Maia's sleep was far from restful, perhaps because he was not by her side.That night, Maia had a dream. In the dream, she excitedly told him that she was pregnant, carrying their child in her womb. He was overjoyed, his strong arms tightly embracing her, and he kissed her countless times. He said he was going to be a father and that their child would undoubtedly be the most beautiful child ever. He thanked her for her hard work and expressed joy about having a child together. It was a blissful.Maia woke up to the sound of her cellphone ringing. Her waking irritation lingered, but the man who used to soothe her was not there anymore. Maia lowered her gaze, realizing that as happy as the dream was, reality was a cruel beast. She reached out to cover her chest, feeling an intense pain.The cellphone kept ringing.Maia looked at the phone on the bedside table, pressed the answer button, and said, "Hello? Baz, just as you expected, Cedric's uncles have already arrived at HL Corporatio
Later, Nobel, the younger cousin, chimed in, "Freddy is right. Now that Cedric has... passed away, we, as his relatives, feel regret and sorrow. But that doesn't mean you can take over here. His last name is Larkin, and all this is Larkin family property. Even if Cedric is gone, it's not your turn to take over! Be sensible and move out quickly. Otherwise, we'll come in with lawyers, throw you out, and it won't look good for you!""Yeah, Maia," Peonie continued. "By then, you might not have a single one of these slippers worth five figures!"More intelligent than Peonie, Nora just echoed, "Don't speak so harshly. Maia is now the president of Starlight Entertainment, and she must have a bright future."The implication was that a pair of slippers were nothing to her, and that what she wanted was Cedric's wealth! How could Maia not understand the meaning behind Nora's words? if she could trade all her wealth for Cedric's life, she would not even hesitate. She wanted Cedric, the person
At the moment when the words fell, Maia stood up from the chaise longue. Even wearing slippers, her nearly 1.7-meter stature was several centimeters taller than Peonie in high heels. Coupled with her chilly demeanor, she resembled an ice queen, stunning yet cold enough to make people shiver."Peonie, you really need to be more careful. You rolling your eyes doesn't look good at all."Peonie was almost scared off her feet by Maia's remark. Her face turned slightly pale, only recovering when Freddy's urging voice came from outside."Your dear husband is calling for you," Maia reminded.Peonie, already disoriented, grabbed her bag and hurried towards the door.Watching her flee in panic, Maia sneered and uttered two words. "Incompetent fool."Throughout the incident, Fischer observed everything. If they were to lay a hand on Maia, he would be the first to step up. In the end, none of them gained anything good. Once they left, the villa's doors were quickly closed by the servants, an
“You’re his buddy and confidant. It’s only right that I show you the same trust he did.” Maia sounded calm, but there was an indescribable sorrow behind her words.She could not let Cedric down. She had to protect all of this for him. For the sake of their baby.I’m going to watch over all of this, Cedric. So, please return to me in one piece. I’ve got the wedding presents you left for me. So, how could you, the groom, not show up?Lowering her gaze, Maia tried hard to suppress her grief. She knew feeling sorry for herself would not help the situation. There were simply too many things she needed to do. What she needed to do now was to keep the Larkins under her thumb.It was just like when she first survived the fire, Maia thought. If there were no options left, then she’d forge her own path.“What did you need help with, Ms. Maia?”“I want to give up the entirety of Cedric’s wealth and properties.”“What?” Paine was taken aback and thought he misheard.“You heard it right. I’
“If you think my watch will probably be fine, then why did you charge into the fire to retrieve the flash drive, Ms. Maia? It might be fine, too, since it’s in my safe.”“I can’t afford to take a risk with it.” She said firmly, “Better to be safe than sorry.” More to the point, anything Cedric left behind was priceless to her. Paine felt the urge to wipe his tears again when he heard her, “Well. I’m worried about my eighty-million-dollar watch as well.”Baz patted his shoulders. “I’m surprised that your house was governed by smart devices, Mr. Paine. Also, don’t you think your password is a little narcissistic?”“What’s so narcissistic about it? It’s the truth! Don’t you think I’m good-looking?”“Well. You can't use the same password anymore because of how loud you yelled earlier. I think the onlookers heard it.”“Given the state my villa’s in, I’ll have to change everything. My poor, poor sweetheart…” Paine was more upset at the mention of his sweetheart.Baz was confused, “Sw
Maia was not in a hurry to go to HL Corporation. Instead, she arrived early and parked in the underground parking lot. As per her orders, Baz installed hidden cameras and listening devices in the conference room. She could see and hear everything that was happening in there now.Wearing a black suit, she sat calmly in the rear seats. Cedric’s two uncles were already there with their sons, fighting for the property until their faces turned red.“If we want to do this right, then we should divide up the property equally and let my son be the CEO!” One of Cedric’s uncles, Virgil Larkin, spoke matter-of-factly as if his son was sure to get the position.Then, he kept going, “In consideration of both their academic achievements and ages, my son is the perfect candidate for the position! On top of it, the shareholders have known him since he was a boy. How can you think your incompetent son can compete with him?”“Who are you calling incompetent?” Another one of Cedric’s uncles, Ralph La
The voice recorder was the saving grace for the Larkins. Everyone looked at it except for Maia. She did not even look at him. Instead, she was still smiling and it grew deeper and colder.“I have the voice recorder with me, Maia. Let’s see how you’re going to backpedal now! The position of CEO is not yours to take!” Nobel said triumphantly as he played the recording. His voice could be heard clearly in the conference room."Maia Burgess, don't go too far! Even if this money has nothing to do with us, even if we didn't earn it, it's still the Larkin family's money. Don't forget, Cedric has so much wealth because he is a Larkin! Also, we may not have made money for the corporation, but about you? You have no relationship with Cedric. You shouldn't even be sitting here!""Yeah, even if I didn't earn it, I wouldn't take a penny. Can you say the same?"Everyone in the room heard the recording and unanimously turned their heads at Maia as if waiting for an explanation from her. Nobel t
“Maia, my girl. You’re pregnant. You can’t just stand there. Here, have a seat. How many times did Cedric tell you the same? You can’t stand for too long. You have to take it easy. Listen to him, will you?”Hans continued before Maia could say anything. “Here you go. Have a seat.” Then, he glared at Freddy, who was still trembling from fear. He had no clue why Hans would glare at him that way.“Why aren’t you giving that chair of yours to Maia?” Hans looked at Freddy disdainfully and said with an authoritative tone.Freddy jumped with fear and pushed the chair over to Hans, trembling. Then, Hans looked at Maia with a smile and said, “Here you go, my girl. Take a seat.”“Grandpa…” She looked at him and smiled slightly. How kind. She knew Hans really had her best interests at heart. He might have looked calm, but she could still see the sorrow in his eyes. She knew he fought through it and got here as soon as he learned about what happened. All news concerning Cedric’s demise was