?Chapter 494:


    Turning back to Maia, udius tilted his head and asked with calcted innocence, “You two wouldn’t happen to… already be together, would you?”


    The moment those words left udius’ mouth, Ethan’s eyes widened with shock, hisposure fracturing like thin ice.


    Maia met udius’ probing question with unruffled poise, her voice steady as still water. “Chris is merely a friend. Our paths simply crossed by chance today.”


    A subtle smirk yed across udius’ sculpted features, his amusement barely contained. “Well, that’s… quite the fortuitous encounter.”


    His smile evaporated slowly, eyes narrowing to calcting slits as he returned his attention to Maia. “I suppose it’s indeed unlikely for a girl as extraordinary as you to fall for someone like my cousin — a man who treats life as nothing but his personal yground, flitting from one diversion to the next without an ounce of sincerity.”


    Ethan’s expression transformed in an instant, warmth crystallizing into frigid contempt. So Chris was just an idle yboy? How could Maia get close to such a man?


    udius’ revtion sparked a fierce protectiveness in Ethan as he stepped forward, pulling Maia closer while fixing Chris with an icy re.


    His initial wariness had transformed into something stronger — pure disdain. Good looks meant nothing if Chris was just ying games with his sister’s feelings. Maia wouldn’t fall for someone like that!


    Ethan made a silent promise to himself that he wouldn’t let Maia fall for such a yer. If there was anything between them, he would find a way to end it. Compared to Chris, “Justiceze” was far more reliable.


    Chris’ eyes narrowed dangerously, his voice cooling as he addressed udius. “Whether Ms. Watson falls for someone or not is her choice alone. udius, aren’t you speaking out of turn here as an outsider?”


    Chris’ words struck a nerve, causing the veins on udius’ forehead to visibly pulse beneath his skin. An outsider? Seriously? Why was Chris talking as if he and Maia were so close? How cheeky!


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    udius fixed Chris with a prating re, barely containing the fury simmering beneath hisposed exterior. The air between them crackled with tension, invisible currents of hostility flowing back and forth.


    Maia sensed herself caught in the crossfire of their silent battle, a feeling of helplessness washing over her as she prepared to intervene and defuse the situation.


    Before she could speak, Marisa’s voice cut through the tension like a thunderp. “Maia!”


    All heads turned simultaneously.


    Marisa approached, dragging a thoroughly bewildered Maxwell behind her. She halted dramatically before the group and announced with startling rity, “Maxwell is into you! Give him a chance!”


    Her deration was followed by a silence so absolute that it seemed to swallow all sound.


    It was so profound that you could hear a pin drop on the floor.


    Marisa’s bold deration struck the room like lightning, leaving Maia, Chris, udius, Ethan, and even Maxwell frozen in stunned silence.


    Chris’s gaze settled on Maxwell with cial intensity, his brows drawn together in a severe line, eyes sharp enough to carve through stone. The weight of that stare bore down, sharp as a de’s edge.


    Breaking into a cold sweat, Maxwell felt the walls closing in. He scrambled to defend himself, his voice cracking as he protested, “Come on, Marisa, what ridiculous nonsense are you spouting?”


    His throat constricted as he swallowed, darting a nervous nce toward Chris before raising two trembling fingers skyward in a desperate oath. “I swear to the heavens, I harbor absolutely no improper thoughts about Maia!”


    Desperate to save his skin, he doubled down with renewed fervor. “Absolutely none!”


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