Chapter 335: Chapter 333 Always Waiting for You [3rd Update]
But once Xavier Graham joined the table, Maya Spencer’s cards weren’t so easy to play. She couldn’t figure out Xavier’s tactics and even felt like he was playing randomly. He also led Lucas Shaw and Hudson Moore off track, making them change their strategies.
Maya furrowed her brows, scanning her cards and deliberating for a long time, too afraid to play any card for fear of losing.
She had a vague feeling that Xavier was on the verge of winning.
She glanced at the bets on the coffee table. With so many people betting on her, Maya felt a heavy responsibility, afraid of disappointing everyone’s expectations.
She played mahjong more seriously than she took her exams.
"Miss Hanson is at a stalemate, could it really be that Young Master Graham will win this round?"
The onlookers watched the dilemma reflected in Maya’s eyes and sensed that the game wasn’t easy. Even those who saw two players’ cards knew what moves to make but adhered to the table rules of not speaking out of turn.
Maya’s small hands lightly clenched into fists, her two index fingers tapping against each other. She bit her lower lip and scanned her cards repeatedly but still dared not lay any down.
"Play this one." As Maya hesitated, a jade-like fair hand reached over her mahjong tiles, picked up a 2 Bamboo, and played it.
When Maya turned to see who it was, she found Lillian Morris already looking at her. Their eyes met, Lillian smiling warmly, making Maya’s heart race. She thought, When did Lillian arrive? Had he been watching her play the whole time? Liam Spencer must not be here, right? Or she’d go crazy.
She smiled slightly at Lillian, taking the opportunity to scan the mahjong room until she confirmed she didn’t see Liam. Only then did Maya secretly breathe a sigh of relief, continuing the game while also seeking a chance to leave the table. Otherwise, if Liam caught this scene, both she and Lillian would be in trouble.
Lillian’s arrival completely disrupted Maya’s thoughts, leaving her mind blank, filled with a jumble of irrelevant thoughts, unrelated to the game.
Yet, Lillian didn’t leave, continuing to sit on Maya’s right, coaching her.
He didn’t realize that this terrified Maya to the core, always thinking about quitting the game. But with her winnings and seeing everyone’s high spirits, she couldn’t suddenly call it a night.
"Maya, are you okay?" Lillian whispered softly in her ear after playing the card for her.
"Hmm!" Maya nodded nonchalantly, pretending nothing was amiss.
The whispering between Lillian and Maya didn’t cause any suspicion. Everyone thought he was teaching her strategies to counter Xavier Graham.
"Tonight at nine, I’ll wait for you at the beach behind the hotel." Lillian had come to the gathering today just to meet Maya.
"This isn’t wise." Maya hinted, advising him not to act recklessly.
Lillian had just divorced, due to messy scandals, and the Morris Clan Group’s stock was fluctuating wildly. If they got caught together, it would be Lillian’s end, and Liam wouldn’t let him off easily.
During this time, Liam’s nerves had been tense, as Maya had long noticed. While he tried hard to control himself, Maya knew he was a powder keg ready to explode at any moment.
So she dared not provoke Liam, nor did she want Lillian to take risks for her. It was best for everyone to quietly get through this volatile period and look at the matter rationally.
"I’ll be waiting for you." Lillian was persistent in wanting to see Maya.
One insisted on meeting, the other reluctant, yet both had the same goal—not wanting the other to take risks or make sacrifices for them.
"Third Brother, you’re here! Your wife is amazing. Wanna place a bet too?" Christopher Scott, while counting money, noticed Liam had arrived and promptly roped him into betting.
Hearing this "Third Brother" scared Maya so much she dropped the card she was holding, shivering at the thought that he might flip the table!
Liam’s appearance made Maya’s heart race faster, wishing she could immediately fold and refuse to play. But doing so would only escalate the matter, making it harder to handle.
So she silently picked up the card from the table, pretending to be calm, continuing the game, waiting for Liam’s reaction.
"Play this one." Lillian continued to nonchalantly make decisions for her, completely ignoring Liam’s presence.
Liam stood behind Maya, glaring at Lillian, who was seated too close to his woman, seething with anger. He thought perhaps the recent improvement in Morris Clan’s status left him too idle. How dare he have the leisure to teach Maya how to play mahjong? He certainly had ulterior motives and would surely take the chance to say something to Maya.
Liam’s sixth sense was sharper than any woman’s intuition; even without catching them whispering, he could guess what had just transpired.
Maya, sensing the pressure behind her, quickly turned around, forced a calm smile, and greeted, "Liam, you’re here!"
Seeing the girl’s calm smile, he slowly stepped forward, took his hand out of his pocket, leaned over the table from behind her, caged her in his arms, and kissed her cheek. He smiled and said, "Honey, I hear you’re doing great, aren’t you?"
Liam’s endearing term "honey" sent a whirlwind of excitement through the spectators in the game room, with single folks feeling the burn, teasing the Third Young Master for publicly displaying affection.
Maya’s face turned pale as she forced a stiff smile towards Liam, modestly explaining, "They’re just letting me win."
Maya could tell he was doing it on purpose, especially that "honey," he said it for Lillian to hear. But what was the point? What was the point? What was the point?
The truth proved there was a point, as everyone felt the sting, including Lillian, whose expression soured.
Even though he knew Liam was playacting to provoke him, seeing Maya’s accommodating smile, Lillian couldn’t ignore it, for her smile indicated she was compromising for his sake.
"Third Brother, if you trust your sweetheart so much, come on, place a big bet." Christopher Scott mischievously winked at Maya, hinting at throwing the game to split the winnings from Liam.
Maya felt helpless at Christopher’s suggestion, thinking, with Liam standing behind her, how could she dare?
However, Liam, very generously, said, "Alright, I’ll bet a million that my wife will win."
Liam’s voice was pleasant and warm, causing the girls in the game room to scream incessantly.
Hearing him repeatedly call her "wife," Maya felt utterly embarrassed, from head to toe covered in goosebumps, wondering, does he have no shame? Does he not care about maintaining his icy image?
Watching Liam’s antics, Lillian cast a cold glance at him, unfazed by the repeated "wife" term, first because he was genuinely concerned for Maya so far, and second because Liam’s performance seemed to hide his lack of confidence and only served to highlight his intentions more obviously, leaving him unmoved by the provocations.
Seeing that Lillian was unmoved in his position beside Maya, Liam lifted Maya’s chin and lightly bit her, saying, "Win this round, and there’ll be a nice reward tonight."