The Heir's Secret Bride

Chapter 459

Macve's face flushed even redder as she reached up to cover the mark on her neck, shooting Byron a sharp look. Her voice came out softer than she intended. "Stop messing around." Byron's eyes gleamed with amusement as he brushed a strand of hair off her cheek. His tone was low and teasing. "Messing around? And what exactly do you mean by that?" Maeve stammered, "Just what you did just now."

"I kissed my girlfriend," he said smoothly. "That's normal. Perfectly acceptable. What's wrong with that?"

"Not fiancée?" she shot back, her eyes narrowing just slightly.

Byron's lips twitched, a hint of a smile breaking through. His voice dropped to a playful drawl. "Ah, yes. Fiancée. My mistake."

Maeve stared at him, knowing he was doing it on purpose but too flustered to argue. She pressed against his arm, signaling she wanted to leave.

Instead of letting her go, he held her firmly in place. His grip wasn't forceful, but it was enough to make it clear she wasn't going anywhere. "No need to rush," he said lightly. "Let's stay a little longer." Maeve tensed, narrowing her eyes. "What are you planning now? We're outside. If you try anything and someone sees..."

Byron raised an eyebrow, leaning closer. "Try anything? Maeve, you're the one jumping to conclusions. Or..." His grin turned wicked. "Are you secretly hoping I'll do something to you here?"

Her jaw dropped. He was the one who pulled her into this maze, and now he was acting like she was the one with ideas.

After not seeing him for a few days, she couldn't help but wonder if he'd taken a crash course in shamelessness.

"You're unbelievable," she hissed. "If that were true, would you still look so unhappy? Mr. McDaniel, holding it in doesn't seem to suit you."

Byron blinked, momentarily caught off guard by her boldness.

Then his grin deepened, and he leaned closer, bracing his hands on either side of her against the hedge. His warm breath tickled her ear as he whispered, "You seem awfully familiar with what it means to hold back. Tell me, Maeve..."

His words faded into a low murmur, too quiet to hear clearly but enough to make her heart race. His breath brushed against her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

Her ears turned scarlet, and she looked away, her lashes trembling. "I don't!" she blurted, though her voice wasn't as steady as she'd hoped.

her, pulling up the first dream she'd had that wasn't a nightmare,

with Byron's words

found out, he would never let her hear the end of it. There was no way she was

about you," she shot back quickly, trying to cover her embarrassment. "Besides, it doesn't matter

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Chapter 459

all he asked, his

we do a video call every day?" she

grinned, running his tongue over the

called out from nearby. "Will. Theo, where is your

sleeve, her eyes silently pleading for him to leave before they

sighed, reluctantly letting it go-for now. With his lips pressed into a thin line, he walked out,

an overwhelming stack of transfer documents for Maeve to

skimmed through, stunned to see even private

on top: a piece of land to develop and

hand already cramping. By the time she was done, she was sure her name could easily land on

her sore wrist. "How

her chair, feeling like her hand might fall off. No one

unfazed. "Almost done,

back into the royal family records, if she had,

that Tom felt sorry for Maeve and had secretly

to leave all the assets under her name to her daughter, but she was worried Maeve wouldn't want them. So, she split a portion off, just like Tom, and mixed it in with the pile of documents. They knew Maeve trusted them

trying to cheer her on. "Once all this is signed, you'll be able

to Byron, who was sitting on the other sofa, sipping his coffee. He whispered, "Dad, if you ever want to marry