"Okay," Buck sent the WhatsApp message and put away his phone, watching Maia and Nigel walk side by side. Buck rubbed his head, muttering to himself, "If Mr. Cedric sees this, it would be catastrophic... I cannot let Mr. Cedric find out."Once Buck confirmed that Maia didn't need him, he headed towards the ground parking lot and drove away.Meanwhile, Maia successfully found the open-air cafe where Errol and Elena were."Alright, my guardian duties are done. Go ahead and join them," Nigel said.Errol and Elena inside the stall noticed him.Errol walked out, smiling and gesturing, "Nigel, are you with Maia?"Nigel couldn't understand Errol's gestures and looked a bit confused. Realizing this, Errol quickly took out his phone, typed a message, and handed it to Nigel."I happened to have something to deal with at the university town, and I ran into Maia. So, I brought her here," Nigel replied to Errol's inquiry."Are you done with your business?" Errol asked.Nigel nodded, "Just finished.
Maia didn't say much from start to finish, mostly silently eating. By the time the late-night meal ended, they said their goodbyes at the food stall and went their separate ways."Maia, I'll drive you home. It's almost midnight, and I'm not at ease with you taking a cab alone," Nigel said.At this point, it was hard for Maia to refuse, so she nodded and followed Nigel towards where his car was parked. It was a bit of a distance from the cafe to Nigel's car."Maia, if I remember correctly, Elena is the daughter of the head of the shipping group, right?" Nigel asked.Maia replied, "Yes, Nigel, do you know about the shipping group?"Nigel smiled, "I've received their commission before, and I've met her father."Maia nodded. She should have thought of it earlier. Lawyers like Nigel, even if they didn't directly involve themselves in the business world, would still have close connections with people in those circles."I just didn't expect Errol to be with Elena. After all, he loved C
Did Cedric not eat? He waited in the hall just to deliver the files to her? "Ah, sorry, sorry, I seem to be a bit too talkative." The housekeeper immediately apologized. "Ms. Maia, please rest early.""Okay." Maia nodded and the housekeeper returned to her work post.Maia looked at the envelope in her hand and then glanced at the trash can outside, filled with cigarette butts. When did Cedric become such a heavy smoker? She pursed her lips, feeling the weight of the envelope as if it were a thousand pounds, making it difficult for her to hold.She lowered her eyes and muttered softly to herself, "Maia Burgess, what were you thinking? He has nothing to do with you." Then, she walked quickly to the elevator and went upstairs.As the elevator slowly ascended, a man emerged from the shadows. The housekeeper, upon seeing him, respectfully called out, "Mr. Cedric."Cedric nodded slightly, not saying a word. He just stared at the elevator ascending floor by floor.He hadn't forgotten
Maia pursed her lips. She could hear his heart pounding.She was about to shout at him when he put her down and let her stand by herself. Then, he started checking for injuries before she could say anything. “You’re hurt.” His frown deepened. That was when Maia noticed that there was a cut at her feet. Was it the work of the billboard from when the elevator dropped sharply? Anyway, it was just a flesh wound. She was tougher than that.“I’m fine.” Maia said nonchalantly. Then, she asked, confused, “D-Didn’t you leave?” Cedric was a little nervous. “We should take care of your wound first.” Then, he swept her off her feet before she knew what was happening.“P-Put me down, Cedric. People are watching!”“What do you mean?”Maia was stunned to see that the group of people at the staircase had already dispersed. When did they leave? How could she not have heard anything?Cedric carried her to the stairs and started climbing. “There’s another working elevator. You don’t have to c
Baz was caught in the middle now, “Mr. Cedric said he’s not going, Ms. Maia. There’s no changing his mind. I-I can’t go against his orders, but we have some medicine in the car. Should we have him take it and see how it goes?”“What? He’s in so much pain he’s sweating!” Maia looked at Cedric angrily, “Are you going to the hospital, Cedric? I’m going to ignore you if you don’t!”“You’re already doing that.” He smiled bitterly and said, “I’m the one to blame for it.”Nobody realized just how much he wanted Maia to care about him. He would gladly take it even if it meant her nagging him and throwing temper tantrums. He would revel in it because it meant she loved him from the bottom of her heart. However, he could no longer see any signs that suggested she loved him these days.“Read the room, Cedric. Why are you talking about this now? Hurry up and go to the hospital. Get your stomach checked thoroughly. It wasn’t in great condition to begin with. Can you take better care of yourse
Franklin packed up his equipment and gave them to Baz. “You called me out here in the middle of the night just for me to see Cedric in such a sorry state. You did a bad job at being his assistant. Take these to my car.”“As you wish,” Baz said, as he took Franklin’s stuff to the car. Franklin walked toward Maia after Baz left. He nodded and smiled at her. “It’s been a long time, Maia.”“Indeed, Franklin.” She nodded and smiled politely.“I’m aware you respect me, Maia. I also know you’re just being polite, but I always ask for a mile when given an inch. So, I’m going to leverage your respect for me and talk to you about something private. Do you mind?”Maia shook her head and smiled, “I respect you from the bottom of my heart, Franklin. It’s not just out of courtesy. I welcome your input anytime. Please. I’m all ears.”“I’ll cut to the chase, then. You saw the shape Cedric was in. His stomach problem gets worse every year. He has to eat three meals a day. It’s also crucial tha
Maia was stunned for a long time. She snapped back to reality after Cedric called out to her again.“Maia…”Her body stiffened when she heard his tone. It was different this time. The love and longing in his tone were unmistakable.She was shocked. She replayed his tone in her mind over and over again. No one had ever spoken her name like that. He was the first to do so.Maia frowned. Franklin’s words came back to haunt her. Her lips twitched and she said to herself, “It’s true. To love him again is to take chances. You need courage for that. However, my courage is all but spent. I no longer have it in me to love him.”She spoke softly, but each word was filled with deep sorrow. A drop of tear fell from her eyes and landed on Cedric. He frowned immediately, as though the warm tear had stung him, and said worriedly, “Don’t be scared, Maia…”There was that tone again. Maia turned around and left the room briskly. She closed the door immediately, leaned on it, and took a deep breath
Maia nodded and went back to sleep. The doorbell rang again. Cedric looked at her lovingly, put the towel on the table, and went out to open the door. Buck was shocked by what he saw. “M-Mr. Cedric.” Buck took a few steps back and checked the unit number again to make sure he was at the right place. “She’s still sleeping.”Buck cleared his throat and nodded. It was pretty clear what happened here. He said, “I-I’ll just wait for Ms. Maia in the living room.”“Help yourself.”Buck nodded and headed meekly to the living room. He sat on the couch that was furthest from the bedroom. Then, he heard a commotion in there. Maia came out, looking unkempt, and tried to stop Cedric from opening the door. Alas, it was too late.“Good morning, Ms. Maia.” Buck smiled and greeted her. She nodded and said stiffly, “Morning.”Gritting her teeth, Maia was so mad at herself. If she had not let Cedric open the door just now, then it would not have been this awkward. “The Horizon Awards’ orga