LOGINWillow knew that once Maria decided to do something, she would never listen to anyone. Deep down, though, he still felt this was just another way for Richard to play hard to get and pull her closer.He looked at Maria with a helpless expression and said, "You'd better go straight to his doctor and ask. If no one is willing to tell you anything, then stop digging. Whether Richard is sick or not has nothing to do with you."Maria pressed her lips and nodded absentmindedly, clearly not taking his words seriously.-The next day.Eleanor took Jonathan to the restaurant and waited. While Richard was on his way to meet them, Maria drove straight to the Shaw Group building.When she arrived, neither the security nor the reception did anything to stop her. Everyone there knew how important Maria was to Richard. No one else could come and go as freely as she did. In their eyes, she was the future wife of their CEO. Even so, the receptionist still remembered to notify Richard that Mari
Maria smiled. "It's fine. Even if the relationship between Cameron and I are over, he won't cancel a partnership over something like this. Just explain it clearly to the shareholders."Willow was about to nod when they heard a car stop outside. He frowned, unsure who would be coming by at this hour. When he saw it was Trent, his expression darkened in an instant. He narrowed his eyes as he stood up and stared coldly as Trent walked in. "What are you doing here? Are you looking for a fight?"He didn't bother to feign courtesy or give Trent a shred of respect.Trent looked a little embarrassed, but didn't argue. His gaze went straight to Maria. "Maria, I need to ask you something."Maria had stopped caring about what Trent had done a long time ago. Talking to him now was actually easier than talking to Richard. She said calmly, "If you have something to ask, just ask away. Why are you here looking for me, anyway?"Trent scratched his nose, choosing his words carefully. "You know
Trent laid out his plan to Richard. After listening to it, Richard gave him a long, steady look. "Be careful. Don't let things get out of hand.""I won't. We're working together against Eleanor this time, so I can guarantee she won't have any chance to bounce back. Just trust me," Trent said excitedly.He wanted to go and put his plan into motion. Richard thought it over and nodded in agreement when he didn't see any obvious flaws.After Trent left, Richard stood up and walked to his desk. He then pulled open a drawer. Inside was a single photograph. Maria was smiling brightly at the camera, as if she had never known sadness in her entire life.Richard reached out and lightly brushed his fingers over the photo, whispering, "It feels like every hardship you've ever suffered in this life is because of me. Sometimes, I really don't know what the point of my life is..."Before the words had fully faded, there was a knock at the office door.Richard raised his eyes. "Come in."A
Trent set down his suitcase and shrugged off his jacket. He hadn't missed the brief flash of disappointment on Richard's face a moment ago.He then asked, "How are things between you and Maria? You don't look so good."Richard pressed his lips together, unsure of how to answer.From his reaction, Trent could tell things were still not going smoothly between him and Maria."It's alright. Maria's not going to forgive you that easily. It's going to take time and effort on your part to repair the damage you did."Richard looked up at him and slowly said, "Whether Maria wants to be with me or not doesn't matter anymore. What matters is that there's someone we need to deal with right now."Trent paused. "What do you mean?"Richard laid it all out and told Trent everything about Eleanor.When Trent heard that Eleanor suddenly had an influential cousin out of nowhere and even managed to drag him over here, he took in a deep breath, his expression darkening. "With Melvin protecting her
Richard watched Maria's indifferent expression and suddenly couldn't hold back anymore. "What do you think about all this?"Maria paused. "What do you mean?""I mean..." Richard stumbled, suddenly unsure how to speak. "Did you really break up with Cameron just for this revenge plan, or deep down, do you still...""Richard," Maria cut him off immediately with a darkened expression. He noticed the warning in her tone, so he pushed his lips and simply observed her.Maria said quietly, "I believe I need to remind you that whether this is about dealing with Eleanor or something else, I can work with you temporarily and even play-pretend. But I'll never have those feelings for you again. Don't get any ideas about us now that Cameron's out of the picture."After she finished, Richard said nothing. His hands slowly curled into fists, and he could not force out a single word. Maria saw he was really shaken, but she didn't feel the need to cheer him up. His feelings were not that import
Eleanor thought it over and had to admit Jonathan made a lot of sense. He was right for now, at least. She let out a slow sigh."Alright, I get it. I know what to do."Even as Eleanor said it, she wasn't nearly as sure as she sounded.She had never expected Maria to break up so quickly. To her, it looked exactly like Maria wanted to turn around and go back to Richard. She would never allow that to happen. She had worked too hard to return.If Maria and Richard got back together, it would be a complete disaster for her.When that thought crossed his mind, Eleanor immediately told Jonathan to call Richard. "Ask your dad where he is. I need to talk to him."Jonathan did as she said and made the call.At the same time, Maria and Richard were sitting across from each other in his office.When Maria saw Jonathan's name on the screen, she raised an eyebrow and asked casually, "Do you think Eleanor told him to call you?""Of course, she did," Richard answered as he put the call on spe







