Chapter 71

ISABELLA'S POV

“Can we talk?”

I swallowed, feeling a sudden rush of nerves. I didn’t want to talk. I didn’t want to look at him, didn’t want to feel this… whatever it was. But I couldn’t exactly tell him to leave. Not when he looked at me like that.

“What is it, Maxwell?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady, though I wasn’t sure I succeeded.

He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. There was a hesitance in his movements, as if he was unsure of what to do next. That wasn’t like him. Maxwell was always so sure of himself, so confident. Seeing him like this only made the knot in my chest tighten.

“I wanted to… apologize,” he began, his eyes meeting mine briefly before he looked away. “For what you saw earlier. That wasn’t what it looked like.”

I wanted to ask him what it *was* then, but the words caught in my throat. Instead, I just nodded, unsure of what else to do.

He took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair in a gesture that seemed almost… vulnerable. “I