Maxon wrapped himself in the duvet, waves of nausea adding to his misery. His phone pinged with message after message, intensifying the preexistent, excruciatingly agonizing headache.
From the pounding head, vomit taste in his mouth, and dehydrated feeling he figured he must have been drinking substantially the night before. Plus his throat felt like sandpaper.
At least the curtains were still half-closed, Maxon was always averse to bright light when he was hungover. Maybe I could sleep it off, he thought. So he curled under the duvet and closed his eyes.
His brain felt like it would swell beyond the capacity of his skull and now his dehydration was too obvious to ignore. Once again, his stomach lurched and gurgled. Perhaps some painkillers and a hot steaming cup of black coffee would help too. Maxon raised his heavy eyelids, unwillingly, halfway only for them to fall shut. He raised them again and swung his bare feet on the carpet. It was cold and glacier all around, he must've missed shutting the window the night before.
His eyesight struggled to cope with the daylight and Maxon fumbled tying the belt on his robe.
While stabilizing himself on the ground, he glanced back to the naked stranger wrapped in his Egyptian white linen sheets, fast asleep. Pressing his temple, he decided it was best to go take a shower and not have the morning after, conversation with her.
Maxon was more aware of his throbbing headache than the layer of dehydrated saliva that coated his cracked lips. Once in the washroom, the room swayed almost causing him to lose balance as he reached out for the wall. His hand slipped along the wet sheen walls and he sprawled onto the chilly tiles with a crashing thump.
The room swirled before coming stationary again and Maxon used the tap handles to pull himself to standing. This feeling and the naked stranger in his bed meant he'd had some major fun last night at the club with Sebastian but somehow it wasn't there in his memory.
Perhaps Sebastian had stayed over, he would check later.
Maxon smacked his lips in exasperation and his stomach churned in an unfriendly way. A stirring hot coffee was the remedy he needed but first, he had to compromise on taking a shower.
So he stepped into the shower, toes flinching as they touched the chilled ceramic floor. His mind was in shreds. Maxon turned the dial, cold and metallic, releasing thousands of lukewarm drops, darkening his hair and trickling down his back. His eyes fell shut over and over as he struggled to keep them wide open.
"Maxon." A sleepy, groggy voice called out.
Thinking it was just another side effect of the hangover, he chose to ignore it. Perhaps he was hallucinating. But when the feminine voice called out again; Maxon was wide awake. Turning the shower off, he tied the robe around his body, ready to give his one night stand a piece of his mind for interrupting his hot, rejuvenating shower.
As he opened the bathroom door, she lay there half-naked; the duvets only covering up the essentials as she waved his ringing phone in front of him.
"Shut this off." She ordered, dazedly. "It's been ringing for quite some time now."
Maxon hissed before he declined the call without checking the caller ID and threw his phone back on the bed before making his way into the shower.
After a hot steamy shower, Maxon was finally able to adjust with the daylight but his bed-with the woman still in it immediately-sent a nerve of irk, through his brain. He had to get rid of her sooner rather than later.
Before he could walk over to her to send her home, the door swung open, fast enough to drive the door through the opposite wall.
The woman woke up, groaning. Her breathing suspended, reaching for the duvets to cover her body.
"It's for you." Ahren threw the telephone receiver over at his robe-covered brother. Thankfully Maxon caught it before it could end up giving him a bump on the head.
"Who is it?" Maxon pressed the speaker so as to block his voice from transmitting to the other end.
"A hysterical woman." His brother- Ahren, said abruptly before slamming the door shut.
"I don't take calls from hysterical women." Maxon wheezed out behind his brother which only struck a pain through his own head.
"You're very insensitive." The girl- who's named Maxon couldn't remember- scowled. "Also can you not fucking yell?"
"Go home." He whispered as she snorted before gathering her clothes.
Maxon exited the room to give her some privacy, although he'd seen enough last night. Walking over to the room Sebastian usually slept in-when at the Kingsley Manor-he put the receiver to his ear.
"Hello?" Maxon pushed open the door to Sebastian's room and luckily he found his friend curled up in his bed with another girl.
The woman on the other end of the receiver spoke with such a pace that Maxon thought only aliens were capable of. And he was in no mood to entertain crying women so he briefly contemplated hanging up the phone.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Maxon continued, "Okay, calm down." He smacked Sebastian's arm a few times as he slapped away Maxon's hand every single time.
"I can't understand you." Maxon groaned, clenching his head. Without an aspirin or another shot of vodka, he wasn't sure how he would get through this conversation.
"I'm late. I'm late. I'm late. I'm late." She chanted in vexation, her heavy feet pacing was clearly audible to Maxon on this side of the call.
"Omelette?" He narrowed his eyebrows.
"I'm late!" She cried from the other end.
A flash of annoyance spread across Maxon's face, he wasn't conscious enough to deal with this shit. "Late for what?"
"My menstrual cycle is late. I think I'm pregnant."
Maxon's brain stuttered for a moment and his eyes took in more light than he expected, every part of him went on pause while his thoughts caught up as her words sunk in. He was white as chalk. His eyes and his mouth were frozen wide open in an expression of stunned surprise, and although Maxon was staring straight at a peacefully asleep Sebastian, he was panicking.
"Just a second," Maxon whispered in the receiver unbothered if the hysterical woman had missed his tiny voice.
"Wake up. Wake up. Wake up." He slapped Sebastian's cheek harshly than he intended to. Sebastian rubbed his eyes groggily before giving Maxon the finger and turning his back on him, curled into his duvet, cuddling his one nightstand.
"For fuck's sake, Sebastian, wake up." Maxon pulled his friend halfway from the horizontal position. This chaos had seemed to wake Sebastian's lady friend up too.
She looked at Maxon in confusion with her big blue eyes and disheveled blonde hair as she clutched the duvet closer to her body.
"What the fuck?" Sebastian smacked Maxon's arm away before rubbing his eyes.
He flipped the receiver onto the speaker, as his eyes settled on Sebastian.
"Are you sure?" Maxon asked her, his heart still beating in his chest.
"Of course I'm sure." She yelled from the other end. They could sense the frustration in her voice in accumulation to the panic.
"How did this happen?" Maxon clutched his forehead as he spared a look in his friend's direction but Sebastian was still in dilemma. And Maxon remembered that he hadn't blasted the news to his childhood friend yet.
"She's pregnant. I guess." Maxon whispered over to him so as to catch him up with the previous drama.
Sebastian's face fell faster than a corpse in cement boots. His mouth hung with lips slightly parted and his eyes were wide as they could stretch.
"What do you mean by how did this happen?!" She shrieked. "You know how."
"Okay, okay. Just stay calm." Maxon couldn't remember her name which landed him in even more of a predicament. So he looked at Sebastian for help but his friend shrugged bewilderingly.
"Did you take a pregnancy test?" Maxon sucked in air through his teeth, almost hoping for a no. If she hadn't, there was still a possibility that her menstrual cycle was late because of stress and not due to pregnancy.
"No." She sighed. "I had a little bit of morning sickness today. Then I remembered that I was 2 weeks late. I panicked and called you immediately."
"Who is she?" Sebastian whispered, scratching the back of his head. Her voice was familiar, that was the only thing Sebastian could put his finger on but he couldn't remember the face which belonged to that serene yet panicked voice.
"I don't know." Maxon shrugged, only in a whisper.
"You're such an asshole." The girl in Sebastian's bed spat. They hadn't noticed her presence and that she was eavesdropping in their conversation. She rolled her eyes before wrapping the bed sheet around her and walking into the bathroom with her clothes.
"Do you have the pregnancy test with you?" Sebastian asked.
"Who's that?" The uncertainty in the almost-pregnant lady's voice was quite evident. It looked like she didn't want anyone besides Maxon to know about this.
"Sebastian," Sebastian said nonchalantly before grabbing a mug from the nightstand and pouring the amber liquid from the bottle.
"I'll take the test now." They heard the unwrapping of the kit as she said, "Hold up."
"Dude, you just woke up." Maxon scrunched his nose in a grimace at the sight and the smell of whiskey.
"I can't deal with this in sobriety." Sebastian snorted before he downed his first drink.
They heard the bathroom door click open and Sebastian's one-night stand came walking out in her previous night's dress. Ripped shorts, a sequin tank top, and thigh-high boots. She flashed the duo one last displeased look and muttered something incoherent-which Sebastian and Maxon were sure that she'd just cursed them in french- before exiting.
"Are you still there?" Her voice sounded distant from the speaker.
"Physically, yes. Mentally, it's debatable." Sebastian shrugged in nonchalance as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it before taking a brief drag.
"Really? At eight a.m?" Maxon gave him a disdainful look to which Sebastian simply rolled his eyes.
"I'm not talking to you, pig. Maxon, you still there?"
"Uhuh-I'm still here." Maxon marked dismissing his friend's dirty habit.
"It's positive." She shrieked with panic.
Sebastian choked on mid-drag as he coughed severely.
Maxon stared at the ground with eyes wide open as if it'd just produced a rhinoceros. He looked at Sebastian, Maxon could imagine the sparks in his brain desperately trying to connect the dots and make sense of this disrupted situation. On the other hand, Maxon looked like a pop-eyed toy from one of those claw machines in carnivals.
"Maxon, I'm getting married in a week. What am I supposed to do?" Her voice was droopy, almost on the verge of tears.
"Tell your fiancée that it's his," Sebastian suggested, biting his bottom lip, finally wide awake now.
"He's African-American. How do you expect me to explain a completely white child from a mixed couple?" She yelled, losing her patience with the boys now.
"Try again. Maybe it's a false positive." Maxon managed to croak. "Do you have another one?"
"Yes, wait." The line went silent again.
"You and Ahren were enough. I can't deal with another fucked up Kingsley." Sebastian gulped down the liquid in a single go before pouring another one. Maxon grabbed the bottle from his hands before slipping the intoxicated drink down his throat. Sebastian was right, no one could handle this situation in sobriety.
Maxon rolled his eyes at Sebastian's comment but somewhere deep down even he agreed that Kingsley kids were fucked up. Take a look at him and his brother Ahren. While they may be excelling academically, they had total disregard for other people's feelings, the lack of responsibility, and the demerits can go so on.
"Please god. Please, please, please." Maxon chanted.
"Isn't it a little too late for prayers, Maxon?" Sebastian looked at him humorously somehow finding this situation funny.
"Don't mock my faith." Maxon pushed his friend as Sebastian tumbled over a fort of pillows before recomposing his position beside his friend. Maxon was never religious and never could be. But today he was hoping for every deity up there to listen to his prayers.
"How do we keep getting into these situations?" Sebastian had a genuine expression of intrigue plastered all over his face but to his dismay, Maxon had no idea.
"Fifteen years of friendship and I still don't know."
"It's negative." The joviality of her voice interrupted the boys' ongoing conversation. Sebastian guffawed, already a little drunk.
"Are you sure?" He closed his eyes tightly expecting the worst yet hoping for the best.
"Yes, there's one positive and two negatives. I'm not pregnant." She exclaimed from the other end.
"Thank god." Maxon heaved a sigh of relief before slopping down on the oversized chair.
"In a strange way, I'm disappointed." Sebastian shrugged chugging down the last of the amber liquid. Maxon disregarded that comment as he grabbed the bottle from his friend's hand a took a large swig. He almost avoided crises, this called for a celebration, didn't it?
"So what's new?" Sebastian grabbed the receiver from Maxon's hand, trying his shot at the now non-pregnant, almost-married hysterical woman. "You free tonight?"
"She's getting married." Scrunching his nose in disgust, Maxon leaned back, finally relaxing into the comfort of the chair.
"Like that'd stop me." Sebastian chuckled.
"Fuck off, Sebastian." She hung up and the line went dead.
"Hormones," Sebastian smirked before slipping his robe on and following Maxon into the living room for breakfast.
Their heavy eyes scanned the room, the housekeepers running around with plates and boxes of carnations and gifts.
"Kimberly has been texting non-stop," Sebastian mentioned, sparing a glance at his friend.
"Why?" Maxon responded already knowing the answer to that.
"She didn't sound happy."
"That's nothing new." He snorted softly.
The conversation between the two of them lapsed into an amicable silence until they reached the dining table on the ground floor. They took a seat in the dimly lit room first, letting their eyes and brain adjust to the current situation. After a pregnancy scare and a throbbing hangover, Maxon wasn't sure what to expect from the rest of his day.
It took no time at all to pick out a gloomy-looking Ahren and his utterly stultified girlfriend- Regina at their normal seats. After a quick look at Ahren, Sebastian slipped past the chair beside Maxon.
Regina was the first to look up from her coffee cup, though it looked like she'd been gazing into its murky depths as if it held the answers to the universe. Her red-rimmed eyes only confirmed Maxon's suspicions that they'd both been hungover too.
"Nice hickey." Ahren murmured, eyeing the angry red mark on his brother's neck. "That's some good work right there."
Maxon couldn't keep the satisfied half-smile off his lips as he relaxed into his chair, finally in a better mood to savor the afterglow. "She did better work in other places."
Ahren snickered as he raised his coffee cup in a mock gloat before bringing it to his lips and taking a sip. Regina only scoffed in disgust. Maxon took this time to focus on Sebastian who was frowning as if someone had just taken away his favorite toy.
"Why the long face?" Maxon bumped his shoulder to Sebastian's.
"Now that I think about it, I missed the opportunity of becoming an uncle." He grunted, playing with the hem of his silk robe. Sebastian may have been a bonafide man-whore when it came to women but his one true weakness was kids. He loved them. And Maxon could never comprehend why. In fact, Sebastian had two nieces and two nephews who were his entire world.
"What?" Ahren leaned forward with a sudden interest in Maxon's life.
Maxon heaved a sigh and settled his hands on his lap. "The call, that you received earlier was one of the girls I slept with a few months ago."
Ahren had to rack his brain for a moment but the memory finally came back to him. "So?"
"She thought she was pregnant." The curly-haired boy beside Maxon grimaced, his fingers tightening around the hem of his robe.
"She's-" Ahren paused when the chef brought in their breakfast. He waited until he was gone before speaking again but Regina beat him to it.
"She's pregnant?"
"No, it was a false positive," Maxon revealed, a content smile settling on his lips. "She took two more and they were negative."
"Now, was it?" Regina smirked instigating Maxon further, but Maxon was in no mood to get into a brawl with her before his first cup of coffee. "What if it was a false negative too? You never know with these cheap-ass pregnancy tests."
"What?" Maxon was stunned to silence. He almost started praying again.
"Yeah, I once got a false negative too, didn't I Ahren?" She looked over to her boyfriend who was basically suppressing his laughter. "We had to go get an abortion."
"WHAT?!" Maxon now looked at his little brother who seemed to have been turning red from controlling his titters.
"Yeah, you better call her again. Take responsibility. Man up. Who knows you could be a better father than Ruxton?" Regina leaned forward, plucking a banana from its bunch before she peeled it and took a bite. Maxon's eyes were the size of the watermelon, he seemed clueless to Regina's teasing.
"Seb, I'm scared."
"Relax man, she's just screwing with you." Sebastian came to his friend's rescue who was obviously oblivious to Regina's teases, he clapped his hand on Maxon's back before letting out a small snicker.
"Fuck off, Regina." Maxon flipped her the finger and Regina only chuckled in victory. It wasn't every day that she won in an argument or a bicker with Maxon- although he was extremely hungover, was not completely awake yet, had just gotten a pregnancy scare which had baffled him a little bit and was obviously having a dumbhead moment- she was going to celebrate.
Ahren let out a bark of laughter, throwing his head back so his long brunette hair fell away from his forehead. "So you almost fathered a child?" He said focusing back on the topic of conversation before Maxon and Regina could engage in a brawl.
"Ruxton would've killed you." Regina put in, shrugging thoughtfully as she placed the banana peel on the side of her plate.
Amid the entire fiasco, Maxon hadn't had the chance to contemplate that possibility. Had he really knocked up a girl, how would've his dad- Ruxton Kingsley, the ruthless and callous CEO of Kingsley empire- reacted? The thought itself sent a shudder down his spine.
Although his face looked friendly, Ruxton could instill fear in even the bravest hearts. Businessman Ruxton Kingsley ruled his home and represented his company with an iron fist. Hardly anything ever escaped his notice, and when something did, he was sure to make a big deal out of it. He was the main reason why Ahren and Maxon had turned out to be perfectionists when it came to academics because anything lower than an A-minus resulted in a broken lip or a black eye awarded by none other than their father.
"Now that you've just woken up, you think you'll be ready in time?." Ahren said, cupping the warm mug in his hands.
"For what?" Sebastian threw him an unbothered gaze as Regina scoffed at his cluelessness.
Hungover Maxon was a dumbhead. Period.
"Evelyn Hexinton's benefit gala. It's today." Regina frowned, the usual warmth returning back to her hazel eyes as she got sober slowly with each sip.
"It's Saturday afternoon," Maxon whined, his look of dissatisfaction prevailing on his face.
Sebastian paused right before his cup reached his lips, his eyes swinging up sharply. "We can't miss it. Kimberly hates her mother, someone needs to be present there to prevent a blood bath."
"The devil." Maxon scoffed, rolling his eyes as he took a sip of his black coffee.
Displeasure settled over Sebastian's features as he slouched farther down on his seat, scrolling through his Instagram DM's and iMessages. "I swear to god, if Evelyn even consider making a scene, I'm going to-"
The obnoxiously loud chirp of his cellphone interrupted his threat and Ahren shot a glare at its owner. Sebastian paid the look no heed as he clicked a few buttons; a smirk escaping his lips once he read the text that was on the screen.
"Hell yeah." He mused, mostly to himself though he looked up at Maxon a few seconds later. "You won't believe who's party, I just received an invite to."
"Please don't tell me it's Jenny McCarthy again." Ahren groaned, obviously thinking about the last time the woman had thrown a party and created a ruckus at one of the clubs.
"Argh, I hate it when she comes to town," Regina added, pushing a piece of strawberry-syrup coated piece of waffle in her mouth.
"Lucky for you, it's not her," Sebastian said, fingers flying over the screen. "Guess again."
It was Regina's turn this time. "The prince of Monaco who sucker-punched Maxon because Maxon slept with his fiancée-the future queen?"
"Thanks for refreshing that memory." Maxon scowled, his fingers brushing against his left eye, although he was quite drunk during that morning in Monaco, he could still feel the rash punch which gave him a black eye for weeks.
"Anytime. I have a stack full of them. All you have to do is ask." Regina winked to which Maxon scoffed.
There was no missing Sebastian's amusement this time, which was punctuated with a loud snort. "I wish, but no."
Maxon lazily flipped him a finger. "Who is it, Sebastian?"
"You're going to love this one." Sebastian teased, a smirk sliding over his lips. "It's some girl named Eliza Knight."
"Who's that?" Ahren said, pressuring his brain into remembering.
"She's not important." Sebastian smacked his lips, dismissing the unknown girl completely. "The hostesses are Max and Mia Kim."
Maxon choked on his coffee, causing Sebastian to pat on his back. After the coughing spell passed, Maxon stared in shock at the hazel-eyed boy who was also his brother across the room.
"You mean, the Kim twins from the St. Lawrence high school?" Maxon questioned incredulously. "Why would Max invite me? She hated me."
"Why did she hate you?" Regina seemed unexpectedly intrigued, the more she knew about Maxon the more she'd grown to dislike him and his livelihood. She was grateful that she was dating the better brother amongst the two Kingsley brothers.
"The twins' cousin-what was her name again? Jessica or Juniper or something." Ahren squinted his eyes all the while taking a sip from his coffee.
"Jennifer," Sebastian suggested.
"Yes! Jennifer! She was one of the victims fallen prey to the discourteous games, Maxon, Sebastian and Kimberly played. Or still, play." Ahren filled in the blanks for his girlfriend. "Maxon strung Jennifer along until she finally slept with him and he dumped her the next morning. Max Kim is...how do I put it nicely?" Ahren paused for a moment before continuing, "..a little aggressive. So she punched him and broke his nose."
"A little aggressive?" Maxon scoffed in disbelief. "She's psychotic. Fucking insane."
"Well, you deserved it." Regina rolled her eyes.
Sebastian's phone beeped again. "Kimberly's invited too. I just got her message." He said continuing to scroll.
"It must've been a mass invite," Ahren said stating the obvious.
"I received one too." Ahren flashed his phone screen in their faces before RSVP-ing yes to it.
"You're going?" Maxon knitted his eyebrows in disbelief at his little brother.
"It's in the Hamptons. Of course, we're going." Regina said in a duh tone.
"I'm borrowing the jet from dad, you want to tag along?" Enzo asked already contemplating his answer.
"Are you crazy? No." Maxon grimaced scrunching his nose up in incredulousness.
"Dude!" Sebastian slapped his friend's chest. "You're really not going?"
"Unless that psycho is institutionalized, I'm not stepping a foot in their house." Maxon shot a glare across the room to Ahren and then to Sebastian.
"But it's in the Hamptons." Sebastian squeaked desperately. "We're going to start the last semester soon, man. This is like the golden time of our lives. You're really gonna miss out on that party?"
"Yeah." Maxon shrugged, eyes focusing back on his breakfast.
"It's not in the Kim mansion," Ahren mentioned, his eyes still glued to the screen probably reading the address and details of the party. "Its the birthday girl's house-Eliza Knight. It's actually a surprise party."
"See, we don't even know the birthday girl." Maxon pointed out in attempts of convincing Sebastian against attending the party.
"When has that ever stopped you?" Sebastian practically rolled his eyes at his friend's obliviousness. "Look, there's gonna be a lot of people we don't know. And there's a good possibility that you'll never run into Max Kim."
"You do make a good point." Maxon nodded, following Sebastian's gaze to his phone. "But, I'll pass."
"You're seriously refusing on free liquor and hot women?" Sebastian threw him a dubious look.
"Yes."
"Alright. I don't know about Kimberly but you know where to find me after the benefit." He shrugged.
"Airport. Right after the benefit." Ahren briefed Sebastian and Regina, tapping something on his phone, probably notifying Ruxton about borrowing the jet.
"Dad let you borrow the jet? Just like that?" Maxon asked, wide-eyed.
"Yeah, one of dad's friends died. You remember, Joshua Wellington?." Maxon nodded and Ahren's lip curled in pity. "Him. So dad's in Prague, he'll be back in a day or two. So we can borrow the jet for the night."
Sebastian clutched his mug, leaning his head over onto the chair. "How did he die?"
"Brain stroke."
"Wow, so soon." Regina thinned her lips and closed her eyes for a few brief seconds in reverence for the dead. "He was only fifty."
"If only they could switch lives." Maxon rolled his eyes, ducking down in his chair as he took a large gulp from the remainder of his coffee.
"Maxon!" Regina warned.
Maxon paid no heed to Ahren's girlfriend as he further asked, "But I thought no one liked Joshua Wellington so did anyone even show up to his funeral?"
"Yeah, not a lot of people showed up. So dad had to go under obligation. At least that's what Hafizh told me." Ahren shrugged.
"Makes sense." Maxon nodded.
"Let's see, a businessman no one liked, always angry and a cold-hearted son of a bitch.... sounds familiar, no?" Sebastian cocked an eyebrow to which Maxon chuckled but at the back of his head wondered if anyone would show up to Ruxton's funeral.
"Hey, Maxon?" Ahren probed, stirring the last few drops of coffee in his mug like wine.
"Yeah?"
"When dad dies, you'll go to his funeral right?"
Maxon tugged his lips in a smirk. "Of course, as the eldest son, it's my obligation to pound a wooden stake in his chest."
The group chuckled except Regina. Regina Felix didn't like dark humor especially jokes based on death and loss. She'd experienced a fair share of heartbreak and misery after her sister's death to be making fun of it.
Ahren shrugged mockingly. "If you're staking him then I guess there's nothing for me to do."
Maxon chortled inaudibly. "Alright, fine. You can cut off his head and hold it up for the villagers."
"Ah, what a world that would be." Ahren closed his eyes in mock imagination of a Ruxton-free world.
"Anyways" Regina cleared her throat, averting the topic from the humorless subject they boys seemed to find funny. "If you change your mind, Maxon then you can borrow my father's jet." Regina smiled and Maxon glared at her in dubiousness.
Why is she suddenly being nice to me? He thought
But said something else instead, "Thanks, Regina."
"For your safety, we'll make sure to carry knee pads and a hazmat suit, or I'll call up the Russo brothers and ask if we could borrow the Ironman suit for you." She chuckled, running a hand through her recently auburn highlighted hair.
"You're lucky my brother loves you or I would've killed you by now." Maxon shot back calmly, eyes locked on Sebastian's phone completely neglecting the fact that he had just spilled Ahren's secret. Although he had done it unknowingly, it didn't reduce the amount of wrath Ahren would unleash on Maxon.
Ahren's eyes widened for a brief moment shooting daggers at his brother before he shut them tightly, probably imagining various scenarios where he murders Maxon brutally.
"You-what?" Sebastian mumbled in astonishment, his gaze settling over Ahren, whose head was bowed down.
"Yeah, he-what?" Regina shot at Maxon in disbelief, her expression completely genuine.
Uh-oh.