Just yesterday, Gigi had forgotten who Eddie was. After a round of introductions done by Amanda, she could finally remember him.“And handsome Uncle Cedric too!” Gigi smiled brightly at Cedric and Cedric nodded his head and smiled back. “Wow, uncle is really handsome!” Gigi exclaimed. Eddie was rendered speechless at his daughter’s silliness. Marcus shifted his gaze toward Cedric and Eddie. He stared Eddie straight in the eye and questioned, “So, you were the one who my sister is in love with. Eddie Fox, the new CEO of the Valentines Group.”Eddie nodded as he greeted Marcus politely. Marcus just shook his head in resignation as he turned back to Amanda, “You’re keen on making my life easier.”“Huh?” Amanda looked at him in confusion as Gigi imitated Amanda’s reaction as well.“You knew exactly how much our family values social status. If you didn’t disappear, you would’ve ended up marrying someone with similar social standings as well. Fortunately, you’ve chosen someone from t
“Well. We did it yesterday. So, we have that to look forward to. We might be able to harvest our crops come next autumn.”“Harvest? Do you think we’re talking about farming crops? What you just said is neither here nor there. It has only been three years since I last saw you and you’re starting to sound like a perverted old man!”Eddie was stunned. Perverted? Old Man?He might be a disabled person, but he was quite the looker! His dashing face was certainly far from being perverted.“It’s been three years since we last met and this is how you describe me? Who, may I ask, is the one who kept ducking into my blanket in the past? Is it because you don’t love me anymore? Did you have a change of heart?”Amanda chuckled and pecked his lips when Gigi wasn’t noticing, “I do love you. See, I kissed you. Didn’t you hear what Maia said? Once someone kisses you, it means she’ll never leave you.”“Quite the fast learner, I see.” He smiled and touched his lips instinctively.“Cedric’s much f
“Eh?”“Why, you have a way of climbing onto my bed. Care to show me now?” He teased her.She didn’t know what to say to him.Climbing onto his bed? That was never going to happen! He was such a jerk!His grin widened when he saw how pissed off she was. The love in his eyes was hard to miss. Then, Maia stood up and strolled to the window. Sliding open the door, she walked out to the balcony and saw Amanda climbing her way up to the balcony next to her. Amanda was bending over to pick up Gigi, who was standing on the steps. She froze the moment she saw Maia. Gigi was holding onto the railing. She whispered, “Uh-oh! We’ve been spotted!”She looked at Maia and smiled sheepishly, “Good evening, Maia! Look at the moon. So round, so beautiful. I-I see you’re also out here to enjoy the view! What a coincidence. I was doing the same with Gigi too.”“Yeah. I’ll bet you were enjoying the view and didn’t notice you wandered into Fox Manor.” Maia went along with her and said, “You must’ve
Cedric was occupied with assisting Eddie with his tasks as CEO of Valentines Group, cleaning up all necessary accounts, reports, and more. He needed to make sure everything was accounted for. “Nothing too serious.” He said casually.That was when his phone buzzed again. Maia reached out and took the phone, but he covered it with his hands.“It’s no one important.” He frowned when she took his hand.“How was someone unimportant supposed to get your number?” She waved his phone and asked, “I crack the whips, Cedric. Can I see your phone?”“You can, but you have to promise me something.”“What?” She was bewildered. “Don’t be jealous.”Frowning, she pursed her lips. She hadn’t even looked at his WhatsApp messages and she was already jealous.Cursing softly, he pulled her into his arms and soothed her, “You promised me you wouldn’t be jealous. What are you doing?”Grunting, she checked the messages and realized there were more than a dozen unread messages.“I miss you so much,
“Why aren’t you saying anything, Cedric? What’s so interesting upstairs?”Fidelia followed his gaze and looked upstairs, only to find that she didn’t like what she saw. Her expression changed drastically as she glared at Maia.Maia had just woken up, so she gave off the vibe of a beautiful lady who was still sleepy. Her casually tied ponytail, the few strands of hair hanging loosely by the sides of her cheeks, as well as her innocent eyes came together to portray her as a beautiful lady.“Honey…” She called out to Cedric in a pitiable, seductive tone. He could barely contain himself.Amanda and Gigi were right behind her and they were dumbfounded at what they heard.“What woke you up?” He looked at Maia, who was standing on top of the stairs. She wore a black dress and her belly was slightly bulged. Two strands of hair hung loosely by her cheeks, giving her the look of a casual beauty.Frowning helplessly, she said, “There’s a chatterbox downstairs. It’s so loud that it woke me
“Sure.” Pinching her nose lightly, he said, “Just a second.”Then, he handed her an apron. Maia took it with a smile, put on the apron for him, and tied a butterfly knot.“How do you look so good in an apron, honey?”“Do I?” Turning around, he reached out and pinched her chin lightly.Smiling, she nodded firmly. Then, she stood on her toes, wrapped her hands around his neck, and pecked his lips. Holding her slender waist, he returned a smooch on her lips and said lovingly, “Attagirl.”“I’ve heard that there are some signature dishes in Nordic City that were supposed to be super delicious, especially the lobster roll. The baby and I would love to eat that, but it’s a little bit far. It’s in Old Nordic District.”“Sure. I’ll get them for you.” Both his tone and expression were full of love. He looked at her with so much affection and he wouldn’t even pinch her a tad too hard.He doted on her very much.If she had asked him for the moon, he’d find a way to lasso it and pull it dow
“No, I’m not leaving! I need to expose her in front of Cedric!” Fidelia shouted. Baz just ignored her demands and thought, ‘That idiot! Can’t she see that if she stays here, she’ll be in bigger trouble?” Baz had no other choice but to grab her wrist. “I’m sorry, Ms. Fidelia. You leave me no choice!” The next thing she knew, Baz had dragged her out of the place with the help of other bodyguards.“I’m not leaving! Let go of me! Do you know who my father is? He is Nordic City’s most famous antique dealer!” No matter how loud Fidelia continued to yell, Baz and the other men ignored her. When the doors closed behind them, the manor fell into complete silence. The dining room atmosphere was tense as Cedric placed his fingers on her tummy. “Is this just a way of taking revenge on me? Even the baby as well?” His words were calm and collected. However, his voice was sorrowful. It hurt him tremendously when he heard her. He gave her his heart, yet she did not care about owning it.
Saffron was a middle aged lady. When she heard Eddie asking about this, she looked at him worriedly and tried to stop him from having suicidal thoughts. “Mr. Eddie, the company is finally taking a turn for the better. There are many things in life worth living for. “Moreover, Ms. Lauren instructed me to take good care of you. I think you—”Eddie looked at Saffron in confusion as he asked, “I have a lovely wife and daughter. My life is practically perfect. Why would I kill myself?” “You have a daughter? When did this happen? I remember you just filed for your divorce from Sally. You should still be single.” When Saffron got to the end of her sentence, her voice faltered as if questioning her memory. “Sally and I were just married on paper. I’ve always loved someone else, so me having a child already shouldn’t be a surprise.” “Of course. I’ve heard that story from Ms. Lauren too.” Saffron nodded in agreement. “There’s something else I need you to do, too. After my wedding ce
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