? Did you not have breakfast? If I’d known, I would’ve prepared your favorite food!” “Aunt Tess, what’s going on here?” Maia questioned as she glanced at Paige who was still organizing the documents on the floor. Maia could not believe how fast her aunt could change her behavior. “I was just upset that Paige couldn’t do her work properly, so I gave her a warning. However, she looked like she wasn’t listening, so I got slightly angry and gave her back these documents.
“Do you want her to remember everything?” Cedric asked as he stared straight at her.Tess was intimidated by his look as she struggled to regain her composure. “I don’t care. As long as Maia is happy and safe, that’s all that matters to me.”“Really? You’re such a loving aunt,” Cedric replied sarcastically. Maia struggled to hold back her laughter as she pulled the hem of his shirt. “How can you talk to her like that? She’s my aunt.” “It’s fine, Maia. This is how he is. I won’t be mad at his attitude.” Tess replied smugly as she was satisfied with how Maia was siding with her. “Look at how nice Aunt Tess is.” “If you say so.” Cedric only smiled in reply as he walked toward her and carried her from the couch.“What are you doing? Put me down!” Maia was embarrassed as her aunt was still in the room. She was also angry at Cedric taking advantage of her. Cedric knew from the shade of red on her face that she was embarrassed. He looked at Tess and demanded, “It's 5pm already. I’m takin
The next morning, when Maia got to the kitchen, a housekeeper greeted her politely and handed her a wooden meal box. Maia accepted it and opened it in surprise. They were Nester’s apple pies. “Where did you get them?”“Mr. Cedric told us to give this to you as soon as you came down for breakfast.” He remembered! Did he go to Nester personally to get them?“He bought them?”The housekeeper nodded and added, “I saw Mr. Cedric leaving the house at midnight as I was getting off work. When he came back at 7am this morning, he had the meal box with him.”Maia could not believe her ears. Why did he go through all the trouble just to do this?“Ms. Maia, what do you have in your hands? It’s such a pretty meal box!” One of the housekeepers who had just walked in on them asked curiously.“They’re apple pies!” “Ms. Maia, you must really love them! Are you hungry? Should we prepare breakfast for you?” The housekeepers smiled and asked. “It’s fine. I’ll just have this.” She waved the
“Maia, thank you for comforting me the other day. I’m truly grateful for what you’ve done for me. However, I’m not as strong as you are. Not everyone could overcome a bad experience, and sadly, I’m one of them. This is my way of ending all the suffering. I’m sorry that I’ve disappointed all of you. I love Errol very much, but I can’t stay with him forever. I’m sorry.” The letter was simply heartbreaking as Maia cried sadly. “Ms. Maia.”Maia heard someone addressing her as she scrambled to dry her tears and regain her composure. She turned toward the voice and saw a police officer walking toward her. “Ms. Maia, we’re done talking to Mr. Errol. For now, we can only assume that Ms. Celia had committed suicide. More and more fans of Ms. Celia are gathering at the hospital. “We hope that as her ex-boss, you could talk to her fans and the media about the news and to ask them not to crowd around the hospital.” Maia knew the severity of this issue. Those fans and media have been cau
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