?Chapter 387:


    “I heard she ims to be aposer. Shouldn’t she know her way around at least one instrument?”


    Meanwhile, Jarrod, who had melted into the crowd earlier to watch Rosanna’s performance, swelled with pride at her brilliance.


    But hearing the murmurs about Maia’s supposed musical prowess, he couldn’t bite his tongue any longer.


    “She doesn’t know a damn thing about piano!” Jarrod blurted out.


    The nearby aristocrats frowned at his bluntness. Realizing that he had overstepped, Jarrod awkwardly cleared his throat and forced a sheepish smile. “I’m Rosanna and Maia’s brother. I can swear on my life — Maia can’t y a single note.”


    Just then, Rosanna floated off the stage and glided over to Maia. With a gentle, courteous smile, she said, “If Maia doesn’t know how to y, let’s not make things hard for her.”


    But the guests were like sharks that had smelled blood. They weren’t about to let go.


    “Even if she doesn’t know piano,” someone insisted, “surely she picked up something? After all, she grew up in the Morgan household!”


    Jarrod, emboldened by the rising tide, sneered, “She doesn’t know any instruments! She was a cker at home, a troublemaker at school, and if you really want to know what she excels at… well, it’s stealing, fighting, and stirring up storms.”


    The hall burst into low, contemptuousughter.


    The socialites, their disdain deepening by the second, dismissed the very idea that Maia could be the famous designer Eileen.


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    How could a person like her possibly have caught Hurst’s eye? The answer whispered itself among them: she must have used her body to w her way up thedder.


    Hurst’s wife had passed away years ago, leaving him to raise his daughter alone. As nces were traded like secret notes, a new thought took root in everyone’s mind.


    Could it be that Maia was about to be Mnie’s stepmother?


    Hurst slipped out of the hall to answer a phone call, leaving the guests to murmur secrets as soon as he disappeared.


    “One reason Hurst Cooper’s so taken with Maia could be… Isn’t she married though?”


    “Married or not, she might just be keeping her husband around until someone betteres along, then she’ll probably divorce him.”


    “Think about it, what does Hurst find so appealing in Maia? She’s reasonably attractive and well-shaped, but she hardly stands out among the prettier, younger women after him.”


    “It’sughable, really. Hurst falling for a woman who has a murky past, dubious ethics, no formal education, and is already married? It’s downright sad.”


    Disapproval was evident as the guests shook their heads, feeling sorry for Hurst and his family.


    In the shadows, Rosanna caught every word, her shock evident. She had always assumed that Hurst was the influential man behind Maia. No wonder Rosanna always felt there was someone powerful backing Maia. Now, everything made perfect sense.


    From the inte controversies and her participation in the singing contest to her abrupt promotion as MCN’s chief designer, it was evident that Hurst had orchestrated everything. He might have even gone as far as to reinvent Maia’s persona to rehabilitate her public image.


    Such feats were only within the grasp of the Cooper Group, given its formidable clout in Wront.


    As one of Wront’s most prestigious families, the Cooper family attached great importance to its reputation. If people learned that Maia, a woman with a criminal record and a ruined reputation, married into the Cooper family, it would definitely incite public scandal against Hurst.


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