Max stormed into the dimly lit suite after Vivian had had revealed the bombshell of a truth, he had called Ray and handed Emma I’ve to him so he could actually get to assimilate the heaviness in Vivian’s words, his entire body pulsing with rage, betrayal, and something far more dangerous-desire. His jaw was clenched so tightly it ached, and his fists curled at his sides as he turned to face Vivian. She stood by the window, arms wrapped protectively around herself, her eyes guarded yet shimmering with unshed tears.
“Why?” His voice was sharp, almost a growl, breaking the heavy silence between them. “Why the hell did you lie to me, Vivian? I believed all these years that it belonged to Daniel and I didn’t want to go after you anymore, not when you hadn’t even denied it when I came”
Vivian flinched but held her ground, inhaling shakily. “Max, I-”
“Don’t.” His voice was low and lethal. He took a step forward, his presence suffocating. “You told me she wasn’t mine. You let me believe that for six goddamn years!” His tone cracked with pain, his hands raking through his hair. “Why, Vivian?!”
Tears finally spilled down her cheeks as she clenched her fists at her sides. “Because I had to!” she cried, her voice shaking. “Because if I didn’t, they would have killed her! They would have killed my mother too so I took them both!”
Max froze. His breathing was heavy, chest rising and falling as her words sank in. His brows furrowed. “Who?” he demanded, his voice lower now, but deadly.
Vivian swallowed hard, her heart pounding. She had kept this secret buried for too long, but now there was no turning back.
“Ruth… and her mother,” she admitted in a whisper.
Max stiffened. His entire body went rigid as the names left her lips, his eyes darkening with a storm of emotions-rage, disbelief, and something deeper, something agonizing.
“What did you just say?” His voice was eerily calm.
Vivian closed her eyes briefly, as if bracing herself for his reaction. “Ruth and her mother threatened me. They said if I didn’t disappear, if I didn’t make you believe I moved on, they would kill my baby. And my mother. And not only that, my father was involved as well, they’re working together”
Max took a step back, his world spinning. His breath came out in harsh pants as he processed her words, the weight of them suffocating. “You’re telling me they forced you to leave me? That they threatened our child?” His voice shook with fury.
Vivian nodded, her tears falling freely. “Yes. And I couldn’t let them hurt Emma. I had no choice, Max.”
His entire body tensed as a deadly realization settled in. “And you expect me to believe you suffered alone all these years while I, while I fucking drowned in the lie that she wasn’t mine?”
Vivian’s shoulders shook, her voice breaking. “I didn’t want to leave you, Max! But I had to protect her! You weren’t even helping matters then, you were so cold to me because you believed that I was a maniac, sexually deprived, fed with lies my sister told you. I had no protection, not even from you because you didn’t trust me either, no one did. it was just I and my baby then so what would you have me do then? Stay? When I had no guarantee that you wouldn’t even leave me again, when it was obvious you only wanted me help you get your father’s properties and… and even when you started me with your attitude. I was very confused Max, I had no choice but to go, my grandfather was the only person that could offer me solace at that time and I’m sorry okay! But I don’t regret it one bit.”
Max turned away, his fists clenching as he struggled to contain the burning anger roaring inside him. His vision blurred with rage, his pulse thundering in his ears as the words left Vivian’s lips. It was excruciatingly painful.
But then another thought struck him, something darker, something even more sickening.
“If Ruth and her mother did this…” He turned back to Vivian, his voice dangerously low. “Then what about my mother? You said she died in an accident.”
Vivian swallowed hard, hesitating.
Max took a threatening step closer. “Vivian, tell me the truth.”
She closed her eyes for a moment before she spoke. “It wasn’t an accident,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “Ruth’s mother… killed her together with Sofia’s Mom”
Max’s body went cold. His breath hitched as something dark and violent twisted inside him. “What did you say?”
Vivian wiped at her tears. “Max, your father… he was having an affair with my mother.”
The room spun around him.
“My mother never wanted it,” Vivian continued. “She tried to leave, but your father wouldn’t let her go. And Ruth’s mother… she found out. She saw my mother as a threat. She hated my family. And so, she made sure your mother was eliminated so she could have full control over your father. She orchestrated the accident, Max. She killed her.”
Max’s entire world shattered in that moment. His breath came out in short, harsh gasps as the truth sliced through him like a blade. His mother-murdered. His child, stolen from him. His love forced away.
Rage consumed him. A deadly, uncontrollable fire burned in his veins, his blood boiling with the need for vengeance.
His fists slammed against the wall beside Vivian’s head, making her gasp. His other hand reached for her, gripping her wrist tightly as he yanked her closer. Their bodies pressed together, their breaths heavy, mingling in the charged air.
“You should have told me,” he growled, his voice rough, dark. “You should have fought with me.”
Tears slipped down Vivian’s cheeks. “I couldn’t risk it, Max. I had to protect Emma.”
Max’s jaw clenched, his muscles taut with restraint. He wanted to be furious with her, but the sight of her trembling in his grasp, the pain in her eyes, shattered his control.
“Goddamn it, Vivian,” he rasped before crashing his lips against hers.
Vivian gasped into the kiss, her hands instinctively clutching his shirt as he devoured her mouth with raw, desperate hunger.
It was angry. It was deep. It was years of pain, of longing, of missed time colliding in a storm of passion.
Max’s hands roamed her body with urgency, one gripping her waist while the other trailed up her thigh, pulling her closer, pressing her against the wall. Vivian moaned into his mouth, her fingers tangling in his hair, pulling him even closer.
His lips traveled down her jaw, trailing heated kisses along her neck, biting, sucking, marking her as his. Vivian arched against him, her breath hitching as his hands explored her curves with ruthless possession.
“Max…” she breathed, her voice barely coherent as his lips trailed lower, his hands gripping her thighs, lifting her.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done to me?” Max growled, his voice dark with need. “Six years, Vivian. Six fucking years without you.”
Vivian’s eyes were wild with passion, her body trembling against him. “I never stopped loving you,” she confessed breathlessly.
Max stilled, his forehead pressing against hers, their breaths ragged. His hands cupped her face as his thumb traced her lips.
“Then don’t leave me again,” he murmured, his voice low, raw.
Vivian swallowed hard, nodding. “I won’t.”
Max claimed her lips again, this time slower, deeper, filled with an unspoken promise. His fingers caressed her thighs, teasing, making her whimper against him.
His name left her lips in a moan as he pressed his body into hers, their heat melding together, their need consuming them.
Vivian’s fingers clawed at his back, desperate to be closer, desperate for more.
But just as things were about to spiral into something they wouldn’t be able to stop-
A knock on the door.
Both of them froze, their breaths harsh, their bodies still tangled.
“Boss,” Ray’s voice came from the other side. “You need to see this.”
Max cursed under his breath, resting his forehead against Vivian’s for a moment before stepping back, his hands still lingering on her hips.
Vivian bit her lip, her body still thrumming from his touch.
Max exhaled deeply, his eyes dark with frustration. “This isn’t over,” he promised, his fingers trailing down her arms before he finally pulled away.
Vivian nodded, her cheeks flushed, her lips swollen.
Max straightened, running a hand through his hair before opening the door. Ray stood there, his expression grim.
Max’s gaze hardened. “What is it?”
Ray hesitated. “It’s about Ruth. And your stepmother.”
Max’s entire body tensed. His jaw locked.
The war had just begun.
And this time, he wasn’t losing.