Heartstrings and Heartbreaks

It was Charles.

Maya visibly relaxed the moment she saw him. "What are you doing here? I never told you where I moved."

Charles gave a low chuckle. "Since when have I ever needed you to tell me what I want to know? If I hadn't shown up, someone might've bullied you to death already."

Both Charles and Maya hailed from Conlay City—though their stations in life couldn't have been more different.

The Barrett family was not only the wealthiest in Conlay City but a political dynasty with fingers in every pie imaginable. Charles, as the heir to this empire, could uncover the secrets of royalty if he wanted. Locating one woman was child's play.

Maya pressed her lips together, equal parts annoyed and touched. After a quick tidy-up, she followed him out to the living room and stopped short.

There he was, Charles, the devilishly handsome princeling of Conlay City, wearing a frilly pink apron with cartoon bunnies, carrying a steaming tray of food. It was such a ridiculous mismatch that Maya, despite her turbulent mood, let out a surprised laugh.

"Tell me you made the ribs I like? I'm starving." She flopped unceremoniously into a chair at the dining table, as if this were the most natural thing in the world. Abroad, she'd had the pleasure of experiencing Charles's cooking firsthand.

The first time she tasted the ribs he made, she'd nearly cried.

"You're supposed to be a pampered heir. How do you even know how to cook like this?"

Charles winked. "If I told you I learned just to take care of you, would that move you to tears?"

Back then, she'd dismissed his words as some elaborate joke—until she once caught him hunched over a tablet, watching amateur cooking tutorials and scribbling notes like a diligent student. He had spent hours attempting new recipes just to make meals she might like.

"I didn't manage to get ribs today, so you'll have to settle for what I could put together," he said apologetically.

Maya nodded and dug in, clearly disappointed but too hungry to care.

Charles sat beside her, watching the way she devoured the food, feeling a pang in his chest. Just a month away, and his little foodie had wasted away.

She was thinner. Paler. And exhausted in a way that no amount of sleep could fix.

And still, she pined for Oscar.

Charles's jaw tensed. The reports he'd received from his well-placed sources had already told him everything. Oscar had let Diana pull her usual petty tricks, completely blind to the manipulation right in front of him—and worse, he'd allowed those tricks to hurt Maya.

The moment Charles heard, he'd abandoned all his appointments, left his overseas meetings hanging, and flown straight back to Conlay City. Maya needed him—damn the consequences.

And she was such a fool. Just before returning home, she had subtly, almost pitifully, hinted that Charles should consider investing in Oscar's business.

But Charles had already done his research. Oscar's company was crumbling from the inside out—glossy on the surface, hollow within. It was but a failing empire clinging to past glories.

"Charles, I'm still hungry," Maya said, crumbs clinging to the corners of her lips.

Charles chuckled and leaned in, wiping them away. She froze, a flicker of emotion flashing across her face before she quickly turned away.

"I can do it myself," she mumbled, embarrassed.

Her feelings for Oscar might have withered, but she didn't want things with Charles to move too quickly. It felt… like cheating. Like using him as a backup plan. And she wasn't that kind of girl.

Charles didn't mind. Unbothered, he got up to head back to the kitchen, planning to cook something else for her.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

A familiar voice came crashing through the door—loud, frustrated, self-righteous.

"Maya, why didn't you tell me you were moving? What kind of tantrum is this? What did I do wrong this time? Four years ago, you ghosted me. Disappeared without a word. And now you're doing it again? I'm human too, you know! Do you even care how I feel?"

Oscar sounded like a man utterly unaware of the gravity of his own sins. In his mind, all he'd done was help Diana fulfill a harmless little dream. Surely that didn't warrant Maya's dramatic exit?

Yes, he'd snapped at her a little. Said some things in anger. But right after that, he'd panicked and rushed home to check on her.

Instead, he was greeted by an empty apartment and a single note on the table:

"Goodbye."

Cursing under his breath, Oscar had gotten in his car and driven like a madman, determined to find her.