“What’s wrong with you, Max? Look at your eyes. You look like someone who hasn’t been taken care of in years.”
Max didn’t say a word. Looking utterly neglected, he could only sit there in silence, his gaze empty. His eyes were fixed on a single photograph—Novela. Seeing that, his mother clicked her tongue in annoyance.
That still-beautiful woman truly disliked Novela. Her gaze turned sharp as she glared at the photograph, which looked like trash in her eyes. “Throw that picture away, Max. She betrayed you!” she exclaimed angrily.
“Get out, Mom. I don’t want to be disturbed.”
“Max?”
“Don’t make me repeat myself, Mom. I don’t like it,” Max snapped sharply. His gaze shifted to his mother, who was staring back at him. “Get out, Mom!”
“Max...”
“GET OUT! CAN’T YOU HEAR ME? I DON’T WANT ANYONE BOTHERING ME!”
Renata flinched at her son’s shout. She never expected her only son to scream at her in anger. Even so, Renata stormed out, seething with overwhelming resentment. Her face was scrunched with rage, but there was nothing she could do.
For now, Renata left Max alone to calm his chaotic thoughts. Once things had settled down, she would talk to Max properly.
“What’s the point of mourning over that cheap woman? What a waste of time!” she grumbled angrily.
Meanwhile, inside the room, Max stroked the photograph now in his hands. He gazed at it longingly, yet hatred was also warring within him.
Max didn’t know what his heart wanted.
“Why, Vela? What did I ever do to you?” There was no answer, and Max knew there wouldn’t be one. A photograph could never give him an answer, and that made him start crying again. “What was I lacking? What kind of man are you looking for, Vela? Was I not good enough for you? Did our three years together mean nothing to you?”
This wasn’t what he wanted. Max didn’t want this to happen. But the undeniable evidence, along with the sudden news of Novela’s pregnancy, had shattered him in an instant.
The man’s soft sobs could be heard again. No matter how much hatred arose, it would still lose to the love that had existed for three years.
If the child Novela was carrying were his, Max might have been overjoyed by the news. Instead, Novela’s admission had brought him nothing but devastation.
“Enough, Max. Stop crying over that woman. She’s the one who betrayed you. She doesn’t deserve your tears.”
Max rose from his seat and crushed the photograph until it was no longer recognizable. He wiped the remaining tears from his cheeks. Then he walked toward the window and looked out at the garden behind his house. His eyes were sharp, as if he wanted to prey on the person he had set his sights on.
“Did that man refuse to take responsibility, so you came to me, Vela? It’s hilarious, isn’t it? You got pregnant by him, but you’re ordering me to take responsibility.” Max smiled sarcastically. Resentment and hatred mingled in his eyes.
“We’ll see whether that pathetic vow of yours comes true, or whether you’ll be the one to suffer through it. If that happens to you, Vela, I’ll be the first person to laugh at your pain. I’ll be happy to watch you suffer because of your own actions.”
Max left the room without cleaning himself up. He let his clothes remain disheveled.
“Where are you going, Max? Your father wants to—”
“Don’t ask me anything, Dad. I hate being questioned when it’s about that woman.”
“But, Max.”
“Stop interfering in my problems all the time, Dad! I’m an adult. I know what I need to do.”