MAXIM
For a long moment, silence filled the room.
No one moved.
Jonathan was the first to recover, his shirt still fisted in Maxim's hands. He narrowed his eyes, as though trying to decide whether he'd heard Maxim correctly.
"What..." he said quietly. "What did you just say?"
"I said I remember everything, Jonathan," Maxim hissed through gritted teeth, staring directly into his father's brown eyes. "I know everything you told me five years ago... about my personality, my goals, my whole life... It was all a lie."
He tightened his grip on Jonathan's shirt.
"And I also know you conveniently left out some very important parts."
Jonathan was stunned into silence once again, but his expression turned grim.
Clara stepped toward them, looking stupefied in her sundress.
"Your memory is back?" she asked in an incredulous voice. "After all these years... But I thought... I mean, it shouldn't be possible. How?"
"I'm not sure myself, Clara," Maxim replied. "I'm attributing it to a punch in the face."
Maxim didn't want to tell them that he thought it was because he saw Ava at his trial which his parents hadn't even bothered to show up to. He wanted them to focus on giving him a good explanation, though he doubted there was one.
As he spoke, Maxim looked at Jonathan as if he believed he deserved a punch too.
Tiffany's face lost what little color it had left at Maxim's words. She swallowed before finally finding her voice again.
"Maxim, sweetie, just calm..."
"Don't, Mom," Maxim cut in a sharp tone.
The two words were enough to silence Tiffinay.
Only then did Maxim look at the woman who was supposed to always look out for him rather than stab him in the back, as she had done for the past five years.
Instead of the neutral expression she usually regarded him with, her beautiful countenance was filled with guilt.
As she fell silent once again, the fury on Maxim's face gave way to a feeling that was just as powerful, but far more painful.
Sadness.
"You betrayed me, Mom. And you lied to me," he said in a low voice.
His gaze then shifted to Clara.
"You too, little sister. I expected this from my so-called stepfather, but you two... how could you do this?"
The two women looked at each other, their expressions sheepish, both completely at a loss for words.
They hadn't heard Maxim be vulnerable with them in years, and knowing that the only reason he had become this way was because they had hurt him...
Well, let's just say it didn't feel great.
Again, Jonathan recovered from his emotions faster than either of them.
He pushed against Maxim's arms, trying to break his grip on his shirt.
"Take your hands off me, boy," the man ordered.
Maxim released him immediately, but only because he didn't trust himself to remain that close to Jonathan with the amount of anger coursing through him.
The thing was, even though Maxim hated what Jonathan had done to him, it was difficult to disregard years of conditioning. Jonathan had always made it clear that family was the one thing Maxim could never act against.
And Maxim had never questioned that, until now.
Even after losing his memories, his need to protect his family remained strong.
Everyone watched as Jonathan straightened his shirt, glaring at Maxim.
Then he pointed a shaking finger at his stepson, his expression filled with anger.
"How dare you, Maxim?"
Maxim clenched his jaw so tightly his teeth hurt.
"How dare I?" he repeated in a tight voice. "Is that all you have to say after ruining my life?"
"What? I did not ruin your life when I lied to you, Maxim," Jonathan said coldly. "I actually helped you."
Maxim opened his mouth, ready to respond angrily, but Jonathan continued before he could.
"Shut up already and listen to me, boy."
His voice was harsh, his expression still grim. Maxim did this automatically, his instincts becoming subdued. Jonathan continued speaking when he had rendered his stepson silent.
"Five years ago, you were on the wrong path. Choosing to live like a loser just to preserve your conscience instead of becoming the man you were always meant to be, willing to do whatever was necessary to reach the top."
Jonathan took a breath.
"When you got into that accident and lost your memory, I saw an opportunity. A chance to correct your mistakes and put you on the path you should have always been on."
"While also giving yourself that successor," Maxim supplied angrily.
At his words, Jonathan's face lost its anger, and he looked at Maxim with much pride.
"I needed a successor, and you needed success. It was a perfect solution. And whether you'll admit it or not, me lying to you is the only reason you've achieved your goal today, the reason you're the powerful figure everyone in Havari respects."
"Respect?" Maxim repeated, anger burning in his voice. "It's not respect they have for me, Jonathan."
He paused.
"They fear me."
"Whatever you want to call it, I gave you this entire city. You rule it because of what I did five years ago."
Maxim's expression hardened at his words.
"I didn't ask you for any of this."
His voice lowered.
"And you had no right to do what you did. No right to take away my future and..."
The anger on Maxim's face turned to pain again.
"Ava."
Jonathan, who had been about to speak, shut his mouth the moment Maxim mentioned Ava.
Tiffany just blinked slowly before looking away with an alarmed expression.
Clara simply stared at Maxim, her lips pressed together in concern.
"You all knew how much I loved Ava," Maxim stated angrily, looking at each of them. "How could you keep her existence from me? You're supposed to be my fucking family."
"Oh, don't be so dramatic," Jonathan replied dismissively, finding his voice again. "We did you a favor by keeping that girl's existence from you."
Maxim inhaled sharply, his fists clenching.
"I swear, if you say that crap to me one more time—"
"What, Maxim?" Jonathan interrupted in a challenging tone. "You're going to hit me over that gold digger? Really?"
Maxim couldn't form a single response.
He was too angry.
Hearing Jonathan defend stealing his entire identity was one thing.
But calling Ava a gold digger, when Jonathan was the one who was truly in the wrong here...
It sent Maxim over the edge.
His fists clenched as he stepped forward to hit Jonathan. At that moment, he didn't care that Jonathan was his stepfather or that he was sixty freaking years old. Maxim wanted to hurt him. He wanted Jonathan to hurt the same way he was hurting.
Jonathan saw the intention in his eyes but stood his ground, clearly intending to meet his stepson's challenge.
Before the two men could collide, Clara rushed between them.
"Stop it already. I'm begging you," she pleaded, placing a firm hand against both of their chests.
She then turned to her stepbrother.
"Maxim, you're angry. You don't really want to do this."
"Yes, I... do," Maxim replied through gritted teeth, his fists still balled at his sides. "Get the hell out of my way, Clara."
"Please, Maxim," she begged. "Just hear Dad out."
"I don't want to hear a single word from him," Maxim snapped. He then looked at her. "Or any of you, for that matter."
"You'll find that it's in your best interest to listen to your sister by calming down and hearing us out, Maxim Holloway."
The voice came from Tiffany, who had remained silent until now. She spoke boldly, chin rising in the air.
Maxim's gaze snapped toward her.
"Really, Mom?" he said angrily. "Tell me why exactly I should listen to any of you. All three of you have lied to me for five fucking years. Do you think I'm stupid enough to keep trusting you?"
Tiffany rolled her eyes at Maxim's response.
"You heard your father, didn't you? We did all this for your own good, including keeping Ava's existence from you."
She paused for only a moment.
"Because that girl only wanted your money."
Maxim let out a disbelieving sound at that.
"And how exactly do you figure that, Mom?" Maxim demanded, starting to walk toward her. "You met Ava five years ago. You agreed with me that she was genuine. What changed?"
"That was before I found out she was arrested for stealing money, Maxim," Tiffany shot back quickly, though her expression was a bit pained.
She didn't relish hurting her son like this but it was necessary, just like it had been to her five years ago.
At his mother's words, Maxim stopped in his tracks.
For a long moment...
He simply stared at her.
Completely silent and flabbergasted.