?Chapter 256:


    Fragments of the previous night flickered in her mind—whispers of intimacy, a breath near her ear, moments just out of reach.


    Chris suddenly lifted his head and locked eyes with her, his gaze narrowing slightly. “Starting to remember?”


    Startled, Maia blinked in confusion. “Huh?”


    “Last night,” Chris reminded her, a hint of amusementcing his voice.


    Maia quickly dropped her gaze, nervously biting her lower lip. Chris chuckled softly as he pushed back his chair. “No need to rush. I’ll give you some time,” he said lightly, grabbing his jacket from the back of the chair before heading toward the door.


    Before leaving, Chris casually tossed over his shoulder, “Just leave the dishes where they are when you’re done. Get some rest. I’ll handle it when I get back.”


    The next moment, he was already out the door.


    A flush crept up Maia’s neck, her cheeks ame with the rush of memories flooding her thoughts. She faintly remembered Chris’ whispers—”It’s fine…” and “I’ll be waiting…”—echoing in her mind. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t piece the full memory together.


    A pounding headache soon overtook her, and she gave up, crawling back into bed.


    Sleep imed her quickly, dragging her into a vivid dream where she could feel herself pressing her lips against Chris’ cool ones. Each kiss, drawn out and full of intent, left her gasping for air, yearning for the next.


    By the time she jolted awake, sweat clung to her skin, soaking her clothes.


    A cold shower helped wash away the lingering daze, and for the first time that morning, her mind felt a little clearer.


    L?τ??τ ch?ρτ?rs ιn g??l??ov?ls.????


    Once she dried off, Maia sat down and quickly fired off replies to Pattie and Brielle, easing their concerns with a few reassuring messages.


    She kept the truth aboutst night to herself. There was no need to drag them into her mess or add to their stress.


    As for Vince… just thinking about him made her blood boil. How could he stoop so low as to drug her?


    It wasn’t just that Maia had been naive; it was painfully clear now that her judgment had been terrible. How could she have ever cared about someone like him?


    All that running and hiding had only fueled his obsession, making him more reckless each time.


    This time, she swore, she would make sure he paid the price for everything he’d done.


    A sudden vibration buzzed against the table, snapping her out of her thoughts. Her phone screen lit up with notification after notification. Opening Twitter, Maia quickly spotted her name popping up all over thement sections of trending posts.


    The Ward family just made a major ssh on social media, announcing Vince and Rosanna’s uing engagement.


    The post highlighted next week’s engagement celebration, also aiming to dispel recent rumors by affirming that Vince had no romantic ties to any other women.


    Apanying the post was a photo showing Vince and Rosanna hand in hand, their smiles radiating sincere affection.


    This strategic announcement was clearly intended to squash the persistent whispers about Vince and Maia.


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