Chapter 311
“Max, how about we hit the town tonight to celebrate, eh? Alivia’s coming back soon, and since you’ve had your fill of Brielle, maybe it’s time to put a ring on Alivia? She’s been waiting for you for years.”
Engagement? The thought had never seriously crossed Max’s mind.
“If she’s getting engaged, it sure as heck won’t be to me.”
Andrew had been mid–sip of his water when Max dropped this bombshell. Andrew nearly choked on it. Everyone in Beaconsfield knew Alivia was holding out for Max, but now the man himself was saying she shouldn’t wait for him.
“Max, you’re not pulling my leg, are you? Don’t tell me you’re oblivious to Alivia’s crush on you.”
“I’ve made it clear before, I’m not into her.”
His tone was so firm it sent a chill through Andrew’s spine. If Alivia wasn’t in Max’s sights, who was?
The women who had circled Max in recent years, those under thirty at least, were pretty much Brielle and Alivia. Any other guy in Beaconsfield would be a fool to pass up Alivia for Brielle.
Unless they were blind.
Andrew cracked a wry smile, his thoughts drifting back to the image of Max beneath the blaze of a high–rise inferno. His gaze was dark and inscrutable. “The Dorsey family and the Barnes clan are all looking forward to this merger of a marriage. If you turn it down, you could be messing with family relations big time.”
He couldn’t believe Max hadn’t considered this.
With a nonchalant lift of his eyebrows, Max replied. “I’ve made my stance crystal clear to Alivia herself. She’s no fool.”
But how clear–headed could a woman in love truly be? Max had never really fallen for Alivia, so he couldn’t fathom the depth of her infatuation.
As an outsider to their romance, Andrew kept his opinions to himself, yet he couldn’t help but think he could smooth their path somewhat. At least compared to Brielle, Andrew considered Alivia a friend.
He whipped out his phone and shot Alivia a text. [Max says he won’t propose.]
Andrew had always been blunt with others, especially when it came to anything involving Max.
As expected, Alivia’s reply came swiftly. Her devotion to the subject was clear. [Wait till I’m back in town. He’ll change his mind.]
Alivia wanted to probe further into the situation with Brielle, like whether there was anything truly going on between her and Max. But Alivia had already put herself out there enough.
Digging for more through Max’s friends would just seem desperate.
It was best to ask her brother. If her brother said there was nothing to it, then it had to be true.
Max was destined to marry Alivia.
Andrew shared these details to Alivia, just to keep Max from getting stuck with Brielle, but he also knew his boundaries. It wasn’t his place to spill Max’s secrets to Alivia. Besides, she would be back soon enough, and then others could fill her in.
Meanwhile, Alivia was in the company of Emily..
Emily’s resentment had been simmering ever since the Hatfield family had cut her loose and sent her abroad with a ten–year ban from Beaconsfield. It was because of Brielle, and the bitterness was palpable.
So when Alivia asked Emily about Max, she didn’t hold back, embellishing the tale. “Ms. Alivia, you don’t head back soon, I bet Brielle will have Mr. Dorsey wrapped around her little finger. You haven’t dealt with her directly, so you have no idea how crafty she can be.”
“She managed to get me kicked out of Beaconsfield. Max lets her have her way. I think he’s completely under her spell. Never thought I’d see the day when Max fell head over heels.”
Exiled and heartbroken, Emily’s infatuation with Max had turned to loathing now that she was in a foreign land. But this also meant that no one was around to censor the words she said to Alivia.
Emily wanted to fan the flames of hatred toward Brielle. She might’ve lost to Brielle, but Alivia would never lose to that nobody, that… bastard!
Alivia would be Emily’s instrument of revenge.
Yet Alivia found these tales laughable. Max, bewitched by someone? Impossible. He was a born businessman, destined to dominate any industry he took to, like his early days on Wall Street.
He was immune to the charms of women, especially someone like Brielle, who didn’t even have a family name to claim.
