“Didn’t you promise to come home on time, Sir? Why did you just arrive now?” Minnie asked as Max stepped inside.
The man’s face spontaneously curled up.
“Please don’t add to my guilt. There was an unexpected job earlier,” the CEO said, grinning. “Where’s Gabriella? Is her in the room?”
“Yes. Since this afternoon-”
“Thanks, Auntie,” Max interrupted as he hurried up the stairs. The butler who was about to report, became amazed at his speed.
“But Master ….”
The man just raised his hand, stating that he couldn’t wait to meet Gabriella.
Realizing that Max’s spirit was too high, the butler sighed in resignation. “I hope he can handle his wife.” With furrowed brows, Minnie let the man into the room.
“Gabriella?” Max whispered after closing the door. The woman lying on the bed didn’t answer.
“Is she asleep?” the man thought, not daring to speak.
After rolling his eyes for a moment, a crooked smile appeared on his face. Without wasting any time, Max quickly took a shower and climbed into bed with him. With no single string.
“Have you slept?” the man whispered as he rubbed Gabriella’s arm. He had no idea that the woman’s chin had been twitching with emotion.
“You didn’t forget our promise tonight, did you?” Max continued before stroking his wife’s ear with lips.
Receiving such treatment, Gabriella’s annoyance was no longer muffled. “You’re the one who forgot the promise, not me,” she said in a trembling voice.
Listening to his wife’s disappointment, Max’s eyes suddenly opened wide. “Are you angry?”
Sobs started to escape from the woman’s mouth, leaving Max at a loss for words.
“Hey, don’t cry. I am sorry. The work was very urgent and I couldn’t leave it,” the man who misunderstood, explained. He didn’t know that the woman’s heart was hurt by his gentle touch.
“Please, leave me alone tonight. Don’t bother me,” Gabriella pleaded as she pushed Max’s hand off her shoulder.
“What about our promise? You want to postpone it?”
The woman shook her head weakly. “I guess there’s no need to talk about it.”
Max’s brows furrowed for a moment. “Why? We’ve agreed to make things clear tonight.”
After swallowing hard, Gabriella finally turned around and met her husband’s gaze with her bloodshot eyes. “Isn’t everything clear? You only want my body and never love me.”
“Why do you think so? That’s not true,” the astonished man sighed. Wasn’t this morning, Gabriella gave a positive signal? Why did the woman change her mind in just a few hours?
“I’m the stupidest woman on earth if I don’t realize it.”
“Stop your bullshit!” Max firmly began to raise his voice. “I never thought that way.”
Gabriella’s sobs instantly turned into disdainful sighs. “Do you forget that you played on me in front of Amber? Have you forgotten your hands that always touch me arbitrarily, or your lips that play with pleasure at every opportunity?”
The man’s jaw instantly throbbed against the annoyance. “Why do you bring it up? Have you ever objected to serving your husband?”
“Of course! I always endure every torture you give. But now, I will not be silent anymore. You have no right to use me to satisfy your lust.”
Gabriella’s hands clenched tightly against the pain in her heart. She didn’t know if those sharp words hurt Max’s feelings or not, but her heart was barely able to beat.
“So, that’s what you’ve been thinking all along. All my treatment is a form of torture?” the man asked while breathing heavily.
“Yes. I never enjoyed anything you did to me. It’s all just compulsion.”
In the silence, Max and Gabriella looked at each other and expected denial. Unfortunately, no one wanted to tell the truth. Both of them thought that enduring the pain was the best way to avoid further injury.
After a while, Max finally nodded. “Fine if that’s what you want. From this moment on, I won’t touch you again. Even if you faint, I won’t lift you to the bed or change your clothes.”
Without adding another word, the man got up and put on his clothes. After that, he came out of the room which was no longer warm to him.
“That woman hasn’t accepted me at all. I shouldn’t have listened to Auntie’s advice,” Max thought as he closed the door with his eyes focused ahead.
Ignoring the faint sobs that sounded, the man walked towards his workroom. He meant to vent his anger there. But as soon as he saw the butler greet him with a guilty expression, his annoyance subsided a little.
“What’s wrong?”
The butler’s sigh spontaneously alerted Max to the oddity.
“Did something happen to make Gabriella like that?” he guessed in an emphatic voice.
“That’s what I was about to tell you, but you has already met Madam.”
Max suddenly looked down and closed his eyes, regretting his rash behavior. “So, something really happened?”
“Miss Amber came to deliver the invitation.”
The man’s eyes spontaneously opened wide. “How did she get in?”
“I don’t know either. All of a sudden, Miss Amber has arrived at the dining room.”
“What did she do to Gabriella?”
The butler gulped and grimaced. “It was Auntie’s fault, letting the two of them go first to the back garden.”
An anxious sigh immediately escaped to the air. “Did she attack Gabriella again?”
“Not physically. I think she said something that made Madam sad. Since this afternoon, Madam is gloomy and doesn’t talk much.”
Max snorted then looked up in annoyance. “What else is that woman planning?” he muttered with a deep furrow of brows.
“Because of Amber, Gabriella thought that I just use her. She doubts my love again.”
Suddenly, the butler hit her master’s left arm. “That’s your fault, Sir. I told you from the start, don’t confuse her. Woman needs reassurance. How hard is it to express your feelings first? You are a man.”
“Why do you scold me?” Max grumbled as he rubbed his arm.
“Before it’s too late, express your love to her. Don’t ask me for advice again if you still won’t listen.”
With a faint shake of the head, the butler walked out of the room, leaving Max like a child who had just been scolded by his mother.
“It sucks. It’s Amber’s fault, but I’m the one who got the sap,” the man mumbled as he frowned and plopped down on the chair.
Tapping on the table, he pondered, repeating whatever had come out of his mouth.
“Should I correct it and express my feelings now?” Max thought, tilting his head. “But, what if she doesn’t want to believe it?”
After a moment of silence, the man grimaced and ruffled his hair. “I’m going crazy just thinking about it.” Without wasting any time, he walked back towards the bedroom.
However, as soon as he arrived at the door, Max suddenly hesitated. With his hands hanging by the lever, he took a deep breath and then let it out slowly.
“I can’t get carried away with emotions anymore,” the man thought to himself. A second later, he opened the door and peeked.
In just an instant, panic burned away his patience. Ignoring the beating heart that was exceeding normal limit, the man rushed over and snatched the open suitcase from Gabriella’s hand. Five pieces of clothing immediately scattered on the floor.
“Are you crazy? You think I’m going to let my wife out of this house and sleep on the streets?”
With panting breath and bloodshot eyes, the man waited for the response of the woman sitting on the edge of the bed. Tears had just rolled down her cheeks, but the sobs were no longer heard.
“That’s what I thought,” Gabriella muttered as she lowered her head and dropped more grief. “I have no other place but this house.”
Hearing that helpless hoarse voice, the man’s shoulders suddenly released tension. Unfortunately, Max couldn’t come up with the words to make things right. His brain was still too messed up from the shock.
Suddenly, the woman lifted her twitching chin, meeting her husband’s eyes.
“Am I selfish if I persist? I don’t like being treated badly. But, I also don’t want to be abandoned on the streets.”
While wiping the tears hanging down her eyelids, the woman took a quick breath. “Am I stupid for expecting security? While I have nothing to rely on.”
Gabriella’s gaze slowly shifted to the suitcase lying between the sheets of clothes. “I even packed all of that to go. In fact, they are not mine. I have nothing but Snowy. Aren’t I so stupid?”
“It’s not you, but me,” Max said in a low voice. “If you really get out of here, I’m the stupidest man on this earth.”
The woman stared at the man with a sad expression. Part of her heart wanted to believe. But unfortunately, the logic refused.
“Why do you forbid me to go? Are you afraid of losing your bed slave?” he asked, pressing down on his vocal chords.
“Why are you talking like that? I never think of you that way. I kiss you, hug you, it’s all I do at the behest of the heart, not just lust.”
Gabriella shook her head.
“It’s useless for you to twist words. The meaning is still the same. You touch me because of your male instinct. What I don’t understand is why you chose me. Why not Amber or Cherry? Is it because their levels are too high to be slaves?”
“So, that’s what Amber told you? That you are my slave?” Max interrupted with raised eyebrows in displeasure. “And you trust her more than your own husband?”
“No. That’s my own thought,” Gabriella said while holding back the quiver on her lips.
Annoyed that his wife didn’t want to be honest, Max finally came closer and looked at her intently.
“What should I do to make you believe?” the man asked, sounding desperate.
A second later, he woman looked up, trying to dispel the doubts in her mind. “You want me to believe you?” she said with frozen tears.
“Yes.”
“Then, from this moment on, you can’t touch me anymore. Even if I faint, you won’t lift me onto the bed or change my clothes.” Gabriella repeated the words that made Max hold his breath. “Keep your words.”
Regret immediately filled Max’s heart and mind. The man realized that he had made a huge, fatal mistake, and unfortunately, what was said was not something that could be changed.
While clenching his fists, Max finally said, “Okay, I’ll prove it.”
With that answer, Max officially became the dumbest man on earth. He couldn’t touch the woman he loved anymore.