?Chapter 1134:


    Siena filled another cup of coffee for Maia, following the same slow, precise motions as before. “So, does this marriage she nned for you sit well with you?”


    Maia finished the second cup in a single gulp. She lifted the third cup and held it suspended in front of her.


    “Even though I don’t quite get why Zoey set it up this way, Chris is the finest man I’ve ever known,” she replied.


    Suddenly, a sound came from the closet next to her.


    Maia’s eyes widened as the closet door swung open.


    Zoey stepped out, extending her long, fair legs gracefully.


    With a burst ofughter, Zoey dropped into the chair across from Maia. “I knew it all along—you’ve taken a liking to my nephew. And I promise you, the feeling is mutual. At first, he tly refused when I brought it up. But the instant I revealed it was you, that stubborn boy agreed without hesitation,” she said, her tone yful. “Sometimes I wonder if he had encountered you before I ever had the chance to.”


    “Zoey! Were you hiding in the closet, listening just now?” Maia stammered, her cheeks burning as she recalled the answer she had given to the second question earlier.


    To most, Zoey appeared untouchable, like a rare blossom clinging to the highest peak, admired from afar but never within reach.


    She radiated authority, carrying herself with the weight of someone who ruled without challenge… though shes of entricity broke through her severity.


    Zoey’s nature was never consistent, her moods shifting in ways that left others guessing.


    “Maia, my dear daughter,e closer, let me have a look at you,” Zoey said, her eyes glinting. “Tell me, are you flustered because of Chris, or is it because you secretly see me as a mother figure?” She cast a sidelong nce at Siena. “You may go now, Siena.”


    “Understood, ma’am.”


    Siena stood gracefully, bowed her head in respect, and slipped quietly toward the door.


    Finish reading at ?????????ν????????????


    “Now it’s just you and me.”


    Zoey’s gaze settled on Maia, her voice carrying a trace of reproach. “All this time you’ve been free, and not once did you visit me. But today you appear—for Rnd, of all people. Is he truly worth such devotion?”


    Her expression shifted, her tone sharpening like a de. “Surely you haven’t forgotten what happens to those who defy me. You are my disciple, treated as a daughter, even marked as the heir to everything I hold. And yet here you are, begging for a man like him?”


    “Zoey!” Maia’s voice cracked with urgency. “Rnd is my friend’s brother. I may not know what wrong hemitted against you, but I can’t believe it’s beyond forgiveness.”


    She clenched her hands together, desperation spilling out. “Please, Zoey. Let him live. I’ll make sure he leaves Wront before nightfall!”


    “So be it. I’ll allow it,” Zoey said with surprising ease.


    Her eyes dropped to her watch, and a weary sigh slipped through her lips. “The trouble is… the hour may already have passed.”


    Right then, Maia’s phone red suddenly, cutting through the tension.


    .


    .


    .