He didn''t answer, but he twisted open the jar of cookies and pulled out a chocte chip cookie. "Cookies make everything better," he said, offering me a small smile.


    I frowned, and he stood up, grabbing his clipboard. "I''ve got to make rounds in the other wards. Richard has sorted out your discharge papers; you''ll be heading home with him shortly."


    As he walked away, I caught a glimpse of a blush creeping up his ears.


    Could the boy from my dreams be Max? Somehow, their indifferent smiles blended together in my mind, each seeming to carry a burden of years beyond their age.


    But even if it were him, it just goes to show, the world has a funny way of bringing people together.


    Now, walking down the hospital corridor with Richard, ready to leave, we bumped into ude, sitting in her wheelchair.


    "ire, you''re leaving without saying goodbye?" she used.


    As if she had any right to y the victim. What more could she possibly want from me?


    "Do I look that gullible, ude?" I shot back, catching the fleeting uncertainty in her eyes.


    "So, you''re choosing to leave me for Richard? Weren''t those diaries full of derations of love for me? And now you''ve moved on so quickly, don''t you find yourself despicable?" She threw a diary at my feet, a testament to the years I spent under the illusion of love at the Hart family estate, now just a tool for her to demean me.


    "Is this what you''ve been dying to tell me?" I picked up the diary, not giving it another nce before tearing it to pieces and tossing it in the trash.


    Richard looked ready to confront her physically, but I held him back. "It''s not worth it," I said, pressing the elevator button.


    Behind us, the sound of things being thrown made ude''s frustration painfully obvious.


    "Be careful around ude," Richard warned as we waited. "She seems desperate for the Goodwin family''s support, and possibly, for you. Could this be rted to your parents'' situation?"


    I shook my head, unsure.


    Yet, a name popped into my mind: Maximilian.


    "Ever heard of the head of the Hilton family?" I asked out of the blue. That night at ude''s vi, I remembered her calling out to a man named Maximilian for help, yet Ronald Collins imed it was he who saved me the next day.


    ,


    "I''m not sure, but I''ll look into it. After n passed, the Hiltons have kept a low profile, and Maximilian shuns the limelight, focusing solely on his business ventures," RichardOriginal from N?velDrama.Org.


    exined, deepening the mystery of that night''s events.


    Was ude aware of my connection to Maximilian, using me to target him?


    Her hints that the Hilton family wronged me, and her belief that I harbored resentment towards Maximilian, all seemed like part of arger scheme. "Richard, I need to meet Maximilian."


    His reaction was a mix of difficulty


    and tension, a stark refusal without hesitation. "I can''t make that


    happen," he said, a rare denial from someone who usually tried to amodate my wishes.


    "Do you know Maximilian too?" I stepped back, wary. Richard was my most trusted ally; was he keeping secrets from me?


    "ire, do you really need to meet him? He''s a daunting figure. If it''s about retrieving your parents'' ashes, I can negotiate with hispany on your behalf."