Inside the spacious, spotless bedroom, Max gathered all the things that had once been his favorites. They were already packed inside a large cardboard box. His expression was blank as he stared at the pile of belongings that now looked like useless trash.
Max closed the large box, then gave it a gentle kick. He filled another empty box. Several photographs were inside, crushed beneath some small books.
Once everything had been completely gathered, Max carried it outside and placed it behind the house. Then he struck a match and burned it all without a shred of feeling.
“All those memories have turned to ash, Vela. There’s no more of that trash in the bedroom. Hahahaha!”
Max stared blankly at the flames consuming both boxes, his gaze filled with hatred. Those memories truly no longer remained within him. In fact, Max wanted to erase them from his mind so he would never remember that woman again.
After staring at the flames for several minutes, Max turned around and walked back into the house.
In the spacious living room, Bram sat staring at the laptop on the table. The still-handsome man looked at his son, who had just walked in. “You look like a living corpse, Max,” he said softly.
Hearing his Dad’s reprimand, Max only gave a quiet scoff. “Why do you care?”
“I’m your Dad, Max.”
“I know, and I don’t care.”
Bram no longer wanted to argue. He let his son walk past him and head up to the second floor. “Your stubbornness will destroy your own life, Max,” he said calmly.
Bram knew what had happened to Max, but he didn’t want to interfere too deeply. He believed that, with time, Max would reap what he had sown.
Meanwhile, upstairs, inside the bedroom, Max sat in a chair near the window. He stared at his reflection in the glass.
His face looked like that of an old man. His hair was disheveled, and his clothes looked like a beggar’s rags. “Disgusting,” he muttered.
Max stood up and went into the bathroom, cleaning himself off while he still reeked of alcohol. It was already ten o’clock at night.
In the bathroom, Max let the shower water pour over his body. The water had been set to a warm temperature, making his entire body feel lighter. The heaviness in his head was gone.
After finishing his shower and getting fully dressed, Max went downstairs. He saw that his mother was still sitting in the family room. Max didn’t want to talk, but his mother stopped him with her voice.
“I’ve found a woman more suitable for you than that cheap woman.”
Max smiled sarcastically. “I don’t need a woman, Mom. Don’t be like other parents who always try to arrange their child’s marriage when the woman runs off with her lover. That’s not my concern anymore, and I’m not a child anymore.
“Max, I only want what’s best for you. I love you, Max.”
“Don’t talk to me about love, Mom. You abandoned me when I was thirteen. And you think I’m going to forget that?” Max laughed bitterly, staring blankly at his mother as she began to grow uneasy. “I’m still the same Max you abandoned, then came back to after finding out Dad had become successful again.”
“Don’t bring that up again, Max. I—”
“I’ll keep bringing it up as long as you keep forcing me to marry those gold-digging women, just like you.”
The woman fell silent, Max’s words stabbing straight into her heart. Even though this wasn’t the first time Max had brought it up, she still had no way to fight back.
“If you don’t mind, just marry them off to Dad. Then Max will have a stepmother.”
“SHUT YOUR MOUTH, MAX!”