chapter 32

After everything that happened today; from walking into that awkward mess with Kimberley at the office to watching Drew spiral into a panic attack right before my eyes, I was mentally drained. I kept reliving those moments on repeat, trying to sort through my own tangled emotions, my concern for Drew, and this new confusing presence of Kimberley.

When I finally got to my street, all I wanted was a hot shower, a change of clothes and a good rest. If only I knew that my day was about to have a part two.

I wanted silence but silence was the last thing I got.

Because there he was.

Max.

Standing right in front of my door. This Max, Drew drama was now becoming a daily routine and I couldn't help but wonder when all of this would end so I could finally enjoy some normalcy.

His hands were in his pockets, his shoulders slightly hunched forward like someone preparing to be hit by a storm. My storm.

I stopped a few feet away and just stared.

He saw me and straightened, offering a weak smile. “Hey.”

I didn’t smile back. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk to you.”

“We already talked, Max. You said enough the last time,” I said, my voice flat and cold.

“I know. I know,” he said quickly. “But please, Lila. Just give me five minutes. I won't be able to live with myself if I don't talk to you.”

“Well if five minute is all you need then you can just say it here and leave.” I wasn't so sure about letting him in anymore, not after his recent behaviour

“Not here, please. Let's talk inside. What I have to say… it’s private but I promise I mean no harm.” He responded.

I didn’t move. I just studied him. His face, his eyes. Was he panicking? Calm? Calculated?

Then a thought struck me. Something I hadn’t considered until now.

Kimberley.

At the gala, Max had introduced her as his business partner. And just days later, she shows up at Drew’s office unannounced, looking smug and leaving chaos in her wake and it just happened to be that she is Drew’s first love and ex girlfriend.

What were the odds?

Was there something deeper going on? Something connecting all of this?

This strange, tightening web of Drew, Max, Kimberley… and me?

I didn’t know. But I needed answers. So I unlocked the door and stepped aside, watching him carefully as he walked in.

I closed the door behind us and walked ahead to the living room. “You have five minutes,” I said, motioning for him to sit. I poured him a glass of water not because I cared, but because the ritual gave me a sense of control.

Then I sat down opposite him.

He sat on the edge of the couch, both hands wrapped around the glass of water I’d offered him, his shoulders slightly hunched like he didn’t quite know how to start.

He didn't even drink the water. His eyes were on me, like he was trying to read my face. I gave him nothing.

He cleared his throat. “First, I’m sorry. For everything. I know I’ve let you down. I didn’t mean for things to go the way they did. At the gala... that wasn’t supposed to happen like that.”

I raised a brow. “But it did.”

He nodded, swallowing hard. “Because I got carried away. I don’t know what came over me,” he said with a small, bitter laugh. “Jealousy, maybe. Or fear. But I need you to believe me when I say that everything I’ve done, I’ve done because I love you.”

The words landed with a thud in my chest. It didn’t stir. Not like it used to when he said those things.

Not a flutter. Not a thrill. Just… heaviness.

He leaned forward, his voice earnest. “I know it sounds crazy, and maybe you think I’m just saying that, but I mean it. That’s why I did what I did. I wanted Drew to see that you’re mine.”

My jaw tightened. “I’m not a prize to be paraded, Max.”

“I know. I know, and I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to treat you like an object. I just… I was afraid. Of losing you. Of him swooping in and taking you from me.”

There was a time I would have melted hearing those words from him.

But not anymore.

Now, they sounded rehearsed. Convenient. Designed to earn points in a game I never agreed to play.

His words were sweet, but they were hollow. And I could feel it. That strange conflict between what was being said and what was truly meant. It was in his tone, in the nervous glances, in the way he seemed to measure every sentence.

It wasn’t love.

It was desperation.

A desperation that had nothing to do with me, not really. It was like he needed me for something but I couldn’t yet place what.

“I don’t expect you to forgive me right away,” he continued, watching my face. “But if you give me the chance… I’ll prove it to you.”

Max was saying all the right things but for all the wrong reasons. I didn’t need proof of love. I needed truth. And the only way I’d get that was by letting him believe he still had my trust.

So I softened my gaze just enough to be believable. “Alright,” I said, calm and controlled. “Let’s just take things one step at a time.”

Relief flooded his features, and a slow smile curved his lips. “Thank you, Lila.”

He stood, setting the glass down gently on the table. “I’ll let you get some rest.”

We stood up together. He walked toward the door slowly, stopping just before stepping out.

“I meant what I said, Lila. I love you.”

I didn’t reply.

He opened the door, and just as he was about to step out, he turned back slightly, hand reaching toward my cheek. A soft, intimate gesture.

But I stepped back immediately, my eyes sharp and hard.

He froze.

That was all the warning he needed.

He nodded once and walked out.

I exhaled and closed the door behind him, resting my back against it for a moment. My thoughts were spiraling again. Was I getting too deep into something I didn’t understand? Was I being paranoid, or was Max actually playing a deeper game?

I didn’t know.

And then, right as I turned to head to my room, my phone rang from the table.

I paused.

It buzzed again. The screen lit up.

Drew.

I froze.

Max had barely left… and now Drew was calling.

What now?

I stared at the screen, heart thudding. The drama never ends.