Chapter 423 Maya
After hanging up, Seb practically skipped over to Susan, grinning like a kid on Christmas morning. He grabbed her shoulders and spun her around to face him.
Susan squinted at him, totally puzzled. 'What the heck? Why's he so pumped over a phone call?' she thought.
Seb, practically bouncing, blurted out, "Susan, my dad's problems are all sorted out. Now I can finally explain everything about Maya and me."
Susan's lips twisted into a cold smirk. She wasn't buying whatever sweet talk he was about to dish out, but she was curious enough to listen.
"Alright, spill it," she said, trying to sound casual.
Seb caught the disdain in her voice but just smiled and ruffled her hair.
Annoyed, Susan swatted his hand away.
Seb quickly jumped in, "Look, I've been hanging out with Maya a lot lately, but it's not what you think."
"Not what I think? Then what is it?" Susan snapped, her irritation flaring.
"Maya's dad and my dad go way back, and her family's got some serious political clout. Our families have been tight for ages. She's almost ten years younger than me, so I've always seen her as a little sister," Seb explained.
Susan couldn't help but roll her eyes. "So, let me guess. You’re gonna say you don’t have feelings for Maya, that you love me, and that I shouldn’t care about status. Even if you end up marrying Maya, you want me to stick around in the background, right?"
Seb was taken aback by her bluntness, then he chuckled softly.
"What's so funny?" Susan snapped, her anger boiling over. She was hurting, and he was laughing?
"Your imagination is so wild," Seb said gently.
"What’s that supposed to mean?" Susan was losing her cool.
Seb continued, "Yeah, Maya's family wants to set us up, but my heart's not in it. Maya's got someone else she likes too. I needed her family's connections to help my dad, so we pretended to date. All we did was grab some meals, catch a few movies, and hit up some concerts."
Susan's eyes were still skeptical.
Seb went on, "My dad got hit with a bunch of bogus charges—embezzlement, bribery, abuse of power. It was all cooked up by his political enemies to make his life hell. That's why I've been running to the central district so much lately."
Susan looked down, piecing it all together. 'So, his dad called about that. Looks like it's all sorted now,' she thought.
Seb added, "My dad just called to say that, thanks to Maya's family, he's been cleared of everything. But he's done with politics and has put in his resignation to retire early."
Even though Susan saw the sincerity in Seb's eyes, she still couldn't fully buy it.
Maybe it was because she was scared of getting hurt again. Heartbreak was a pain she didn't want to relive.
"You don't believe me?" Seb asked, frowning at her silence.
Susan looked up, her eyes sharp. "Seb, this is just your side of the story. How do I know if it's true? All I know is that you looked super cozy with Maya. My eyes don't lie!"
She turned away, not wanting to look at him anymore. The memory of that day at the revolving restaurant was still fresh, and it felt like she had crashed from cloud nine to rock bottom.
Seb sighed, letting go of her shoulders. He walked over to the desk, fired up the computer, and made a video call.
Susan watched him, cold and skeptical, wondering what he was up to.
After a few rings, the call connected.
"Seb, why the video call?" came a clear, girlish voice from the other end.
"I just got the news that my dad's issue is sorted, so I wanted to tell you right away," Seb said to the screen.
"Really? That was fast. Congrats, you must be so relieved," Maya said with a sweet smile.
"Honestly, I owe you big time. If you hadn't played along, your grandpa probably wouldn't have helped my dad," Seb said, smiling.
Maya laughed, "Just remember this big favor."
"I'll do anything for you in the future," Seb said gratefully.
Susan couldn't help but frown, thinking, 'Did I really misunderstand them? Were they just pretending?'
She walked over to the screen and saw the smiling face on it. Yep, it was the same pretty young girl she had seen that day.
Maya was standing on a lush green lawn, with mountains and blue skies in the background, holding a golf club and rocking a white golf outfit, looking all fresh and energetic.
"Hey, who's this?" Maya asked when she saw Susan on the screen.
Seb smiled and pulled Susan into his arms. She was too shocked to resist.
"This is Susan, the one I told you about," Seb said, his hand resting on Susan's shoulder.
Maya immediately smiled. "So this is Susan. Nice to finally meet you. Seb's always been singing your praises. Seeing you today, you really are something!"
"You're too kind," Susan said politely, feeling a bit excited inside.
So, she had misunderstood everything; he and Maya were just pretending. She felt foolish for being heartbroken for so long.
"Susan, I'm on vacation in Switzerland right now, I'll treat you to dinner when I get back. I gotta go. Bye!" Maya waved at them.
"Bye," Susan waved back.
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