MAXIM
The next morning, he sat alone in the study of his mansion on the outskirts of Havari, a bottle of whisky in his hand.
He had barely slept the previous night, not wanting to miss it when Levi returned to report to him about Ava.
But Levi hadn't returned, and Maxim found himself wondering if his bodyguard was actually slacking, even though this wasn't in Levi's nature. He refused to accept the thought that the delay was a result of the impossibly short deadline he'd imposed on Levi for a task that ordinarily required much more time.
It didn't matter to him. Maxim needed answers, and he needed them now.
Though Levi still didn't call or show up with Ava's location, Maxim continued waiting, refusing to give up hope.
Because of this, he had only slept for five hours during the night, though this wasn't a conscious decision.
While his spirit was definitely willing, his body was definitely weak. It needed time to recover after this stresfful day he'd had, not to mention getting his memories back.
But once it had, he awoke at six in the morning and then... he continued to wait. The plus side of this was that it left Maxim with plenty of time to continue processing the return of his memories.
This actually turned out to be a bad thing because it currently wasn't going well.
Maxim tipped his bottle of whisky back, swallowing another mouthful as he tried to drown out the emotional and mental torment raging inside him. The whisky burned its way down his throat, but the sting was insignificant compared to the confusion in his mind.
Damn it.
With an irritated sigh, he slammed the bottle onto his mahogany desk.
Drinking wasn't helping, Maxim thought. In fact, it seemed to be having the opposite effect. He needed a better plan than this.
Maxim buried his face in his hands, forcing himself to confront the situation without getting emotional. It took considerable effort, but eventually, he was thinking through everything with a calmer mind, starting from the very beginning.
So it had all started five years ago, he thought, sighing deeply.
He'd gotten into a horrendous car accident, which had left him with full-scale amnesia.
One of the things that massively disturbed Maxim about this was that, before then, he'd been an entirely different man.
Even his name had been different.
Back then, he had been Maxim Stark, son of Leonard Stark, who had died in a car accident when Maxim was only six years old. Even after his mother married Jonathan Holloway when he was ten, he had continued using the surname Stark, as it kept him connected to his beloved father.
Yes, these were the facts, Maxim thought.
What else?
Right.
At twenty-two, he'd been a college student pursuing a business degree on a scholarship. Maxim didn't have much of a social life. The only thing that occupied his time was his efforts to build a completely legitimate company of his own—one that had nothing to do with Jonathan Holloway's criminal empire.
Maxim knew how evil and merciless that line of work was and wanted nothing to do with it.
Naturally, his stepfather hadn't approved of his decision.
Having a soft-hearted young daughter, Clara, and no biological sons of his own, Jonathan had expected Maxim to take over everything from him one day. Being married to his mother made Jonathan believe that it automatically made his wife's son his heir.
A big misconception on his part.
Maxim had refused him, wanting a decent career where he could also be free like everyone else. He'd gone as far as getting a scholarship to continue his education after Jonathan stopped paying his college fees as a result of his continued "rebellion".
Anyway ,it had been during those college years that Maxim met the only girl he would ever love.
Ava Morgan.
Thinking about her again, Maxim's grip tightened around the bottle of whisky once more before lifting it to his mouth and draining it.
Of everything he had lost after the accident—his memories, his personality, even his identity—losing Ava was definitely the wound that hurt the most.
His girlfriend.
The first person to reach his heart after his biological father died. The woman who, for some reason, had never returned to his side after the accident, despite being in a relationship with him.
Maxim had a lot of questions.
The first being: what had happened five years ago?
To them.
To her.
His last memory of her was the two of them on a date.
As for what had happened after that... he had no idea.
But it wasn't the only big mystery for him. The other one was...
Why had his family never told him she existed? They had known better than anyone how important she was to him.
That question, at least, wasn't difficult to answer.
His stepfather.
It could be no one else, Maxim decided.
Jonathan Holloway was the one who had benefited the most from all of this.
The old man had been the one to explain Maxim's life to him after the accident. According to Jonathan, Maxim had always intended to inherit the Holloway empire. Every decision he'd ever made had supposedly led him toward becoming Jonathan's successor.
"You've always been very devoted to the family and the business, despite its... unsavory aspects,Maxim," he'd said, a serious look on his face. "I have no doubt that when you get better, you'll continue to be the son this family needs."
Now Maxim realized the man had been lying through his teeth.
And him?
He'd swallowed it all without question, Maxim thought.
With his memory loss, he'd been so unbelievably naïve—a state Jonathan had taken full advantage of to mold him into the heir he'd always wanted—cold, ruthless, with no desire for weakening things such as love.
Maxim massaged his forehead with a sigh.
He decided that later, he would uncover every last detail of what had happened and wreak vengeance on those responsible, whoever they might be.
But first...
He had to find Ava.
Almost as if summoned by the thought, a hesitant knock echoed through the office.
Maxim already knew who it was before the man even announced himself.
"Come in, Levi," he called, standing up quickly despite the mental anguish and alcohol.
The door opened, and his bodyguard stepped inside carrying a blue file.
"I brought what you asked for, sir," Levi said without preamble.
The guy looked terrible since he had stayed up all night working on his assignment.
Well, at least he wasn't the only one who had a long night, Maxim thought, holding out his hand.
The bodyguard silently handed him the file.
Outwardly, Levi's face remained perfectly composed.
Inside, however, he was thoroughly irritated by his boss's lack of praise or even a single word.
Somehow, Levi had managed to carry out the impossible orders he'd been given, tiring as it had been. He'd done this by using the Holloways' network of contacts throughout Havari to gather information on Ava's life over the past five years.
A thank you for my hard work would be nice, he thought. For once.
As if hearing his thoughts, Maxim looked up.
"Did you say something?"
Levi immediately stiffened.
"No, sir."
Maxim narrowed his eyes at him before focusing them back on the file again.
Levi quietly released the breath he'd been holding, relieved he hadn't upset Maxim by mistake.
His boss already looked furious and was even drinking.
That was never a good sign.
Levi had seen what happened during the rare occasions when Maxim lost control.
It was never pretty.
Especially for the people closest to him.
Unfortunately for Levi, it seemed they were approaching that point.
All because of one woman, apparently.
Levi couldn't help wondering who this Ava Morgan was to Maxim.
He hadn't found any connection between them during his investigation, but he was obviously missing something.
The woman wasn't even around yet she was capable of reducing the most emotionless man he'd ever me to such an agitated and dangerous state.
What was he missing? Levi asked himself.
He didn't know yet.
But one thing he was definitely sure of:
He already disliked this Ava Morgan.
The sudden sound of his name being called snapped Levi from his thoughts.
He looked up to Maxim who's face had gone completely expressionless.
Levi's own face lost it's colour, knowing that look Maxim was wearing.
Whenever his boss looked like that, someone usually ended up dead.
He wondered if this Ava Morgan was about to face Maxim's wrath. Or if it was him.
"Sir?" Levi said, trying—and failing—to keep the nervousness out of his voice.
Without explaining, Maxim slowly pulled a photograph from the file.
His eyes lingered on a smiling man who had his arm around Ava's waist possessively while she grinned goofily at the camera.
"Who. The. Hell. Is. This, Levi?" Maxim spat out in a cold voice, pointing at the man.
"That's Blake Cooper, sir..." Levi answered carefully. "... I believe that he is Ava Morgan's boyfriend."
For a moment, there was absolute silence in the room.
Then the whisky bottle flew across the office faster than Levi could blink, smashing so violently against the wall that glass exploded across the polished floor.
Levi flinched despite himself.
As Maxim Holloway's personal bodyguard, he wasn't a man who frightened easily.
But in that moment, standing in front of Maxim...
He was very afraid.
---
Maxim immediately went on autopilot, showering and dressing quickly with stone-cold efficiency.
He didn't think.
He didn't feel, not trusting himself to not wreak havoc on his sorroundings if he did do both of these things.
A boyfriend, Levi had said.
Maxim didn't realize it until that moment, but he'd actually been thinking that Ava was still single after five years apart. That she was just waiting for him to come back to her.
But apparently he was wrong. She had moved on from their relationship. And unlike him, she had done this consciously.
It was too much for Maxim.
It was the last straw.
He was going to Ava now. Then he was going to get her back, even if he had to rip her from the arms of this so-called boyfriend.
She was his.
It didn't matter to Maxim that they hadn't seen each other for five years, that they'd both been with other people, or that he hadn't even remembered her until the previous day.
The bond they shared was powerful and special.
Some random guy with a doctor's degree couldn't just break it. Hell, not even time itself could severe it.
Nothing in the world could or would, atleast not ever again, Maxim thought.
He zipped up his dark boots with a loud grunt. He then rose to his feet and pocketed his phone.
He didn't spare a glance at the blue file perched on his shelf.
He had already read its entire contents and found out everything he could ever want to know about Ava's current life.
The only thing left for him to do was follow the signal on his phone from Ava's phone, which would lead him straight to her.
Determination filled every step as Maxim walked down the grand staircase of his mansion, taking two steps at a time.
But he stopped halfway down when he suddenly heard familiar voices talking in his living room.
Maxim was shocked when he peered down to see Jonathan Holloway looming at the foot of the stairs, his expression clearly unhappy.
Beside him were Maxim's mother and Clara, all of them watching him unblinkingly.
"Going somewhere, son?" Jonathan says.