Chapter 559

He grabbed the paperwork and turned to leave the master bedroom.

Brielle’s arms wrapped around his waist. “I really have a stomachache.”

“Brielle, enough.” Max shrugged off her hands, deliberately avoiding her gaze, knowing that one look would make him go soft. “You tried this same trick last time.” With that, he walked straight out of the bedroom.

Brielle wanted to follow, but a stabbing pain in her stomach anchored her to the spot. She quickly crouched down, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

It wasn’t that she blamed Max. If she put herself in Max’s shoes and had seen Max hugging someone in a video, then going offline and returning home so late, she’d be livid, too. Trust was one thing, but in matters of the heart, even saints could be petty. If Max didn’t fuss over it, she would actually worry that he didn’t care enough about her.

Brielle sighed, torn between thinking he was being ridiculous and acknowledging the genuine pain in her stomach.

Oh, the irony. Was this her own “boy who cried wolf” moment?

She didn’t have the strength to chase after him anymore, feeling like she might pass out at any moment. She buried her head in her knees and curled up by the side of the bed, trying to ease the agony.

Love, oh, what an affliction it was, like a bitter, rusty needle. One slip, one prick, and it was unbearable.

She couldn’t help but sniffle, pushing back the heat of impending tears. The position only made her urge to cry more pronounced, so she slowly lifted her head from her knees, trying to look at the ceiling.

Her gaze fell on the figure standing less than a meter away. Max was there, with a warm glass of water in one hand and antacids in the other.

The tears she had been holding back now surged forth. She hadn’t wanted to cry. It was like a child who fell; if no one was around, they could brush themselves off and get up, but the moment someone offered comfort, it was as though the sky was falling, and the pain became unbearable. In the end, it was just human nature.

Max glanced at her, then crouched down, his voice softening completely. “Take the medicine first.”

Brielle’s crying was heart–wrenching. She wasn’t sobbing loudly but biting her lip as tears silently fell.

Max cupped her chin, momentarily at a loss. He even forgot about a handkerchief and just awkwardly used his suit sleeve to dab at her tears, creating damp streaks on the dark, smooth fabric.

15:55 He forced a few pills into her mouth and brought the glass to her lips. Brielle glanced at him, then, with a hint of defiance, crunched the antacids and swallowed them dry, Max’s expression darkened. “Aren’t them bitter?”

“My heart’s more bitter than this. Now you’re worried?”

His grip on the glass tightened, then relaxed as he offered a truce. “Have some water.”

Brielle finally took the glass, washing away the bitterness in her mouth, Handing back the glass, she seized the opportunity to make a request. “I want to eat.”

Max resignedly took the glass. “I’ve asked the kitchen to prepare something.”

He hadn’t intended to leave but had gone to get her medicine and give orders for a meal. Brielle’s tears kept streaming after realizing this.

From morning to night, she was swamped with obligations that kept her from returning home. She didn’t want to deal with any of it, but it was her responsibility, and she had to see it through.

It was her fault for being so tired she fell asleep at the orphanage, but at the time, she couldn’t even move her fingers.

Max put down the glass and lifted her in his arms, removing her coat and placing her on the bed. “How did you get a stomachache without eating?”

Brielle felt a twinge of guilt. She’d had a busy morning with back–to–back meetings at Stellar Stage Entertainment and then reviewing new company policies before tackling her own company’s agenda.

There had been no time for food.

Seeing her evasive look, Max’s anger flared, and he stood up, ready to storm out.