“Max, I’m fine,” Gabriella said in a low, flat voice.
“Sorry, Gaby. I can’t trust Sebastian,” the man said as he continued to trace his wife’s body.
Knowing her husband’s sincerity, Gabriella almost sighed heavily. Sebastian did not leave a visible trace. However, the woman still feels guilty for being helpless when she is touched by another man.
“What did he do to you?” Max asked, bending his knees to examine his wife’s legs.
“It’s nothing, Max. He just took me to meet you,” the woman lied, trying to keep her expression even.
“Is it true?” the man inquired with an eyebrow raised. “Do you know that it’s Sebastian who devised a plan to set me up in the office? I thought that he deliberately bought my time to kidnap you.”
Sensing her husband’s concern, the corners of Gabriella’s lips lifted sadly. “But now I’m here, with you,” she said, trying to ease the tension.
Unexpectedly, that brief statement managed to make Max stand back up and look look closer.
“Are you really okay? Did Sebastian hurt you or do anything weird to you?”
After a blink of doubt, Gabriella smiled and nodded. “Have you finished checking on me? No suspicious traces, right?”
With warm eyes, Max looked at his wife closely. Having managed to cultivate confidence, his hands began to move gently through the woman’s long hair. “I won’t forgive myself if I fail to take care of you,” he whispered in a thin voice.
Listening to such sincere words, Gabriella’s nerves suddenly froze. She couldn’t imagine what would happen if her husband found out about his father and cousin’s behavior.
When Max began to kiss her lips, Gabriella could no longer open her eyes. She was worried that her husband would detect a lie from her trembling sight.
“Never disappear from me. Understand?” the man whispered, deepening the wound.
After swallowing hard, the woman finally pushed the corners of her lips up. Why wasn’t she able to see Max’s love earlier?
“What are you doing to get your back wet like this?” Gabriella asked, distracting her thoughts. “Your face too.”
As the woman wiped the sweat on her husband’s forehead, Max stroked her wife’s hair again.
“Running against time so I can quickly meet you,” he answered.
“You don’t have to run, Max,” Gabriella sighed with a frown that could no longer be hidden. “Now, how about you take a shower? You must feel hot.”
In just two seconds, the man lowered his hand to grab his wife’s fingers. “Accompany me,” he pleaded in a pitiful voice.
The small curve on the woman’s face instantly became wider. “I’m done showering.”
“Then, give me a bath,” Max said with rounded eyes.
“Why are you being so spoiled all of a sudden?” Gabriella inquired, tilting her head.
“So I can keep seeing you.”
The corners of Gabriella’s lips instantly became heavy. After a moment of silence, she finally nodded with a mischievous smile. While walking backwards, the woman invited her husband into the bathroom.
***
“When was the last time you let someone else clean your hair?” Gabriella asked as she was comfortable sitting on the edge of the bathtub.
The man who was resting his hands on each of his wife’s knees looked up. He didn’t care if the foam on the back of his head touched Gabriella’s twin balls.
“About a dozen years ago,” Max replied casually.
A second later, the woman’s blink turned flat. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up your mother.”
After a smile, Max turned to face his wife.
“It wasn’t Mom who did that, but Dad,” the man explained, intending to reduce Gabriella’s guilt. Unbeknownst to him, his words only doubled the burden on the woman’s heart.
“Mr. Herbert cleaned your hair?” Gabriella asked, not believing her ears.
In no more than a second, Max had nodded. “Actually, Dad was not a cold person as you can see. Back then, he loved his family very much, including me.”
“Do you miss those days?” the woman asked cautiously.
The man’s eyes automatically rolled to check his memory. “Yes, but that was before I met you.”
Gabriella was wide-eyed. “Why is that?”
“Because you have filled my brain with fresh memories. You know, my experience with you at the Ferris wheel has overtaken the joys of my childhood.”
“Have you ever been on a Ferris wheel with your family?” the woman guessed with high arched eyebrows.
Unexpectedly, Max shook his head. “Just Dad and me.”
“Julian and your mother?”
“Julian is afraid of heights. So, Mom had to accompany him,” the man explained before laughing bitterly.
Seeing sadness weigh down her husband’s gaze, Gabriella bit her lip. “Why has Mr. Herbert changed so drastically?” she muttered subconsciously.
“Do you know? Back then, my father was a workaholic. But once Julian was born, he turned into a loving father figure. Since then, he has always made time and pampered his children. When we have children later, I also want to be like the old version of my father,” Max explained before starting to stroke his wife’s stomach.
Receiving such a clear code, the woman gulped. After taking a deep breath, she ventured to ask. “Max, if you really have to choose between Quebracha and me-”
“I’ll choose both,” the man interrupted without the slightest bit of hesitation. “I can definitely take care of you without having to let the company go.”
“If you really have to choose …, what is your choice?” the woman asked emphatically.
Realizing his wife’s insistence, Max suddenly closed his mouth. In silence, he stared intently at Gabriella.
“The success of Quebracha in my hands is the proof I want to show my father. If I fail to reach that point, I can still live even if I have to bear the disappointment,” the man said, starting to make his wife’s heart flutter.
“Then, if you have to let me go?”
Suddenly, Max let out a smile. “I can’t breathe without you, Gaby. And without you by my side, I would definitely flounder like a fish placed on the ground,” the man said half jokingly.
Getting such an answer, the woman reflexively gulped. “You must be joking, right? I can’t be that important,” she said, trying to deny it.
“I never lie about how I feel, Gaby. I do love you,” Max said while stroking his wife’s face with thumb. “I really love you.”
Gabriella’s breath suddenly turned heavy. The husband’s answer did not bode well for Quebracha’s future.
“But I am no body, Max. I have nothing in this world, other than Snowy,” the woman said, trying to influence the man’s decision. However, Max didn’t look swayed at all.
“For me, Gabriella is Gabriella. That is more than enough to make me fall in love.”
Unknowingly, tears began to gather in the eyes of the woman. Her heart had been touched by the husband’s words.
For a moment, Gabriella wished time could stop so that the moment could be enjoyed. She wanted to forget all the turmoil in her thoughts and feelings.
“Why do you only admit it now?” Gabriella sighed as she brushed the foam off the man’s forehead.
“Because I’m sure that my love is not one-sided just now. You love me too.”
A second later, Max pulled his wife to join him in the water. “I ain’t wrong, am I?” the man asked as he let Gabriella sit on his lap.
The woman didn’t answer. She just smiled a little with shoulders moving up and down to compensate for the heated lungs.
“Can we forget all the trouble tonight?” Gabriella whispered with eager eyes.
“Of course,” Max said as he moved his hand down the woman’s back.
In a glance, the man began to burn the air. After closing her eyes, Gabriella also heated up the atmosphere.
“Let’s make a moment to remember tonight. Maybe, the last one.”