Chapter 22 Under the planetarium's starry dome, Maxine looked up and watched the simulated Milky Way slowly move. William stood behind her, his arm loosely around her shoulders, keeping her from getting bumped by the crowd of tourists. "That one was Altair in Aquila," he leaned down and explained in her ear, "in the legend, it and Vega could only meet once a year." Maxine chuckled, "Isn't this a tragedy." "But at least they could meet again every year." William's voice was soft, "right?" Maxine turned her head to look at him and suddenly noticed that his eyelashes looked especially long under the blue light, like they were covered in starlight. The distance between the two of them unknowingly got shorter, and they got closer... "Maxine!" A hoarse roar of anger came from behind. Maxine turned around and saw Reid standing at the bottom of the steps, his face pale and his eyes bloodshot. He stared hard at William's hand around her shoulders, his chest heaving. "Who is he?!" The hallway lights in the planetarium were cold and white. Maxine leaned against the wall, casually fixing her cuffs: "Mr. Merrow, do I need to remind you? What you're doing now counts as stalking." Reid's fists clenched so hard they cracked. "I'm asking you, who is he!" "William." She smiled a little. "My partner, boyfriend, or maybe future husband... define it however you want." "...husband?" These two words stabbed into Reid's heart like a knife. 0.0% 06:35 He suddenly grabbed her wrist: "We aren't divorced yet!" Maxine looked down at his hand and suddenly laughed: "Divorce? Reid, don't forget, our marriage cer- tificate was fake." She slowly pulled her hand back and took out a document to show him. Declaration of Invalidity of Marriage. "Need me to remind you?" She leaned in close to his ear, her voice soft like a snake's hiss, "Your legal wife is in a mental hospital right now." Reid staggered back a step, like all his strength had been drained. William walked out of the shadows, one hand in his pocket, the other naturally wrapping around Max- ine's waist. "Mr. Merrow," he said calmly, "if you kept bothering my girlfriend, I would consider getting a restrain- ing order." Reid stared at that hand on Maxine's waist and suddenly remembered many years ago. He did the same thing, under the cherry blossom tree at school, declared in front of everyone, "Maxine is mine, nobody's allowed to touch her." Now the roles were reversed, he was the one being warned, and only then did he know what heartbreak really meant. On the way back, Maxine looked out at the street scenes speeding past the window and suddenly said, "Was I too harsh just now?" William held the steering wheel with one hand, and put his other hand over hers: "Compared to what he did to you, this isn't even interest." Maxine looked down at their hands together and suddenly realized. She didn't know when, but revenge was no longer the only reason keeping her alive. The sunroof slowly opened, showing a sky full of stars. William's voice came with the night breeze: "Look, Vega." Maxine looked up and, for the first time, felt like... the starry sky didn't have to make people feel lonely. Not far behind them, Reid was standing in the shadows, staring hard at where Maxine and William were. 27.5 %. 06:35 Chapter 22 # 288 iVouchers "Maxine... were you mad at me or something..." "You just couldn't let me go, so you found someone like that, trying to make me give in, right?" His eyes were hard to read, like he'd made up his mind about something. The rain poured down. Reid knelt in the downpour, his suit already soaked through, black hair messily stuck to his forehead. His knees were deep in the water, but he stubbornly kept his head up, eyes fixed on that lit window at the top floor. He knew Maxine was there. "Maxine..." his voice was hoarse, almost drowned out by the thunder, "please... see me one more time..." The revolving door of the building slowly opened, and a few security guards came out holding black umbrellas. The lead captain sighed, "Mr. Merrow, Ms. Valemont said if you keep this up, we'll have to take action." Reid pulled at the corner of his mouth, rainwater dripping down his jaw. "Then let her come kick me out herself." The security guards looked at each other and helplessly picked up the walkie-talkie to ask for instruc- tions. It sounded like someone said something on the walkie-talkie, and a few security guards looked hesitant. After looking at each other, they brought out a bucket. The next second, a bucket of cold water mixed with ice came down from above and poured all over Reid. The biting cold went right through his bones, his lips instantly lost all color, and he started shaking un- controllably. In front of the top floor window, Maxine watched coldly and said, "Reid, you thought the ruse would work on me?" Her voice was clear and cruel: "When you broke my bones back then, I didn't get a chance to beg you on my knees." The next morning, when Reid woke up on the street, he found all his assets were frozen. Reid's knuckles turned white. 62.1 %. 06:35 Maxine was trying to push him to the edge. Without the Merrow Group, assets were frozen, he suddenly let out a low laugh, the sound was so hoarse it was like sandpaper scraping. "Max, you really... didn't leave me any way out." 95.6 %. 06:35 209 TALAGFARIT U Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!