After the CEO Divorced Me, He Wants Me Back (Aveline and Lucas)

Diana froze mid-sob.

"You're friends with her, of course, you're siding with her," she said, voice filled with grievance.

Herman finally spoke up, "I heard what you said too. This restaurant has good surveillance, and the audio quality is pretty clear. Want to check the footage?"

At his words, Diana's face turned pale.

"You... you're all bullying me!" she cried, tears streaming down her face as she let out a shout and ran off, wiping her face as she went, like she'd been wronged in the worst possible way. Tiana watched her go in disgust. "She's the one who bumped into someone and spilled champagne all over them, and now she's the one crying?"

Maria's cold eyes followed Diana's retreating figure before shifting to Sidney. "It seems you two are quite close. Are you going to cover her compensation too?"

Sidney's dark gaze locked onto Maria's, and after a moment, he nodded. "Fine."

Maria's lips curved into a smile, but the coldness in her eyes only deepened.

Suddenly, Sidney leaned in close, whispering something in her ear.

Tiana, seeing this, quickly pushed him away. "Hey, what do you think you're doing? Can't you speak properly? Do you want to get punched for getting so close?" Herman's cold eyes also fixed on Sidney as he instinctively moved to shield Maria behind him.

Sidney ignored the two of them, his gaze still focused on Maria, waiting for her response. Maria's smile widened, her tone laced with contempt, "You think you're worthy?"

With that, she walked past him and headed toward the guest area.

Sidney's expression cracked, a little at a time, as if something inside him shattered along with it. He wasn't worthy...

So, she never liked him, not even once.

From the beginning, she'd just been playing with him.

Sidney lowered his gaze slightly, standing motionless.

Tiana scoffed. "Your girlfriend ran off, aren't you going to chase her?"

With that, she grabbed Herman's arm and hurried after Maria.

"Maria, Maria, are you alright?" Tiana asked as she caught up with her, concerned.

"I'm fine," Maria replied. "I'm just going back to change."

Tiana nodded, relieved. "As long as you're okay. But what did that guy say to you?"

Maria replied, "He wanted my contact information."

"Ugh! Shameless," Tiana spat, clearly disgusted by Sidney's behavior. She couldn't stand men like him. "Let's just keep our distance from people like that in the future. Such a turn-off," Tiana said with disdain. "Mm." Maria nodded, reaching her door.

"You two be out

ahead and have fun. I'll

later. I'll message you

they ready," Maria turned to

with a small smile.

Tiana blinked and grinned. "So, later for horseback riding?"

Maria nodded. "Sure."

"Awesome!" Tiana cheered and dashed off excitedly.

Herman, however, didn't leave immediately. Concerned, he looked at Maria and said, "Save my number.

If anything comes up, call move

QUMS

Maria leaned casually against the doorframe, smiling. "Alright."

She pulled out her phone, exchanging numbers with him. Herman nodded. "Rest well. I'm just across the hall." "Goodbye," Maria said, closing the door behind her.

Herman lingered for a moment,

staring at the door. His thoughts et

drifted to Sidney's familiar, almost intimate behavior with Maria earlier. Did they know each other?

With a slight frown, he turned and headed back to his room.

...

Maria stared at the messages on her phone, her once warm smile gradually fading, replaced by a cold, distant expression.