Master of his heart (Brielle and Max)

All eyes turned to Max.

Max had been keeping a low profile all evening as if he were uninterested in participating in the proceedings. It wasn’t until this moment that he seemed to come to life, his fingertips. grazing the rosary beads he wore.

Everyone thought he would remove the rosary without hesitation. Even Michael had started to speak up, “Patrick, please escort the lady out. This is no place for outsiders to cause a scene.”

Brielle stood tall, her back straight. Even upon hearing Michael’s words, she just stared steadily at Max.

“Max, think carefully. If you really…”

Before she could finish, Max interrupted her, “Dad, the night I went to the Dorsey family’s ancestral home, I had intended to introduce her to you. It’s not too late now.”

This out–of–the–blue statement drew all eyes to him.

His fingers still lingered on the rosary, gently caressing it, and then he leaned forward slightly, interlocking his fingers with Brielle’s.

Their fingers intertwined.

“This is my girlfriend, Brielle.” The statement landed heavily in the room as if it could burst

eardrums.

Alivia felt like she had been struck by lightning, and the thunder still hovered overhead.

Girlfriend. Brielle.

Each word was clear, but how could she not understand their meaning?

All her smugness vanished. Her soul seemed to momentarily leave her body, repeatedly battered and kneaded. His words hit her heart, causing her bones to ache.

She was so rigid, she didn’t even know how to react. She could taste blood in her mouth. Now that Max had acknowledged his relationship with Brielle, every word Alivia had spat out had turned into a slap, leaving her battered and bruised.

The last trace of color drained from Alivia’s face, still in shock.

She couldn’t even tell whether Max had never lost his memory or had just remembered everything upon seeing Brielle. Her heartbeat was thunderous, and she felt like she couldn’t

catch her breath.

Embarrassment, anger she had never been so humiliated in all her life. All this had been given to her by the man she loved most.

She tried to calm herself, but her trembling fingers betrayed the turmoil within. This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

13:21

Brielle, that bitch!

She wished she could crawl into a hole and disappear. Such humiliation was agonizing.

The others in the room also thought they were hallucinating. How could they see Maz holding Brielle’s hand and hear him call her his girlfriend?

It was absurd. As absurd as a farce.

Even Michael was briefly stunned, his mind racing. The night he went to the Dorsey family’s old mansion? Wasn’t that the night Max had his accident?

Michael still didn’t understand why Max had suddenly gone there that night, as he usually wouldn’t return without a specific call from him. It turned out it was because of Brielle.

Michael’s presence was commanding, and he wasn’t flustered by Max’s announcement. “Max, there are some things that can be done in private; there’s no need to bring them out into the open. Just like what your brothers do on the outside, I’ve always turned a blind eye,” he implied.

In other words, it was fine to keep a lover in the shadows, but don’t flaunt it in front of him, or he wouldn’t be polite.

Max pushed the cup of tea towards Brielle. She really did need a cup of tea to calm her nerves. In fact, she had been prepared for the worst. It wouldn’t have been surprising if these people toyed with her, and she even lost her life. But no matter how tragic the outcome, it didn’t matter. She would have been sad if Max had truly forgotten everything, leaving only her to remember in the days to come. How unfair.

Thankfully.

She picked up the tea, sweetness mixed with a tinge of sorrow in her heart. Max had never let her down. He was always the best.

“Dad, you should be happy. The Dorsey family will indeed have double happiness tonight. Spencer’s marriage is settled, and mine is not far off. Next Monday is a good day. Let’s set it then.”

Was all this fuss about picking an engagement date for him and Brielle?

Michael almost laughed in exasperation but knew this was his son’s way, direct enough to make one’s blood boil. “What about Alivia?”

Michael mentioned Alivia, and all eyes turned to her.

Alivia hung her head, even with her deep schemes and pride, as if even her arrogant spirit had bent.

But this was not her most embarrassing moment. What was more humiliating was yet to

come.