Chapter 1261:


    The air turned thick with tension. Everyone held their breath.


    All eyes in the room turned toward Maia, waiting to see what she’d say.


    Rosanna stood alone not too far away. She couldn’t see Austen anywhere, and she’d missed the whole conversation between Maia and Ethan.


    But something bothered her deeply. Ethan used to be her brother. They’d lived in the slums together years ago. Back then, he was distant from her. He acted like she meant nothing to him—like she was a stone.


    But with Maia, everything was different. He stayed near her. He smiled at her.


    Jealousy burned hot in Rosanna’s chest.


    It made no sense. Why did Maia deserve all this attention? Why did people cluster around her and treat her like she mattered most of all? Maia had done terrible things. She’d spent time in jail. She was disgusting. Maia wouldn’t even publicly admit that she had a spouse. How fake. How dishonest.


    Rosanna’s body shook with rage. She wanted to run over and scream at Maia. She wanted tosh out hard. Her hands turned into tight fists.


    But she fought to keep herself under control. Her eyes swept across the room, looking for Austen and Jarrod.


    Jarrod had to be here by now, because this was the final moment of today’s n. Whatever he intended to do to Maia, it would be exciting.


    Then Ss came back. He walked to his seat in the second row.


    He’d noticed Rosanna scanning the crowd. Confusion flickered through his mind for a moment, but his face showed nothing. Actors knew how to hide, after all.


    He greeted Rosanna first and then sat back down.


    Maia finally broke her silence. “Ethan, I understand you spoke from kindness. But you are wrong,” she said. Her voice carried displeasure. The tone made Ethan’s smile vanish. Tension flooded through him. He sensed he’d crossed a line.


    Maia believed a strong response was needed. Ethan had to learn.


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    She understood what drove him. That didn’t mean she’d let him control her life. She wouldn’t let him decide her romantic future. Conditional love was selfish—narrow, small, and ultimately hollow.


    “Listen, Ethan,” Maia said firmly. Her words came out sharp. “I will choose who I spend my life with. That choice belongs to me alone. You’re my brother. Even so, you must respect my decisions.”


    Ethan took a sharp breath. He could feel the anger in her face and her tone.


    Before he could respond, live music began. The sound pulled everyone’s attention toward the stage. The moment had arrived. Media cameras swung toward the center where a host in formal clothes stood, looking out across all the faces.


    The host raised the microphone to his lips. “Ladies and gentlemen, wee,” he began. “Tonight marks a double celebration: Radiant Jewels presents its newest creations, and the Cooper Group honors itsmitment to phnthropy with its charity g.”


    When his words ended, apuse filled the room instantly.


    Ethan’s gaze lingered on Maia’s side profile, and for the first time, he felt an emptiness open inside him, a hollow space where his heart used to be.


    Love, he thought, should never have felt this heavy. It was meant to bring joy, not chains. He had only wanted to protect her—to see his sister happy. That was all.


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