Chapter 1622:


    His gaze grew moreplicated. There was a time when he had believed love meant ownership — an unshakable need to always be together. But now, looking at the woman beside him, so alive and so brilliant, he understood it differently. Wanting to grow old with someone, to witness the final chapter together — that was love. Wanting someone to thrive and reach their fullest potential, even if it meant stepping aside — that was also love. And protecting someone from a distance, because of your past, your secrets, the dangers that followed you — wasn’t that a love even more profound?


    Maia didn’t notice the quiet turmoil behind Chris’s calm expression. She tilted her head, studying him.


    Something felt different today. He wasn’t as blunt, as overbearing, as infuriating as usual. Instead, there was a gentleness to him — a cautiousness, as if he were carefully measuring every word before it left his lips, afraid of saying the wrong thing. It was such a contrast to his usual intensity, so unexpectedly endearing, that she couldn’t help but smile.


    She nodded, a teasing curve touching the corner of her lips. “Since your memory’sing back, I suppose it’s time you knew — I wasn’t just any fighter. Masked champion. 2021 Underground Fighting League Grand Champion.” She arched an eyebrow, her expression yfully stern. “So, Mr. Cooper, consider this a friendly warning.”


    “From now on, don’t push me.” Maia’s voice lifted slightly, a faint smile ying at her lips. “Trust me — you really don’t want to test that.”


    Chris blinked, caught off guard. He couldn’t quite tell if she was joking.


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    Silence settled over the car again. Early morning sunlight streamed through the windows, carrying a soft, golden warmth. Chris kept his eyes on the road, but tension lingered in his expression, a subtle crease forming between his brows.


    Was Maia still upset with him?


    After several more minutes, the quiet became unbearable. He cleared his throat and forced the words out. “So — how do you want to handle things now? Regarding Kolton.”


    Maia blinked, then shifted her gaze to meet his. Wasn’t that obvious? Or was he just fishing for conversation? Hadn’t they already talked about this? Still, seeing how awkward he looked, she decided not to call him out on it.


    “First —” She lifted a finger, her tone steady. “We wake him up. Whatever it takes, we need him conscious enough to think clearly. Then we make him talk. We find out where the headquarters of that covert organization is. We figure out who this so-called ‘Master of Shadows’ really is — and how much dirt the Cooper Group has buried.” Her eyes sharpened, cold and precise. “Then we hand everything over to the police. We bring him to court. Let him answer for every crime and rot behind bars for the rest of his life. For someone like him — living with that is worse than death.”


    Chris felt the heat of her conviction in her gaze. When their eyes met, he looked away first.


    “Yeah,” he muttered, his voice dry. “That’s a solid n.”


    Maia narrowed her eyes slightly. Her instincts were rarely wrong, and right now they were telling her he was hiding something.


    She decided not to skirt around it.


    “Mr. Cooper.” She leaned forward just enough, her eyes fixed on his profile. “If you’ve got something to say — or something you need to confess — just say it. We’re on the same side now. I don’t want secrets between us.”


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