Rising from the Ashes The Heiress They Tried to Erase

Chapter 804:

Before Maia could get a word out, Chris pursed his lips with exaggerated suspicion, his eyebrows climbing upward. “Hold on… could it possibly be that you’re jealous?”

Maia whipped her head away with theatrical indignation, folding her arms across her chest. “Absolutely not.”

“It’s just a little strange, that’s all,” she muttered after letting the silence stretch between them, her eyes flickering with something unreadable. “You might see her as just a cousin, but does she really see you the same way?”

Her seemingly innocent question cut straight through to something deeper.

Chris felt his thoughts scatter for a moment. His mind drifted back to those brutal days at the Cooper family’s residence, when everyone else treated him like an unwanted stain on the family name. Mariana had been different, though. She had offered him warmth and genuine concern when no one else would even look his way.

“Maybe she just took pity on me back then,” Chris said with a soft chuckle.

“Speaking of tomorrow’s competition, if I actually manage to win, is

question clearly caught Chris off

could have melted Maia on the spot. “Honestly, there’s nothing from Cooper Group that I need or want. Just seeing you win would be enough to make

his voice carried the gentle quality of wind across still water. “Actually, if there’s one thing I can’t completely let go of, it would be Grandpa. Kolton has made sure I can never

Maia pressed her lips together and fell into thoughtful silence. She looked into Chris’ deep eyes, realizing for the first time how little she

𝕷𝓪𝖙𝑒𝖘𝓉 ¢հ𝖺ρ𝑡𝑒𝗋𝓈 gⲁ𝗅𝗇𝗈ⲇ𝗲𝗅𝘀．ⅽ𝗈𝗆

as his expression settled back to normal. “You should focus on what you want from Cooper Group when you win. Don’t be modest about it. Take everything you can get your

are, a Cooper family member, actually encouraging me

of appreciation, so why should I waste any concern on them? What matters to me is making sure you, my wife, get what you deserve.” Chris’ eyes sparkled with mischief as

something that’s always puzzled me though. At Cooper Group’s banquet, Laurence clearly held deep affection for you, and he seemed to have a wonderful relationship with your mother as well.