Master of his heart

Chapter 373

Max slumped into his office chair, the weight of the world seemingly on his shoulders.

Patrick tiptoed behind him. Max was probably steaming mad, fuming at Ms. Brielle for not letting Max get out of the car and at himself for actually listening to her.

Max wasn’t the type to laugh much on a good day, and when he was mad, hysteria was the last thing you’d see. His eyes just got darker, his presence more hushed.

But the quieter he got, the more danger seemed to linger in the air.

Patrick instinctively tried to make himself as small as possible.

The office fell into a deathly silence, the air thinning with tension.

Buzz.

Max’s phone vibrated on the desk. He glanced at it, a text from Brielle.

[Can I try to handle this on my own first?]

The anger in his chest popped like a balloon, but discomfort still simmered. He texted back.

[How long?]

week. I can’t lean on you for everything.]

shield her from the storms, but also smother her from

where it’s intimate, and autonomy, where it’s not. Only then could she be a whole person, and only a

to cure with affection was a sure way to worsen the disease.

the truth she had grasped in

[Don’t get hurt.]

stop her; he knew Brielle was different.

she quickly forced herself to set aside personal matters and focus on the crisis at hand.

wife had gone to the hospital, the

scenes, his real target wasn’t her–it was

to act, and then use that as leverage against him.

grab a hold

11:02

being cautious for so many years, it was unlikely he’d slip up easily.

back, pinching a pen in her fingers. How would

on leverage and need to close the gap with

were Simon and his wife. To dilute that, she had