?Chapter 415:


    Inside the car, however, silence settled thickly between them,ced with tension.


    Maia cast a few sidelong nces at Chris. He gripped the steering wheel with one hand, his jaw clenched, his mouth drawn in a cold, hard line.


    Was he… angry?


    She frowned. What could she have done to upset him? She hadn’t said anything out of ce.


    Sinking into her seat, Maia leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes, feigning sleep.


    Some time passed before Maia opened her eyes again and peered outside, trying to gauge how far they had left to go.


    But something didn’t sit right. The streets were unfamiliar. The turns didn’t match her usual route. The car wasn’t headed toward Elysium Apartments.


    She immediately straightened up and asked, “Where are you going?”


    “Hotel,” Chris replied, his voice devoid of emotion.


    The word struck her like a cold ssh of water. Instinctively, she crossed her arms over her chest. “A hotel? Don’t tell me you’re actually thinking of…”


    Chris cast her a sidelong nce, clearly exasperated. “We’re being followed. I think it’s one of udius’ men. It’s safer if we don’t head home.”


    Maia blinked, stunned. She focused on the mirror — and sure enough, a sleek ck car loomed behind them like a shadow.


    “But… surely there’s somewhere else we can go,” Maia murmured, her voice trailing off.


    Chris’s lips curled into a faint, mischievous smirk. “If we’re going to put on a show, we might as well give them something to talk about.”


    A show?


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    Maia narrowed her eyes at the teasing curve of his mouth. There it was — the glint of amusement he didn’t bother to hide.


    In that moment, she understood.


    She rolled her eyes, feeling speechless. Men’s possessiveness andpetitive streaks were truly terrifying.


    Still, she couldn’t help herself. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to just take me home? If udius sees you bringing me back, wouldn’t that make him upset? After all, it’s not like you haven’t brought women home before.”


    Chris nced at her, his tone calm and unshaken. “I’ve never brought a woman home.”


    Maia faltered, caught off guard by the gravity of his words. But she recovered quickly, eyebrows raised. “And you expect me to take your word for that?”


    Chris turned the wheel smoothly, keeping his eyes on the road. “Whether you believe it or not, it’s just the truth. If they see me taking you home, it’ll reach Kolton’s ears by morning. And with how wary he is of me, he won’t let it rest. He’ll dig deep.”


    Maia’s sharp instincts zeroed in on thatst part. Her brows drew together. “Wait… you’re saying Kolton is wary of you? Do you mean he sees you as a threat? Why?”


    Chris, after all, was the Cooper family’s ck sheep — idle, aimless, and written off. What could possibly make Kolton see him as a threat?


    “Buckle up. We’ll talk about thister.” Chris pressed his lips together and mmed the elerator.


    The car surged forward like a released bowstring, slicing through the night and skidding around a bend toward a nearby five-star hotel. Rosanna could barely keep up. She hadn’t anticipated Chris acting so recklessly — bolting to a hotel with Maia the moment they left the party.


    It puzzled her endlessly. How could a woman with a criminal record charm not just one but two men from the Cooper family?


    Yet to Rosanna, this chaos was a blessing in disguise — a golden opportunity to drag Maia through the mud.


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