Maia nodded without any hesitation. “I’ll always remember how you confessed to me.” Chuckling, he lowered his head and kissed her again.She was stunned. Did he just trick her again?Looking at his dashing features, she said, somewhat upset, “Will you look at the situation we’re in? I can’t believe you tricked me! You have no idea how worried I am…”“Do you believe in me?” He held her cheeks, his smile vanishing from his face instantly.Stunned again, she nodded without missing a beat. Of course, she trusted him with all her heart.“I told you. This time, we’re going to play him like a fiddle.”She was dumbfounded at what he said. Cedric was dead set on getting what he wanted. If he claimed to play Errol like a fiddle, then it’d come to pass.“How about we put up an act and play along with him?”She asked, “Are you sure this would work, Cedric?”“I play to win.”She believed him and nodded. Then, he reached out and tapped her nose. “You’re the only one I’ve only lost to.”
Baz lowered his head and stared at the thick registration booklet. “Mr. Cedric, I’ve tried my best. I’ve even checked their surveillance footage. Unfortunately, they’ve already cleared their surveillance footage from a few years back.”This evidence was already sufficient to prove that Tess was at the college event a few years ago. However, they still needed to find out if the photograph was real to prove that Tess could not commit the crime. Maia took the photographs from Baz and stared at them, deep in thought. At that moment, Cedric glanced at Baz and signaled at him. Baz nodded and took out a huge painting. “What’s this?” Livingston asked as he eyed the painting in confusion. “Mr. Cedric had got the news that you intended to use the anniversary of the college to hold an auction event. We know that you’re planning to donate all proceeds from the auction to the less fortunate students here. “This painting is a gift from Mr. Cedric. We hope that it will be able to be part of
“What took you so long? The dishes are almost served. Did you go for a walk under the moonlight?” Marcus asked Maia.Maia could tell that he was just teasing her as she smiled in return. “Yup, the moon was beautiful. It’s the perfect time to go for a stroll with a lover. Marcus, you should try next time!” Marcus’s smile froze on his face momentarily before regaining his composure. He faked a sad expression and added. “I’d love to do that, but sadly, I don’t have a lover yet.” Gigi immediately turned her head around and piped in. “Ah! I’ve seen that on TV! If you like someone, you have to go for a walk with him!” Marcus smiled at Gigi’s cute reaction and asked playfully, “Who would you like to go for a walk with?”“Hmm…Uncle Marcus, are you asking me about all the boys here?” Marcus nodded. “Yup. So, who would you like to go with?” Eddie looked at his daughter with anticipation as Marcus did the same as well. Unfortunately, Gigi decided to climb off Eddie’s lap immediately.
Gigi nodded, but she was still unhappy. “If Aunt Maia doesn’t like it, I’m worried that you would be sad too.”“I’m not sad. Just because I don’t like something doesn’t mean that I’ll be sad because of it. I won’t let it bother me.” Maia smiled and replied. Gigi thought for a second before nodding her head. “If you’re not happy, you should tell me. I doesn’t like it when my pretty aunt is unhappy!” Maia laughed at Gigi’s comment and promised. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you know.”…Soon after, the performances came to an end. Livingston got onto the stage and started to give his speech, as Gigi had fallen asleep in Eddie’s arms. Maia smiled at Gigi who was not bothered by the sound of Livingston’s speech at all.“Maia, you’ve noticed too, right?”“What?” Maia asked in confusion.“That Livingston’s speech is like a lullaby. I’m already feeling quite sleepy myself.” Maia nodded in agreement as she pointed to her tummy. “I think the baby is also asleep.” When Livingston finally en
At that moment, Maia smiled at Gigi and gave her two thumbs up. When Gigi noticed Maia’s gesture, she gasped happily and told her mother. “Mommy, Mommy, Aunt Maia just gave me two thumbs up! Does this mean that I did well?“But I couldn’t even count after 10. I’m sorry.” Gigi’s excitement faded.Amanda patted her head in comfort and gave her another thumb up. “Gigi, you’re already doing so well. It’s not easy to be able to count to 10. Why don’t I teach you how to count above 10 when we get home, okay?”Gigi nodded and smiled brightly. She also took the chance to give herself two thumbs up! Soon after, the hall fell into silence as the host asked once more, “10 million dollars. Ms. Fidelia has offered 10 million dollars for this Wisteria painting. Is there anyone else who would like to call for a higher bid?” After Fidelia had raised the price so high, no one in the hall was willing to call for a higher bid. Instead, they started to chit-chat amongst themselves. “This painting
“What are you doing? If you want to eat some shrimp, you could always get Neilson to help you with them. Stop making a fool out of yourself.” Thomas added sternly.Fidelia did not even look up as she answered half-heartedly, “I’m removing them for Cedric.” Thomas was rendered speechless by his daughter as he patted his chest lightly. Neilson quickly tried to calm Thomas down. “Mr. Thomas, please calm down.” “Remind me again why she is my daughter?” Katherine immediately piped in to calm her husband as well. “It’s totally normal for friends to feed each other, no? Besides, Cedric owes you a favor. Maybe Fidelia could use this opportunity to help the two families become closer.”“Stop speaking nonsense! The reason why our daughter is like this is partially your fault! How could you raise her to be so foolish?” Fidelia immediately refuted her father. “Dad, that’s not true. How would someone foolish be able to remove shells so well?” Thomas’s face darkened as he heard her. Neil
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
“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
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