?Chapter 326:


    The prospects of surgery were daunting, carrying a sess rate as slim as one in a thousand. Not even the finest surgeons worldwide dared to undertake such a precarious procedure. Although the bullet shard was no bigger than half of a fingernail, it had gued him relentlessly, stealing his nights of tranquility. To manage the persistent agony, he had turned to meditation and rigorous self-discipline.


    The migraines typically haunted him in the quiet of the night and had subsided for a while, but tonight they reemerged suddenly, with Maia there to witness it. Chris had earlier reassured Maia, hoping to keep her fears at bay. However, he was acutely aware of the harsh reality: his condition was beyond healing.


    At the Cooper Estate, a resounding crash disrupted the quiet as the fragments of an antique vase scattered across the floor, the noise reverberating through the halls. The household staff lingered silently outside the room, heads bowed, not daring to utter a sound. This was Mariana’s private sanctuary.


    Adorned in the opulent style of a pce, the room showcased the vast wealth and prestige of the Cooper lineage. But at this moment, its owner was in a state ofplete emotional copse, her expression contorted with rage. Her fingers tensely wed at the hem of her dress, eyes zing with madness and envy, a far cry from her usual public demeanor as a gentlewoman.


    The disparity was striking. The public Mariana and the private Mariana seemed as if they were two distinct individuals. Should someone see her in this state, they could easily mistake her for someone out of her mind.


    “Repeat that! Chris is being supported by someone else?”


    As Mariana held her phone, her voice shook with rising anger.


    In the past, Chris had been the center of attention for many women, but Mariana had always dismissed them as trivial. She was confident that they were merely temporary diversions; Chris would never genuinely care for such superficial, ordinary individuals. However, the notion that he could be kept by someone else shattered her previous perceptions of him.


    How could this be true?


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    Still, the voice responding to her was unwavering. “Mariana, just rx. I heard about this at the bar tonight. Chris, ever the infamous yboy, seems to have changed dramatically. He’s now exclusively involved with just one woman. It’s quite surprising. Perhaps she’spensating him generously?”


    Mariana had no desire to listen any further. She ended the call swiftly, overwhelmed by her emotions.


    “Ha… haha…” A deep, eerie chuckle broke from her, its undertone tinged with a disturbing madness. Her hands clenched, nails pressing into her dress.


    If Chris was to be dedicated to one person alone, Mariana was sure that it should be her. However, she was rted to Chris as his cousin. A formidable moral boundary stood between them due to their family ties.


    Despite this, Mariana had felt an intense, illicit love for Chris since her youth — a love that she could neither dere nor deny. Though she was keenly aware of Chris’ carefree, impulsive nature, Mariana’s feelings remained unshakable.


    This love was a truth that she had to conceal within herself, never to voice out loud. Contemting this reality pushed her to the edge of despair.


    Ovee with fury, Mariana seized a collection of cosmetics from her table and flung them violently at her vanity mirror. The ss shattered, each crack casting twisted reflections of her enraged, vengeful face.


    Mariana had onceforted herself with the notion that if Chris could not be hers alone, then he should not bepletely anyone else’s either. While his wandering affections were bearable, his loyalty to another was something she simply could not understand.


    A scowl crossed her face as she pondered. Who was this woman audacious enough to keep Chris?


    She resolved that no one would ever steal Chris from her grasp. A chilling, vengeful glint flickered in Mariana’s eyes, like a tempest waiting to erupt.


    In the morning, as Maia stepped out of the residentialplex, she immediately noticed a tall figure standing like a sentinel at the entrance.


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