Mrs. Zhao looked completely lost as she tried to process Maia's question. Her hands fidgeted nervously as she spoke, "I was just… worried about you, Maia. The way Nick and Amelia treated you earlier, it wasn't right. I'm scared it might affect your work, and, well... I'm just afraid something bad might happen to you."
Maia swallowed hard. Something bad had already happened, even if Mrs. Zhao didn't know the half of it. Amelia had set her up. She felt betrayed, humiliated. "Aunt Zhao," Maia started, her voice shaky, "Can I just… get out of all this? I'm scared … and they… they actually look like they're in love with each other."
