Hans shook his head at the thought of it. “So, are you saying that not even you know who my birth mother is, Grandpa?”Hans nodded. “That’s right. I’ve been investigating her identity in secret, but it hasn’t been yielding any results. So, I didn’t pursue it any further. Regardless of who she may be, you’re a Larkin through and through. I’m proud to have you as my grandson, Cedric.”Cedric frowned. “Didn’t father ever say anything about her?”“Not a thing at all. However, he did give me a jade tablet when he first carried you here. He asked me to keep it safe. I recognized it. You need to have it if you want to rule over the Fox family. Without it, you won’t be able to hold on to that position! “However, right now, Lauren is ruling over the Fox family. She was doing fine without the jade tablet. She’s an impressive lady by all means. If it hadn’t been for Rosa, she would’ve been the top business tycoon.”“Lauren?” Cedric said deliberately.Hans nodded. “That’s her. All your f
Elena said solemnly, ”After all, I belong to the Welbeck family. Perhaps she thinks it’ll help her career if she pretends to know one of the Welbecks. Case in point, didn’t she manage to talk to you?”Elena might have smiled at Maia, but her hands were clasped together and her fingers entwined tightly. This tiny gesture betrayed her real feelings. Her unconscious act was proof that she was lying and that she felt guilty!The fact was that Maia was a savvy businesswoman, whereas Elena had lived a sheltered life. She might have done a good job running the winery, but that was it. On the contrary, Maia had seen and heard all sorts of affairs in the business industry. She was leagues ahead of Elena.She looked at Elena and kept a straight face. She did not even look the least bit curious at what Elena had said. Instead, she smiled, nodded, and said lightly, “You have a point. You’re young and inexperienced. Your parents have sheltered you well. So, why would you know anyone from the e
Errol was puzzled. He signed, “What are you laughing at, Maia?”“Do you know Hope hates photoshoots the most? She’s a big star in Starlight Entertainment now. I don’t have the guts to take this job on her behalf. Here. I’ll give you her contact details so you can ask her yourself. I’m fine with it as long as she’s fine.”“Come on, Maia. Hope and I…”Errol was not as close to Hope as Maia was. They shared a different mother. Things were quite awkward between them. That was why he wanted to confirm the endorsement through Maia. After all, Hope worked for her. Little did he know that Maia would put the ball back in his court…“You guys are siblings. I know that.” Maia smiled, looked at him, and patted his shoulder, “Go ahead and ask her yourself, Errol.”In fact, Maia was trying to bring them closer. Someone had to take the first step. If Errol could not do it, they would stay distant. How was he not seeing this? Errol held his forehead. “You’re mean, Maia! Did you pick that up fr
After that, he walked toward the entrance with her hand in his. The winery was quite different from the hallway. A lot of staff were moving about here. Word traveled fast that Maia and Cedric were in the winery. So, a big group of them rushed over to see them.Maia was a little embarrassed. She tried to shake him off, “L-Let me go, Cedric. There are a lot of people here…”“Why do I have to let go? I’m merely holding my wife’s hand.” He said it in such a matter-of-fact way that it stunned Maia and made her look at him. “It turns out you’re the type of guy who takes a mile when given an inch.”Cedric smiled at that and leaned in her ear, “How about I give you something longer than an inch?”“Why, you!” Annoyed, she moved to hit him in the chest. He could have stopped her, but he held her hand and made her hit him instead. However, Maia did not throw any weight behind the hits. Then, he said, “You murdered your own husband, Maia.”“Are you really this thick-skinned, Cedric? You
Maia saw the caller ID. It was Paige. She immediately answered the call, “Hello, Paige?” “Ms. Maia, I just received a call from a crew member of Under the Same Roof. They said that Ms. Celia had left her luggage with them. They just found it when they were packing up to leave for another location. “They’ve already sent us her luggage. It’s currently in my room. What would you like me to do with it? Will you still be coming into the office today?” Paige knew about Celia and Errol’s relationship, so she did not open the luggage. Instead, she called to inform Maia about it. Maia walked out of the room as she heard Paige telling her about Celia. She did not want Errol to hear them to avoid bringing up his sad memories. She also did not want Elena to feel that Errol had not moved on from the past. While she talked to Paige, Maia turned back and waved goodbye to Elena and Errol. She walked quickly toward the exit and replied, “I’ll be right there.”“Right, got it.” Paige replied and
It was mostly clothes, skincare and makeup products inside the suitcase. However, a small box under the clothing had attracted Maia’s attention.Maia lifted the box to check and saw that it was locked too. She wondered if it had contained something valuable, however, with her pathetic skills, it would take her a few hours to be able to open it.She immediately handed the small box to Cedric and smiled brightly at him.“What are you trying to do?” “It’s time for you to flaunt your skills!” Cedric just smiled in reply, placed his hand on her head and ruffled her hair. He took the box and started picking the lock. Seconds later, the box flew open. Maia was still surprised by his skills as she blinked a few times, “How could you be so good at this? Is this one of your side hustles?”“Side hustle?”“Yeah. Are you a locksmith disguised as a CEO?” “Does that make you a locksmith’s wife?”Maia just rolled her eyes and opened the box carefully. “Are these drugs?” Maia took out a
The atmosphere was tense.Maia looked at Nigel for a while before she was able to muster enough courage to confess. “Nigel, thank you for all that you’ve done for me in these past years. I know that you have feelings for me, but I’ve always seen you as a friend.” Maia paused before continuing. “However, we can’t force a relationship, I’m—” This was the first time Maia had been so direct with Nigel.“You’re back together with him.” Nigel finished her sentence as he could see Maia was struggling.“How did you—“ Maia looked at him in surprise.Nigel smiled sadly and replied, “I knew about it the moment I stepped into the company. The news that you’ve brought him here was all over the building. I came at such a bad time, or else I could’ve acted like it was just a rumor. “Still, I would never have expected you to be so brief with me for his sake.” Nigel did not even want to use Cedric’s name. “I’m sorry, Nigel.” Maia was not aware that the news of Cedric being here would be sprea
Nigel’s choice of words was all taking aim at Cedric. The way that he had implied that he only wanted happiness for Maia and that he hoped that she had made the right decision. Cedric smirked and shot back, “Thank you for your concern, but Maia has made her best choice for choosing me.” Nigel’s expression was slightly awkward as he tried to maintain a charming appearance, “I only want what’s best for Maia.”Maia tugged at Cedric’s shirt again. She really needed him to stop ticking off Nigel. Instead of giving in to her request, Cedric just held onto the hand that was tugging him.“Maia, this is the report from the case we won.” Nigel took out a document from his bag and placed it on her table. “If you need anything more, feel free to give me a call. I’m still the same guy that you can always rely on.”Maia felt another sense of guilt growing inside. Even though she had also paid for his services, she knew that the main reason was not because of the money. “I still have some things t