Chapter Fifteen #2
My brain finally caught up with the situation.
Vanessa was a famous model, who regularly ended up on the front pages of fashion magazines, and the rest of the time she made headlines for her turbulent love life.
She was a wild child from famous parents, who loved attention and the notoriety it brought her.
Marcie had been in some of her lifestyle party pictures with her.
“This is Maximus’ wife,” Vanessa said, nodding in my direction, and bringing the full weight of everyone’s attention to me.
Marcie flinched back, shock on her face when she stared at me. “He told you he couldn’t marry,” Marcie replied, her eyes narrowing on me. “Did you trap him with a pregnancy?”
Mama had been a role model her entire life, showing poise and elegance in the face of every crisis that landed at her door. I straightened my shoulders the way she did, lengthening my spine, and raising my head.
“Not that it matters, but who are either of you, and why are you here stalking my husband?” I asked, stealing my sister’s filth eye she had mastered years ago for when people annoyed her.
Maximus’ lips twitched, his gaze landing directly on me. “It was incredibly romantic,” he commented. “There I was minding my own business, and Livvie asked me to marry her. Who am I to refuse such a declaration of love?”
My eyebrow rose at his words, but he grinned in reply. The asshole was enjoying himself.
“I’ve never seen you about at any of the parties back home,” Vanessa said, and I could feel the humid atmosphere turning ice cold with her anger.
“That’s because I don’t go to them.” I took another sip of my drink, and carefully placed it back on the moisture ring on the table. “Max and I go way back. He was my first teenage crush, and then he saved me from some bad men a few years ago. This time he saved me from a fate worse than death.”
“What is a fate worse than death?” Marcie enquired.
“A society marriage to a man who has no idea what my clitoris is for, and needs a map to find my G-spot,” I replied. “Can you imagine being married to a prick who has no idea how to use his dick?”
Maximus pursed his lips together, and turned away, but not before I saw the amusement in his eyes.
The two women stared at each other, clearly never having encountered someone with my affliction before. Roberto always told me that my smartass mouth would get me in trouble. There were times it felt as if a pixie took control of my speech, and said the most ridiculous things.
“Anyway, thanks for joining us,” I continued, unable to stop myself from talking. “There are plenty of available men outside partying, I’m sure beautiful women like yourselves don’t need to slum it with married men.”
Vanessa reached out as if to touch Maximus’ face. He grabbed her wrist before she could connect.
“My wife was generous about the situation,” he said, his voice hard and cold. “I didn’t invite you here, so fuck off before I have you barred from my clubs back home.” He pushed her hand away, and I watched her beautiful face turn ugly.
“You’ll crawl your way back to me,” she hissed, turning to me. “I pity the wife of men like him. They are fools who make a home, and accept the lies they are fed while their husbands shag who they want behind their backs.”
That was just plain insulting. “Do I look like a fool?” I asked, aware we were drawing attention to us.
“I have no problem protecting my home, and that includes ensuring my husband has no need to roam. If you can’t keep a man, then I advise you to examine why instead of pointing the finger at others. ”
I sat and glared at her the way I had seen Mama do when Papa annoyed her. Vanessa eventually reacted the same way as Papa, and looked away.
“Vanessa?” I said, making her look at me. “Stay away from my husband. That ring on his finger says he belongs to me.”
She stared at me for several seconds before turning on her incredibly high heels, and stomping toward the door.
“Are there many more horny women out there who believe they have the right to touch you?” I asked when they had left.
Maximus cracked his neck from side to side, watching me. “The only woman with a right to touch me is you. I told you that on our wedding day.”
“She is very beautiful,” I commented.
“Most women tend to become clones as they style their hair the same, and use the same cosmetic doctors,” Maximus replied. “External beauty is purchased, internal beauty is a rare gift.”
I lifted my drink, confused and annoyed at what had happened. It had spoiled a day filled with laughter and memories. Maximus and I had been slowly becoming closer, and now it felt as if a wall had been pushed between us. I pretended to watch out the window.
“Don’t,” he said, his fingers gripping my chin to force me to look at him. “Don’t distance yourself from me.”
I blinked, tears forming in my eyes. It felt as if he was looking into my soul. “I know how this works,” I whispered. “There are certain expectations on me, and you can do what you want.”
Maximus’ expression grew hard, and he stood abruptly, reaching into his pocket to throw cash on the table. He grabbed my hand, and dragged me into walking out of the restaurant. It felt as if the balmy high temperature had dropped into an arctic environment.
Maximus didn’t look back once, his figure dark and imposing. I chewed the corner of my mouth, trying to figure out how to turn back time to get the smiling man from earlier back.
“Max!” I tried to dig my heels into the ground, but he was stronger than me, and he was focused on wherever we were going. “Max!” I shouted when we moved into an area that was less busy, and my voice could be heard.
He stopped, spinning back so suddenly I stumbled. “I am not discussing this in public,” he hissed, and I saw an insight of the man who terrified people. “I am tired of being accused of shit that has nothing to do with me.”
He turned, and returned to his stomping, half dragging me behind him until we reached the apartment. We stood in stoney silence inside the elevator, my gaze glued to the dial which highlighted the floors until we reached the top of the building.
My heart was in my mouth when we stepped into the cool of the hallway.
“Max…” He cut me off with his stare, before he moved toward the living area with the grace of a caged tiger. I followed at a slow pace, finding him staring out the window with his fist clenched at his side.
His gaze found mine in the window, and for the first time in a long time, I felt as if I was the bad person. It was an unsettling thought that left a sick feeling in the bottom of my stomach as I sat on the edge of the sofa.
“I do not harm innocent people,” Maximus finally said in a voice that sounded haunted and tired. “I do not condone rape in my organisation or sexual torture, and I certainly do not allow the buying or selling of women.”
He finally turned to face me. “I’m sick of being accused of sins that you’ve watched other men commit.
My parents have been married a long time, and in all those years, I believe they have been faithful.
It’s not unheard of in our dark world, but only because they both worked on their relationship.
The choice is yours, Olivia.” He paused for a moment.
“We either make this marriage work together, or I have it annulled, and send you back to Roberto.”
The mention of my brother’s name made bile burn up the back of my throat, reminding me of why I had chosen this pathway.
“I’m not accusing you of anything, Max.” I stared up at him, my arms resting on my knees. “I’ve watched my mother and my sisters, observed Roberto as he moves people across his chessboard, sacrificing people to claim checkmate. I’ve been terrified of marriage since I was ten years old.”
He continued to watch me, those cobalt blue eyes boring into the depths of my soul.
“Life is a gamble, sometimes we win, and sometimes we forfeit our hand. I imagine marriage is the same. I won’t deny my past, but our future is in your hands.
” He shrugged one powerful shoulder before returning to stare out the window.
A chill trickled down my spine at the thought of losing this dark and dangerous man. He had been the one grounding force who had been my deepest secret, and the world was a very lonely place without him.