Chapter Sixty: Not Safe

The following morning came in a flash. Everywhere was cool, and most people were still asleep. Maxwell rolled in his bed, pondering on his daily tasks for the day.

When he remembered that Amelia was still injured, he sat up in bed. He recalled how fervent she loved to go to work, and he wasn't going to permit that right now.

He yawned slight and grabbed a shirt, pushed the door open and headed towards Amelia's room.

His heart melted at the sight of Amelia sleeping lazily in bed. Her door was on latch, so he pushed it open and got in, stealing glances at the beautiful walls.

Amelia was also vigilant. Though she had left her door open overnight, she still felt the presence of someone in the room. Her eyes slowly opened and once she saw that it was Maxwell, she sat up in bed slowly and turned to face him, trying to maintain a blank face.

“You need to send an email to the office. Let them know that you're sick and won't be able to make it to work today.” He plainly said.

The look on Amelia's face made him doubt if his words sounded like an advice. To him, it was a real command. He feared she could go to work with a gloomy face that would raise a lot of suspicions.

Gloominess on Amelia's face could result in a lot of havoc, according to his thoughts. He was more concerned about the leak of the secret between them. What was going on between them had to be kept confidential continually.

He was scared that she might spill the secret to anyone, though he barely believed she would do that. His mind also agreed with her staying at home today. After all, she wasn't fine and she really needed the break he told her to get.

He narrowed his eyes at Amelia, but she shifted her gaze and sat more comfortably in bed, running her hands through her hair as though she just woke up from her dream. But few seconds later, she realized the realness of Maxwell's words and started pleading with him.

“Please, I am not satisfied with your decision,” she began, gritting her teeth, “I don't need to send them any email. I need to resume work.”

Maxwell exhaled a sharp sigh. He felt a bit odd that she was doubting the sincerity and aura of command his words conveyed. His eyes darkened as he glared at her furiously.

When he noticed her gaze softening, he also lowered the severity of his gaze and tried to talk sense into her.

He pulled a chair close to the edge of the bed where she sat, and with his eyes searching hers, he resumed what he wanted to say earlier.

“I'm going to work. I will ensure everything works out fine. You don't have to worry about anything.” He said, believing those words would convince her. He was, at that moment, impassive to any of her words that would counter his verdict.

Afterwards, he noticed the defeat written on her face. It was what he expected. He never believed he couldn't have his way with her. He pulled her closer to himself and planted a kiss on her cheek.

With a quick smile etched on the edges of his lips, he rose to his feet. He winked at her once more and walked away from the room. He believed she wouldn't try to leave her room tof go to office since he would not be monitoring her.

The following hours moved slowly. Even Maxwell that wasn't locked down in his room because of sickness, could attest to that. How much more Amelia, who had been forced to stay at home? It felt like the clock wasn't even ticking. She would get furious and try to hit the clock. Halfway, she would convince herself it wasn't a solution at all.

She sat in bed and thought of how she could plan her daily schedule, purposefully to whirl away time. She needed to see the clock tick, if not quickly as she desired, then at least, averagely.

She sighed at intervals whenever she turned away from the clocks, and turned back towards it. She would realize only a minute or two had just passed.

Maxwell had gone to work. He had it in mind to ensure everything would work fine as he had whispered to Amelia before she could be slightly convinced to stay back.

Eric harnessed the chance of Maxwell's absence, and came to meet Amelia in her room. He could sense Amelia's constant desire to speak with him and ask some burning questions from him as well but he felt unprepared for her complex questions.

She probed him to answer only those he knew about, but he totally refused to say anything to her. Though he sensed hee desperacy, he cherished the concealment of the secret better.

She tried to offer him what he loved, but Eric didn't pay attention to all she said. What if he did, and was convinced after all? What would happen to the secret? Exposing it could mean the end of him, the end of them. He felt the need to remind her this.

“Leave me alone, Amelia. Do not continue to trouble me,” he said, his tone etched with seriousness, “answering your questions or hinting you at what the answers could turn out to be, would only cause us havoc. Don't walk me to the path of my death. The path of our death, actually. It's better we put an end to this conversation. It is not meant to be talked about.”

Amelia felt like hitting him hard, pinning him to the walls and forcing those words out of his mouth. Her desperacy was about to attain another level, but she took a deep breath, and maintained maximum composure.

“Simple, few, questions,” she murmured.

“Even though,” Eric replied, determined to keep the secret, “I won't reply to you.”

Amelia tried to break down the questions in a way that Eric would not suspect it was actually the question she had earlier asked. But Eric got her there. He kept proving to be smarter, even if only in that aspect.

She narrowed her eyes at him, and he also gave her a questioning look, creating tension between both of them.

Amelia started to perceive that Maxwell was someone more dangerous than she had ever thought. Over the past moments, she had been guessing who Maxwell could truly be. Judging from her outward expression, the shock especially, it was apparent that she had grasped an inkling of who Maxwell truly was.

She suddenly started feeling unsafe in his care. She stared back at Eric whose stares sent her gaze shifting away. She swallowed the lump in her throat, and took a deep breath.

She was torn between hoping Maxwell would not eventually confirm her doubts and act as the very dangerous person she now thought he was, and believing that Maxwell couldn't be as dangerous.

Evening was approaching, and it was clear to her that Maxwell would soon return from work. They worked in the same place, though not the same office, and she was aware of when workers there would be free to quit work for the day.

Maxwell could delay his arrival at the pack because of traffic or some more tangible reasons, so she still felt convenient with Eric staying in her room.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of the gate. Her eyes popped up, and she hurried to the window to peek on the figure approaching.

Maxwell had arrived, but he was rather by the doorway. He pushed the door open and when he saw Eric, a small frown appeared on his chin.

Amelia was stunned to see him, and wondered what his plans would be, to discourage Eric from ever visiting me.

When Maxwell returned to the pack, he could see Eric discussing with Amelia, outside her room. A quick wave of anger washed through him, but he opted to challenge and instruct them.

“Go back to your room.” He simply ordered Amelia. She cowered in his presence, bowed her head, and returned to her room, not willing to be a victim of his present fury.

He watched her leave till she vanished into her room.





Chapter 58

Eric stood still, also watching Amelia as she departed into her room. He turned to face Maxwell. Surprisingly, Maxwell turned to face him the exact time he did.

They got into a conversation pretty quick, but there was a slight tension between them as they spoke. Maxwell was ready to end the conversation, though not on a bad note.

Following the end of their conversation, he fetched Amelia as quickly as possible. She bowed her head and requested for how she could assist him at that moment.

“Fetch me Amelia. She's in her room,” Maxwell said, and she immediately departed to carry out his instruction. He shot Eric one last glance, and took a deep breath. Eric walked away but he leaned on the walls, and waited for Amelia to arrive.

He had many words to spill to her at that point. His mind was bleeding with words, and he couldn't wait to see her figure approaching him.

As he imagined, it happened. Amelia showed up at a corner, and began to walk towards him. He rubbed his palms against each other anticipating her arrival. He dispatched the maid as soon as they both arrived in front of him.

Amelia slightly bowed her head while the maid walked back to her post. He pulled her closer to himself and opened a conversation with her.

“Amelia,” he silently called, poring over her face, “can you count how many times I have warned you to behave yourself and don't get involved in events, issues, or discussions that would get on my nerves.”

Amelia rolled her eyes, but not at him. A light chuckle escaped from her lips, but Maxwell let it slide, believing she was only being irrational.

“I don't want you to push me to do what I do not want to do,” he continued, and reached out for her hands. He held them closely with his palms and his gaze softened upon staring at her beautiful eyes.

There was a rather questioning look on Amelia's face, but Maxwell believed she didn't understand his words much clearly yet. He cleared his throat and sought to improve his coherence.

“Do you even understand what I am saying?” He asked in a hushed tone. She briefly gave him a nod for a response. Though he wasn't convinced she truly understood him, he pressed further to fully communicate his words with her.

“I am using this moment to apologize for all the times I have manhandled you. I could be aware I was doing that. I could not be aware. But please forgive me.” He said, the expression on his face matching with the soft voice he spoke with.

She refused to chuckle this time around. She wasn't having any of his words, but she remained calm in front of him, eagerly anticipating when he would conclude his words and release her to return to her room.

“How does it sound?” Maxwell questioned, trying to ease the tension her fiery gaze introduced.

He pushed her chin and made her eyes focus on his face. He wished she would gulp at his handsome face and feel what he was feeling at that point. He reminded himself that he was a man, and he wouldn't let his feelings die out of shyness to speak up.

“The love of a mother towards her children is very little compared to the love I have for you. Every night, I dream of you. Every single day, I think of you. I envision you in my arms. I always felt your presence even in your absence.” He said to her, trying hard not to get discouraged by her stoic look.

She stared at him blankly like though no one was speaking to her. Perhaps Maxwell could have confessed that to someone else who would feel the love from his sugar-coated words. Confessing that to Amelia seemed like a big miss, judging from the expression etched on her face only.

Since he opened the conversation till he was about to close it, Amelia had unintentionally fixed a disgusting glare on her face to indicate to Maxwell to refrain from attempting to gain her attention or force her to love him.

All she could see was a psychotic who didn't realize what he was. She couldn't feel one percent of the emotions and scenes Maxwell had described.

A mix of shock and numbness appeared on Maxwell's chin as he watched her switch of emotions closely. He didn't feel bad for speaking those words. However, he felt bad that they didn't land on a fertile ground.

Amelia assumed he could have spent his whole life trying to compose those love messages, but she didn't say anything to him.

Her mind was clouded with the thought of Jonah. If it wasn't him running through her mind, then it would be no one else. That was the dude that could easily gain her attention without even having to compose a love message or a poem. Perhaps Maxwell didn't know that those words would never appeal to her. He could try a different person, or stop talking to her about it.

She felt imposed to abide by Maxwell's rules, only because of Jonah's safety. Defying Maxwell's rules wouldn't only get her punished, but could also pose a bigger threat to Jonah's life, who has been locked for a while now.

She believed Jonah was the reason Maxwell could exercise control over her. If he wasn't locked up, she wouldn't be so submissive to Maxwell. She could try to exclude herself from the whole matter, but Jonah was the dude after her heart.

Since she could be interested in someone else so deeply, she believed that she could simply inform Maxwell to discontinue his cold call love messages. It sounded so blunt to her, and for the safety of her life and Jonah's, she decided to stay silent about it.

For as long as Jonah would be in the pack cell, Amelia would be constantly frustrated by Maxwell's advances and slight threats. He would exercise his dominion on her for as long as he wanted, as severe as he would like it to be.

Silence fell between the two of them suddenly. They hadn't lost their minds. In fact, they continually exchanged looks and each of them tried to break the silence but failed halfway.

Several thoughts raced through their minds as Amelia began to get bored by the long silence between them. She mistook it for the end of their conversation, and then rose to her feet.

“I am not done speaking.” Maxwell whispered. She seemed not to have heard him clearly. She crouched and placed her ears closer to him, endearing him to spill out the rest of the words he still had to say.

“Just take your sit and let us continue.” He ordered. As expected, there was an aura of command and respect in his tone. But Amelia got tensed at the silence still.

She assumed he would begin the conversation, but he seemed to need her attention only.

She sat back on the chair and turned to face him, as a large scowl was written on her face.

It seemed like Maxwell was having a hard time gathering his thoughts together. He could have spoken up. He could have even stopped her in her tracks while she was initially returning to her room when he caught Eric and her conversing.

She reclined her back, and waited for his words as Maxwell began to speak now.