Semua Bab Beneath the Surface : Bab 41 - Bab 50

The honking behind me snapped me out of my trance.I flinched and finally pressed the gas, easing through the intersection before pulling over to the side of the road. My fingers were trembling as I shifted into park. A car swerved past me too closely, and the driver yelled something rude out his window. Another flipped me off.I didn’t care.I sat there, frozen in the silence that followed, watching the spot where Max and Kimberley had disappeared like it still held the answers I needed. My brain was scrambling, trying to connect dots that were blurring too fast to grasp.They looked like lovers.Not business partners.Not colleagues.Not anything innocent.Lovers.And Max had the audacity to come to my apartment with flowers like he hadn’t just walked another woman to his car with the kind of intimacy that comes from familiarity. I closed my eyes, willing my breath to steady.What was this?A game?Some cruel plan?Why?The questions were beginning to scream inside me.But I didn’t

Max's silence lasted only a beat after my declaration. Just long enough for me to wonder if he truly hadn’t expected it and then he erupted. "Lila, you have no idea how happy this makes me," he said, his voice overflowing with excitement. It felt too rehearsed, too immediate, like he'd fantasized about this moment over and over again and finally got his script ready. "You have no idea. I’ve been waiting for you to see what I’ve always seen. Us. Together. A future. You and me and the baby." I didn’t respond immediately. I let his words fill the silence. I could almost hear the wide grin spreading across his face. "I swear to you, Lila, this is the best decision you’ve ever made. I’m going to take care of you, I'm going to love and cherish you and I won’t let you regret this. Not for a second." He meant it, too. But not in the way I needed him to. His version of taking care meant control. It meant keeping me in a comfortable place so he could do whatever it was he was planning

The morning after dinner with Max started like any other.Sort of.I woke up to another message from him, Max: “Good morning, sunshine. I dreamt of us.”It was cute, charming and overbearing.I didn’t reply.I was starting to get used to the performance. Every sweet word felt like bait on a hook. I was still chewing on our dinner conversation from last night, especially how hard he pushed to know more about the launch. There was something calculated in the way he asked, like a man too eager to play support because he was after something bigger.By the time I got to the office, my mind was already shifting gears. Back to work mode. Back to Drew.I hadn’t seen him since I walked out of his office yesterday.I wondered if he’d still be cold… or worse, indifferent.I headed toward the top floor, clutching my coffee like a shield, trying not to rehearse the conversation in my head. But I quickly decided that if he brought it up again i.e Max, the dinner, whatever questions he might want t

Lila’s POVI was sipping the last of my lukewarm coffee when I saw her storm out.Kimberley. The sight was impossible to miss.I was still seated at my desk, a highlighter in hand while I reviewed the final layouts for the PR visuals. But the moment I caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of my eye, all thoughts scattered like birds startled by a gunshot.Her heels clicked aggressively against the marble floor, each step laced with fury she could barely contain. Her perfect olive green pantsuit was still pristine and the perfectly done face that was painted with precision just hours ago, now looked frozen. You could see the cracks in her expression.Jaw tight, eyes glassy with rage, chin tilted too high, nostrils flared, lips pressed so tight they were nearly white. Shoulders drawn in like she’d been backed into a wall and couldn’t pretend otherwise. She looked... wrecked. Not outwardly though. Kimberley would never allow herself that level of vulnerability in public. But her pos

I didn’t say much on the drive and thankfully it was a short drive. Max didn’t press either.He kept the conversation light, focused on the playlist playing softly through his speakers. Songs we used to like. Songs he’d once used to win me over. I sat there, letting the silence between us thicken, unsure if I was more curious… or cautious.We ended up at a café just around the office area. I wasn't done with work so I told him couldn't go somewhere far. Max said it was a new favourite, small and intimate enough to have a real conversation. The waitress even knew him by name. Interesting fact.The café was quiet, tucked into the corner of the block with warm lighting and that upscale rustic charm people liked to pretend wasn’t expensive. We found a spot by the window, and he pulled out my chair like a gentleman. “Thought you might be too busy to say yes,” he said, folding his sleeves as he settled across from me.I smiled faintly. “I almost was.”“But you came.”“I did.”He leaned bac