Ariana suddenly thought of Elijah. She turned to Maya and said, "Since Mr. Elijah is back now, you should try getting to know him a little more." The second Maya heard this, her mood soured. First her own mom had tried to set her up with Elijah, and now even her grandmother was taking Athena's side, encouraging her to spend time with him. She must have been bribed by Athena, too! Everyone was clearly rooting for Athena now! Maya's eyes turned red, a deep sense of abandonment washing over her. She looked at Ariana, her voice choked with tears. "Why is everyone taking Athena's side? Dad does it. Now you too?" Even her mother, who used to dote on her the most, didn't support her anymore. The thought was just too much to bear. Maya turned on her heel and stormed off, unable to handle the blow. "Maya ... " Ariana called after her. She couldn't help but let out a weary sigh. She hadn't wanted to hurt Maya. She just wanted to help resolve things between the girls. ... Maya went back to the Rice Residence. Patricia spotted her crying and hurried over, full of concern. "Maya, what happened to you?" As soon as Maya saw her mother, she remembered how she tried to set her up with Elijah. She wanted nothing to do with her.She just went straight upstairs to her room. She didn't expect to run right into Preston on the stairs. Seeing her tear-streaked face, he frowned and asked, "Maya, why have you been crying?" Maya was already angry, and after what happened with Preston last time, she wasn't about to give him the time of day. She just gave a cold snort and brushed past him without a word. Preston watched her go, his brow tightening in concern. After heading downstairs, he found his mother looking just as worried and asked, "Why is Maya crying?" "I don't know either. She found out your father went to visit your grandma at the hospital, and then she went along too. But something happened, and she came home crying," Patricia said. Preston's mind caught on the key details. The hospital, Grandma, and Dad ... Clearly, something happened between them. "Preston, did you ever talk to Maya about what I asked? She just won't give up on Zaden, no matter what I say. I'm out of ideas ... " Preston remembered how his mother had begged him for help last time. He had gone to talk to Zaden about it, but after all this time, there'd been no sign of trouble between Zaden and Athena. Which meant he'd failed. He collected himself and told Patricia, "Mom, you don't have to worry about it anymore. I'll talk to Maya myself. You should focus on keeping things good with Dad." As soon as she heard Fabio being mentioned, Patricia got distracted and let the Athena topic drop.She just sighed and told Preston, "All right, Maya's your sister. You have to look out for her, not take sides with outsiders!" Preston said nothing. He wasn't just siding with Athena. He'd been trying to see what she was capable of, but it had all spiraled into a mess. There wasn't much else he could say about it. Patricia left the conversation there and walked away. Preston let out a silent sigh and stepped outside as well. ... Athena had spent two days resting at home. But eventually, she had to go back to work. Early that morning, she took a moment to collect herself, got dressed, and headed out for the hospital. As she was about to leave, Zaden asked, "Do you want me to drive you?" Athena shook her head quickly. "No, it's fine. I'm already at the center of gossip. If you come with me, it'll just make things worse. I can handle it." Zaden didn't push her. He understood that Athena had her own way of handling things. She was a strong and independent woman. "Maybe I'll finally figure out who's been behind all this by the end of the day. Just wait and see!" Athena looked absolutely confident. Zaden couldn't help but smile. He said, "All right, I'm off to work." They hugged, kissed, and headed out in different directions. When Athena got to the hospital, she felt all eyes on her as people started whispering the moment she passed. But Athena didn't let it get to her.She'd been ready for this and kept her focus straight ahead as she walked to her office. Jaylee was already there, waiting. The moment Jaylee saw her, she hurried over and said, "Dr. Hall, did you ... " "You mean about those photos of me and Mr. Elijah?" Jaylee's eyes grew wide with curiosity, and she nodded vigorously.