“What’s Cedric doing here?” Victoria asked.Maia nodded and responded with a smile, “He was here to back up Aiken as well.”“A-Are you sure you’re backing me up, Maia?” Aiken pointed at himself.What kind of a backup was this? On the contrary, he felt like he was being undermined!He looked at Cedric and said with a smile, “Of course, you guys are similar! You’re a couple, after all!He proceeded to sing a verse from Unchained Melody, “Lonely rivers flow. To the sea, to the sea. To the open arms of the sea~”Victoria watched him as he tried to make a case for himself and laughed.“Do you feel better now, Vicky?” Aiken felt that it was worth it when he saw her laughing.Victoria turned her head around and said, “I’m thirsty, and I could use some tea.”“I’ll get it for you.” He patted her waist. “Wait right here, babe.” He just loved her very much.Then, he rushed off to get his babe some tea.Maia smiled sweetly at the sight of this. Then something came to her, and she walked
“The cape coat looks good.” Hope lifted it and gave it to Maia and Victoria.“I’ve given the design to the factory, and they’ve made about thirty samples before I’m satisfied with the one you’re holding. It came in yesterday. You become a noblewoman after you put it on. The buttons are customized, and they’re plated with some gold. It completes the cape coat.”Victoria had always had a unique take on fashion designs. Otherwise, her work wouldn’t be that coveted by high society.“This short fur coat looks good too. You can do anything with your hands, Vicky.” Hope took up a short fur coat.“The dye is custom, and I changed the design several times. It doesn’t look bulky when you put it on. Sometimes, less is more when it comes to fashion designs. Both of the outfits you chose suit Maia very much.”Hope chuckled. “Are there any designs here that don’t suit Maia?”Victoria nodded and smiled. “I guess you’re right. Maia was born to put on exquisite dresses. She has the frame for it.
“D-Do you know who it is, Mr. Hans?” Fernando was shocked. The same went for Maia too.Everyone thought Rita was the one who poisoned Hans several years ago and that he didn’t pursue the matter for the sake of the family. However, Rita was in the mental hospital. There was no way she could’ve done it this time. So, everyone thought this incident wasn’t connected to the last.Who would have guessed the perpetrator of both incidents was the same person? For that matter, who would have guessed that Hans knew about the perpetrator’s identity?Fernando looked at him and said again, “I’ve served you for many years now, but I’ve never heard you talk about the perpetrator. If the same person poisoned you, then this would’ve been the second time he had done so. Are you going to keep covering him, Mr. Hans?”He sighed heavily in response.Cedric’s face grew darker as he monitored his grandpa’s reaction, “Grandpa didn’t want to cover him, but he had no choice.”Hans looked at Cedric and n
“Yeah. It was used to pay his and his sons’s debt,” Cedric said firmly.Maia was dumbfounded. She knew Freddy was incapable, but she didn’t know that he and Ralph were cut from the same cloth.“They’re both gamblers? And they owed the debtors 20 million dollars?”“Including the interests.”Then, it hit Maia. She uttered hastily, “That explains why they went to the Larkin Manor and stole the antique paintings. They must’ve sold it off and used the money to pay the debts! However, it still wouldn’t be enough. Does this mean they got 20 million dollars for poisoning Grandpa?”After that, he gave her another bank statement.“I-Is this from two years ago?” She read the figure and saw a particular transaction circled with a pen. “There were 15 million dollars deposited into his account, and it was after Grandpa was poisoned back then. Are you trying to tell me that Ralph also poisoned Grandpa for the money?”“Do you think I should pursue the matter?”Without hesitation, she nodded,
Lauren’s eyes turned red the moment she saw Cedric. Tears welled up in them as she reached out with a trembling hand. Then, she stopped abruptly. The most powerful man in Prismara standing before her was her own son. She bore him in her body for nine months, and he was the son she had hoped to meet for over two decades.They must’ve been less than a hundred feet between them, but she, his birth mother, lacked the courage to step forward. She didn’t think she had the right. It was as if there was a wide rift between them and she couldn’t cross it.“A-Are you okay? Have you recovered well?” Her voice trembled slightly as she asked with concern. “I saw scars on your back earlier. Were you prone to injuries in the past? I asked my personal doctor to give me some skin salves for you.”She put a bag of salves on the wall cabinet. “You have to take good care of yourself. It would hurt my heart to see you injured. You must have been in so much pain...” Is this what a mother’s love fel
“Mom…” Eddie was a little nervous now. Lauren waved her hand at him calmly and said, “I have to bear the consequences of my actions alone.”Eddie looked at Cedric and said, “Cedric, Mom did do a lot of horrible things, but she did it to avenge her son who she thought had died. She didn’t know you were alive. “It’s only natural for a mother to want to take revenge on her child’s behalf. I know her actions were heartless, but you have to understand how it was for her.”Maia pursed her lips. She clenched her hands tighter as she listened in on the conversation downstairs. She, too, was waiting for Cedric’s answer. She wanted to see if he would take the step toward reconciliation.Lauren might have done countless wicked things, but she did all of it because of the intense hatred she felt from losing her son in the past. It reminded Maia of the moment when Rita pushed her off the building and made her lose her unborn baby.The pain was so crushing that she still remembered it vivi
All Maia could feel was the tears in her eyes. No one knew Lauren only had a year to live. Sniffing, she relaxed her lips and said, “Looks like she really had nothing to do with Grandpa’s poisoning this time. She came clean about every single horrible thing she had done in the past. I don’t think she kept anything hidden from us.“You deserve a mother’s love, Cedric, even if she doesn’t have long to live. It’s within your reach. The heartwarming moments you spend with her will stay with you forever.”“What if she lied to me?” Lauren has done so many horrible things to them that it was perfectly rational for him to harbor suspicions about her.“You’ll find out if she lies, but I think you’re thinking about the same thing as I am. Lauren and Eddie are sincere. With that said, what are we going to do about Grandpa’s poisoning?”“I asked Baz to capture him.”“Huh? Who do you mean?”“Ralph.”She was shocked. He had moved faster than she had expected.“Aren’t you worried about Gr
Cedric nodded slightly. Their guesses were pretty close to the truth. Then, he spoke with his cold voice, “So, Sally imitated what Lauren had done before. She used someone else to try to kill Grandpa and framed Lauren for it to clear her own name.”Maia nodded. “Did she jump through all these hoops just to make it look like she wasn't involved? It makes sense. That way, no one would suspect her. Moreover, Ralph wouldn’t dream of ratting her out. After all, Freddy spent most of his time in casinos. That meant Sally owned him. She thought about everything but she could never know that Ralph would be this foolish…”Biting her lips, she cast her mind back to when she first saw Sally. She had dimples in her cheeks, so her smile was extraordinarily sweet. No one would’ve guessed she was actually a wicked, scheming lady.There were two reasons she did what she did. Firstly, she could aggravate the relationship between Cedric and Lauren, causing him to hate her to the bone. Secondly,
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