Chapter 1258:


    A gentleugh escaped Maia as she gave his back a light pat. “Calm down,” she murmured with an easy smile. “I’ve long stopped caring about what strangers on the inte say. Their words hold no power over me. You see, Ethan, people online say all sorts of things about me, yet you never once believed them because you know who I truly am.”


    For a moment, she hesitated. Her gaze flickered toward Chris before she looked back at Ethan and asked gently, “Then tell me, do the ones who speak badly about Chris actually know him?”


    Something uncertain passed over Ethan’s face.


    “It’s the same story, isn’t it?” Maia went on, her voice calm but steady. “The only difference is that this time, it’s about Chris instead of me. You don’t really know him, Ethan. So don’t judge him based on what others say.”


    An uneasy stillness settled around them.


    Ethan opened his mouth to respond, but the words refused toe out. Every argument he’d prepared vanished before he could speak.


    Deep down, he knew she was right. Everything he thought he knew about Chris came from rumors. Still, doubt lingered. How could Maia be so certain that Chris wasn’t simply pretending to be the man she believed him to be?


    Most of Ethan’s ssmates came from wealthy, well-known families in Wront, and whenever Chris’s name surfaced in their conversations, it was rarely followed by kindness.


    Ethan had to admit, he didn’t personally know Chris. Yet a quiet question stirred in his mind—was everyone else just as clueless? Could it really be that all those stories about Chris being an illegitimate son and a womanizer were nothing but lies? It seemed too far-fetched to believe.


    Although Ethan still carried a quiet grudge against Chris, something in Maia’s calm gaze softened him. The urge to speak poorly of Chris faded, reced by the fear of seeing her turn away from him again. There was a warmth in her eyes that made him hesitate, a tenderness that reminded him how deeply he dreaded letting her down.


    He ran his tongue over his dry lips before whispering, “I understand, Maia.”


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    “That’s good to hear. I hope you really mean it,” Maia replied, a faint smile curving her lips.


    Leaning closer, she whispered softly enough for no one else to hear, “Chris isn’t as bad as you think. Give him time, and you’ll realize that yourself.” Her hand brushed through his hair once more, the gesture filled with quiet affection.


    Maia reminded herself not to be too stern with her younger brother.


    Ethan was still growing, and although his actions sometimescked thought, there was always kindness behind them. Every word he spoke came from a ce of love and concern for her well-being.


    Of course, Maia understood him—perhaps more than anyone else ever could. She knew that Ethan’s ws were born not from defiance but from the absence of guidance. What he needed was patience, not reprimand—nurturing, not control.


    A faint sigh slipped from her lips.


    At that moment, Ethan leaned closer and spoke in a quiet tone.


    “Maia.”


    “What is it?” asked Maia.


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