Martha couldn't just snatch Max from Mia and dump her, just like that. The kids at school would paint her as a bad person. The entire universe would curse her for stealing her best friend's boyfriend. She would be tagged as a "boyfriend snatcher." Her public persona would be ruined, and her whole life would be over.

But Martha didn't want that to happen. Never ever. Therefore, she still needed to keep Mia by her side.

"Thank you, Mia," Martha said, smiling sweetly. However, her smile quickly faded, and she started sobbing wearily.

Concerned, Mia asked, "What's wrong?"

"Mia, will you forgive Max too? Please? It wasn't his fault either. It just happened that way, I swear," Martha pleaded.

Mia's face fell. Max, her boyfriend—the only guy she had ever loved in her entire life. How could she stay mad at him? He was a victim too. Like Martha said, things just turned out that way.

"I forgive Max as well. None of this was your fault, or his.” Mia said softly.

Martha flashed a grateful smile, but then her expression turned into a frown.

"Mia, people will start mocking me. They'll say I snatched Max from you. Let me just commit suicide now," she cried.

"No, that's not true. I know what happened, and you didn't do anything wrong," Mia reassured her friend.

"I know, but people don't know..." Martha continued to cry.

Mia was both worried and confused. She didn't want to lose her best friend, but she understood the challenges Martha would face from judgmental people who didn't know the truth.

Martha noticed the conflicting look on Mia's face and decided to drop a hint. 

She sobbed, "If Max and I had been together before you started dating, things would be different, but..." Her voice trailed off, hoping Mia would catch on.

Just then, an idea suddenly popped into Mia's head. "Don't worry. We'll just tell everyone that you and Max used to be together, but I disrupted your relationship and stole Max from you. And now, you've fallen in love with each other again, and you're back together."

Martha shrieked in shock. "Oh no! That's too much. Can we really do that?"

"No, it's nothing. It'll be fine," Mia reassured her calmly.

She was willing to go to any length for her best friend. Martha was the closest person she had, and since she and Max were truly in love, she would help them be together without facing unnecessary criticism.

Martha pouted and tears flowed from her eyes. She pulled Mia into another hug. "Thank you!"

Behind her grateful expression, Martha grinned secretly. She knew Mia was caring and gullible, willing to do anything for the people she loved, which made it easy for her to penetrate and manipulate her mind. 

Martha smirked and sighed in relief. Now that everything was settled, she could go to bed peacefully, knowing that Max fully belonged to her.

——

Beats Corporations:

"If you fail to secure the contract with MX Companies, don't bother showing up at this corporation tomorrow," the CEO's sharp voice reverberated through the expansive conference room.

Mr. George immediately broke into a cold sweat, trembling as he stood before the CEO.

He wasn't the only one shaking at that moment. The other high-ranking executives of Beats Corporation present in the meeting room were also quivering in their seats.

The CEO's words made it clear that if Mr. George couldn't secure the contract, he would be terminated. They all swallowed nervously.

With that, “The meeting is adjourned." Without sparing a glance at any of the officials, the CEO stood up, calmly buttoned his tuxedo, slid his hands into his pockets, and strode out of the conference room.

Everyone present promptly rose to their feet, politely bowing their heads until the CEO was completely out of sight.

Phew! They slumped back into their seats, collectively relieved. They had all felt as if they were on the verge of death just moments ago.

They had been in the meeting room for the past five hours. In fact, the meeting had been unexpected; it wasn't scheduled to take place this month at all. 

They had all received sudden text messages from Lucas, the CEO's personal assistant, informing them of the impromptu meeting...

The executives had dropped everything they were busy with and rushed to the company headquarters. Clearly, the CEO was in an extremely foul mood today. The meeting had only just ended after five grueling hours.

They all let out sighs of relief when they saw the CEO enter the elevator. If only they could get their hands on the person who had ruined his mood... they would have throttled him with their bare hands.

One by one, they hurriedly exited the conference room, eager to go home. They were famished and parched, desperately in need of sustenance.

"My car key?" The CEO had now reached his car in the private underground parking lot, and he was asking his personal assistant for the key.

It seemed he didn't want to be chauffeured home. He wanted to be alone.

Lucas swiftly reached into his trouser pocket and retrieved the car key. He extended both hands, and his boss took the key from him.

Silently, the CEO unlocked the black Maybach and settled into the driver's seat. He leaned forward to start the car engine but abruptly stopped as something flashed through his eyes.

He rolled down the window. "Did you give that person the documents?"

Lucas immediately understood whom his boss was referring to and nodded hastily. "Yes, sir."

A faint twitch appeared at the corner of the CEO's mouth, but he said nothing more. He wound up the window and started the car engine.

"Good night, Boss." Lucas bowed deeply, his head nearly touching the ground.

The sound of the car's exhaust filled Lucas' ears as the CEO zoomed off, leaving him in its wake. Coughing heavily, he waved away the exhaust fumes and made his way back into the corporation. He still had a few tasks to complete before calling it a day.