Chapter 39 

Leah pov 

At first, I stared blankly at Max’s confession, blinking. 

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“Wait, before you give me your answer, I’ll just say…” Max trailed off, shaking his head. “Give me a chance. I’m not asking you to say yes or no right now. I’m just saying, give me a chance so we can get to know each other more than just on a friendship level. I feel like we’ve been so limited to that.” 

He looked so flushed and shy. 

I blinked, realizing I’d never known Max had feelings for me. I appreciated how he had never acted on them before, but now I felt like I was being put in such an awkward position. To say that I was completely unaware would be such a lie but it was so minimal that I thought I imagined it. 

I was used to men having ‘feelings‘ for me wherever I went but not Max. He was different. He’d saved my life way too many times. 

Then I thought about it. I had moved on from Neil, or at least, I thought I had. But now that he was back in my life, acting nice, I knew it wasn’t without reason. It was distracting me. 

Max, on the other hand, had been nothing but good to me. I stared at him as he smiled nervously, waiting for my answer, sweat trickling down his forehead. 

But I couldn’t find the affection. 

He was right, though. I could learn to feel it. I had closed my heart for so long because of the betrayal I felt from Neil. I hadn’t let anyone else in. So maybe I didn’t know how I truly felt. 

“Alright then,” I said, after a long pause. “I guess we can try.” 

His face lit up, his smile spreading wide. 

“Yeah?” he said, his voice full of hope. 

“Yeah,” I said, watching him as he spread his arms out in a nervous gesture. 

I did my best to keep things light, not adding too much weight to the moment. “Don’t make this awkward, okay? We’ll take it slow.” 

“Right,” he said, still smiling, “it’s getting pretty late, we should um, go to bed?” 

“Yeah, it’s been a pretty long day. Moving and all.” 

He waved shyly as I turned around on my heels. 

“Goodnight.” 

As I headed back to my room, I thought about it. He was the right man, not just for me, but for my daughter. Not c did he and his mom love helen so much, but they also cared for her in ways I couldn’t even begin to explain. They were the best protectors I could ask for, and they always put her first. 

Max really was the best candidate for love. 

But right now, I wasn’t open to romance. Not after all the chaos. Hearing from my ex–husband halfway through this new chapter had already shaken me. 

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Chapter 39 

I decided to shrug it off. 

I went to where Helen was sleeping. I had asked that we stay in the same room, and I loved it. She was already lying in bed, her small form curled up under the blankets. I hugged her close to my chest and fell asleep, happy to be with my daughter. 

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of shuffling downstairs. A knock came at my door shortly after. 

I opened it slightly, peeking out. 

Riele stood there, smiling softly. 

“I’m so sorry if I bothered you,” she said. “But I was asked to take Helen from you.” 

“What? Why?” I asked, alarmed. 

She didn’t answer directly. Instead, she smiled again and said, “I guess you’ll have to find out on your own.” 

I stretched and yawned as I headed downstairs, stopping dead in my tracks. The living room was completely transformed, decorated with balloons and various other things. I stood there, beyond shocked. 

“What is all this? What’s happening?” I asked no one in particular. 

Max appeared, smiling warmly. “Well, I thought we could spend our first day getting to know each other, more than friends, 

like this.” 

I widened my eyes in surprise as I caught him raking his gaze over me. 

“Oh my 

God!” I exclaimed, suddenly self–conscious of my pajamas and swollen eyes. “Your mom didn’t mention this, I should go change!” 

I turned on my heels, ready to flee back to my room, but he stopped me by gently grabbing my wrist. 

He pulled me into a hug, wrapping his arms around me with a contented smile. “This makes me feel genuinely happy,” he said. 

“What?” I asked, confused. 

“I mean, I see you every day in your pajamas, and you never cared. But the fact that you genuinely want to look good for me makes me feel like we’re getting off to a good start.” 

I smiled despite myself, pushing him backward playfully. “Well, that’s… something.” 

He reached out and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. “It’s okay. I love that you want to look good for me, but I also like seeing you like this. I know nobody else in the world sees you this way. So, to me, it’s an honor. And honestly, you look just as beautiful as you do during the day.” 

“Now stop flattering me, Max,” I said, shaking my head with a teasing smile. “I never knew you had all these poetic words in you.” 

He chuckled and extended his hand. “Breakfast, mademoiselle?” 

“Definitely. I’m starving. I barely ate last night,” I said, taking his hand. 

We sat down to a meal of toast, eggs, chicken, salad, and homemade cheese. I took a bite, savoring it, and sighed. “Maybe moving to a different place isn’t so bad after all,” I said, my words muffled as I stuffed my face. 

“What about my mom and Helen?” I asked suddenly, concerned. 

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Chapter 39 

“Don’t worry. They’re going to have their own food too.” 

“Okay,” I replied, though my smile faded slightly. My thoughts drifted. “What are the police doing about the investigation? Have they gotten any leads?” 

Max’s face tightened momentarily, but he quickly recovered. “It’s their job, sadly. They were up all night working on it. But you know what? I don’t want you to stress about that today. Just don’t worry. We’ll keep working behind the scenes to make sure everything is revealed. All you need to do is stay here and be happy” 

“I need to communicate with my staff too,” I said, but Max wiped something off the corner of my mouth, interrupting me. 

“No work. No staff. No stress. Today is just for you and me, okay?” he said, his tone firm but gentle. 

“Got it,” I said, focusing back on the food. 

“Good.” 

As I ate, I could feel his eyes on me the entire time. 

“What? Do you have something to say to me?” I wondered, not looking up to meet his gaze. 

By the time I looked up, he had walked 

up to my side. 

“What are you–” I started to ask when my eyes shot wide as Max connected our lips. 

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