Instead of looking ashamed, Rita and Zera responded with sarcastic laughter."Who else is going to have her back after Rosa's death? You?" Rita taunted.Tess tried to help Maia up while clenching her teeth in anger. Maia was in too much pain to stand or even talk. She gradually succumbed to the darkness and could no longer hear her aunt’s cries. "Maia, are you okay? Wake up!” Tess cried out, “Oh, my God, you're bleeding! Hang in there, Maia!" When she saw Maia’s pants soaked in blood, Tess paled as she dialed for an ambulance....Maia had a long dream. She dreamt that she wasn't alone anymore as she waited for the aurora during her honeymoon. She saw him in the darkness, and her face lit up with a sweet and warm smile.However, as wonderful as dreams might be, reality could be cruel. The smell of disinfectant and the constant beeping of equipment brought her back to reality.As she opened her eyes, she felt so much pain that she gasped. Tess quickly called out, "Maia? M
Tess knew she could not keep the truth from Maia anymore. With a heavy sigh, she said, "Errol had been trapped in the winery for the past two days. I have no idea how he is now.”Maia's heart skipped a beat. Without a second thought, she leaped out of bed and ran toward the door.A sharp pain shot through her lower abdomen, causing her to stagger. Despite this, Maia was more worried about what her cruel father and stepmother would do to Errol. She ignored the pain as she ran. Shocked, Tess quickly went after her niece. "Maia, where are you going? It's raining outside!" …HL Corporation was in the midst of a high-level executive meeting.Baz Males, Cedric's assistant, had just learned the news. He glanced hesitantly at Cedric.Cedric, who was presiding over the meeting, noticed Baz from the corner of his eye. He asked flatly, “Yes?”Baz answered, "Sir, Mrs.—I mean, Ms. Maia has woken up, but she left the hospital without permission. It was something urgent, I think.”There wa
"How dare you hit me, Maia? I'm your stepmother, for heaven's sake!" Yvette shouted angrily. She addressed the bodyguards, "Get her! They won't be going anywhere, even if they hand over the Pinot Nuage formula, got it?"Knowing who the boss was at the winery now, the bodyguards followed her orders."Get your hands off me!" Maia struggled, but she was no match for these men. "Yvette, what the hell are you doing? Let Maia go!" Tess tried to run over, but two bodyguards grabbed her. "It was Hans Larkin who wanted Maia to marry his grandson. You can't afford to cross him!""Hans Larkin?" Yvette burst into laughter. "He's bedridden and can barely look after himself. What can he do to me? Maia's father doesn't want her, and neither does Cedric. No one will lift a finger to save her, you see? And there's nothing you can do about it!""You asshole!" Tess shouted, but the two bodyguards held her back."Beat her up!"A bodyguard marched over with a baton and struck Maia hard. She fell
Tess was excited as she exclaimed, "Mr. Cedric is Maia's ex-husband, you know? He's here to make you pay for your actions!"Maia wondered if he had come to rescue her. After all, they had been married for 11 years, and she had been utterly devoted to him.She gently held the cuff of Cedric's trousers and struggled to look up at him. After a moment, she managed to say, "Cedric..."Refusing to release her grip on his cuff, she gazed at him with tearful eyes, too weak to say anything more.Cedric's eyes narrowed beneath a stray lock of hair."Putting on an act again?" His gaze was unreadable, but his words were cold.A sense of hopelessness overcame Maia. Tears mixed with rainwater streamed down her face.‘He’s not here to save me. No.’ She let out a bitter smile and slowly let go of his cuff. Yvette was relieved and triumphant. It was surprising but also reasonable that Cedric cared so little about Maia. Everyone in Prismara knew how much he despised her.She let out a welcomin
He spoke coldly and walked away without hesitation. The Rolls-Royce soon sped off and vanished into the rain.Maia's smile grew even more bitter. 'I had it coming? Am I that evil to him? He only came to humiliate me, didn't he?'Pain radiated from her lower abdomen, and warm blood soaked her hospital gown. Unable to tell where she was hurting anymore, she felt blood was draining out from her. She was in so much pain that her whole body went numb.Experiencing a second significant bleeding, she was rushed to the hospital and wheeled into the operating room.Although Errol was beaten, he could recover sooner because he was young. Maia, however, just had a miscarriage and was weak to begin with.She had nearly lost her life due to excessive blood loss.When she woke up, her beautiful face was deathly pale. To make matters worse, the Larkins had officially announced her divorce from Cedric.She could feel nothing but despair. With the announcement, there could be no turning back
His voice sounded certain, and it was more of a statement than a question."Nigel..."He smiled. "Your aunt asked me to talk to you about it, but I doubt it’ll make much of a difference. You know better than anyone that you should move on, but you still love him, don’t you?"Maia said nothing. She stiffly picked up the cake and ate it, again tasting bitterness. "I'm sorry for making you all worry about me. I truly am." Maia looked up, tears rolling down her cheeks. ‘What else could I say other than sorry?’She didn't want to feel this way, but when she learned that the Larkins had publicly announced her divorce from Cedric, she was overwhelmed with despair."Silly girl, what are you apologizing for?" Nigel gently wiped the tears from her face. "You’ve done nothing wrong and don't owe anyone anything. Cedric is the one who has mistreated you. If only he knew you’ve secretly helped his business for years!" When HL Corporation struggled, she secretly secured an 83 million-dolla
When Maia saw her mother's name on the envelope, she opened it quickly with trembling hands. Rosa’s familiar handwriting filled her with warmth as she read the letter."Dear Maia, you've been through a lot. "It’s remarkable that you’ve stayed loyal to the hero who saved you from the fire all these years, even though he has forgotten about you."I saw how much you loved him and felt sorry for you. I wanted to yell at you sometimes. I couldn't understand why you had to choose Cedric when there were so many incredible men around. "But then, I noticed your eyes only lit up when you saw him. After some time, I realized you only did what made you the happiest. Although I felt bad for you, I could only support your decision as any mother would."Errol has a gift for winemaking, and the winery is perfect for him. As for the responsibilities at Starlight Entertainment, that's a burden you must carry."Now that I'm gone, your uncle will take charge of Starlight. The 30 percent ownership
The caller ID displayed her father's name. With pursed lips, Maia hesitated before answering."Yes?" She couldn't bring herself to call him "Dad" and spoke impassively. "What's the matter?""Maia, how did your mother's 20 percent stake in the winery end up in Errol's name?" Homer Burgess shouted, “What have you been doing behind my back? When did your mom make this will? Why didn’t I know about it?"Now that Cedric owned 55 percent of Burgess Winery, that 20 percent stake was of utmost importance to Homer. He would be left with no rights if he lost it. Maia gripped her phone. He was being ridiculous.She mocked, "You only cared about your mistress back then. How would you know about Mom making her will?""You must’ve worked with that fucking lawyer Nigel to steal my rightful shares! What did you give him in return? Now that you've got nothing after the divorce, you must be prostituting yourself, huh?" Maia was upset. Instead of a father she could rely on, Homer was nothing but