Maia was startled by what he did. She backed off, frightened, until her back pressed against the couch. She frowned and said, “That’s too close. Do you want me to slap you again, Cedric?”He laughed. She was just adorable, even when she was trying to be mean.All of a sudden, someone ran to his room. They could hear him before he went into the room, “These are the gifts I bought for my dad, Maia!”Aiken pushed open the door and was stunned when he saw them in this state. Luckily, he was fast to react. He set the gifts on the floor and dashed at them. “Don’t worry, Maia! I’ll protect you!”Cedric frowned, infuriated over Aiken’s entrance. Maia seized the opportunity and pushed him away. She kept a distance from him after she stood up. Then, Aiken stood in front of her and protected her the way a mother bear would its cub. “Just come at me, Cedric. Why do you have to pick on Maia over and over again?”Maia was a little worried about Aiken. Cedric was professionally trained,

“One of my friends who works at Stonebrook told me that Maia was kidnapped and the production team kept a lid over this piece of news. What makes them think they could pull it off? “My friend also said that they found Maia in the same place Zera died. It looks like there’s more to this than meets the eye!”“So, that’s what went down. It’s normal for Ms. Rita to suspect Maia, then. I think she’s also responsible for the leaked video about Zera! “After all, she’s the CEO of Starlight Entertainment. Don’t you guys think it’d be easy for her to turn up with unfavorable news about celebrities?”“If Maia really was responsible for it, then why would Cedric not do anything? After all, he grew up with Zera. Is he going to let his younger sister’s reputation stay ruined because he’s taking Maia’s side?”As their plane took off from the airport, Cedric and Maia turned off their phones. The news of their return to Prismara spread quickly, and a large number of reporters camped out at the a

“Of course, I’d start feeling suspicious when you’re looking at Hope like that. It’s as if you’re trying to steal her away.” Maia smiled cheekily at Buck.“N-no, that’s not true.” Buck tried to deny it but he was not very convincing. “Stop trying to deny it. Just admit that you like her. I could tell right away just from the way you look at her.” “W-was I that obvious?”“See? You’ve admitted it.”Buck was rendered speechless. He did not expect Maia to be so cunning with her words. “Ms. Maia, how could you?” “Don’t make me out to be the bad guy. You were the one who had something to hide.” She turned to stare at Hope, who was standing at the balcony. “If you like her, you should do something about it. Hope clearly doesn’t hate you and since her mother is not here anymore, she needs someone else to look after her, right?” Buck nodded and added playfully, “I guess Hope’s sister is not against this relationship.” “My acknowledgment means nothing. You need Hope to agree.” “

“Don’t look at me like that. You gave Ms. Maia a huge gift, so naturally we would have to give you something huge in return too. Mr. Cedric instructed us to take good care of you.” Baz explained patiently. ”It’s such a shame to let all these eggs you brought go to waste. Let’s put them to good use.” The woman started yelling, “How dare you touch me! You piece of trash! Do you know who I am?” “Of course, you’re one of Ms. Rita’s distant relatives!”“If you already knew who I am, you wouldn’t dare do this to me.” She glared daggers at him.Baz shook his head helplessly and asked, “Do you know who you just messed with?” The woman was momentarily taken aback. How could she not know Maia Burgess? “What do you mean?” Baz moved closer to her and elaborated helpfully, “Since you’re clearly not the brightest person, I’ll explain it to you. The lady you just offended is an important person to Mr. Cedric. He would do anything for her.” He went on. “Meanwhile, you’re just a distant

“Do you think I’d let some random man to touch you?”Maia wanted to remove her foot from his knee as she could feel the glances coming from around her. She could not help but curl her toes in embarrassment.Cedric smiled at her reflex as he removed the heels from the dust bag. “Relax.” If it was not for the fact that they were in public, she would have kicked him already! When he finally finished putting the heels on her feet, he looked straight into her eyes and smiled lovingly. His eyes sparkled as though they had a galaxy of stars in them. Maia stood up with a frown as people around them started to clap. Her dress and her shoes made her the exact fit for tonight’s theme. All that was missing was just an embrace from a lover.Before their fantasy became a reality, Maia quickly moved away from Cedric and this reaction disappointed everyone in the room.It was obvious now that Cedric had an unrequited love for his ex-wife. It was also fascinating to see someone of his status