Facade of Love

He seemed puzzled by my reaction. “From what I’ve seen lately, you’ve been acting like

it’s all water under the bridge.”

I planted my feet and faced him squarely. “Ever heard the saying, “Revenge is a dish best

served cold?

That caught him off guard, and he arched an eyebrow. “What’s on your mind?”

Chapter 142 Time Will Tell

“You…” Madam Young was so livid she was at a loss for words. Her hand shook as she

pointed at Moore, and it was quite a while before she managed to hiss, “In your dreams!

Even if I’m gone, I’ll make sure you never get a foot into the door of the Youngs.”

I was not one for snooping, but after catching just that bit of their spat, I could piece

together the gist. It looked like Moore had her sights set on becoming one of the Youngs,

but Madam Young was not having it, and they were at a standoff.

Considering Moore’s usual style, should she not be buttering up Madam Young instead of

going toe- to–toe with her, especially since she was not officially in the family yet?

The nerve of her, spouting off like that and potentially cutting off her own escape route.

Could it be that Idris had her feeling so secure that she could not care less about Madam

Young’s take

on the matter?

“What’s got your attention?” Maxwell’s voice broke through my thoughts

I spun around to find Maxwell, a faint smile playing on his l*ps as he shook his head. I

dodged his question with one of my own. “Heading to the bathroom?”

“Nope,” he said, his eyes briefly scanning the room before settling back on me with a

casual air. “Just looking for you. Thought you might’ve taken a tumble into a pit or

something

I rolled my eyes at him and sidestepped, making my way back to our table.

He trailed behind me, then hit me with a question out of the blue, “Aunt Deb mentioned

they dug up some dirt on that mess from five years back, but there’s not enough to pin

anything on Moore. I’ve been swamped and didn’t get the full scoop. Knowing who’s

behind your troubles and not being able to touch them… How’s that sitting with you?”

“It’s not like I’ve been losing sleep over it!” I tossed back at him, chucking my used napkin

into a

trash can as we walked

Maxwell stepped in front of me, giving me a searching look. “Not losing sleep? You’re not

worried? You’re just gonna let it slide?”

1 stopped in my tracks and met his gaze. This guy was a knockout, no question about it–

Zoe was head over heels for a reason. “Who says I’m not worried? Who says I’m letting it

slide?”

He seemed puzzled by my reaction. “From what I’ve seen lately, you’ve been acting like

it’s all water under the bridge.”

I planted my feet and faced him squarely. “Ever heard the saying, Revenge is a dish best

served cold‘?

That caught him off guard, and he arched an eyebrow. “What’s on your mind?”

I did not bother answering. Instead, I took my seat at the table where Zoe had already set

everything up. She waved us over, signaling it was time to dig in.

The law might have let Moore off the hook, and of course I was mad at first. However,

after some hard thinking, I came to terms with it. That did not mean I was about to forget

the whole thing, though.

Every single moment from that nightmare at the border five years ago, every sleepless

night since- they were etched in my memory. If Moore thought she was going to get away

with it, she did not know

me at all.

Zoe had us all out for dinner, which was half about briefing us on the project and half, I

suspected, an excuse to see Maxwell. She seemed pretty smitten with him.

As we wrapped up, I caught Zoe’s eye and asked, “Did not drive over tonight?”

She shot a quick look at Maxwell, nodded, and murmured, “I’ll just grab a cab home later.”

I frowned a little at that. “With the year winding down, I’m not thrilled about you beading

back solo in a taxi.” I glanced at Maxwell and added, “Mr. Sanchez, would you mind giving

Zoe a lift? I’ll have another errand to run shortly”

Maxwell simply nodded, sparing the questions, and asked me, “What are you busy with

this late at night?”

Oops

I was momentarily stumped.

Scrambling for an excuse, I mentioned Sweety, “I got a text from Sweety during dinner,

asking me to swing by. I’ve been swamped lately, so I want to check in and see how she’s

doing

Maxwell just grunted, thankfully not prying, and chivalrously opened the car door for Zoe.

I watched them drive off, then dug out my car keys, ready to head out myself

Before I could get to my car, a voice called from behind, “Yvette.

It was Madam Young’s voice, warm yet laced with a touch of distance and the weight of

years. I turned and there she was, smiling at me with a polite, “Grandma.”

I had assumed she had left, but there she was just leaving the restaurant, alone.

My brow creased. Had Moore left without her?

“You look like you’ve lost weight since I last saw you,” Madam Young said as she came

closer.

I returned the smile, “Grandma, were you dining by yourself here?”

She gave a little nod and got straight to the point. “I’m here to talk business,” she said.

Then, with a curious look in her eye, she asked me, “So, I hear you and Iddy are splitting

up?”