The Heir's Secret Bride

Byron paused for a moment, then spoke with a hint of sarcasm. Do you think everyone panics as easily as you? Instead of verifying the truth, you just lose your head." Maeve's face turned bright red.

"1-1 just didn't have time to think! I was afraid he might have taken those photos without me knowing"

That hidden camera incident had already left her wary of anything to do with dolls. After this, she'd probably be too scared to accept any packages, too.

"He?" Byron raised an eyebrow, pretending to ask casually, "You know who did this?"

Maeve bit her lip. "It was my ex-boyfriend."

She had noticed Jeff's name on the package when she was cleaning up.

The landlord had mentioned that the package arrived two days ago. That was the same day she and Byron had their car accident.

She thought, Jeff must have been in a foul mood after getting chewed out by Mr. George that day and decided to take it out

on me.

Macre's mood soured instantly. She thought, How long is this going to go on? Does he really think I am someone he can just push around I need to find a way to completely rid myself of this ticking time bomb, Jeff... After her shower, Maeve climbed into bed, still feeling down. She had just lain down when she suddenly sat up, realizing something.

"Mr. Mcdaniel, I think I forgot to help you wash up today," she said.

Byron glanced at her bandaged hand and replied coolly, "Not today. Just go to sleep."

He thought, You can barely take care of yourself, a and you want to help me?"

Since it was a cold night, Maeve decided to lie back down.

After a while, she turned to face him, her eyes lingering on his profile, which was sharply defined by the warm light above. She couldn't help but get lost in thought.

She recalled what Karen had said that she and Byron were childhood friends who had had a falling out.

But

t when she walked into the hospital room today, the atmosphere between them seemed calm and pleasant.

She thought, 'Have they made up! If so, it won't be long before Mr. Mcdaniel asks me for a divorce, right?

Maeve felt a pang of sadness, a bitter feeling she couldn't quite explain.

"What are you staring at me for?" Byron had noticed her quiet gaze. His dark eyes locked onto hers, a hint of something unreadable in them.

He thought, 'She is sneaking glances at me again. Doesn't she ever get tired of it?"

Maeve wanted to ask him when he planned to divorce her, but she thought there was no point in bringing it up. They both knew this marriage wouldn't last much longer. So there was no need to push the issue. It was better to pretend she didn't know anything about him and Karen, at least to

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maintain the current Surface-level harmony.

"Nothing. I was just curious about what you were doing.

Byron glanced down at the chat screen on his tablet.

The conversation was about him instructing Archer to leak the news that Jeff had lost his shares in Graves Group. Definitely something she shouldn't see. Byron casually changed the

the subject.

"Can't sleep for a moment. "Well... a little

Maeve

Remembering that Ray had brought a USB drive full of movies during his last visit, Byron asked, "Want to watch a movie?"

At the mention of a movie, Maeve immediately poked her head out from under the covers. "On your tablet? What are we watching?" Instead of answering right away, Byron turned off the lights in the room.

Then, using a remote, he lowered the movie screen opposite the bed and turned on the projector.

Maeve watched in awe. She hadn't realized they could watch movies in the hospital room, and with such high-end equipment, too, 'No wonder it costs so much to stay here...

She thought,

her bed was positioned sideways to the screen, making it a bit awkward to watch. She'd have to stay on her side the

However, her whole time.

Maeve whispered to Byron, "Mr. Mcdaniel, your bed is pretty big. Mind if I share a bit of space? The view from my bed isn't, very comfortable." Byron remained expressionless. "Do as you like."

Grinning, Maeve quickly grabbed her pillow and blanket and moved over to his bed, settling in at the edge. She leaned back, feeling much more comfortable. "What should we watch?" Byron asked.

"Anything's fine. I'm not picky," Maeve said with a contented smile. I can't even remember the last time I went to the

movies.

la

Byron casually selected a film and hit play. Hearing her, he raised an eyebrow slightly. "Never went with your ex-boyfriend?" head. didn't have the same taste, so never

Actually, during their first movie date, Jeff had tried to get handsy, and when she firmly pushed him away, he probably felt too embarrassed to ask her out again. As the movie began, Maeve snuggled into her blanket, excited. "Let's not talk about that jerk. Let's just enjoy the movie." Byron's n's lips curled up slightly.

The movie started as a light, artsy drama. It followed a couple who went on a trip the night before their wedding and ran into some old college friends at a mountain lodge.

decided to throw them a celebration, and the party lasted all night.

The group, Oct 17

08:20

Uo..

Just when Maeve thought it was a typical indie film, the screen sdenly turned crimson with blood, then went dark.

The next morning, the groom was missing.

Maeve shrank back, her voice trembling slightly. "Is this... a thriller?"

Byron glanced at the movie description. "Horror movie.

Maeve was left speechless, thinking. A thriller would've been betterBelonging to NôvelDrama.Org.

Maeve's face turned pale, but since the movie was already playing, it didn't seem right to ask to stop it now. Besides, the overall vibe still felt pretty light.

She thought, "Maybe"

it won't be too scary... right?"

That thought didn't last long. The movie quickly took a dark turn, with one unsettling scene after another-classmates started dying in bizarre ways, bloody footprints appeared on the floor, and ominous shadows loomed outside the windows. When only the bride and a guy who had a crush on her were left in the lodge, a sudden, loud knocking echoed through the Maeve was so on edge she felt like she really heard knocking, and not just from the movie.

"Knock, knock."

"Knock, knock, knock,"

Suddenly, there was a real knock on the hospital room door, eerily in sync with the movie. "Ah!" Maeve's nerves

snapped, and she instinctively threw herself to the side.

At that exact moment, a nurse walked briskly into the room. "Mr. Mcdaniel, is everything okay?"

She stopped short when she saw Maeve clinging to Byron, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, her face as white as a

Sheet

sheet

Meanwhile, Byron, holding her with his uninjured arm, said calmly, "How long do you plan on embarrassing yourself?"

Maeve froze, then opened her eyes to see the nurse's shocked expression-not the ghosts from the movie. The wave of embarrassment and shame hit her all at once.

Trying t

to save face, Maeve quickly disentangled herself from Byron and pulled the blanket over her head. She thought, "This is mortifying!"

Byron's tense posture slowly relaxed. He rubbed his temples and then turned to the nurse. "What is it?"

"Uh, I-I'm here to check on your wounds," the nurse stammered, still trying to recover from what she'd just witnessed.

"Go ahead." Byron nodded slightly.

The nurse quickly examined his injuries and then hurried out of the room.

If it weren't for the confidentiality agreement she'd signed, she'd be dying to share this once-in-a-lifetime gossip with her?