CHAPTER 213: CHAPTER 211: FOND OF THIRD BROTHER [1 MORE]

"Ella, keep your voice down. This is just a temporary measure for Owen Clan Group and Hanson Clan Group; merely a performance to maintain appearances. We’ll break up later," Maya looked at the astonished Ella, and hurriedly explained.

"Maya, this is too reckless. Being with someone you don’t like is so exhausting! Don’t make things difficult for yourself, okay? How can you sacrifice your own happiness for two companies? I think it’s not right." Ella is an ordinary girl.

She doesn’t worry about food or clothing, won’t go hungry, and has no ambition to marry a wealthy man.

Her view on love is to find a man she mutually likes to marry. Therefore, she can’t comprehend two people who don’t love each other being together.

Maya listened to Ella’s advice, furrowing her brows, contemplating what she said.

The most troublesome thing is that she doesn’t feel uncomfortable being with Liam at all.

So, she awkwardly explained, "It’s not as tough as you think."

Ella looked at the hesitation between Maya’s brows and eyes, furrowing her own brows, gazing straight into her eyes, and asked, "Maya, have you stopped hating your third brother? Do you like him now?"

"Nonsense, how could I like that bastard?" She outright ignored the first question.

Indeed, she can be sure she doesn’t like him. But she can’t confirm whether she still hates him.

Even though she knows she should hate him.

Ella watched Maya’s emotional state, pouting and complaining, "I just casually asked."

"Alright then! I get it. I’m just following Uncle’s advice, keeping Liam stable, ensuring this project stays intact, otherwise Owen Clan would suffer greatly."

"Okay! I understand, besides, it’s not marriage. Once the project stabilizes, we can find an excuse to break up." Ella finally compromised.

Maya was also convinced by this excuse, as everything she did was for Hanson Clan’s benefit, unrelated to Liam.

She hadn’t noticed that during this period, Liam had given her so much love, almost spoiling her.

She was so absorbed in his affection that she forgot to hate him.

While the two girls were chatting idly, Maya’s phone rang.

She took the phone out of her bag and saw it was Old Master Spencer calling, her former father.

Maya looked at the phone number, took a deep breath, and answered.

She asked, "Uncle Spencer, is there something you need?"

Previously, she always called him Dad.

Although she hadn’t called him many times before, this was the first time she addressed him as Uncle.

On the other side of the phone, Edward Spencer felt a bit awkward hearing that title.

After the awkwardness, he laughed and said, "Maya, are you free? I’d like to meet you."

"Hmm! Can I bring a friend?"

"Sure!"

A moment later, Maya took Ella to a nearby teahouse.

When the two girls arrived, Old Master Spencer was already there. The man looked at the two girls and quickly invited them to sit.

They didn’t stand on ceremony, and after sitting down, ordered their favorite drinks and some Chinese snacks.

At that moment, Old Master Spencer took out a diary that Maya had always wanted, handed it to her, and said.

"I think it’s best to return this diary to you."

"Thank you!" Maya rarely spent time alone with Old Master Spencer, and this was the first time she was so polite to him.

The man looked at the well-behaved girl, barely managing a smile, and said, "It’s my duty."

Then he added, "Over the years, I’ve investigated a lot about Madelyn, but unfortunately, without results. As for your father, I’ve also been searching; I’ve found two related individuals, but they’re just ordinary friends with Madelyn, without any deep interactions."

"Thank you, but I’m not interested in knowing about my father; he’s no longer important to me."

Old Master Spencer heard that line about being unimportant and didn’t mention it again. He only asked a few questions about the engagement, then left.

In the teahouse, Maya flipped through the old diary, still feeling bewildered and unable to think of anything.

"Maya, I think you should call Old Master Spencer Dad; he’s your future father-in-law. In terms of etiquette, you should keep calling him Dad," Ella cautiously advised as she watched Maya’s gloomy demeanor.

Maya listened to the girl’s advice, took a deep breath, smiled at her, and said, "I know! But with everything that’s happened, I find it hard to say, and it’s awkward."

"Yeah, yeah! I understand! I understand!" Ella quickly nodded.

Although she couldn’t fully grasp the situations Maya faced, she absolutely supported and understood her.

After finishing the snacks, the two girls went to watch a movie and continued shopping.

Until nine o’clock in the evening, Liam, feeling bored at home, drove to the department store to pick Maya up.

Ella looked at Principal Spencer’s overly cheerful face, then at their current way of interacting.

She had a premonition that after this engagement, they might actually get married.

After Liam sent Ella home, he reached out his long arms, hugged Maya tightly, stroked her small face, and asked, "Tired from playing?"

"No!"

Then, Maya raised her head, looked into Liam’s eyes, casually said, "Your dad came to see me today."

"Hmm?" Apparently, Liam was a bit surprised.

"I said, your dad came to see me today and returned the diary to me."

Liam listened to Maya’s report, feeling slightly comforted because she would now update him on her whereabouts.

Simultaneously, he fell silent.

A moment later, he pinched her earlobe, spoke earnestly, and said, "Maya, some things happen without having a reason. Since they’re past, letting go might be the best choice, don’t get too focused on the details, alright?"

Maya heard Liam’s words and widened her eyes, always feeling there’s something behind his words.

So, she immediately sat upright, looked into his eyes, and seriously asked, "Liam, do you know something you’re not willing to tell me?"

The man looked at her suddenly serious little face, pinched her chin, and said, "My dad and your Uncle have investigated for so long without finding anything, how could I know? Besides, I’m not directly involved."

"But your words have a hidden meaning."

"I was comforting you, advising you to have a more open mind, not to be overly fixated."

"It’s easy to say standing up." Maya said unconvinced.

Liam shook his head helplessly, pinched her little face, and shifted the topic, "What kind of engagement ring do you want?"

"All rings are the same." Maya hadn’t thought much about this dramatic engagement.

However, Liam was full of anticipation; the next day, as soon as dawn broke, he took Maya to the department store.

In the jewelry store, Maya casually glanced at a pair of diamond rings and said, "Let’s go with this one."

"Mrs. Spencer, you have a really good eye. This is our store’s treasure!" Actually, this pair of rings was in the most prominent position, with the most zeros after the price, so Maya chose them.