Dark Lord Seduction System: Taming Wives, Daughters, Aunts, and CEOs novel Chapter 434

Chapter 434: My Past with Maya & Sable’s Invitation?

"Why what?"

"Why my mom?" She looked up, her eyes searching mine. "You could have anyone. Someone your age. Someone from this world of billions and penthouses. Why a high school teacher from Lincoln Heights?"

The real answers flashed through my mind: Because she was my teacher. Because I saw the loneliness in her that mirrored my own. Because I had the power to heal her afetr I fell in love with her, and in doing so, I healed a part of myself. Because I’ve wanted her since I was a boy in her classroom.

Instead, I gave her the purest, simplest truth I could. "Because she’s real," I said, my voice thick with an emotion I didn’t try to hide. "Because she doesn’t care about the money. Because when I’m with her, I’m not the billionaire teenager. I’m just... me."

Maya’s expression softened, the defensiveness melting away into something like wonder. "That’s..." she breathed. "That’s actually really sweet for a rich guy."

A wry smile touched my lips. "Don’t tell anyone. It’ll ruin my reputation."

The tension in the room finally broke. The overwhelming facts were still there, but a bridge of understanding had been built, fragile but strong. The conversation wasn’t over, but the first, most difficult hurdle had been cleared.

She laughed—a surprised, genuine sound. "Okay. Okay. This is still crazy, but... okay. If my mom trusts you, then I’ll try to trust you too."

"That’s all I ask."

"But I’m watching you," she added quickly. "If you hurt her—"

"You’ll what? You’re like five-two."

"I’m five-four!" she protested. "And height doesn’t matter when you’re protecting your mom."

I couldn’t help but smile. "Fair enough."

She smiled back, and for a moment, I saw the girl from elementary school. The one who’d always found the good in people.

Then her expression shifted. Thoughtful. Studying my face.

Oh no.

The introduction carried on with a gentle, familial warmth until Isabella, drawn by the sound of our voices, emerged from the bedroom.

She hugged her daughter tightly, then formally introduced us, her voice laced with a happy sleepiness, even though Maya and I had already navigated our first, surreal conversation while she slept.

Later, as I lay there with Isabella curled against me, listening to her and Maya talk and laugh as they unpacked a few things, my mind drifted. The past, a door I had kept firmly shut, had been blown open by Maya’s presence.

Did I say Madison was my first kiss? Then I lied. My first kiss belonged to a dusty cabin and a nine-year-old girl named Maya Rodriguez.

Who was Maya to me?

She was the sweetest soul in outside our neighborhood. She lived a bit farther out, which was why I knew so little about her life back then. But sometimes, she’d come to play, a quiet beacon of kindness in a world where I was often Jack’s primary target.

While others were sympathetic, Maya was actively gentle.

The memory surfaced, vivid and unchanging: locked in that old forest cabin, a place that was practically a second home to me thanks to Jack’s bullying.

That day, for the first time, Maya had also fallen prey to the girls who orbited Jack—his admirers and girlfriend, who were every bit as cruel as he was--save for Sofia. I found her there, terrified.

But for me, this was routine.

I calmed her down, promising we’d be found.

Thirty minutes in, we were chatting as if sitting in a dusty prison was the most normal thing in the world.

My eyes flew open, but it was gone. She looked away, shy and flustered. "I’m sorry," she whispered. "I didn’t have anything else... and you looked cute crying."

’Cute.’

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