Chapter 490


    Max was keenly aware that if this continued, Brielle’s situation would be dangerous once Michael


    turned his back. Max didn’t refuse, slowly stood up, and gently took Brielle’s hand, without any hint of


    shame. “Brielle doesn’t really know anyone here, and she’s quite reserved. Dad, we’re going to head


    out.”


    Reserved?


    Those in attendance nearly choked on their own disbelief. The girl who had the guts to walk in here


    solo, was reserved?


    But Michael just gave Austin a casual nce, his smile unfading. “In that case, let’s consider Spencer


    and Sophia’s engagement settled. We’ll send someone to arrange the venue.” It was a ssic


    deflection, shifting the spotlight back to the evening’s protagonists.


    The others quickly jumped on the bandwagon, as if Brielle was but a brief interlude, quickly forgotten.


    But everyone knew that wasn’t the case.


    Max had rejected a strategic alliance with the Barnes family, choosing instead Spencer’s ex–fiancée. A


    real–life fairy tale!


    No matter how turbulent the thoughts of those present, they had no choice but to suppress them and


    see the y through to its end.


    The original leads of this drama, Spencer and Sophia, looked anything but the star–crossed lovers; one


    was as pale as a ghost, and the other wore a smile not reaching their eyes, neither sparing a nce for


    the other. They were preupied with their own thoughts.


    Meanwhile, Brielle and Max had already stepped out.


    Feeling the warmth of his fingers, Brielle walked as if on air, as though stepping on clouds of cotton


    candy. In truth, from the moment Max intertwined his fingers with hers, she was out of sorts. It wasn’t


    until they left the banquet hall and encountered the Barnes siblings outside that her gaze flickered.


    N?velDrama.Org is the owner.


    Alivia, clinging to Kenzo, her face a mask of contorted humiliation, felt the urge to bite down on the


    shoulder before her, hoping the pain would bring some rity.


    She had thought her n foolproof, yet it had be her most embarrassing moment. She tried to


    quell the shaking of her body, to no avail. Without turning, she knew that Brielle and Max were behind


    her. She had topose herself quickly, to figure out what to do next.


    She inevitably lost some of Max’s favor, and now that Michael knew of Max’s rtionship with Brielle,


    they would only be more conspicuous. Alivia would be theughing stock.


    Alivia trembled even more, struggling to contain her rage.


    Then, something happened that pushed her over the edge.


    A soft thud, like something hitting the wall, reached her ears. She looked up, her eyes


    1/2


    13:22


    Chapter 490


    bloodshot, but a hand covered her vision. It was her brother’s.


    Kenzo’s hand over Alivia’s eyes spared her the sight of Max pinning Brielle against the wall by the


    banquet hall, kissing her with abandon.


    Passersby asionally strolled through the hallway. The Barnes family could emerge at any moment,


    and members of the Dorsey and Rond families might appear. But Max seemed oblivious to all, his


    hand cradling the back of Brielle’s head, his lips iming hers, a siege of passion.


    Brielle, flushed and breathless, had lost her earlier poise. Now, shy and unsure, she cautiously ced


    her hands on his waist, timidly grasping the hem of his shirt like a child. They were the embodiment of


    every clichéd couple.


    Alivia’s eyes were covered, but she could still make out Max’s movements through the gaps. Voiceless


    and strengthless, she wanted to scream, to tear them apart, but all she felt were tears streaming down


    her face.


    The elevator arrived, and she was guided into it, still blindfolded. Her world seemed to crumble, as Max


    kissed Brielle before her very eyes.


    It was a deep kiss.


    Alivia’s tears fell harder, and her hatred numbed to the point of madness.


    Kenzo, his expression inscrutable, watched through the slowly closing elevator doors as Brielle’s lips


    were tenderly captured. Her eyes were zed with desire, her cheeks flushed with a bloom of crimson,


    like a winter plum blossoming amidst the snow, so pure, yet so temptingly dangerous.


    What man could remain calm before such a sight?


    As the elevator doors closed, Kenzo averted his gaze, but the image of Brielle’s expression lingered. It


    was an image that enticed one to tarnish and shatter.