The billionaire's only desire-Chapter 61: Not related

"Please, cousin, allow Soraya to visit me here," Charlotte pleaded.

"No, she is not welcome in my house," Dalton’s words were firm.

Charlotte’s eyes widened in shock at Dalton’s harsh tone.

"Why? I thought you liked Soraya."

"You know this mansion is my fortress of solitude. I wouldn’t have let any of you in if we weren’t family," Dalton said diplomatically.

Maya was conflicted. She wondered why Dalton was saying this instead of telling Charlotte, Soraya’s hurting her was the sole reason she wasn’t welcome here.

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Mr. Anti-Social, who hates everyone except his family and his girlfriend," she said, flashing Maya a smile.

Maya smiled back and took a deep breath afterward. This was going quite well. Charlotte seemed to like her, or at least she hoped so.

"By the way, where is Beatrice? Soraya told me that woman is back," Charlotte asked after taking a big bite of her dessert.

"She’s off somewhere, blowing through the half a million Dalton gave her as an allowance." River remarks.

Charlotte let out a short laugh. "I’m not surprised at all." She bit into her cupcake and moaned, "This is so good, Maya."

Maya smiled. "I’m glad you like it." She was also digging into her cupcake.

Charlotte leaned closer to Dalton. She was sitting at his left. "I know how to get rid of Beatrice," she said. "There’s this middle-aged prosecuting lawyer I know. He’s recently widowed and is looking for a new partner. Beatrice and him would be a perfect match. He is obnoxious as she is."

Charlotte burst into laughter, and her laughter was contagious; Maya couldn’t help but grin. She was glad that Charlotte hated Beatrice as much as everyone else did.

River jokes. "I bet that within a month, we boys will have a new stepfather, and Beatrice will be out of our hair."

"What about her heart condition?" Dalton chimed in, turning the light atmosphere into a heavy one.

Charlotte grimaced. "Beatrice is sick? Is she dying?" She placed her hand on her chest.

Everyone turned to look at Doctor Oliver.

Oliver sighed. "She has coronary heart disease, but it can be managed effectively with a combination of lifestyle changes and medication."

Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"So it can’t kill her? You mean we have to endure this unbearable deadbeat mom forever?" Aiden groaned from the threshold. It was typical of him to announce his presence with insensitive comments.

"The crazy man has finally decided to grace me with his presence," Charlotte joked. "Did you get tired of hiding from me, cousin?"

Aiden clenched his teeth. "I don’t care about you enough to be afraid of you."

Charlotte laughed mockingly. "Are you still upset about the prank I pulled on you when we were thirteen?"

Aiden snorted. "I got back at you. Remember how my cockroaches made themselves at home in your closet, Charlotte?" He grinned mischievously

River laughed heartily. "Bro, you were so evil for doing that!"

"Ew, don’t remind me of the most horrible moment of my life. I will forever hate you for that," Charlotte glared at Aiden.

Aiden stuck out his tongue at her childishly.

Maya wanted to join the conversation; she felt like a quiet mouse, not contributing to any of the discussions happening at the dining table. So, she asked Charlotte, "What prank did you pull on him?"

Charlotte turned her eyes to Maya and raised an eyebrow, her lips pursed. Then, she averted her gaze to Dalton, ignoring Maya. "Dalton, just like old times, let’s go hang out in a random bar."

Maya went stiff. Charlotte’s disregard felt like a splash of cold water on her face.

Charlotte dragged Dalton to the exit. She looked back and said, "The twins can come along. As for you, Aiden, you are not welcome."

Aiden rolled his eyes.

Once again, Charlotte ignored Maya and didn’t invite her to come along.

The twins and Dalton left with Charlotte, leaving Maya and Aiden behind.

"I’m heading to my room," Maya excused herself. She rushed to her room briskly to prevent Aiden from seeing how gloomy her face looked. She had hoped that Charlotte would like her, but it seemed she was always going to have more enemies than friends.

Maya grabbed a bag of potato chips, tucked herself into her comforter, and turned on a romantic movie to help cure her sadness.

"Can I join you?" Maya heard Aiden say outside the door.

"Sure, come in," Maya replied, adjusting herself in bed. She was slightly taken aback that Aiden wanted to hang out with her.

Aiden entered and sat cross-legged at the foot of the bed, his arms resting behind his head.

"This is a good movie," he said, nudging his head toward the TV screen.

Maya got off the bed and joined Aiden on the floor. She smiled slightly. "Yeah, I’ve watched it a couple of times. I never get bored watching it over and over again."

"Same," Aiden replied, turning to look at Maya. "Can you pass me the bottle of water?"

"Okay," Maya said as she stretched out her hand to grab the half-empty bottle of water on the coffee table a few paces away from where she sat and handed it to him.

Aiden pulled a pill bottle from his pocket, popped a few pills into his mouth, and washed them down with the water.

Maya stared at him, confused. "What are the pills for?"

"They’re my antipsychotic meds," Aiden replied. freeweɓnovel-cøm

"Oh, so you’re really crazy?"

Aiden smirked. "Wasn’t it obvious from our first encounter?"

Maya had an uncomfortable flashback. "This drug is supposed to make you less of a jerk, but I don’t see any difference," she said snidely.

Aiden laughed. "Ouch."

Maya laughed too. Hanging out with Aiden is curing her sadness, faster than the romantic movie she was watching.

"Charlotte is the real competition," Aiden suddenly said.

Maya’s eyes narrowed at him. "Competition? No, It would be beneath me to compete with Charlotte for Dalton’s affection. That’s his cousin. "

"Cousin?" Aiden scoffed. "We’re not related to her."

Maya blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

"Charlotte was adopted by Dalton’s uncle before he passed away from cancer," Aiden revealed. "Dalton sees her as a little sister, but for Charlotte..." he chuckled. "I’m not sure she wants to be just a cousin. She has had a big crush on your man, ever since she was 13."

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