The car ride was drowned in silence.
Diana had her face pressed on the glass panes as she glanced out of the window.
The bustling streets of LA suddenly did not feel as foreign as they did on her first day here with Angel.
She glanced at Maxim who was focused on driving.
The man's dark hair was messy, lying above his brows and his face... looked calm but she could sense the remnants of anger.
Whether he was angry at her or he wanted to beat that guy more, she couldn't tell.
Today, she saw a side of him that she could never have pictured years ago.
In her eyes, he was that beautiful, sweet boy with haunted dark eyes and a fixated cold shield around his heart that forbid anyone from approaching him. The boy who filled her dark days with sunshine without doing anything and who liked to be quiet but still took the initiative to speak whenever she was upset at him.
Nevertheless.
''You look hot, you know,'' Diana said casually.
Maxim's grip tightened slightly on the steering wheel, ''What?"
''That's what I thought of you when I saw you a few days ago. If I had not read some articles about you, some of your high-profile surgeries then I would have believed you are a model, not a doctor,'' she said, attempting at the small talk to shift the awkwardness in the atmosphere, ''And even today, beating that guy, you looked quite hot,'' she laughed, ''I swear I don't support violence but I am certain the girls here would have supported it if they witnessed the scene. They would have swooned,'' she kept kicking the awkwardness aside, discreetly.
She was not used to crying in front of people. It made her feel pathetic and much to her surprise, she cried in a street full of crowd and in front of him.
Maxim glanced at her for a moment before he focused on the road, seemingly ignoring her words.
Diana's lips twitched. Still not good with receiving compliments.
''Also...''
''Hmm?" Maxim glanced at her.
''Don't pursue this matter anymore. And what you said about sending the lawyer, drop it,'' Diana did not doubt his words.
If there was anything he said he will do, he will do it.
Maxim stepped on the brakes before he turned to look at her.
Afraid that he was angered again, she quickly explained, ''I am not saying it because I want to work there. I know I was wrong about it. I had not thought about it carefully earlier,'' In her desperation for a job, she was willing to compromise in that kind of environment.
Even though Angel was young now but... just the thought of anything bad happening to her made her scalp go numb.
"I am asking you to drop it because there were no CCTV cameras in there and you punched him first,'' And the punch was anything but light, ''The last thing that I want is for you to land in trouble.''
Maxim tilted his head to the side, placing his hand on the steering wheel as he glanced at her, "You are worried...'' he lowered his eyes for a moment before he looked back at her, ''...for me?"
Diana looked at him like he just asked a silly question.
Regardless, she did not respond to him.
After what happened yesterday, and after his outburst, she knew where to draw a line. Although she failed at getting this job, but luckily, she had enough money at the moment after selling her diamonds.
She would be able to find a new place.
Diana released a soft breath.
Maxim glanced at her face for a moment. Although she was quiet, he could see the gears in her head rotating rapidly.
Diana snapped out of her daze when Maxim alighted the car and came to the other side before opening the door for her.
She glanced at him doubtfully. Are they going to have another round of fight here?
She mentally revised through all the words she uttered, trying to look for anything that might have offended him.
''Come,'' Maxim extended his hand towards her.
It did not seem like the first stage of fighting. Diana thought while looking at his hand.
She placed her hand in his and his fingers curled over her knuckles as he helped her out of the car.
It was only then that Diana noticed the luxurious stores on the left side of the streets.
Beautiful heels sparkled on the displays, accompanied by a wide range of various shoes.
Her gaze shifted to the sliders she was wearing and it dawned on her.
''You don't need to do this. I will shop for them later,'' she said to Maxim.
When she went to get a dress, she was a bit excited about her new job and she did not want to be late for what she thought would be an interview hence she ended up forgetting about pairing her dress with decent shoes.
''You bumped into me once, stepped on me almost twice while walking down the stairs,'' Holding her hand, Maxim walked towards the other side of the streets.
''But you carried me down the stairs,'' Diana grumbled. Fine, she ended up losing balance a few times but that was only because he was walking fast.
He was much taller than her and hence, keeping up with him in those slippery sliders was not an easy thing.
Regardless, he carried her down like a potato sack. What was he complaining about?
"Then, do you expect me to carry you everytime?" Maxim asked her seriously as he handed his car keys to the valet before they stepped inside the store.
"But I didn't ask you to carry me,'' Diana argued.
''You were stepping on me. I had no option.''
''You were holding my hand and I was having a hard time catching up. It was your fault in the first place,'' Diana said with a frown.
''Isn't that the reason why I am trying to make it up to you?" Maxim asked with a quirk of his brows.
''Yes but...'' Diana stopped talking.
The corner of her lips twitched. He was right but why did it feel like... she missed her point?
Diana blinked, feeling muddle-headed.