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
Buck was a burly guy who towered over everyone. He continued to grin cheerfully as he half dragged Nigel aside to maintain some distance between him and Cedric. “You have a smart PA,” Cedric commented coldly. If it were not for Buck separating them, Cedric would have given Nigel a black eye. “Of course, we have to be smart in the light of someone as powerful as you,” Maia replied. “You don’t have to be wary of me.” Cedric would always welcome all her tantrums. “We’re even now, so there’s no need for us to see each other anymore.”“I’ve told you, we’re not.” “What do you mean? I’ve instructed Baz to look for a doctor for you and took you in for the night. Whether or not you were there, I’d have eventually been saved by my building’s management and rescue team. “If you’re referring to the information that Victor had, when I’ve settled the issue with Mykonos Studios. I’ll hand them over to you along with part of the company’s shares. I’ll make sure to give you what you rightf
“Ms. Maia, how did I do just now? Mr. Nigel would’ve end up being punched by Mr. Cedric if I hadn’t acted fast! However, Mr. Nigel sure is noisy. He isn’t even your boyfriend yet, he keeps trying to interfere with your relationships. “Mr. Cedric was intimidating as well. He had completely ignored Mr. Nigel’s presence.”Buck paused, gave a thumbs up to Maia and continued, “But you were actually the best! You made Mr. Cedric leave obediently. The man, so feared by many, did not even dare put up a fight! The power of love is amazing!“However, are you sure it’s a good idea to just throw Mr. Cedric out? I don’t think he’s fully recovered. Isn’t it a bit heartless to do that to him?”Maia could feel her temples throbbing from Buck’s incessant nagging. She took a seat on the sofa and glanced at him. Finally, she yelled at him to stop as she could take it no more. “Buck Harvey!”“At your service!”“Why are you here, this early in the morning?” Maia asked.“Right. I’m here to confirm t
They were in such an aggressive fight that Maia did not give a second thought as she rushed toward them, trying to break them up!When Cedric noticed her dashing headfirst into their fight, he immediately cradled her in his arms and turned, shielding her from Nigel’s attack.The force of Nigel’s attack hit Cedric fully as he frowned and hugged Maia tighter. The only thing in Cedric’s mind was Maia’s safety as he asked, “Are you okay?” Maia was momentarily stunned before she heard him ask. She lifted her gaze to meet his and shook her head in response. When Nigel was finally able to notice what was going on, she was already in Cedric’s arms. He quickly asked apologetically, “Are you hurt? By the time I saw you, it was already too late for me to stop my attack.”Maia pushed herself away from Cedric’s embrace and replied, “I’m fine.” That attack did not reach her at all as she was instantly protected by Cedric. She did not even see what exactly had happened. Maia drew her lips together