Abandoned by Her Fiancé

I didn’t see it coming.

When I returned home, I was surprised to find that Teo and Miranda had come back too. After handing the family business over to Maxwell, they had chosen to enjoy a quiet retirement at their old country house by the lake. Maxwell had kept them unaware of my kidnapping ordeal.

The moment Teo saw Maxwell with Sariah, he frowned and asked her directly, "Are you Sariah?"

Miranda noticed the bandage on my forearm, her eyes instantly filling with concern as she pulled me close. "I just brought you some flower arrangements. I had no idea you were going through all of this. Esperanza, does it hurt?"

The Arnolds had once saved the Morales family from disaster, and Miranda had always treated me like her own daughter, genuinely caring for my well-being. She gave a cold look to the flustered Sariah and sternly reprimanded Maxwell.

"I’ve already sent that little rascal away," she said dismissively, referring to Sariah’s dog. "Maxwell, you need to sort out the chaos around you. You can’t just bring anyone into this house. One problem goes, and another one appears. Don’t treat the Morales family like some ladder to climb, unless you’re sure you can hold on."

Sariah's cheeks flushed red as she bit her lip, tears brimming in her eyes before she ran off. Maxwell quickly followed her.

Later that night, just as I drifted off to sleep, Maxwell abruptly pulled me out of bed, his eyes stormy with unspoken emotions. He dragged me to the dining room.

"Sariah tried to take her own life," he said icily, forcing me into a chair with a mocking smirk. "Do you even realize that if I'd been just a minute later, she wouldn’t be here anymore?"

I was stunned. "What does Sariah’s attempt have to do with me?"

"If you hadn’t involved mom and dad, Sariah wouldn’t have faced such humiliation," Maxwell retorted, opening a pot of steaming chowder. He handed me a spoon, his gaze distant. "Go ahead, eat."

I’m allergic to shellfish, something Maxwell knew since we were teenagers. I stared at him in disbelief. "Why would you do this?"

"Esperanza, you hurt Heidi and almost did the same to Sariah. Do you think you'll just walk away without feeling some of their pain?" Maxwell's eyes were devoid of any warmth as he gripped my cheeks and forced a spoonful of the chowder into my mouth. "You want the wedding to proceed on schedule, don’t you?"

His biting words brought tears to my eyes. "Maxwell, do you really despise me this much?"

His eyes darkened, but he remained silent. Within minutes, my skin broke out in itchy welts, and my breathing became labored. It was then that Maxwell pushed medicine into my mouth and sprayed something to ease my reaction. As the allergy subsided, I lost consciousness.

Maxwell carried me back to bed. Even in sleep, I reached out for comfort, clutching at the hem of his shirt and tearfully murmuring, "Brother, I didn’t—"

Maxwell stood by the bedside for a long moment, then turned and left.