“Drink it.” Cedric put down the milk before Maia. “Cedric…” She frowned. “I can’t.”“Don’t you want to find Hope?”She grunted lightly. “Of course I want to find her, but I don’t want to drink the milk either.”“There, there. Drink it.” He said that and took the milk to her. Maia watched as he gave her the milk again and hesitated. At that moment, he gave Baz a look. Baz said immediately, “I’ve tracked down Ms. Hope, Ms. Maia.”Maia asked hurriedly, “Where is she?” Baz merely looked at the milk and didn’t dare to say more. She had no choice but to submit, so she drank the milk. Cedric wouldn’t quit until after she had drunk all of it.Baz proceeded to say, “She’s at the Burgess Winery, Ms. Maia.”Maia walked out of the villa immediately. Cedric gripped her hand again and said, “I’m coming with you.” She shook her head quickly and said, “You didn’t go to your company yesterday, so you have to go today. Otherwise, the old guys won’t let you hear the end of it. Although I do
Homer got even madder when he saw how sad Hope was. He banged on the desk forcefully. “When are you going to wise up, Hope? What’s there to be sad about?”“How can you say that, Dad? Errol’s my brother and your son!” Hope had never thought her father could be this cold-hearted. Shaking his head helplessly, Homer said, “Errol isn’t my son. He’s in no way related to me, and he’s certainly not related to you. There’s no need for you to feel sad for him.”She was dumbstruck. All she could do was stand there and stare at Homer. He yanked Hope’s arms and said, “Wake up, Hope. Errol isn’t part of our family. For that matter, you and Maia are on very different paths. Don’t you know how much she hated me as well as your mother? What makes you think she has your best interests at heart? “Who knows what she’d do to you if you worked at her company? Listen to me and stop putting yourself in the public’s eyes. Obey me and take over the winery. I know everything there’s to it. I can show you t
Homer was rooted to the spot the moment he saw Maia. “W-What are you doing here? This is the Burgess Winery. We don’t welcome you here. Get out!” Homer looked at her with fear in his eyes. He was cowering, as if Rosa herself were standing before her. What’s worse, Cedric was the one behind her. Who would have guessed Cedric, a man who was usually preoccupied with various matters, would follow her as if he were her shadow?He hurled the broom onto the ground forcefully to establish his authority. “I agreed to let you have the winery, but I didn’t agree to let you take away my employee by force. You even hit her!” Maia looked at Homer, who was staring daggers at her. She had cut off her ties with her father last night. Now, she was the CEO of Starlight Entertainment, and Hope was her company’s actress. She has a duty to seek justice for her employees. The fact that the outrageous person was her father wouldn’t change that!“She’s my daughter. How can you say that I took her awa
“What do you think you’re doing?!”Buck was six-foot-two while Homer was an old man. Naturally, it wasn’t difficult for Buck to hold him off. “Please don’t hurt my dad, Mr. Buck.” Hope said.Mr. Buck. The way she addressed him was unbearable.“Don’t worry about it, Ms. Hope.” He would do his job professionally.Hope was also distressed to hear the way he called her.“My biggest regret in life was that I gave life to you, Maia Burgess. You’ve always worked against me!” Homer shouted at her. He was directing all of his hostility toward her now.Maia stopped in her tracks. She felt all her father said, but she didn’t feel hurt. Was it because she was numbed to it? She pursed her lips. She kept her slender back straight, but her clenched fists were trembling. “What a coincidence! My biggest regret in life is having an unreasonable excuse for a father.” However, there was repressed sorrow behind that calm tone. Hope tightened her grip on Maia and said, “No, Maia… You and Dad a
“Please give us an explanation of Ms. Hope’s sudden departure from the film set, Ms. Maia. They say she was being a diva. What exactly went down?”“Everyone knows your Ms. Hope’s sister, Ms. Maia. You’re also the CEO of Starlight Entertainment. Did Ms. Hope act like a diva because she knew you would back her up?”“Ms. Hope has always had a good reputation in the industry, Ms. Maia. However, her reputation has taken a hit this time and a lot of her fans are now turning into her antis. Are you not going to clarify the situation? Or was her new attitude a ploy to make her a trending topic?”Maia held her forehead helplessly at the incessant questioning. The reporters were stepping over the line of what was acceptable. She lowered the car window a little. The reporters seized the opportunity to throw more ridiculous questions at her. “My company’s legal department will deal with all the marketing accounts making and spreading false rumors. Starlight Entertainment will release a deta
He leaned in close and said in her ear, “Thank me like you mean it.”Buck had already pulled the car over. He was a sensible guy. After all, he was Maia’s assistant. A keen sense of observation was part of the package.“W-We’re in the underground parking lot!” Maia looked outside the car nervously. It was well past the morning rush hour for work, so there were virtually no cars driving into the place. To top it off, the window of the car were heavily tinted.No one walking past could see what was going on in the car. Still, she could not help but feel nervous.Cedric saw that she was nervous and proceeded to tease her on purpose. He pinned her on the seat and said, “What’s the problem?”“S-Somebody’s going to see us. It’s broad daylight now. Can you get a hold of yourself…?” Maia was already blushing. How had she never realized that he was so good when it came to initiating sex?“We can have sex anytime we want.” A hint of teasing flashed in his eyes. It was but a fleeting gaze,
Crestview Heights was just around the corner from Cloud Nine Residences. It was one of the high-end residential apartments developed by HL Corporation. The residential pricing in Prismara was sky-high. It would cost at least fifteen thousand dollars per square foot. To top it off, the price continued to climb every year.Buck would have to work for a long time before he could buy such a place for himself, yet Cedric had simply decided to give him an apartment as a present. He felt the urge to cry at the thought of it. “How generous. All I did was tell him the truth about Mr. Nigel and he went ahead and gave me an apartment. Is this how it feels to get lucky?”He mulled it over and thought he should let Maia know about it. He told her about it the moment he went back to Starlight Entertainment. He did not expect her to ask him, “Did you betray me, Buck?”He felt helpless and distressed at that. So, he told her everything. Maia burst into laughter. “That explains why he gave you a
Maia’s finger froze when she saw the drop of blood on the tablet screen. Raising her hands to touch her nose, she found blood dripping out of it. She was startled. This was not a normal occurrence for her. Was something wrong? Was it because the air was dry due to the cold weather?She took a few pieces of tissue paper and wiped her nose clean. Then, she took another piece to wipe the blood off the tablet screen. However, the blood from her nose kept flowing…“I need to tell you something about today’s meeting, Ms. Maia…” Buck went into her office and saw the bloodied tissues in her hand. He was stunned for a few seconds before he put down the documents and rushed to her side. “What’s wrong, Ms. Maia? Why is your nose bleeding?” He used to work as a nurse. He opened the mini fridge, took out some ice cubes, and wrapped them in a handkerchief. “Tilting your head back won’t stop the bleeding, Ms. Maia. You should use an ice pack. It’ll help constrict blood vessels and reduce t
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