Chapter 42

It felt strange… how quickly warmth could shift to ice.

Max had once been the person I clung to for comfort. The one who sat with me when everything felt like it was falling apart. Who offered steady hands when mine shook. Who whispered reassurance into the cracks of my life and told me I wasn't alone.

The first person I remembered to call when I was at the verge of losing my baby. The only friend I felt I could trust.

And now?

Now he was the enemy.

The plan was simple: Keep my enemy closer.

I never thought I would use the word enemy and Max in the same sentence. But that’s what betrayal does. It redefines everything. Redraws the lines between love and manipulation. And once those lines are clear, there’s no going back.

I spent the rest of the day thinking. Not panicking. Not overreacting. Thinking.

I ran through every interaction. Every word. Every moment that suddenly looked different now that I had seen him holding Kimberley’s hand like she was the woman he cared about. Not me.

He was planning something. That much I knew. The rest? I will definitely figure it out in time. Slowly and smartly.

So when my phone rang later that night, and his name appeared on the screen, I didn’t flinch.

I’d already decided.

I answered on the third ring, matching his tone with a practiced calm.

“Hey,” I said, letting a smile curl in my voice like I hadn’t spent the last hour dissecting every lie he had told.

“Lila.” His voice was soft. Too soft. “I’m so sorry I didn’t get back to you earlier. Work’s been crazy. Back to back issues. I didn’t even have time to breathe.

A full performance. He even sighed, like he was genuinely exhausted from the imaginary chaos.

“I understand,” I said lightly, curling my legs under me on the couch as I stared blankly at the TV screen that was playing something I hadn’t been paying attention to. “I figured you were busy.”

He latched onto that like it proved his innocence. “You’re amazing. Seriously, so patient and so understanding. I don’t know how you do it.”

I didn’t respond to that. Just let the silence hang long enough to feel intimate. Let him think I was touched.

“I was actually handling some urgent issues for a client,” he continued, his voice taking on that casual rhythm he used when he was building a lie from muscle memory. “I had to meet with some people and smooth things out. It was a total mess. You know how it gets.”

“Of course,” I said, my voice sounding so sugar coated. “I’m just glad you’re okay.”

There was a pause.

I could almost hear him smiling through the phone. Relaxing. Thinking he had me exactly where he wanted me again.

“I missed you today,” he said after a beat. “I was going to stop by again, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you. How are you doing? How’s the baby?”

I inhaled slowly, letting the air fill my lungs. “We’re good.”

“And your mom?” he asked, the concern in his tone so well performed it could win him an Oscar. “How’s she settling in?”

“She left today.”

“Aww,” he said. “I’m sure it was hard saying goodbye.”

“It was.”

“Tell her I said hi when next you speak to her. She’s such a sweet woman.”

“Sure,” I replied, then let the conversation stretch just long enough to feel natural before I added, “Oh, and thanks for the flowers… the other night.”

He chuckled lightly. “I meant what I said, Lila. I care about you. About the baby. I know things have been confusing lately, but I just want you to know I’m not going anywhere.”

Right.

Except into restaurants with Kimberley.

I let myself smile as I leaned into the next phase of the game.

“You know,” I said slowly, like I was thinking out loud. “The reason I actually called earlier was because… I wanted to tell you something.”

“Oh?” he perked up. “What’s that?”

I paused. Just long enough for the tension to simmer between us.

Then I exhaled.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” I began. “About everything. About how messy things got between us. About how hard it’s been… trying to figure out what’s right and what’s just convenient.”

I let my voice tremble, just slightly. Not too much. Just enough to draw him in.

“And I realized something.”

I heard him shift, probably sitting up straighter now, hanging on every word.

“I realized that no one has shown up for me like you have, Max,” I continued, each word measured, a perfectly laid trap. “You’ve been there through everything, even when you didn’t have to. You listened, you stayed, you offered support when everyone else turned their backs.”

He was silent now. Waiting. Hopeful.

“You’ve made me feel seen,” I added, letting my voice break in the middle. “And I don’t take that lightly.”

He still didn’t speak. Which meant I had him exactly where I wanted him.

“So I’ve made a decision,” I said.

My fingers curled tighter around the phone. My heart was steady. My breath even. But inside, I was burning.

“If you still mean it… what you said about being there for me and this baby…”

I let the words hang, slow and dramatic, like the climax of a movie he never saw coming.

“…then I’m ready to take you up on your offer.”

Silence.

So thick it felt like the air between us had vanished.

I could hear his breath hitch, stunned.

“Wait…” he finally said, voice low. “You’re saying…”

“I want to give us a chance,” I whispered.

And even as I said it, even as the words left my mouth like a confession, I felt something dark settle in my chest.

If anyone had told me I would become this person that could play these kind of games I would not have believed them. But now this felt like some survivor instincts, like I needed to do this to keep my baby and I safe.

Safe from people who are trying to manipulate us for their own personal gain. I already had the love and support of my parents so I know now that my child will never feel unloved. I don't need someone pretending to love me and my child for selfish reasons.

This was just the beginning.

It was the beginning of the end for him.

I would smile when he smiled.

I would lean in when he reached out.

I would nod at his lies and let him believe he’d won.

Until I knew everything.

Until I found out what he was hiding. Who he was hiding it with. And why he ever thought I was naive enough to let it all slide.