Rising from the Ashes The Heiress They Tried to Erase

Chapter 494:

Turning back to Maia, Claudius tilted his head and asked with calculated innocence, “You two wouldn’t happen to… already be together, would you?”

The moment those words left Claudius’ mouth, Ethan’s eyes widened with shock, his composure fracturing like thin ice.

Maia met Claudius’ probing question with unruffled poise, her voice steady as still water. “Chris is merely a friend. Our paths simply crossed by chance today.”

A subtle smirk played across Claudius’ sculpted features, his amusement barely contained. “Well, that’s… quite the fortuitous encounter.”

His smile evaporated slowly, eyes narrowing to calculating slits as he returned his attention to Maia. “I suppose it’s indeed unlikely for a girl as extraordinary as you to fall for someone like my cousin — a man who treats life as nothing but his personal playground, flitting from one diversion to the next without an ounce of sincerity.”

Ethan’s expression transformed in an instant, warmth crystallizing into frigid contempt. So Chris was just an idle playboy? How could Maia get close to such a man?

Claudius’ revelation sparked a fierce protectiveness in Ethan as he stepped forward, pulling Maia closer while fixing Chris with an icy glare.

His initial wariness had transformed into something stronger — pure disdain. Good looks meant nothing if Chris was just playing games with his sister’s feelings. Maia wouldn’t fall for someone like that!

Ethan made a silent promise to himself that he wouldn’t let Maia fall for such a player. If there was anything between them, he would find a way to end it. Compared to Chris, “JusticeBlaze” was far more reliable.

Chris’ eyes narrowed dangerously, his voice cooling as he addressed Claudius. “Whether Ms. Watson falls for someone or not is her choice alone. Claudius, aren’t you speaking out of turn here as an outsider?”

Chris’ words struck a nerve, causing the veins on Claudius’ forehead to visibly pulse beneath his skin. An outsider? Seriously? Why was Chris talking as if he and Maia were so close? How cheeky!

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Claudius fixed Chris with a penetrating glare, barely containing the fury simmering beneath his composed exterior. The air between them crackled with tension, invisible currents of hostility flowing back and forth.

Maia sensed herself caught in the crossfire of their silent battle, a feeling of helplessness washing over her as she prepared to intervene and defuse the situation.

Before she could speak, Marisa’s voice cut through the tension like a thunderclap. “Maia!”

All heads turned simultaneously.

Marisa approached, dragging a thoroughly bewildered Maxwell behind her. She halted dramatically before the group and announced with startling clarity, “Maxwell is into you! Give him a chance!”

Her declaration was followed by a silence so absolute that it seemed to swallow all sound.

It was so profound that you could hear a pin drop on the floor.

Marisa’s bold declaration struck the room like lightning, leaving Maia, Chris, Claudius, Ethan, and even Maxwell frozen in stunned silence.

Chris’s gaze settled on Maxwell with glacial intensity, his brows drawn together in a severe line, eyes sharp enough to carve through stone. The weight of that stare bore down, sharp as a blade’s edge.noveldrama

Breaking into a cold sweat, Maxwell felt the walls closing in. He scrambled to defend himself, his voice cracking as he protested, “Come on, Marisa, what ridiculous nonsense are you spouting?”

His throat constricted as he swallowed, darting a nervous glance toward Chris before raising two trembling fingers skyward in a desperate oath. “I swear to the heavens, I harbor absolutely no improper thoughts about Maia!”

Desperate to save his skin, he doubled down with renewed fervor. “Absolutely none!”

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