Rising from the Ashes The Heiress They Tried to Erase Novel

Chapter 1158 Chapter 1160: Of course, Maia recognized that Chris was teasing, only to shield her from worry. Still, the more he tried to disguise his pain with humor, the heavier her sorrow became. Life had dealt Chris a hand so cruel that she often asked what crime he had ever committed. All he longed for was a chance to embrace life without fear. To many people, being born into the Cooper family would have seemed like fortune beyond belief. For Chris, though, that family name had marked the start of endless suffering.

Because Kolton saw him as a rival for the inheritance, Chris had carried pain that never should have been his burden. As a boy, he lost both parents. As a man, he narrowly escaped more than one attempt on his life. Although he managed to survive, the ordeal left him battling an unrelenting headache. Tears gathered in Maia's eyes, and her nose stung with the ache of unshed crying. Uncertainty clouded Chris' mind about what Maia was thinking, yet his eyes caught the shimmer of a tear threatening to slip down her cheek. "It's true... the pain is gone," he muttered gently.

"I promised that if it returned, you'd be the first to know." Maia's hands rose to her face as she dabbed at her reddened eyes, brushing away the tear at the corner. She couldn't bear to break down in front of Chris. "You have no idea how close it was today. They had weapons," she whispered, fear still hanging in her voice. "You said you'd cook me a feast. Why break that promise? Why go somewhere so dangerous?" Chris' gaze locked onto the clarity of Maia's eyes, and his heartbeat stumbled. The moment he dreaded had finally arrived. "I kept my promise.

I made every dish you love, but the house stayed quiet without you," he said with warmth in his voice. "I kept reheating the food, waiting for you to walk through the door, but you never did. Worry got the better of me, so I went out to find you. And maybe it was destiny. The instant I passed Harmony Plaza, I caught sight of you stepping into a car..." Find your favorite stories at g Ɐ ln σ ν s., conn The words halted there. Some explanations were unnecessary. A brief moment passed as he shut his eyes, then opened them again, determined to release the words that had weighed on his chest.

With resolve gathering in his tone, Chris whispered, "I missed you, Maia." Maia's heart trembled at the sound of his confession. What she had planned to say was, "I'm sorry, I've just been so busy these days." However, the words that slipped past her lips were different: "I missed you, too, Chris." At once, an invisible current drifted through the sterile room, gentle but undeniable, wrapping them in its quiet pull. Their gazes held fast. . . .