Tears welled up in Tatiana's eyes, and her eyes were filled with uncontained sadness.
Maverick took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped her tears away like a perfect gentleman, his actions soft and careful. "It's okay. It's a thing of the past. I won't let anything happen to you again." He coaxed her in a gentle voice, his voice extremely sincere.

Tatiana tucked a strand of hair between her ear and sighed dejectedly, looking frail and beautiful, giving one the urge to protect. "I know. Returning here after such a long period made me emotional. I'm sorry for letting you see this…"
Before Tatiana could continue, a waiter brought in Maverick's order with familiarity. "Young master. Miss." The waiter greeted the two before helping Maverick set up his food.
Maverick had been a regular at the restaurant for the past few years, so his preferences had been known. However, it was Tatiana's first time coming to the restaurant, so they were at a loss for what to serve her. "Miss." The waiter turned to Tatiana and handed her the meal booklet.
Tatiana puckered her lower lip and knitted her brows. Suddenly, she pointed toward Maverick's lunch with glinting eyes. "It looks delicious give me the same thing." She commented.
“Yes miss. I'll be right back.” The waiter bowed and quickly left to serve Tatiana's meal.
Maverick's brows furrowed, and his expression changed. "It's spicy. It's not good for..."

"Maverick, we're getting together. I want to know how to enjoy what you like." Tatiana cut in with a soft and persuading smile.
"There's no need to," Maverick replied strictly, and he parted his lips to make a rebuttal.
However, before Maverick could, Tatiana shook her head firmly. "I need to. Maverick, please. I've spent a lot of time in the hospital. Let me do this, at least once. I want to have fun to my heart's content." Tatiana pleaded and grabbed Maverick's hand while pouting coyly. Her expression looked cute to the extreme.
Maverick sighed and patted her hands, a pampering smile on his face. "Let me know when your stomach feels unwell. You just had surgery."

The man's voice was soft and coaxing, and it made Tatiana's eyes light up. "Maverick, you're the one who likes me the most." She declared happily with a blush on her face.
Coincidentally, the waiter brought in Tatiana's meal and helped her arrange it. "Thank you." Tatiana expressed and smiled sweetly at the waiter.

Staring at the beautiful face made the waiter feel as if his heart had been stolen. "No problem." He blushed and stuttered in reply. Without hesitation, he ran to the kitchen.
Tatiana smiled and stared at the food without making a move.
Maverick shook his head after a few seconds. "Why are you staring at the food?"
Tatiana bit her lower lips excitedly and said, "Just seeing it is enough to take me to heaven. You don't know how tired I am of the hospital meal. I'm finally eating a homely meal how can I not feel so happy?" Tatiana replied with bliss. She took out her phone, intending to take a few pictures.
"Something to commemorate," Tatiana whispered happily and took four pictures of the meal before secretly taking a picture of Maverick, who was staring at her actions.
Quickly, she forwarded the picture to her social media and captioned it, "Eating with the national husband." As soon as Tatiana posted the picture of the meal and Maverick, her upload went viral.

However, she didn't bother reading it before putting her phone inside her bag—Maverick not being aware of anything.
"Let's eat." Tatiana rubbed her hand in satisfaction and picked up her chopsticks. The drifting aroma filled her nose, and she gently picked up a thin slice of beef before putting it into her mouth.
Immediately, the delicious taste of the meat burst into her mouth.
Tatiana closed her eyes, intending to savor the taste, but before she could, the spiciness of the meat burned her tongue, making her eyes water.
Maverick, who had been staring at her reaction, intently arched his brows although his expression was cold, there was worry written in his eyes. "Are you okay?" Maverick inquired worriedly.
Tatiana has always had a poor stomach since that incident, and she couldn't drink or eat spicy things, etc.
Tatiana bit her lower lips and forced herself to swallow the meat.
"It's good…" She faked a smile, but before Tatiana could complete her words, her face paled, and she broke into a sweat. She grabbed her stomach hard and hissed in pain.
Unable to take it, Tatiana grabbed Maverick's hand and stared at him pitifully. "Maverick, it hurts." Tatiana cried out while biting her lower lip, giving her a sad yet innocent, heart-stirring image.
Maverick's expression turned cold. "I don't need you to hurt yourself." He scolded.
"You're right. I was willful. It really hurts." Tatiana cried out pitifully while clutching her stomach.
Maverick sighed, and his expression softened. He stood up and bent slightly to carry Tatiana in a bridal style. He threw a bunch of notes on the table and hurriedly strode out of the restaurant, carrying Tatiana.
_$_____
"Miss, President Maverick's men are still out in search of you." Charmaine reminded, which made Valencia sneer. That man already had his beloved by his side, yet he wouldn't let go of an ordinary substitute like her. Not only did he search for her, but now he and his lover will ruin her reputation.
"Is Miss Valencia returning with the anonymous identity or Miss Valencia's identity?" Charmaine asked softly. The sound of typing from Charmaine's side drifted into Valencia's ears.
Six years ago, Valencia came across one of Raquel's diaries that Raquel had bestowed on her before her death.
Feeling so curious about how her mother's daily life had gone, Valencia opened the diary.
Contrary to Valencia's thought, the diary didn't contain any bit of Raquel's daily life instead, it contained drafts of different types of unique clothing styles.

Unwilling to see her late mother's talent get buried by the wind, Valencia launched three of the designs with help from Aviva, and she modeled the clothes using an anonymous identity and a masked face.

The clothes were sold out in less than a week after they were released to the crowd, breaking records.

With the profit Valencia made, she paid back Aviva, and she slowly started her own company, mixing Raquel's style with modern styles.
Valencia also learned about fashion until she was able to turn her inspiration into her own fashion brand.
Years later, VaQuel is now one of the top fashion brands in Country Z.
Valencia rubbed her forehead in distress. "You don't need to worry. Just focus on preparing for the next launch." Valencia instructed and cut off the call.
Valencia had just cut off the call when Aviva's call came through. "Valencia, you're trending again. Those couples are really shameless. After six years, they still haven't let go." Aviva huffed angrily.
Aviva, the younger daughter of the Cirillo family, met Valencia at the age of five at an amusement park after she ran away from home.

Valencia and Raquel, despite being poor, had taken care of Aviva for a week before the Cirillo family was finally able to find her.
Aviva's father, the head of Cirillo, had gifted Valencia and her mother a gift of 20 million, despite their protest. It was the money Carter had used to launch his own company.
Ever since then, Aviva and Valencia have become close friends in secret.

For years, Aviva had despised Valencia's way of falling in love with an enemy of their family—a jerk like Maverick—but she had silently kept quiet, accepting Valencia's yes and no.
Until the night before the wedding, when Valencia begged Aviva to help her pack her things and leave the country. How can Aviva not happily do so?
"That Tatiana doesn't seem like a good person." Valencia tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and blurted out.
A snicker fell past her lips upon recalling the wedding contract she read.
Maverick had praised Tatiana to no end as a gentle and delicate, innocent beauty in the contract. It was actually hilarious that she read the whole thing.