Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
At night, Mary walked out of the bathroom in her nightdress, wiping her wet hair with a towel. As she was wrapping her hair with the towel, she saw that Max was sitting on the chair in front of the dressing table, with his head lowered to open the drawer.
Her expression darkened and she immediately walked over to stop him With one hand still on the towel on her head, she pressed the other against his which lay on the handle of the drawer. “Max, don’t go through my stuff.”
Max relaxed his grip on the handle.
Turning around and meeting Mary’s angry eyes, he said lightly, “I won’t go through your stuff.”
“Weren’t you just about to open the drawer?” Her cold eyes stared at him warily. Max met her gaze for a moment before lowering his head.
Pointing at the drawer with his long fingers, he said, “I saw that the paint on your dressing was chipping, so I was wondering if I should buy a new one for you.”
Mary didn’t doubt him and she relaxed a little. Lowering her head, she looked over the drawer. She felt a little guilty for having misunderstood him, then said stiffly, “There’s no need to buy a new one. I like using old things.”
Everything in this villa had not been changed. She was grateful to whoever had bought the villa.
Max saw that her hair was still wet
“Sit down. I’ll dry your hair for you.” He stood up and pointed at the chair.
Mary refused, “I can dry it myself. It’s late. You should leave.”
“Tomorrow, I’m going back to the Gaston residence.”
Max stood in front of Mary, half a head taller than her.
Mary put on a fake smile. “Okay, I understand.”
“Mary.” Max’s face darkened. He did not like the way she looked at him and talked to him. However, Mary didn’t care about what he fel. She raised her brows. “Is there anything else?”
“Let me dry your hair for you.”
Max was very stubborn. Mary stared at him for a moment before she sat on the chair that he had been on earlier. There was still some warmth leftover.
She had just showered and was only wearing a nightdress. She had not expected him to come to her room.
The warmth that surrounded her made her uncomfortable. Max did not seem to notice her discomfort. He plugged in the hairdryer and used his long fingers to lift the strands of her wet hair, then began to blow them.
The room fell silent.
Mary lowered her eyes, avoiding looking at herself in the mirror, but Max kept looking at her reflection. He remained quiet.
Being with her like this reminded him of when she had just arrived at the Gaston family fifteen years ago. When she had just lost her parents, she always cried in secret and woke up from her dreams in the middle of the night. Several times, he had stayed by her bed to accompany her. He didn’t return to his room until she had fallen asleep.
Back then, she had relied on him, and was close to him.
Before her parents’ accident, she had always chased after him, claiming that she would marry him. However, after moving in with the Gastons, she changed.
Even if she had been woken by her dreams, she wouldn’t been willing to grab onto him. She avoided any physical contact with him. When he wanted to pat her head, she would dodge his hand. She had said that he already had a fiancée. This was despite her hatred towards Sandra.
“Mary.”
Max’s deep voice broke the silence and interrupted Mary’s thoughts. She looked up at his reflection in the mirror.
Their eyes met. She blinked.
He ask, “Back then, when you first came to the Gaston family, did my mother say something to you?”
“What do you mean?” Mary played dumb and asked.
Max felt suffocated.
“I remember that when you were young, you often said that you wanted to marry me when you grew up.”
Mary hadn’t expected him to say that. Her emotions were churning.
“I was just a child then.”
Max’s eyes were filled with warmth. “You were so adorable back then.”
Mary did not reply. Max continued, “After you moved in with us, you stayed away from me even when I just wanted to touch your head.”
Mary quickly averted her eyes away from his gaze and stared at the skincare products on the dressing table. Max fixed his gaze on her. “You still refuse to tell me what my mother told you?”
“It’s been such a long time. How could I remember?”
“She forced you to make a vow. Don’t you remember?”
Mary was stunned. She abruptly looked up and met his sharp gaze in the mirror. Her expression faltered. She seemed to have thought of something and stood up. Max still had his fingers wrapped around strands of her hair. They pulled on her scalp as she did so.
Max stopped her. “Sit down.”
He pressed her shoulder, making her return to the seat, and turned the chair around so that she faced him.
Mary had conflicted feelings. She did not know why she felt this way. Was she afraid of the oath that she had taken? Or was she flustered that Max knew about it?
“That is the reason for not wanting to marry me, right?” Max asked in a husky voice.
“Of course not.” Mary retorted instantly.
Her eyes were filled with anger. “It is because I can’t accept that you have done it with Sandra.”
“If I can prove that I haven’t slept with her, would you marry me?”
Max suddenly released her hair. Clutching her shoulders, he bent down and looked at her. She could feel his warm breath on her face.
She did not want to talk about this, but Max was insistent. “Would you?”
“No.”
“Because my mother forced you to swear such a thing, you’re afraid I’ll die a horrible death if you marry me, right?”
“Not really.”
“Then why?”
“Because I only want to be with the person I love.”
“The person you love is John?” Max’s expression darkened. His eyes gradually filled with anger.
“Max, can we not talk about this for now? If I fall in love with you one day, I will marry you.” Mary thought about her objective, and decided to tolerate Max for now.
“Those are your words.”
“Yes.”
“So you still like John?”
Max thought about the flowers John had sent her these few days. They even had meals together. John would definitely call her or send messages. At the thought of all that, Max was very unhappy.
Mary hesitated with how to answer, but Max believed that that was a tacit admission.
He grabbed her by the back of her head, lowered his head, and kissed her hard on the mouth. In an authoritative tone, he told her, “Stop liking him..”