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Chapter 030: Raw Openness

Author: Bee Diaz
last update Last Updated: 2025-01-28 23:55:58

Maximilian

I don’t know if it’s fear or wonder in her eyes as she opens the door wider for me without a word.

I enter her apartment, my curious eyes mapping the place. I can never walk into a place and not make sure of my surroundings. It looks just as I remember it looking last time, and the faint smell of vanilla and something else is lingering in the air though not as strongly.

“I hope the smell isn’t offensive to you,” she says as she closes the door. A brief smile tugs at the corners of my lips, but when I whirl around to face her, it’s gone from my face.

“No, it doesn’t,” I reply. “The place smells just fine.”

I can tell she wants to argue with me and remind me of what I said the first time I was ever here. I don’t know what drove me to say that. Anger, perhaps. Anger that I’d liked how the place smelled and that I’ll always associate this sweet scent with her.

However, she asks instead, “What can I do for you, Mr. Loxley?”

“I came here because I wanted to apologize to you fo
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