Chapter 617
Chapter 617:
She understood exactly what to expect. Since Richard had gone out of his way to see her, he would definitely follow her and wouldn’t just let her go alone.
A grumbling protest followed. “Maia! Aren’t you even going to give me a hand?” Richard called after her, scrambling to his feet and rushing to keep up.
They settled into a booth at the café on the ground floor.
During the walk over, Richard had not stopped talking for a moment. He harped on about how the Morgan family had taken Maia in and raised her for seventeen years, only for her to announce online that she wanted nothing more to do with them. He insisted that she had shattered his heart.
Richard raised his voice with every complaint, making sure that anyone within earshot could catch every word. Even as the waiter approached to take their order, he kept at it. “Maia, are you hearing a word I’m saying? The Morgan family needs help. You can’t turn your back on us! If it weren’t for us, you’d be nothing p>
Maia closed the menu and addressed the flustered waiter with a steady voice. “We’ll have two lattes p>
When the waiter walked away, she finally turned to face Richard, her gaze cold as frost. “It’s not typical of you to throw away all your dignity just to make a scene. Tell me, what is it you really want p>
She didn’t bother entertaining Richard’s tirade any longer. If they were going to talk, Maia would rather cut through the nonsense and get to the real issue.
Having trailed after her with no acknowledgment, Richard had already lost all his patience. He fixed her with a hard glare and brought his palm down on the table with a thud. “What more do I need to say? Maia, the Morgan family raised you for seventeen years. Do you really have no gratitude for us at all p>
Maia met his furious stare with a frosty smirk. “You called me ungrateful, didn’t you? If that’s how you see it, what makes you think I will feel indebted to you p>
Her answer left Richard speechless for a moment. His face twitched, and he laced his fingers together, lowering his voice to a desperate whisper. “That was just anger talking! Didn’t I throw you a huge birthday celebration? Isn’t that worth anything? Now the Morgans are drowning, and you’re just living it up, acting like you’re above it all, turning your back on Jarrod and Rosanna. You don’t even care that Jarrod could end up in prison p>
𝒢𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝒻𝓊𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝑒𝓍𝓉 → 𝓰aⳑ⧫𝗇𝗈⧫ν𝖊𝗅⧫𝘀⧫ⅽ⧫𝗈⧫𝗆
A humorless laugh escaped Maia. The truth was plain — she couldn’t care less.
Her gaze drifted over Richard, now slumped in the booth, his tie askew and all dignity gone. She answered him with pure contempt. “And p>
Richard’s fury flared so fiercely that he nearly jumped up to slap Maia. But just as he moved, a waiter appeared with a steaming cup of coffee. “Ma’am, here’s your coffee p>
Setting it down, the waiter shot Richard a pointed look. “Sir, could you lower your voice? You’re disturbing the other guests p>
Richard glared back, crossed one leg over the other, and leaned into his chair.
The moment the waiter left, his eyes locked onto Maia again. Being polite wasn’t working. It was time to get tough.
“Maia,” he said, his tone sharp and commanding, “I’m giving you a choice. Post on Twitter right now, declaring that you’ll always be a member of the Morgan family, and figure out a way to get Jarrod out of jail. If you do that, I’ll pretend none of the past ever happened and still see you as my daughter p>