Now that Maya fully understood the situation.  She felt even worse . Never in a million years would she guess that Gia would go to such extremes for her .

Again,  she wasn't surprised.  Gia took her in after everything,  she even got her into therapy and paid for all her expenses and when she finally got her restaurant and was able to pay for it , she gave Maya a job and kept supporting her financially till she was able to stand on her feet financially. 

In a way, Gia had always protected Maya however she could and this was just one of those times . The only difference is , Gia might have signed her life away. And that was a guilt Maya was going to carry .

As if sensing what Maya was thinking, Gia  carefully placed her hand on  Maya's shoulder. 

"Maya, this isn't your fault.  I was in love ....head over heels.  I still am . When he asked for what I wanted in return for my silence,  only that dirty scumbag came to mind . And I wanted to make him pay for what he did to you.
I didn't think Carlos would go as far as killing him."

She nearly choked on the words as she spoke them.

"I won't lie Maya , I knew Carlos was a powerful man . And frankly, when he said he'd take care of Sebastian,  I thought he was sending him to jail or something.  Not this ....Maya ...not this . I became his accomplice. And between the love I had for him and our agreement , I just couldn't.  I allowed myself to fall for him deeper.  I thought,  my life would be nothing without him. "

Gia kept explaining herself  and in the process,  she realised that regardless of everything,  she still loved and wanted Carlos.

Their conversation was cut short  as their employees filed in one after the other, exchanging pleasantries and clocking in with their IDS.

The chef approached Maya and Gia and asked how Gia wanted things to go this year  . He wanted to know if they both wanted to make certain changes or they were satisfied. 

Maya confidently suggested a few ideas and Gia approved all of them . The chef then nodded and called for his subordinates and briefed them about all the changes . Soon, everyone was busy with  work.

Customers were filing in as expected.  Orders were flying here and there , the chef was yelling orders and preparing the dishes as fast as he could,  Maya and Gia were tasting samples before they were sent out to the customers,  it was simply a busy day .

Gia and Maya had both forgotten why they loved work so much. It was the only place they could completely immerse themselves in lots of...