Chapter 94 Ninety four

Chapter 94 Ninety four
IVY POV
The drive home felt longer than usual.
Mrs. Parker’s visit wouldn’t leave my head.
Neither would Ronan’s texts. I must have read them twenty times before finally putting my phone away. By the time I got to Max’s penthouse, the sun was already setting.
I opened the door and immediately knew something was wrong.
Max and Zoe were both sitting in the living room.
Waiting. Neither of them looked relaxed.
Well. Crap.
I slowly closed the door behind me.
“Why do I feel like I’m walking into a war zone?”
Neither of them laughed. That was never a good sign.
“Ivy,” Max said.
My stomach dropped.
Yep. Definitely it’s a war zone when Max uses that tone. I dropped my bag beside the door.
“What is it?”
Max stood up. “Sit.”
I pointed at him.
“No. You only use that tone when you’re about to annoy me.”
“Sit down! .”he repeated his voice leaving no room for argument.
I looked at Zoe for help…. The traitor shrugged.
I sighed dramatically before dropping onto the couch.
“Fine. What did I do?”
Max folded his arms. “What is going on with you? Don’t fucking give me stupid excuse or dare lie.””
I immediately looked away.
Bad move…. Because Max noticed.
His eyes narrowed. “That’s what I thought.”
I groaned. “Oh my God .”
“It is him.”
“Max—”
“It is him right? .”
I rubbed my face . Zoe gave me a sympathetic look. Which wasn’t helping. I needed her to get her man to give me a breathing space.
“Just tell him,” she said softly.
I shot her a glare. Then looked back at Max.
He was waiting. Watching me. Refusing to let this go.
I knew that look…. I wasn’t escaping this conversation.
So I took a deep breath.
Then another. And another.
“I’ve been seeing Ronan.”
The room became uncomfortably silent… and suffocating
Max blinked once…. Then Twice.
Then stared at me.
“That’s not true.” He said like he couldn’t believe it’s
I winced. “Max—”
“No.”
“It’s not what you think.”
His laugh was sharp…. Humorless.
“Then explain it to me.”
I swallowed. “It’s complicated.”
“That’s not a fucking explanation.”
I closed my eyes. Then forced the words out.
“We’ve been spending time together.”
Max looked like he wanted to throw something.
“Spending time together huh.”
I nodded weakly.
His jaw tightened. “Dating? ”
“Nah hell no!.” I said quickly trying to make my voice steady
His eyes narrowed. “No?”
I hesitated.
Then immediately regretted opening my mouth.
“It’s just sex.”
The room exploded. “IT’S JUST SEX?”
I physically flinched.
Zoe closed her eyes. Max looked seconds away from a heart attack. “Are you out of your damn mind?”
“Max—”
“Shut the fuck up!” He pointed at me. Actually pointed middle index finger to my face.
“How the fuck are yous still fucking that asshole..”
My temper immediately flared. “You don’t get to tell me who I sleep with.”
“The hell I don’t!”
“Max!”
“After everything he did?” His voice cracked.
And suddenly I wasn’t angry anymore.
Because he wasn’t yelling because he was controlling. He was yelling because he cared.
A lot.
“You slept with him?”
The disappointment in his voice hurt more than the shouting. I looked away.
Max laughed bitterly. “Wow.”
“Max—”
“How could you?”
I looked back at him. “What?”
“How could you sleep with him after everything he did to you?”
The room fell silent… I swallowed hard.
Because there wasn’t a good answer.
There wasn’t any answer. “I don’t know.”
The honesty seemed to catch him off guard.
My throat tightened. “I really don’t know.”
Max stared at me.
Then ran a frustrated hand through his hair.
“I spent a year & six months helping you pick up the pieces.. you’ve worked so hard to get over him only for you to bounce on his dick.”
My chest hurt. “I know.”
“I watched you cry over that son of bitch.”
“I know.”
“I watched him destroy you. That bastard left you in the rain and drove off with someone else.”
“Max—”
“And now you’re fucking him?”
I stood up abruptly. “Stop saying it like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like I’m stupid.”
His expression softened for a second.
Only a second. “I don’t think you’re stupid all the time.”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
“I think you’re still hung up on him… and you never really healed for that Hale syndrome you have.”
That hit harder than I expected.
I looked away…. Because he wasn’t wrong.
Zoe finally stood and stepped between us.
“Both of you need to breathe.”
Neither of us listened.
“He lied to her,” Max said.
“I know.”
“He broke her heart.”
“I know.”
“He disappeared for six years.”
“I KNOW.” I yelled tired of him reminding me.
The room went silent. I hadn’t meant to yell.
But I was suddenly exhausted… So exhausted.
My eyes burned. My chest hurt.
And I was tired of everyone acting like I hadn’t spent every second thinking about those exact things myself.
“I know what he did.”
My voice came out quieter this time.
“He doesn’t get a free pass.”
Max didn’t say anything.
So I continued.
“He hurt me.” The words felt heavier spoken aloud. “He hurt me more than anyone ever has.”
Zoe reached for my hand.
I squeezed it automatically.
“But…”
I hated that word.
Max hated it too judging by his expression.
“But?”
I swallowed.
“But I still care about him.”
The confession hung in the air.
Ugly. Painful. True.
Max closed his eyes briefly. Then sat back down on the couch. Like all the fight had suddenly left him. For a moment nobody spoke.
Then he looked up at me.
His voice was quieter now. “Do you still love him?”
My heart immediately started pounding.
I opened my mouth. Then closed it.
Because I didn’t know. Or maybe I did.
Maybe I just didn’t want to say it. The silence was answer enough.
Max looked away. “Damn it, Ivy.”
I felt tears sting my eyes.
Not because I was just sad.Because I was tired.
Tired of fighting my feelings.Tired of pretending. Tired of being scared.