Nia Mitchell instantly dropped her pleading expression, draping herself all over Maxwell Peary like a little terror. "I don’t care! I don’t care! Next week is too rushed. Let’s wait until we have more time." She adopted a bossy pose, kneeling on Maxwell’s legs, her small hands hooked around his neck. In this position, she was just a tiny bit taller than him. "I refuse. It has to be this week." This has to be settled quickly. Without some pressure, Rabina will just keep stalling. Nia instantly wilted. Her whole body went soft, and the hand around his neck moved to encircle his firm waist. "How about we wait for Charles Northwood to return? We could invite everyone at once then; it’d save so much money, right?" Nia fluttered her big, dewy eyes, continuously casting coquettish glances at him. Maxwell moved her legs to one side, letting her sit sideways on his lap. "Tell me about your friends, especially Charles Northwood." His study contained a thick pile of files clearly detailing their relationship, with every major and minor event between them meticulously listed. But emotions aren’t something you can grasp from data sheets. He wanted to hear Nia describe their relationship in her own words. "Charles Northwood? He’s my very, very, *very* best friend in this world." Nia used ’best’ three times in a row to describe him, a testament to the depth of their friendship. "I’ve known Charles since the first year of high school. That year, I didn’t do well on the College Entrance Exam. He gave up a better school to accompany me to University A, and he even chose the Chinese Department, just like me." For a boy, choosing the Chinese Department really wasn’t the wisest decision, but he was resolute because they had once promised to never be separated. "Does he have a girlfriend?" Even though Maxwell hadn’t detected any romantic feelings from Nia towards Charles, he still wasn’t sure about Charles himself. "Girlfriend? Oh, right! Now that you mention it, I’ve never really thought about it. I’ve never seen him with a girlfriend." Nia’s eyes widened; she found it inconceivable. So Charles Northwood is that innocent? "Uncle Peary, can you believe I have such a pure-hearted person by my side? I absolutely *have* to tease him about it next time, Ha ha!" She could already picture his expression when she brought it up—it would be absolutely hilarious. And she had to get Fiona Sutton in on the teasing. Tsk tsk, with Fiona’s sharp tongue... HA HA HA HA! Maxwell gently stroked her hair. The more she talked, the louder the alarm bells rang in his head. "Doesn’t he... have someone he likes?" Nia furrowed her brow. She thought for a long while but ultimately shook her head. "Charles Northwood is the kind of person who shines wherever he stands. Whether in high school or university, many people liked him, but he’s never actually had a girlfriend. As for whether he likes anyone, I really don’t know." After all, she wouldn’t normally pry into such personal matters. Boys and girls are different, you know. It wasn’t like with her and Fiona, where they could tease each other mercilessly and dig for all the gossip. "Since you two are that close, why didn’t he show up when you got engaged?" This was the question Maxwell most wanted to ask. According to his investigation, Charles Northwood hadn’t gone to the USA for work at all. Chapters fırst released on 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✶𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✶𝓷𝓮𝓽