“What are you doing?” Gabriella asked as she peeked at her husband’s work.
Getting the attention, the man who initially furrowed his eyebrows, immediately smiled.
“Taking care of things that were delayed,” Max said before kissing his wife’s forehead. “What is it?”
The woman’s lips slowly pursed. “Can you leave your job again today? Mia is here. How about we take her for a walk? That will be fun.”
In just an instant, the curve of Max’s lips turned stiff. After tilting his head, he narrowed his eyes. “Is she the one who proposed this idea to you?”
“Why are you so suspicious like this? Of course not. This is completely my idea. It’s a pity if she came all the way here just to cook,” Gabriella said with an innocent look.
Seeing the honesty in his wife’s eyes, the man suddenly leaned back and sighed. “Where do you want to take her?”
The woman’s eyes spontaneously spun around, looking for ideas. “How about we rent a kayak to Turqoise Hole? It will be fun.”
Without thinking, Max shook his head. “You can’t be too tired, Gaby.”
“You can row for me. I just need to sit and enjoy the view,” the woman said with round eyes. “Do you mind?”
“Is there no other place you would like to visit?”
“The lagoon?” Gabriella said quickly. But, Max shook his head firmly.
“Swimming pool?”
Again, the man showed a gesture of disapproval.
“The beach?” Gabriella said the final idea. However, the husband still refused.
Receiving such a response, the woman automatically sighed and lowered her head. “You sure don’t want to go because of Julian,” she muttered under her breath.
Hearing his brother’s name, Max’s breath suddenly turned heavy. His worries had become real. The wife was able to guess his heart very precisely.
“Sorry, Gaby. I’m not in the mood to travel anywhere, especially with that person.”
After a moment of silence, Gabriella straightened herself and lifted her chin. “Then you stay at home. Let us have fun without you,” she threatened, hoping for a change.
Unexpectedly, Max’s smile spread. “Just do it! But don’t come home too late. You have to be careful and save energy. You can’t be too tired. Understand?”
The corners of Gabriella’s lips threatened to twitch. As quickly as possible, the woman replaced her disappointment with a sweet smile. “Okay. Thank you, Max.”
After kissing her husband’s cheek, the woman left the room and met Mia who was eavesdropping behind the wall.
“How?” the secretary asked through movements of the mouth.
Gabriella answered with a shake of the head. “What should we do now?” the woman whispered as she had failed to persuade her husband.
“If we leave the two of them here, what do you think will happen?” Mia asked after a quick blink.
“There are two possibilities. They’ll either be mute until we get home, or turn this house into a disaster,” Gabriella replied with a shrug.
“Would you like to give it a try?” the secretary asked with a faintly raised eyebrow.
After biting her lip for a moment, Gabriella hissed. “Apparently, it’s worth a try. Maybe they’ll talk if no one else is listening.”
After nodding, the two women rushed to execute the plan.
***
“Remember! This is your last chance, Sir. If you fail, tomorrow we will have to return home empty-handed.”
Mia’s threat had been ringing in his mind for hours. However, Julian still didn’t muster enough courage to approach his brother.
Every now and then, the man looked inside. However, as soon as he saw that Max was too busy with the paperwork, Julian’s gaze immediately turned back to the ocean.
“Ah, what should I do now?” he groaned as he ruffled his hair.
His skin had darkened in the sun, but he still enjoyed sitting on the back porch, a place where he could easily escape if Max suddenly attacked.
Without Julian knowing, the younger brother secretly glanced and snorted sinisterly.
“What a waste,” Max mumbled, commenting on his brother’s wasted time. After a quick check of the clock, he grabbed his phone and ordered some food.
Just as the man was about to put his phone back down, a message suddenly came. As soon as he saw the name that appeared, his lips curled up in a smile.
“Have you had lunch? Mia and I are having a hard time choosing a restaurant.”
A second later, instead of typing a reply, Max picked up the phone and put it to his ear. After a while, what he was waiting for could be heard.
“What’s the matter, Max?” Gabriella replied, tickling the man’s heart. Max could imagine his wife’s round eyes from the tone of her voice.
“Nothing. I just want to hear your voice. So, why are you confused? Just choose the closest one,” the man said, folding his arm in front of his chest.
“I can’t do that, Max. Tomorrow, Mia is back home. Of course I have to take her to the best restaurant,” Gabriella said, making him chuckle.
“Then just pick your favorite. You have good taste.”
Gabriella’s exclamation was suddenly heard. “You are right! I should take her there. Thank you, Max.”
The man smiled at his wife’s light voice. There was nothing he wanted to say. Knowing his woman could return to having fun had fueled the gratitude he was soaking in.
“Max, what do you order for lunch?” Gabriella asked, successfully breaking the silence. “Don’t forget to order for Julian too. I don’t want my husband to be accused of murder just for letting his brother starve.”
Hearing that name, Max suddenly turned stiff. His eyes were fixed on the back of the man who could easily be pushed into the sea.
A moment later, Max took a quick breath. “You don’t have to worry, Gaby. I won’t kill him. Now, have fun. Don’t burden your mind with anything.”
“Okay. We’ll be home before sunset.”
When the call ended, Max’s smile suddenly shrunk. With a heavy sigh, he watched his brother who was on the phone and didn’t get tired of ruffling his hair.
“You’re crazy,” Max mumbled before turning his attention back to work.
One minute later, Julian suddenly got up and approached his brother. With a roaring breath, the man asked, “What should I do to make you forgive me?”
Feeling no need to give an answer, Max continued to look at the laptop and the documents in turn. He didn’t care if his brother’s fist could fly at him. Even if Julian threatened to throw him to the sea, he wouldn’t give it a chance.
“Max?”
Seeing his brother’s indifferent behavior, Julian pounded the table with one hand. “Answer my question!” he yelled, trying to get attention.
Instead of speaking, the younger brother folded his arms and glared back at his older brother. For a few seconds, the two of them just breathed and looked at each other.
“What are you doing?” Julian asked cluelessly.
“Give you an answer.”
His brother’s head began to shake, expecting additional information. “So, what should I do?” The man repeated the question at a lower volume.
“You’re looking at the answer,” Max said, maintaining the gesture. After being satisfied with the confused look in front of him, he smiled sarcastically. “Nothing.”
The rumbling in Julian’s chest could no longer be suppressed. Looking away and gritting his teeth, he put the phone back to the ear.
“Did you hear what he said? He didn’t want to give me a chance at all. He won’t forgive me, Mia!”
Knowing that despair had entangled his brother’s vocal cords, Max finally sighed. “You’re always urging me to forgive you. What exactly did you do wrong?”
In just an instant, Julian turned silent. He began to have trouble speaking. After lowering the phone from his ear, the man looked down and poured out regrets. In a low, choking voice, he said, “I am the real illegitimate son. Not you.”