Master of his heart (Brielle and Max)

Chapter 413

Alivia’s face still held a gentle warmth as she spoke, “We’ve known each other for so many years, and it’s the first time I’ve heard you talk about someone special. She must be quite the catch. As a friend, I’m really happy for you. Are you sticking around for dinner tonight? If you’re eager to be with her, maybe you should head over, especially with how outrageous the media has been today. I worry it might give her the wrong idea.”

It was a tactical retreat. Alivia was playing her cards right by suggesting Max should go to Brielle and mentioning the media’s exaggerated stories, implying that the media’s fabrications. had nothing to do with her.

Having known Max for years, Alivia was aware that aside from his work, he hardly paid attention to anything else, let alone spontaneously checking someone’s social media. That’s why she felt confident enough to post those ambiguous messages on her own account, only to delete them shortly after posting. Even if someone took screenshots, she could claim it was malicious intent, and she’d still manage to come out squeaky clean.

In Alivia’s eyes, Max’s affection for Brielle was simply due to men’s natural inclination to protect the vulnerable. Yes, it was because Brielle was less capable, less dazzling than Alivia was, that Max was momentarily beguiled by her.

Men didn’t fancy women with too much guile; they felt threatened and found them hard to handle. But if she positioned herself as a humble admirer, whose every action sprang from her affection for him, what reason would Max have to be harsh with her?

If she could soften his heart just once, she knew it would gradually lead to a bond of

compassion, tipping the scales of love in her favor.

Even now, Alivia refused to believe that Max could truly love Brielle. She saw Brielle’s emergence as a minor disturbance; as long as Alivia’s relationship with Max could withstand this trial, she had nothing to fear from any future storms.

In short, Brielle was nothing more than a spice in Alivia’s emotional recipe, not worth fretting over, and certainly not worth a full–scale war.

no intention of making life

Spend time with Mom.” He stood

hint of amusement flickered in Alivia’s eyes as her lips curled into a smile. “Aunt Martha will. be thrilled. I’ll let

it wasn’t until he had left that he raised his hand to massage his

made his position crystal clear. But Alivia was cunning. Her admiration was open and seemingly without the intent to disturb him. If he couldn’t

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border on ingratitude, given how attentive Alivia had been to Martha over

just a friend of many years. From Max’s perspective, there seemed to be no fault to pick.

he picked up the phone and stepped onto the balcony to call her.

had tossed the pregnancy test into the bin that morning and hadn’t thought about it since. Max could show up at any time: she couldn’t let

heart clench and her grip loosening, dropping the trash to the

feel a

“About to.”

make something yourself?”

picked up the scattered trash, she replied, “Yeah.”