“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
“I just wanted to talk. As the new CEO, can’t I even talk to my fellow shareholders?” Maia smiled and asked. “Don’t be too cocky. Just because you’re the CEO now, doesn’t mean you’ll remain the CEO forever! No one knows what the future holds,” Virgil refuted angrily. “Yeah, you’re right. However, one thing’s for sure.” Maia paused and turned to the others in the room. “In my hands, you’ll probably have to live smartly. If you make me unhappy, you know clearly what the consequences are.” She smirked at them coldly.Virgil could only look at her and grit his teeth furiously. Maia stared back at him with equally as much aggression. She then instructed Baz to send them out. “Of course, Ms. Maia.” Baz nodded and directed the shareholders toward the exit. “One more thing.” Maia suddenly said as the shareholders were leaving, “I’m a vengeful person. I promised that I will bring hell to those who had tried anything against me.” The rest of the Larkins paled at Maia’s threat. Women c
This was major news to the city of Prismara! Everyone wanted to know who the new CEO of HL Corporations was. Maia continued to prepare herself for the public. Even with her sunglasses on, she must not allow the reporters to capture a glimpse of her being sad. The new CEO of HL Corporations was not afraid of anything. As the doors to the elevator opened, Maia walked toward the entrance of the lobby. Most of the staff members immediately nodded their heads as a form of respect toward her. Maia took every step with confidence. This was the path Cedric had prepared for her and she will make sure to walk it courageously. However, this path seemed endless. ‘How long do I have to do this alone? Are you waiting for me at the end, Cedric?I don’t need anything else but you.’The bright lights and sounds of camera clicking drew Maia back into reality. Reporters flocked up to her like hungry hyenas the moment they saw her walk out of the building. “Ms. Maia, why are you here at HL Corpo
“How does it feel to watch your meticulous plan fail?” Cedric commented coldly. Judging from his estimation and Lauren’s angry behavior, he was sure that Maia had succeeded in taking over HL Corporation. Lauren’s angry face darkened at what he had just said. She gritted her teeth and looked at him with more hatred in her eyes.Cedric remained unbothered as he tightened his grip on the recording pen that was given to him by Maia. He smirked. “Since Maia is the new CEO, your plans of taking over HL Corporation had fall apart entirely.” He lifted his head and eyed her treacherously. Cedric’s aura was so intimidating that it would make anyone shiver in fear. Lauren just laughed hysterically in response. The anger inside her made her laughter distorted and ugly. “Cedric, I didn’t expect you to use the time I gave you to plan all of this. I’m impressed that you were willing to transfer all your assets to Maia. That’s a huge amount of money that could last you a lifetime!” Cedric jus
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