The billionaire's only desire-Chapter 105: friends can’t be trusted part 3

When Maya stepped out of the restaurant kitchen and strode toward the private table where her friends were sitting, she wasn’t surprised to find Natalia missing. But disappointment settled inside her as she approached Laura and Haven.

"Sorry, Natalia is still in Milan," Laura apologized on her behalf.

"It’s good; she needs more time." Natalia has done this before, so Maya accustomed to her disappearingng on her. She recalled how Natalia vanished when she asked her how her phone ended up in their stepfather’s hands when hkidnapped her.r. Natalia reappeared only after Maya had completely forgotteabout it.t.

The more Maya thinks about Natalia’s stranbehaviorour and the dirty little secrets her sister threatens to expose, the tighter the knot in her stomach becomes.

She doesn’t trust Natalia anymore, and it is gradually breaking her heart. God, she hopes she is wrong and that the dirty secrets Natalia is hiding are something silly that will make her roll her eyes. But deep down, she knows that is not the case.

Maya composed herself and adopted a cheerful demeanor. "Let’s talk about your upcoming wedding, Laura. I remember when you went on your first date with that guy, and now you’re engaged!" Maya recalled that date vividly because it was on the same day she had that awful encounter with her stepfather in the elevator.

"Wow, that feels like a long time ago." Laura swooned, her eyes sparkling.

"So when are you going to meet the groom?" Haven asked impatiently. " Natalia has met him but, but we haven’t."

Laura smiled dazzlingly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "He is picking me up. We are going to see a wedding planner."

"You guys are already starting the wedding preparations?"

"Yes, we are getting married in three months..." Laura’s phone beeped, and her smile grew even bigger. "He is here."

Maya squirmed in her seat as she glanced toward the threshold, waiting for Laura’s boyfriend to arrive.

And then he did, a tall, handsome blonde guy walked in.

Haven shook Maya’s shoulders. "That’s him!"

"Oh, he’s good-looking! You have great taste," Maya teased Laura, who was already beaming with joy at her boyfriend’s arrival.

"Hello, ladies," Laura’s boyfriend greeted, his voice warm and welcoming. He hugged Laura from behind, and they shared a passionate kiss that made Maya and Haven look away, covering their eyes to give them some privacy.

"Haven, Maya, meet my fiancé, Nathan."

"It’s a pleasure to finally meet you girls. I’ve heard so much about you, Haven, the genius and the sweetest girl ever ." Nathan shakes Haven’s hand. She blushes. "I’m so flattered."

He moves to Maya. "And Maya, the greatest chef to ever live and the nicest girl in the world" He shakes Maya’s hand as well.

"Aww," Maya says, placing her hand on her chest. "You are quite the charmer Those were some lovely words. We’ve also heard wonderful things about you too."

"Really," Nathan stared at Laura affectionately . "I hope I met your expectations."

Maya laughed patronizingly. "You exceeded them."

"Glad to hear that," he says, giving Laura a kiss. "I’m sorry, guys, but I have to cut your brunch short; I’m stealing her away." He helped Laura to her feet.

"It’s fine; you two have fun at your appointment," Maya says, her smile intact. "I will make it up to you guys," Laura hugs them.

"Bye," Nathan waves at them as they walked out, his hand entwined with Laura’s.

"Aww, they are so freaky cute! Haven wiped fake tears from her eyes.

"Yeah, they are so in love," Maya swooned.

"He is tall, handsome, and has kind eyes. He’s a nice guy too," Haven said, admiring Nathan. "I’m happy for Laura. She found the perfect guy, and he is totally smitten with her."

Maya cleared her throat. "Speaking of men who are smitten with women, let’s talk about Aiden."

A frown clouded Haven’s face, but it didn’t stop a shy smile from creeping in.

Maya narrowed her eyes at her. "You like him. Don’t you dare deny it; it’s written all over your face."

"I like him about 50%," Haven said. "I had a lovely time with him at the ice cream shop. He’s not really all that jerk. I enjoyed his company."

"Haven, you like him more than 50%. It’s over 100%" Maya teased. "I wish you could see the glow in your eyes when you talk about him. You really like him. Like , really like him a lot."

Haven buried her face in her palms. "Maybe. I do like him."

Maya began to sing, teasing Haven further. "Wise men say only fools rush in, but I can’t help falling in love with you."

"Stop singing!" Haven pressed her hands over her ears. "You’ll burst my eardrums! Your voice sounds horrible!"

Maya playfully punched her.

"Ouch!" Haven groaned.

"Chef DeLuca," a waiter approached. "The head chef wants you to prepare a dish for one of his acquaintances."

Maya grunted in annoyance. "I’ll go do that quickly."

"I’m sure it’s a dish that will take 30 minutes to prepare. Don’t go anywhere, Haven; wait for me. I will be right back."

"Okay, I will stay put. Just don’t take too long."

Maya reluctantly went back into the kitchen.

The dish that the head chef’s acquaintance requested was a fancy one that took more than thirty minutes to prepare.

.She escaped from the kitchen and returned to the private table, praying that Haven hadn’t left. To her astonishment, Haven had indeed left, and in her place was Marcello.

"Marcello, what are you doing here?"

"Surprise!" Marcello grinned. "I wanted to pay you a surprise visit at your workplace."

Maya smiled tightly. She wanted to return to the kitchen immediately, but out of courtesy, she settled into the chair to entertain Marcello for a few minutes.

"Where is Haven?"

"Dalton needed her, so she went back to the office."

"Oh, okay," Maya picked herself a glass of white wine she had ordered for her friends and took a gulp to loosen up. She always felt a slight uneasiness when she was around Marcello

There is something about him that she doesn’t like.

"Natalia sent her regards. She will be staying in Milan for a while," Marcello informs her.

So now Natalia is hiding away from her in Milan. "Tell her to enjoy her vacation," Maya says sarcastically.

She continued to drink the white wine as Marcello spoke about exciting places in Milan.

Maya couldn’t help but listen attentively to Marcello’s rants. The places he was describing was intriguing.

Before she realized it, her glass was empty, and she felt her eyes blink. A wave of wooziness washed over her, and the world around her began to spin, her vision becoming blurry.

A voice was calling her name, but it was so faint. Her body went limp, and she felt herself falling, and darkness swallowed her whole. .

This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢