After the car was parked, Maia quickly entered the hospital building. “Grandpa! Look at the bouquet I got you! I hope that you’ll always be healthy and safe!” Maia handed the bouquet to Hans. “Thank you. I love them very much!” Hans smiled happily as he accepted the flowers. “Ms. Maia, to Mr. Hans your flowers are worth more than those expensive gifts!” Fernando said as he smiled joyfully as well.“Fernando, do you need any help with the discharge procedures?”“Nope, everything is done.” Maia looked at her watch in disappointment and apologized. “I’m sorry. Was I too late?”“Not at all! We’ve just finished checking out of the hospital. We wanted to wait for you, but you’ve arrived within seconds. You came at the right time!” Hans did not want Maia to feel bad. Hans looked behind Maia as he asked, “Where’s the boy? Is he at the office?”“He left for a business trip.” Maia clarified.“Business trip? When will he be back?”Maia nodded. “He’ll probably need some time.” “C
Hans smiled gently and gave Maia a pat on the back of her hand. “Looks like Nigel has something to say to you. In the meantime, I’ll take a few selfies with the beautiful bouquet while we wait for you.” Hans tapped Maia’s elbow and pulled her closer to him before whispering, “I don’t know what exactly happened between the two of you, but you should tell him officially why you’re rejecting him once and for all.”Maia nodded. “Got it. You watch your step when you get into the car, grandpa!” “Don’t worry about me.” Hans nodded as Fernando helped while directing him to where the car was parked. Maia watched as Hans left before turning back to Nigel. “So, how can I help you, Mr. Nigel?” “Maia.”“I think it’s best if you call me Ms. Maia. After all, we’re just business partners.” “Must you treat me like a stranger? I know I’ve made a mistake but-”“Mr. Nigel, if you want to start explaining yourself, I don’t think this conversation is necessary at all.” Maia interrupted him as s
“Grandpa, Cedric left a comment for you.”Hans stole a glance over Maia’s shoulder before huffing, “I’m his grandfather, I don’t need to reply to his comment!” Maia just smiled at Hans’ childish behavior. When she finally noticed that Fischer still did not start driving, she asked, “Fischer, is something wrong?”Fischer was not in the right state. When he heard Maia calling his name, he finally snapped out of it and apologized. “Sorry, Ms. Maia. I’ll start driving now.” The car pulled out of the parking lot and started moving toward Prismara Hill. Maia took one last glance at Fischer before she looked out the window. She had an uneasy feeling of being watched, but she could not tell where it was coming from.Was it just her being sensitive? For some reason, Maia could not help but feel that something was not right as she felt restless. …Prismara’s weather was unpredictable, as the clear skies were soon covered in grey clouds. The manor on Prismara Hill looked like it was shi
Maia reminded herself to stay calm. She needed to pretend that she had not seen anything and try to inform Fischer about this. She retreated to the dining room as if nothing had happened.What was she supposed to do now? How could she call for help? She tried to reach into her pocket. Just as her hands touched her phone, she heard footsteps coming from behind her. “Grandpa, Fernando, run!” Maia shouted with all her might as she placed her hands on her tummy and ran toward the dining room. When she got to the dining room, she was horrified to see them lying on the table, unconscious. “Grandpa, Fernando!” Maia turned around to see a man dressed in a black raincoat with a hat tugged low, covering the top half of his face. He walked out of the kitchen with a gun in his hand as he approached her. Maia’s eyes widened in fear as she stepped backward. She dragged one of the chairs with force, and it fell to the floor with a loud thud. “Fischer! Fischer!” Maia looked at the entrance,
“Maia?”She heard his deep voice from the other end of the phone. She couldn’t possibly hold back her tears when she heard his voice, but she was in so much pain that she couldn’t even muster up the strength to cry.The downpour rained down on her. She was both cold and in pain, but even her senses were becoming duller. ‘It is agonizing, Cedric,’ she thought to herself. ‘The pain is so excruciating. Grandpa and Fernando tried to protect me and I’m not even sure if they are alive. Please come back soon. We need you.‘Save me. Save Grandpa and Fernando. Save our baby…’There were a lot of things that she wanted to tell him, but there was blood in her throat. The rain also assailed her relentlessly. The pain she was experiencing now was sapping her energy bit by bit.Maia was in a hopeless situation, but the man wore a cold, aloof expression. “Cedric truly cherishes you. Look at it. You merely rang him for a few seconds, and he already picked up your video call.” There was a hint o
Baz nodded, “Somebody kidnapped Ms. Maia.”“What?” Shelly was shocked, “Was the kidnapper waiting for this moment? He made his moves and snatched Maia when Cedric was in Nordic City… What an opportunistic punk! However, Cedric’s bodyguards are extremely capable. How did he pull it off?”“There’s a mole.”She looked at Baz and guessed, “Is it the guy you once told me about? The guy who you were quite close with?”He nodded. “Correct. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why he’d do this. We’ve stared down the barrel many times, and his mother has cared for Mr. Cedric since he was young. I’m sure you can imagine how much Mr. Cedric cared about him…”“It could be any number of reasons, but we’ll have to ask Fischer about it. You can keep guessing, but it wouldn’t help the situation.”“Yeah.” He nodded. “I’ve arranged for Mr. Cedric’s private plane. It’ll take off in twenty minutes.”“Take me with you!” Looking at him, she said firmly, “I know I might not be able to help, but I wo
Shelly said, “Your son knew how it would end when he decided to do what he did. He was dismayed by his actions and went on to kneel here for a whole day. That’s humane of him, but it does nothing to fix all the wrongs he did.“The people lying dead over there won’t come back to life, and we don’t even know if Maia and her baby are still alive. What makes you think Fischer and your life are worth more than those two dead bodies over there and Maia as well as her baby?”Baz tugged at her lightly, hinting at her to stop saying anything. Cedric wore a cruel, blood-chilling expression and sneered, “There are only three people in the world that I consider family. Because of him, one of them is in a body bag, and I don’t even know if the other two are alive. What makes you think I should have mercy on him?”“Well, then. Let me atone for his sins. Let me take the punishment.”“Let me face my punishment, Mom. I betrayed Mr. Cedric, and that led to Mr. Hans and Fernando’s deaths as well as
“Yes, I do.” Maia nodded.Amanda still didn’t quite understand it, “Are you a friend of my brother? I don’t think he knew any women in his life. It’s just me and his mom.”“I’m friends with Marcus. My name’s Maia.”Amanda yelled, “Maia? It’s you! He told me about you! He said he loved a girl, and her name was Maia! So, you’re that girl! That explains it. You’re so pretty. It’s no wonder he never moved on from you!”“W-What?” Maia was stunned.Did she say Marcus loved her? How was that possible?“Huh? Hasn’t he confessed to you?” She looked at Maia and then at her bulging belly and asked, “Am I right in saying he didn’t stand a chance anymore? You’re pregnant, for heaven’s sake.”Maia came to her senses after a few moments. She saw how disappointed Amanda looked and decided to change the topic. “What’s this place? What are you doing here? Marcus has been searching for you for three long years.”“I knew he wouldn’t give up on me, but I’ve been trapped here for three years. I’ve
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