After his stroke six months ago, Maeve and a male caregiver moved into the Forbes family home to provide round-the-clock care for Cristopher. Not even Mareli, or Averi for that matter, had expected the quiet, unassuming Maeve to captivate Cristopher.
Maybe Cristopher's loss of control over his body made him crave attention more, and Maeve's constant presence filled that void. Or perhaps as his life dwindled, Cristopher grew more desperate for youth—Mareli was more than thirty years younger, but Maeve was even younger. Whatever the reason, Maeve had become Cristopher's newest girlfriend.
At first, Cristopher only arranged for a driver to take Maeve home and gave her extra days off. Maeve didn't act out of place and kept up with her duties, so no one paid much attention. Then one day, Cristopher casually instructed the servants at the dining table to set a place for Maeve, dropping, "From now on, Maeve will eat with us." Only then did everyone realize what was going on.
Looking again at the young nurse, still dressed in her simple work uniform, she kept her head down, saying nothing. But her bag and shoes by the door had quietly upgraded to a full designer set—tasteful, understated, with no flashy logos in sight.
Odin and Averi were momentarily surprised but quickly accepted it in silence. Seeing their reactions, Eli swallowed his shock and buried his head in his meal. After the incident with Bella, Eli became considerably more subdued.
Among the younger generation, Johnathan was the one with the darkest expression, but he dared not voice his anger, choosing instead to show his displeasure by missing five consecutive family dinners over two weeks. By the third week, however, he obediently returned.
As for Mareli, she directly threw her chopsticks and stormed out, followed by bouts of crying and complaining, much like Teagan in her younger days. However, Mareli was not Teagan; Cristopher had no use for her and didn't even bother to comfort her. He simply closed his eyes and pretended to be deaf and dumb. After a few days, seeing that she hadn't yet "learned to back off," he instructed his secretary to suspend Mareli's credit card.
Mareli lowered her sails and retreated.
What surprised Averi even more was that Maeve didn't seem to place her hopes on Cristopher at all; instead, she repeatedly tried to ingratiate herself with Averi. After several interactions without any noticeable reaction from Averi, Maeve straightforwardly admitted that she had never aimed for the family's fortune. She only wished to keep the jewelry and cash that Cristopher had given her once he passed.
Averi looked at her intently for a few seconds and then smiled. She didn't make any promises, only saying she wouldn't interfere with her father's choice to give small gifts to friends.
Maeve was sharper than she seemed and quickly caught on: it all hinged on two things—the "friendship" and the "little gifts." If one day she stopped being a friend, and those gifts stopped being so "little," well, that would change everything.
Maeve said, "Thank you, Averi. I know my own limits. If the gift were too large, even if I managed to take it, I wouldn't have the power to keep it. Rest assured, Cristopher's small gifts are already grand ones to me."
With her security assured, Maeve became even more attentive and considerate. Tonight, upon hearing of Averi's return, she waited until now just to inform her about Mareli's little schemes, only to be told it wasn't necessary to worry about it.
*
The next morning, Averi went to see Teagan first and handed over the contract.
Teagan had read the news over the past couple of days and knew that the situation in Lyria was unstable. She asked a few questions, but Averi didn't mention Dallas, only briefly talking about the attack on the general's residence. Seeing her calm demeanor, Teagan assumed it wasn't a big deal and started chatting about her own progress.
After leaving Teagan's place, Averi headed straight to the office, diving into back-to-back meetings. It wasn't until a little after three in the afternoon, stomach growling, that she finally stepped out of the conference room.
Jordan wasn't around, and no one had ordered food. Averi, too lazy to fuss, grabbed some snacks from the break room to tide her over. Once she felt a bit stronger, she set off to find Milo.
Milo's assistant was genuinely surprised to see her and hurriedly invited her to sit down. "Please wait a moment; I'll notify Mr. Hebert right away that you're here."
Averi said warmly, "I don't have anything urgent. I was just in a meeting nearby and thought I'd drop by. If he's busy, I won't disturb him."
The assistant knew that Milo wasn't busy, but he didn't dare make the call himself. He called Milo to confirm before leading her into the office.
When he received the call, Milo was also quite surprised. This seemed to be the first time she had come to the office to see him on her own initiative.
Milo knew she had been on a business trip to Europe and asked right away, "When did you get back?"
"Last night."
"How'd it go? Everything smooth?"
"Pretty well."
"Find any good projects?"
Averi smiled and said, "That's confidential."
Milo laughed as well and didn't press further.
After that, he had actually asked her out twice more, but with Cristopher's stroke and a series of chaotic events, she was swamped and had neither the time nor the inclination to deal with it. Romantic relationships thrive on the right atmosphere, and as the atmosphere faded, so did Milo's interest. She figured, since they were getting married soon anyway, saving it for the wedding night might actually work out perfectly—an unexpected but fitting choice.
Averi asked, "How have you been lately?"
Milo said indifferently, "Same old, same old."
Averi nodded, fell silent for a moment, and then suddenly said, "Milo, do you really want to marry me?"
"What do you mean?"
Averi leaned forward to pour herself some water, casually saying as she did so, "Just asking. Maybe it's pre-wedding jitters. I've been thinking about all sorts of things lately."
Milo chuckled, "Yeah, sounds like it. If I'm not marrying you, then who am I marrying?"
Averi paused for a moment, then looked into his eyes with a playful smile. "What about… your one true love?"
Milo raised an eyebrow, as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world, "Who's that?"
Averi shrugged, "Only you would know that."
After a pause of a couple of seconds, Milo said, "Maybe it's you."
Averi's eyes flickered with surprise, and then her smile deepened as she silently sipped her water.
This attitude seemed to irritate Milo. His piercing blue eyes narrowed slightly as he studied her for a moment before asking, "Who did you run into on your trip?"
Averi remained silent, thinking how perceptive he was.
Milo's brow furrowed, his eyes cold, but his lips curved into a smile, "Don't tell me it was that bodyguard."
The atmosphere instantly tensed, but Averi remained unfazed. She calmly set down her glass and raised an eyebrow, "Milo, are you jealous?"
At a different time, place, or with someone else, Milo would have laughed it off as a joke: jealous? Who? Him?
But today, he decided to break from his usual pattern, casually asking, "And if I did?"
"That doesn't sound like you at all." She lifted her gaze, her smile warm and composed, "And I don't think you have the right to be jealous."
