?Chapter 1562:


    Still, if he and Maia had built a real life together, he refused to be the kind of man who walked away irresponsibly. Until he could locate the girl who had once saved him, he would honor their marriage and fulfill every duty as her husband.


    Even so, he owed her the truth. He couldn’t keep deceiving her.


    Chris pressed his lips together, inhaled deeply as though bracing himself for something irreversible, then spoke in a low, strained voice. “Ms. Watson… between us… our marriage has only ever been in name, hasn’t it?” His eyes flickered away from hers. “What I’m asking is…” His voice dropped even lower. “Have we ever been truly intimate?”


    The question hung between them, freezing the air.


    He genuinely couldn’t recall. Whenever he reached for those memories, his mind dissolved into thick fog.


    Maia’s face flushed crimson in an instant, color rushing from her neck to her cheeks. She hadn’t expected—after all his careful hesitation—that he would ask something so disarmingly direct.


    But she had just promised to help him remember as truthfully as possible.


    “Um…” She reached for her wine ss with slightly unsteady fingers and took a quick sip to steady herself. Technically, they had shared a bed many times. There had been countless moments of heated closeness—but every single time, they had stopped just short of crossing that line.


    “Mr. Cooper…” Maia set the ss down. The wine had loosened her nerves just enough. She met his gaze again—his striking features now etched with tension and open curiosity.


    Whether it was the warmth of the alcohol or simply the fact that she hadn’t seen that face up close in far too long, a sudden and mischievous courage bubbled up inside her.


    Sheughed softly, the sound light and teasing, and let her fingertips glide slowly along the back of his hand. “If you’re asking about that…” She leaned in just a fraction, voice dropping to a yful murmur. “Maybe a change of scenery would help jog your memory more effectively.”


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    Chris paused, a flicker of uncertainty surfacing in his deep, dark eyes as confusion briefly took hold. “A change of scenery?” His Adam’s apple rose and fell as the words left him, his voice roughened with a faint rasp. “Why?”


    Maia met his gaze, one brow lifting with yful intent while her smile softened and sweetened. A trace of mischief curved her lips, giving her the look of someone proud of having stolen something. “Mr. Cooper, are you afraid?” The question came lightly, unmistakably teasing. “I am not nning to do anything to you. Unless you are imagining something else?”


    She let the thought hang unfinished on purpose, savoring the moment.


    Chris’s Adam’s apple shifted again. Warmth surged through him with greater force than before, as though every drop of blood had rushed upward at once. Startled by his own reaction, he reached for his wine and took another drink, though the chilled liquid failed to soothe the fire burning beneath his skin. The woman seated across from him no longer matched the faint, distant image he had carried of Maia. She felt sharper now—more vivid, and undeniably alluring.


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