Chapter 309

But let’s face it, a woman’s strength just doesn’t stack up against a man’s. She struggled for a bit, then gave in, allowing herself to be gently placed in the passenger seat.

Max even did the chivalrous thing and buckled her in, just like in the old days. The gesture brought them so close they could hear each other’s breathing.

Brielle was the first to look away, fixing her gaze on the road ahead. “I need to get back to Pearl Estate.”

“Alright.”

Max settled into the driver’s seat and was about to hit the gas when his phone dinged with a new message. It was from Andrew. [I’m at Premier Palace, why aren’t you here?]

Max frowned and ignored it, gliding the car smoothly out of the underground parking.

The air was thick with silence between them. Brielle, unable to stand the suffocating quiet and unsure of Max’s intentions, rolled down her window.

The rush of fresh air seemed to lighten the mood.

As they were approaching Pearl Estate, Max finally spoke up. “Noah’s go So, his pursuit of Brielle definitely wasn’t genuine.

a crush.”

Brielle was sharp; she caught the hint. But she was surprised he’d even care about Noah’s affairs. She frowned, “On who? Alivia?”

She thought the name would stir something in Max. After all, if Noah really fancied Alivia, wouldn’t that make him and Max rivals in love?

However, Max didn’t even bat an eyelash, as if the name meant nothing more than any other.

“Yeah.”

He wanted to add that Noah must’ve been up to something and was playing games. Max knew Brielle wouldn’t fall for it, yet he couldn’t help feeling uneasy.

What if she fell in love with him?

Her words reached his ears, light and breezy. “So Mr. Noah’s got a thing for Alivia, and is this all to get back at her by messing with me?”

Knowing where Max’s heart lay, she reverted to the old Brielle. There was no need to play small in front of him, as they were never meant to be. She ripped away the pretense, exposing her true feelings.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched for his reaction. As expected, his brow furrowed at her words. “Alivia and I go way back, same with her brother – a lifelong friend. She wouldn’t stoop to using such tactics.”

Brielle chuckled softly, turning to gaze out the window. Right, when someone disappointed you, they wouldn’t do it just once?

They were childhood sweethearts, inseparable since they were kids. And her? She was nothing. Not even a passerby in his life, at best a fleeting breeze at Mr. Dorsey’s fingertips, gone with a wave of his hand.

After that, Brielle fell silent and stayed silent all the Until the car stopped at Pearl Estate.

Max intended to get out and open the door for her, but Brielle, leaning on her cane, got out herself. She walked past him, a few steps away, before tossing over her shoulder, “Thanks, Mr. Dorsey.”

Max’s mouth tasted like he’d bitten into a sour lemon. He meant to follow her but then heard. Brielle continue. “No need to walk me in.” She was clearly shooing him off.

Watching her retreating figure, Max felt a twinge of frustration. He swore he’d never felt this choked up in his life, except with Brielle.

Max had never really pondered what it meant to like someone, to feel love.

To Max, love was being happy around someone due to your brain flooding with dopamine. But as time passed, the dopamine would fade, and if someone new came along, it would spike again.

That was why so many in Beaconsfield were always hopping from one romance to the next, never settling down.

At eighteen, Max understood that people just couldn’t resist the pull of dopamine, especially for something as evolutionarily critical as sex. So, in his mind, this thing called love didn’t really exist.

He might as well head back to Premier Palace. Brielle didn’t seem to care much about him anyway. As he was thinking this, his steps, however, veered towards the estate’s gate.