Chapter 13

Chapter 13

MAX POINT OF VIEW 

I shut the bedroom door and let out a big sigh. My eyes went straight to the whiskey bottle on the nightstand. Without thinking, I grabbed it and poured a big glass. I downed it in one go. It burned, but it didn't help the knot in my stomach. I poured another anyway.

I sat on the bed, the room super quiet after all the yelling downstairs. I could still hear Eva's voice in my head. She sounded so hurt. It got to me more than I wanted to admit. I shut my eyes tight, holding onto the glass like it was keeping me from falling apart.

Eva's words kept bouncing around in my head. "Doesn't that mean anything to you?" She'd looked so broken when she said it. For a second, her eyes were all shiny with tears she was trying not to cry. She was shaking, trying to keep it together. Something inside me... I don't know. It felt weird. But then I remembered why I was in this mess in the first place.

I never wanted to marry her. I never wanted her at all.

I squeezed the glass harder, trying to focus on the cold, hard facts. This marriage was just business. My grandfather set it up to keep the company safe. Eva was just a piece in that game. So was I. I had no reason to care about her crying or her broken heart.

But here I was, sitting in the dark, feeling all messed up because of how she looked at me.

I finished the whiskey and slammed the glass down hard. The sound was loud in the quiet room, but I barely noticed. I wasn't supposed to feel anything for her. But I did. Something about how she looked at me tonight... like I was the only one who could save her... it shook me up. I didn't want to admit it, but it did.

I rubbed my face, trying to get rid of the guilt that was sticking to me. I couldn't let her get to me.

Then, like it always does, Sara's voice popped into my head. It pulled me back from the edge.

"She doesn't deserve you, Max," Sara had whispered last time we were alone. Her voice was soft, but there was something mean in how she said it. "She's not like us. She's weak. You need someone who gets you, someone who knows what it's like to have the world on your shoulders."

Sara always knew how to mess with my head, how to play on my doubts. She'd been there for me when no one else was. She kept reminding me that I didn't owe Eva anything. That this marriage was just a business deal. When I felt like I was starting to care, I held onto Sara's words like they could save me.

"She's weak," I said to myself, trying to believe it. Eva's tears, her feelings... they were just proof she was weak. I couldn't let that get to me. I couldn't let her emotional mess suck me in.

I jumped up and started pacing. This wasn't me. I'm not the kind of guy who lets feelings mess up his thinking. I'd spent years building walls around myself, making sure no one could get close. I wasn't about to let Eva knock those walls down now.

I looked at the whiskey bottle, wanting another drink. But something stopped me. Instead, I took the glass and went to the window. I stared at the city lights blinking in the distance.

This was my life now. A marriage I didn't want, stuck with a woman I hated. But even with all that, I couldn't shake the picture of Eva's face all wet with tears. The way her voice broke when she asked if I cared about her.

"I shouldn't care," I told myself, holding onto the window ledge. "I don't care."

But even as I said it, I knew it wasn't totally true. There was something about her, something that was always there, just under the surface that made it hard to look away.

I swore under my breath, mad at myself for even thinking about this stuff. This was exactly what Sara warned me about Eva's way of making me doubt everything. I couldn't let her do that to me. I had to stay focused, stay in control.

I put the glass down and stood up straight, forcing myself to push all thoughts of Eva out of my head. Tomorrow was a new day. I couldn't let myself get distracted by feelings that didn't belong in this marriage.

Just as I was about to turn away from the window, my phone buzzed on the nightstand. The sound was loud in the quiet room. I walked over and picked it up, frowning when I saw who it was.

My grandfather.

I answered, trying to sound normal even though I was still feeling all messed up inside. "Grandfather."

"Maximilian," he said. His voice was rough and bossy, like always. "I need you to come to the family house tomorrow morning. We need to talk about some things."

I clenched my jaw, squeezing the phone tight. When my grandfather called, it wasn't a request. It was an order. And it usually meant bad news.

"What's it about?" I asked, trying to sound like I didn't care.

"I'll tell you everything when you get here," he said sharply. "Be here by 9."

Before I could say anything else, he hung up.

I stared at the phone for a minute, feeling sick to my stomach. My grandfather hardly ever called me to the family house unless it was something big something that could change everything.

I threw the phone on the bed and went back to the window. My mind was racing. Whatever my grandfather had to say, I knew it wasn't going to be good.

I stood there for a long time, just staring out at the city. What was he going to say? Was it about the company? About Eva? About Sara? I felt like a little kid again, scared of getting in trouble.

Finally, I dragged myself away from the window. I needed to sleep, but my brain wouldn't shut up. I lay down on the bed, still in my clothes, and stared at the ceiling.

Eva's face kept popping into my head. The hurt in her eyes, the way her voice shook when she talked. It made something twist inside me, something I didn't want to feel.

"Stop it," I said out loud to the empty room. "She doesn't matter. None of this matters."

But even as I said it, I knew it wasn't true. Something was changing, whether I wanted it to or not. This thing with Eva, with Sara, with my grandfather... it was all coming to a head.

I rolled over, burying my face in the pillow. Tomorrow was going to suck. I knew it. But there was nothing I could do about it now.

As I lay there, trying to sleep, one thought kept buzzing around in my head.

What the hell am I going to do with Eva?