Cedric took out his handkerchief, wanting to dry her tears. As Maia kept avoiding his touch, he decided to pull her into his embrace and restrained her movements.“If you keep squirming, I can’t promise that I won’t do anything more to you,” he whispered into her ear.“You asshole!”“You’re making it very hard for me to restrain myself.”Maia immediately stopped moving. She could still remember how he had treated her the last time they were in the car together.Maia started to cry again as she felt a sense of helplessness. She started yelling, “Why does everyone keep trying to take advantage of me? Do you all enjoy it?”Cedric felt his fingers burn as her tears touched them. He hugged her tighter as he repeated, “Never again. No one will ever be able to take advantage of you.”Cedric continued to calm her down gently. His usual cold and demanding character had disappeared without a trace.“What am I to you? Why should Hope be given a family when my mother isn’t here anymore?
Cedric was taking a while as he refused to leave Maia’s side. ‘How could she be so cute even as she sleeps?’ …Back in the living room, Baz and Dr. Moore kept looking at the stairway. The moment they saw Oswald, Baz rushed forward and asked, “How did it go? Did Mr. Cedric agree?”Oswald nodded and both of them sigh with relief. “You had me worried a second there. Mr. Cedric’s back suffered second-degree burns a year ago. He was lucky that it was in winter or else his wounds would’ve been worse. This time, he happened to have injured his back in summer. I’m worried that his new wound would cause inflammation!”Dr. Moore has been the Larkin family’s doctor for many years and knew Cedric well. He could be as stubborn as a mule.“How did Mr. Cedric hurt himself?” Oswald asked.“It was to save Ms. Maia,” Baz answered truthfully.“It was because of Ms. Maia again? Those burns were because of her too!”Baz nodded. When he was about to continue, the sound of footsteps echoed in the
As Maia was walking towards the door, her cell phone rang. She fumbled for her phone and answered the call.Buck’s worried voice came from the other side, “Ms. Maia, you have to see this!”“What’s wrong?”“You should check your Twitter. I just got a call from the PR department. They’re trying to do damage control,” Buck reported to her nervously.Maia quickly got on Twitter to see what was going on.‘Actor Bruno Fletcher Caught Cheating’‘Bruno Fletcher Seen with 3 Escorts’Two out of the top 10 trending posts were about Bruno. There were short clips, photographs, and even screenshots of his chat messages posted all over Twitter.Starlight Entertainment’s official Twitter account was in chaos as the public flocked to drop their two cents about the incident.“His wife just had a baby and he’s out having fun!”“Wow, I didn’t expect to come across such news at a time like this! Bruno is so disgusting! His public image is ruined! Judging from those clips, this was probably not hi
"Where’s the oatmeal?" "Be right back." Cedric ruffled her hair and smiled lovingly before heading toward the kitchen. He then returned carrying a steaming bowl of oatmeal. "Eat slowly. It's hot."When he placed it before her, Maia noticed his fingers were red and swollen. "What happened to your hand?""I got burned," he said casually.A rich man like him must have never cooked anything in his whole life before. "Shouldn't you apply some cream?" she asked stiffly, trying not to sound concerned.He smiled. "It's no big deal."Maia then started to eat slowly. His gesture would have been very moving if it were the past. However, it was different now.Suddenly, Maia's phone rang again. When she answered the call, Buck's voice said, "Check out the trending topic on Twitter! Someone released videos, chat records, and voice messages that show Zera has been fooling around overseas and in the set! This has diverted public attention away from us!" Instead of checking Twitter, M
Breaking down in tears, Zera clutched Cedric's clothes as she hurried into the house. "I'm done this time, Cedric. Only you can save me now!" Seeing this, Rita said, "Cedric, I know we could’ve been kinder to Maia, but what she did in the past was too much! Besides, I bet she's somehow behind the scandals." "You're damn right I am," Maia said as she leaned against the wall nearby. Cocking her head, she waved at Rita and Zera. "Good evening, guys." Rita and Larkin were stupefied to see her show up in a nightgown. "Y-you… " Rita looked at Maia and then at Cedric in disbelief. "What the hell is going on?"Maia smiled at her. "What do you think?"Rita palmed her heart and stumbled backward a few steps. Pointing at Maia, Zera screamed, "You fucking whore!"She turned to Cedric while sobbing. "See? She admitted it herself! You can't let her do this to me, Cedric! I know I was in the wrong, and I apologize, okay? Please don't do this to me, or I'm going to kill myself!"Maia smi
Hearing this, Cedric stopped dead in his tracks. There was a slight shift in his gaze. "You wouldn't dare."Maia smiled. "Try me.""Okay, you win." Letting out a bitter smile, he put her down gently.As she found her footing, she noticed the change in his expression. It was a look of loneliness. Maia could not help but feel bad for him. Looking away, she turned and said coldly, "Just stay out of my face forever."That was what she wished for most. Her eyes turned red. Perhaps it was due to the strong wind on Prismara Hill?She headed toward Nigel. When the guards saw Maia, they looked at Cedric and only backed away after he gave them a slight nod."Let's get the hell out of here." Nigel opened the front passenger door for Maia, and she got in.Soon, the car moved away. Staring after it, Cedric took out his phone and sent Maia a text. Maia's phone vibrated. She picked it up and saw Cedric's message. It read, "I'll die to protect you from now on."Tears welled up in her eye
Baz couldn't help but wonder how much Maia hated to be with Cedric. Hearing what he said, Cedric grew upset. The thought of her sitting in another man's car further infuriated him. "Sir, it seems like she doesn’t like you—"Cedric angrily threw his phone at him."Sir!" Baz quickly caught it. "I should gain her sympathy? The more pitiful, the better?"Baz had told him to win her back by gaining her sympathy, but it didn't work."It didn't work, huh?" He let out an awkward chuckle as Cedric glared at him. …The next day, when Maia emerged from the elevator at Starlight Entertainment, Hope hurried over. "Why did you leave so abruptly yesterday? You must be out in the rain, huh? Did you catch a cold?" Having waited for her in the office, Hope quickly gave Maia some cold remedies. "It's easy to catch a cold these few days. Keep these, just in case."Maia said stiffly, "Thanks.""I heard from Dad that you agreed to let my mom off the hook?" Hope said hesitantly, "You made
Tess entered the office and shook Jordan’s hand. "Hey, Mr. Jordan, you're back!""Long time no see." Jordan nodded courteously. "Aunt Tess, what brought you here?" Maia was surprised that she had come. Tess feigned anger. "Am I not welcome?" Maia chucked. "Of course, you're welcome here anytime."She then signed the documents and returned them to Jordan. "Thanks, Jordan. I'll tell Nigel to handle the lawsuit."Jordan nodded. "He's the best man for the job. I trust him."Taking the documents, he smiled and said, "I'll leave you two alone then."After Jordan left, Tess sat on the sofa and asked, "Who are you suing, Maia? It's better to take it easy since you just took over the company."Maia shook her head. "Jordan found out that Theo had been taking money from the company." “"He's just like his dad,” Tess sighed. “I heard many big corporations wanted to hire Jordan, but he turned them all down. You've done a great job, Maia! Your mom would be proud of you." She gave her