2026-04-28 19:50:36Maelie looked at Caiden with a cold stare, her eyes reflecting disappointment, anger, and a trace of jealousy she hadn’t even noticed herself.
“Caiden, I can’t believe you moved on so quickly after we broke up,” she said bitterly. “I feel ridiculous for ever feeling guilty. Looks like I was the only fool here.”
Caiden responded sharply, “When it comes to moving on fast, I could never compete with you, Ms. Logan.”
“You… Fine. You win. I’m done arguing with you,” Maelie said, struggling to find words.
Cecilia’s striking looks, curvy figure, and confident aura made Maelie feel deeply unsettled.
If the woman beside Caiden had been ordinary, she could have ignored it. But Cecilia was different; she was more than a common rival.
In many ways, she didn’t fall short of Maelie at all. Even in wealth and status, she outshined her. Cecilia carried herself with irresistible charm and allure.
The way Nevan stared at her made that obvious.
What made it worse was that this stunning woman was now holding onto the very man Maelie had cast aside.
It felt like a harsh slap, as though fate was mocking her for failing to see Caiden’s true value.
“Caiden, we need to talk alone,” Maelie said after taking a deep breath, looking straight at him.
Caiden remained indifferent. “Sorry, Ms. Logan, but I don’t have anything to discuss with you.”
“Do you really want to humiliate me in front of everyone?” Maelie snapped, her eyes beginning to glisten.
Seeing her vulnerable expression made Caiden hesitate for a moment.
“Alright, maybe we should….. ”
Before he could finish, Cecilia tightened her hold on his arm and cut in sweetly, “Cady, some people may have looked down on you and pushed you away. But don’t worry I’m here now. Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you.”
Her affectionate tone made Nevan clench his teeth in jealousy.
He wished he could take Caiden’s place.
He couldn’t understand how Caiden managed to attract such a woman; it felt like the man had used up several lifetimes of luck.
Maelie turned abruptly and walked away, her dress swaying behind her.
Only after she was out of sight did the tears she had been holding back finally fall.
To her, Caiden had crossed a line.
She had worried about him all along, yet he openly showed off another woman right in front of her.
“Maelie! Wait!” Cara and Nevan called, panicking as they hurried after her.
Cara then glared at Caiden with hostility. “You brat, look what you’ve done to her! Don’t get ahead of yourself. A freeloader like you won’t last long. You’ll be tossed aside soon enough!”
Nevan also shot Caiden a cold look. “Miss, step aside. This trash needs to be taught a lesson.”
Cecilia, clearly pleased after seeing Maelie leave, replied calmly, “I’ll warn you one last time. My name is Cecilia Fred. Cady is with me. If you so much as touch him, I’ll make sure you regret it.”
“Cecilia Fred? The heiress of the Fred family… Louisiana’s most beautiful woman?” Nevan exclaimed, immediately backing off.
The Fred family was far too powerful for the Matt's family to challenge.
Although he retreated, Nevan’s jealousy and frustration only grew stronger.
He couldn’t accept that someone like Caiden deserved such luck. This prompted him to check with Maelie if Cecilia owned the Black Mortgage Card but she didn't. She was wealthy but not among one of the world's top three. They were thinking he could either be using hers for the bet but as it stood, it wasn't.
They greatly awaited the bid to begin. Both now pissed up than before were determined to expose Caiden for being a fraudster.
“And his new woman will surely get hurt,” Maelie chuckled sadly.
Meanwhile Cecilia was trying to console Caiden who was already angry from the taunts. Secretly he was planning to put all those who mocked him to shame.
He gave a faint smile to Cecilia to show everything was alright. “Thank you for coming through for me….”
“Claiming to be your woman right?” She asked and Caiden nodded.
Cecilia leaned closer, her soft figure nearly brushing against him.
“To be honest, Dr. Howard… I’m tempted to make it real,” she whispered, her warm breath grazing his ear.
With a light laugh, she walked toward the auction hall with her bodyguards.
Caiden shook his head, silently calling her a tease, but he couldn’t stop himself from smiling as he followed her inside.
Meanwhile, as the Howard Hospital group entered the hall under the gaze of many guests, Nevan asked resentfully, “Maelie, do you still have feelings for that guy?”
Cara added, “Maelie, dear, you saw how useless he is. The moment he left you, he latched onto someone else. It’s humiliating!”
Maelie had already regained her composure.
“I’ve completely cut ties with him. Whatever he does now has nothing to do with me. I just didn’t expect him to be so disrespectful bringing another woman here just to provoke me.”
A lie.
Nevan gritted his teeth. “That woman is Cecilia Fred, the Fred family heiress. She’s the top socialite in Louisiana. I can’t understand what she sees in Caiden.”
A look of realization flashed across Maelie’s face.
At that moment, the host announced the start of the event.
According to the rules, the highest bidder would gain the right to acquire each section of the estate.
“We start with the Silvercrest Apartments, second to none other than the King's Apartment, owned by the world's richest man, Mr. Howard, here represented by Mr. Logan, his acting CEO.”
“Dad?” Maelie gasped. “Acting CEO? Since when?” That's the moment she accidentally looked sideways and her eyes clicked with Caiden who appeared to be smiling. Maelie quickly turned to Nevan and her mom.
“What's this all about?”
No one could reply to each other.
Whispers rang from different directions.
“Mr. Logan isn't the world's richest man?”
“He's been representing the richest man all these while?”
Who then is this Mr. Howard?”
Such questions began flying around even to Maelie’s ears. She sprang to her feet, wanting to lunge on the MC and grab his neck right now.
“What the hell is he saying?”
For years now, everyone had known the CEO of Howard Hospital, Mr. Logan to be the world's richest man.
“Does that mean even the hospital doesn't belong to him?” So many asked.
“Could this be why he refused to come but asked me to come instead?” Maelie questioned herself.
She turned again and the same Caiden is now laughing, glaring at her. “Why's he looking at me now?” Maelie sparked.
Turning her face off, she grumbled. “Maybe this is just some April fool tricks.”
Nevan immediately flattered her. “Maelie, you’ve got more courage than most men!”
She smiled a bit, glad that Nevan still believed in her.
She will wait and see what's really going on.
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 33
The celebration of the relationship was done at Roman's house. Just Roman, Lena, Carlos and Zara. Roman wanted to make a toast to it and welcome Zara to the family officially. The next few days were good, everything followed the smoother path. Well, until a fine morning. A press story broke out from an anonymous source claiming Roman used political connections to secure the infrastructure deal unfairly. The heading was ghastly. “Roman secures infrastructure deals from frolicking rather than bidding.” The story went on to accuse Roman of being in a relationship with Elara, labelling it as the reason he got the job. Photos of him and Elara in the restaurant were also surfacing. The claims that he was cheating on his wife also surfaced and his image was slowly getting tarnished. The story was of major concern. It wasn't just a business story, but a public and moral one. Roman had always been seen as a moral person and this definitely made people question him. Even though the stor
Chapter 32
In the weeks after Edward Ashford’s arrest, Caiden experienced a silence unlike anything he had known since before the auction. The media moved on from scandal to something closer to praise, framing him as the doctor who had inherited a legacy, uncovered his mother’s truth, and helped bring down a decades-old criminal network.It was the sort of story journalists were quick to embrace, and for the first time, Caiden found he didn’t resist being at its center.But the stillness unsettled him. After so long in constant conflict, he had almost forgotten what it meant to live without it.“You need to relax,” Cecilia said one evening as they sat on the penthouse balcony, watching the sunset spread color across the sky. “The Consortium is finished. Ashford is in custody. The immediate threats are gone. You’re allowed to breathe again.”“There’s still his protégé,” Caiden said. “The woman who delivered the flash drive. We don’t know her identity, or what she’s really after.”“We do know she
Chapter 31
The following morning after the wedding, Caiden stirred before sunrise. Cecilia was still asleep beside him, one hand lightly resting on his chest, her breathing even and calm. He stayed still, watching the faint light of early morning slip through the curtains, his mind turning over everything that had already happened, and everything still ahead.On the nightstand lay the flash drive the unknown woman had delivered. Marcus had spent the night going through it, and a preliminary report was already waiting on Caiden’s phone. He hadn’t opened it yet. For a few hours, he had chosen to keep the war at a distance, just long enough to have one night that belonged entirely to them.Now the night has ended.Caiden eased himself out of bed as quietly as possible, careful not to disturb Cecilia. Despite his effort, she shifted anyway, she always seemed to notice.“Where are you going?” she asked, her voice still thick with sleep.“To go through Marcus’s report,” he said softly. “Go back to bed
Chapter 30
The wedding day came with clear skies and an unseasonably warm breeze. The rooftop garden had been completely transformed, like something out of a fairytale. Glass candles lined the walkways, soft light flickering against the evening air, while white and gold flowers covered every surface in carefully arranged abundance. Somewhere nearby, a string quartet played gently as guests settled into their seats, the music drifting through the open space.Michael had organized security with military-level precision. Every attendee was carefully screened, every supplier thoroughly checked. Plainclothes operatives were placed strategically across the hospital grounds, while FBI agents blended into the guest list. Commander Ellis had even brought in his team from London as a personal favor.If the Consortium intended to strike, they wouldn’t find a ceremony, they would find a heavily fortified stronghold.Caiden stood at the altar with Michael beside him as his best man. For the first time, ther
Chapter 29
The engagement was made public in a quiet way, a brief newspaper notice and an official statement from the hospital’s PR team. After months of intense media attention, Caiden and Cecilia had decided they wanted this announcement to remain personal and low-key.However, the news still spread quickly. Congratulations came in from all parts of Caiden’s circle. Evelyn Cho sent a large bouquet of flowers with a simple note that said, “Finally.” Marcus Webb dropped by Caiden’s office with a premium bottle of whiskey and a grin that seemed impossible to contain. From Dubai, Amir called to offer his blessings and even proposed hosting the wedding at one of his family’s palaces.Even Maelie sent a card. It was simple, handwritten, almost restrained: “Congratulations to you both. Wishing you every happiness.”Caiden read it once, then again, before quietly putting it away. The person she used to be in his life felt like a distant memory now, familiar, yet unreachable. They had both become diffe
Chapter 28
Michael found him the next morning, waiting outside his office with an expression that meant bad news."Edward Ashford is dead."Caiden stopped mid-stride. "How?""His body was found at an estate in Switzerland. Apparent heart attack. The Swiss authorities are calling it natural causes.""You don't believe that.""I don't believe in coincidence." Michael handed him a tablet with the Swiss police report. "He died three days ago, right after our press conference. Right after we released the evidence against him.""He knew we were coming for him. The stress—""Maybe. Or maybe someone else got to him first. Someone who didn't want him talking."Caiden stared at the report. Edward Ashford had been the architect of his mother's murder. The founder of the Consortium. The shadow that had hung over his family for thirty years. And now he was dead before Caiden could face him."There are others still out there," Michael continued. "The Consortium's leadership was never just one man. Ashford was
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