Villain’s Favorite 54

Chapter 54 Johnny Boy 

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Finished 

“What do you want?” Jenny stepped in front of Maya’s desk without hesitation. While Maya had been out, Jonathan had made her life considerably more difficult, and she hadn’t forgotten a single minute of it. 

“Have we met before?” Jonathan ignored Jenny entirely, bracing one hand on the desk and looked at Maya directly. 

The familiarity was there. 

He just couldn’t place it. 

“I’ve never seen you before in my life,” Maya said, giving him a look of complete bewilderment. “And don’t even think about using me to climb the social ladder!” 

The accusation landed on Jonathan like a bucket of cold water. 

She has some nerve. 

His family had accumulated wealth and influence across generations, with roots running deep through finance, politics, and old money society that most people could only look up to. 

If anyone in this room was going to be accused of seeking connections, it wasn’t him. 

In an instant, he lost all interest in pressing the matter. 

Wasting time on someone this self-absorbed was pointless. 

He turned away from her desk with a cold, clean expression and walked back to his seat. 

Kaia was chattering in his ear about everything that was wrong with Maya. He made the appropriate sounds. of agreement, but his attention had drifted somewhere else entirely. 

Even without wanting to think about it, the question sat at the back of his mind and refused to leave. 

He kept tapping his fingers against the desk, cycling through his memory. Where have I seen her before? 

Alfred was frowning when the boy left, and he looked at his sister for a long, steady moment. 

“Does he know you?” 

“There’s no way he does,” Maya said. “I grew up in an orphanage. How would someone like him have any reason to know me?” 

Jenny, who was nothing if not imaginative, offered brightly, “Maybe you met each other at the orphanage!” 

“Unlikely,” Maya said. “He probably just decided to wander over here and act strange for no reason.” 

That type had been everywhere in her previous life. 

They’d make a spectacle of themselves around her without any apparent cause, find something to use against her, and then turn around and show Kaia their most charming face. 

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Chapter 54 Johnny Boy 

All the petty moves, aimed directly at her. 

Insufferable. 

Alfred let out a quiet, thoughtful sound. 

He didn’t think this was as simple as erratic behavior. 

Finished 

He didn’t claim to understand the emotional dimension of human interaction, but from a purely physical standpoint, the way that boy had looked at Maya was telling. Fingers tapping involuntarily. Jaw held tight. 

A mix of defensiveness and something closer to ease that contradicted itself. 

He’d met Maya before. Alfred was certain of it. 

“Why are you thinking about him?” Maya said, not even needing to look to know her brother had and contemplative. She reached over and ruffled his face dismissively. “It doesn’t matter.” 

Whether they’d met before was irrelevant. Family was what mattered. 

Maya’s typical school day ran as follows-one class listening, one class sleeping. 

Everyone around her was diligently taking notes. 

gone quiet 

Future heirs and heiresses had every reason to keep up because falling behind meant being outcompeted. Maya had no inheritance riding on her academic performance, so she slept. 

The teachers had long since adopted a policy of looking the other way. 

If the child wanted to sleep and wasn’t causing trouble, they were content to let her. 

Toby had a broken arm and was down with an illness. He’d been absent for close to a month. His girlfriend, however, had developed a curious habit of appearing in Maya’s classroom the moment classes ended. 

She also kept bringing gifts, small, delicate accessories with a great deal of thought put into them. 

“Do you like it?” On this particular afternoon, she showed up again, holding out a custom-made decorative figure and smiling with an ease that looked entirely effortless. 

Maya had turned her down a few times and discovered the persistence was absolute, so she simply accepted it. “Thank you.” 

Annie was privately a little exasperated. 

She couldn’t figure out why her boyfriend needed her to keep watch over this girl. 

Toby’s need for control had always been directed at her. When did it migrate over to his sister? 

Though calling it purely control wasn’t quite accurate. 

Toby ran on a low, constant current of anxiety. 

He second-guessed things, read threats into situations, and couldn’t quite settle. 

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Chapter 54 Johnny Boy 

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He’d promised to send her something nice, and she’d appreciated the thought in theory. In practice, she was still the one doing the errand. 

Am I his hired babysitter now? 

She had nothing against Maya personally. She just needed to know where she stood. 

So the next time they video-called, she asked with a sweetness that was only half performance. 

“Who matters more to you, me or your sister?” 

“You,” Toby said without any hesitation. Then something shifted in his expression, a brief drift of thought, and he added, “Why are you even comparing yourself to her?” 

Does Annie think Maya holds some kind of significance to me? 

The idea sent a strange, unplaceable feeling through him. 

Annie kept her tone light but let a little of the real question through. “I’m your girlfriend. A little insecurity is perfectly reasonable. A sister is always a sister, but a girlfriend can be replaced anytime, right?” 

Toby nearly said “right” on reflex. 

The word made it as far as his throat and stopped there. 

He was sitting with an ornate jeweled brooch in his hand, fingertips tracing the cold metal edge as his voice eased into something gentler. 

“I appreciate you keeping an eye on her, Annie. She’s not great at looking out for herself, and it’s hard not to worry a little.” 

Maya had a way of running into trouble without any apparent effort on her part. 

Alfred was useless at watching out for people. Of course, he needed someone else to keep tabs. 

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This Tone Ill Be the Villain’s Favorite Daughter

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