"We need to talk, Max!" Victoria said in an authoritative voice as she pushed open the study room door and walked in to find Max engrossed in his office work.
Max groaned in frustration and clicked his tongue to show how disgusted he was at the interruption.
They had just gotten home from the hospital a few hours ago, and Max was keen on catching up on all the office workload he had. Plus, he also didn't want to go to bed as he was avoiding Victoria by all means.
"Victoria!" Max called out to let Victoria know she was the one being addressed though no one else was in the room.
"There's nothing for us to say," he sighed and said in disgust as he looked up at Victoria from toe to head.
Victoria closed the door behind her and walked to Max's table, and closed the files he was working on.
"Don't you think there's a need for us to keep this up?" Victoria asked straight to the point, and once again, Max sighed.
"I don't care anymore," he answered as he tried getting back to work, and Victoria became more aggressive.
"I know you do because I know you don't want us getting divorced," Victoria said, and Max angrily thumped his desk.
With a clenched jaw and bared teeth, he reiterated that he just didn't care anymore.
"I know you do. I know we can forget about the past and try forging ahead. Haven't we done it before?" Victoria said with a lot of assurance, but Max shook his head and clicked his tongue.
"It's time to let go. I was stupid then. You promised to change, but you didn't…." Max started, but Victoria interrupted by saying, "I changed."
"But you didn't cut ties. I did. I fucking did it for you and for our children but you..." Max said as he thought back to a time in their marriage when Victoria had totally pushed him away without any explanation.
He feared loneliness, and he ended up having a one-night stand due to Adam's influence.
He had been so guilty about it the following morning that he came clean before Victoria, who assured them they would work past it.
They did well for the next few months until Victoria slipped away again.
"You never think of anyone other than yourself, and I'm so fucking stupid to think you could change. Everything you do is so embedded in your DNA it just can't go away. I didn't want to do this, but you're forcing me to seriously want a divorce. I'll talk to my lawyers about the same tomorrow," Max said in a determined and authoritative voice.
"You're not serious, are you?" Victoria asked in shock, and Max nodded without looking up at her.
He was afraid he would look into her eyes and get lost in them, and his resolve would crumble.
He loved her. Hell, he had never loved anyone as he did with her, and he was afraid he was losing his senses because of the same.
Wasn't love supposed to give someone strength and confidence?
Why was he feeling the exact opposite?
If it wasn't loving, what did he feel for Victoria?
Was he simply afraid of being alone with no one to go back to?
"I'll let both kids know about it when it's all finalized. I won't tell them about what you did," Max said in a plea and asked Victoria to please leave the room, but she stood still, convinced she could change his mind. She couldn't lose everything; she was sure of that.
Max, on the other hand, couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with Victoria.
Had she lost her mind?
Did she honestly think they could work past her mistake after he had known the truth?
Hell, he was struggling to bury himself in work to forget what the cops had said, but every now and then, their words played past his subconscious, and he felt himself getting out of breath.
He couldn't believe what they said, and he was still struggling to even understand why Victoria could do such a thing.
After learning that Travis had been poisoned and would have slowly died, Victoria broke down in the precinct and told the cops the truth.
"I'm really not the one you should be looking for. Adam Pattens is responsible for all these things," Victoria defended herself amid sobs, and Simeon and Dennis looked at each other and smiled.
'Does she think we will fall for her scheme?' They wondered silently and asked the same Victoria, who looked up in shock, surprised that the cops didn't show any emotion for her despite her crying her heart out.
"I don't believe your crap," Dennis said in disinterest, and Victoria gasped.