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Chapter 265: What Is Going On Here?
The sadness lingering in Maya’s eyes, along with the guilt she still carried, didn’t escape either Dahlia or Damien.
Wanting to ease that burden, Dahlia suddenly thought of something.
Just as Damien was about to say something, she spoke first.
“You know…” she said gently. “Do you happen to remember the name of the pawn shop?”
Maya looked at her in surprise before giving a small nod.
“I do.”
A faint, wistful smile touched Maya’s lips.
“I kept all the receipts and paperwork. They’re still in a folder at home.”
Dahlia looked at her in surprise.
“You kept them?”
Maya nodded.
“I couldn’t bring myself to throw them away.” Her smile softened with quiet longing. “I always told myself that one day, when things got better… I’d go back for them.”
A genuine smile spread across Dahlia’s face.
“That’s wonderful.” Relief softened her voice. “Then that makes things much easier.”
Before she could say anything more, Damien spoke for the first time since the conversation had turned to
the necklace.
“Tell me where they are.”
Both Dahlia and Maya turned to him.
“I’ll go get them,” Damien said matter-of-factly.
Maya blinked in confusion.
“What?”
“The receipts,” Damien replied. “Tell me where you keep the folder. I’ll take care of it myself.”
Maya instinctively opened her mouth to refuse but before a word could leave her lips, Dahlia gently took
her hand.
“Sweetheart,” she said softly, “let Damien do this for you. Honestly, he only beat me to it. I was about to suggest the very same thing.”
L
Chapter watta dong in 146
Mayn looked from Dahlia to Damien.
She Rrew he wasn’t offering out of obligation.
He simply wanted to help bring a piece of her parents back home.
After a brief hesitation, she gave a small nod.
“…Okay.”
”
Then something occurred to her.
“But… you’re leaving today too.” She looked at Damien. “Wouldn’t it be better to do it after we get back?”
Damien studied her for a moment.
“Maya…” A faint smile tugged at his lips. “Is this your way of declining again?”
She quickly shook her head.
“No. I just don’t want your plans today getting sidetracked.” She smiled reassuringly. “I promise… we’ll go get them when we come back.”
After holding her gaze for a brief moment, Damien finally nodded, a gentle smile crossing his face. “All right. We’ll do it together.”
A faint smile spread across Dahlia’s face as she watched the exchange between them.
“Great! Now that’s settled.”
She gave Maya’s hand one last gentle squeeze before letting it go.
“Now,” she said, turning toward the staircase, “we’d better get going while it’s still dark.”
With that, Dahlia started toward the staircase.
Damien and Maya fell into step behind her.
At last, the explanation she had given had put both their minds at ease.
୮
What had weighed so heavily on her the night before hadn’t been anything they needed to worry about-it was simply the heartache of missing her best friend on a day she had wished they could have shared
together.
Before they reached the bottom of the staircase, Dominic and Charles’s familiar bickering drifted up from
the foyer.
“Come on, Dad,” Dominic said. “When was the last time you even used yours? I’m pretty sure the place that gave it to you doesn’t even exist anymore.”
Charles looked thoroughly offended.
“You little rascal! Just because I don’t use it all the time doesn’t mean it doesn’t work.”
Domini laughed.
That’s exactly what worries me.”
Charles huffed.
t
“Mine works perfectly fine. In fact, I’m willing to bet it’s much better than whatever you’re carrying around”
Dominic raised a brow.
“Dad, are you seriously trying to compete with me?”
Charles folded his arms across his chest.
“Why shouldn’t I? I offered which means it was my idea,”
Dominic smiled witho
“Just because you
While the two
expression of
Neither of
better
Jus
beat.
$
esn’t mean you thought of it first. I’ve been planning this for days.”
e sat comfortably on the sofa between them, wearing the patient ad long since accepted that neither man intended to back down.
ling to concede the smallest point, each insisting that his own opinion was the ened with quiet amusement.
ed out of the dining room with Alfred following close behind. Two members of the them, each carrying insulated food containers and neatly packed travel bags.
“Eleanor reminded them. “The soup is in the larger containers, and the smaller ones e sure everything is loaded into the vehicles before anyone leaves.”
staff replied in unison.
Damien, and Maya reached the bottom of the staircase, Dahlia looked between Dominic th an amused smile.
th is going on here?”
nd of her voice, everyone turned toward the staircase.
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Cedella
Cedella is a passionate storyteller known for her bold romantic and spicy novels that keep readers hooked from the very first chapter. With a flair for crafting emotionally intense plots and unforgettable characters, she blends love, desire, and drama into every story she writes. Cedella’s storytelling style is immersive and addictive—perfect for fans of heated romances and heart-pounding twists.