"Shut up!" Max gritted his teeth as his men burst into laughter.
"Sorry, sir… pfft." One of them struggled to keep a straight face.
Olivia's parents couldn't help but smile, and even Max's family looked amused. Max's face turned bright red, his jaw tight with suppressed irritation.
Emma's palms grew clammy. She couldn't believe she had managed to make him angry.
Was she too harsh?
"Let's leave this place," Max muttered and began walking away.
"Oh… you're so beautiful," the red-haired woman among Max's team said, giving Emma a playful thumbs-up.
No one had ever dared say something like that in front of Max before. His men were already exchanging mischievous glances. They would make sure to tease him for it later.
Olivia's parents pitied the girl immediately. They knew their daughter's temperament too well. If Olivia were herself, she would have snapped back by now, claiming that the woman's gesture was rude or unnecessary. But Emma didn't do that.
"Um… thank you. You're beautiful as well," Emma said with a small smile.
The redhead winked at her before joining her colleagues. Emma couldn't deny it, the woman was stunning. Her body was perfectly proportioned and strikingly mature. Long blue hair fell to her waist, shimmering under the dim light.
The jeans she wore clung tightly to her curves, accentuating every line of her hips and the generous swell of her backside. Her chest was so full it made Emma's head spin.
She couldn't help but stare for a moment.
With a figure like that beside him, would any attempt of hers ever make Max notice her?
Not that Emma thought herself unattractive, she knew she was beautiful, but the woman's figure was unreal.
Emma resisted the urge to glance down at her own chest. The thought alone made her self-conscious. She silently prayed that Max preferred women who were a little… less endowed.
Wait! What am I even thinking? she scolded herself, and Honey's soft chuckle echoed in her mind.
"Host, you're weird," Honey teased.
Emma bit her lip, embarrassed, and followed quietly as the group continued down an isolated path behind the building.
Two black Maybachs soon pulled up beside them. The engines purred softly before shutting off.
"Boss, you like her?" the redhead, Heidi teased from a safe distance.
"Heidi! Do you want me to cut your tongue out?" Max shot back, glaring.
Heidi stepped back but couldn't resist whispering loud enough for him to hear. "She didn't even want to dance with you, haha."
Max glared harder, and she wisely fell silent.
President Smith and his wife boarded one of the cars along with Max's family. Max and Emma entered the other vehicle, while his men climbed into the second Maybach.
Max drove. Emma sat beside him in the front seat, hands folded nervously on her lap.
His expression was unreadable, cold, tight, and distant. He rarely got angry, but something about this woman made his chest tighten in a way he didn't understand.
He couldn't believe her parents had actually patted her head and pleaded with her to sit beside him.
Emma, on the other hand, had been shocked by that gesture. The way Olivia's parents stroked her hair and spoke softly, as though she were fragile, touched her more than she expected. Then she turned toward Max and met his icy expression. His nostrils flared slightly, his eyes sharp with restrained anger.
Oh great, she thought.
Max kept his eyes on the road, refusing to look her way. His jaw was set. To him, she was the perfect example of someone ruined by privilege, pampered, overindulged, and far too used to getting her way.
After a long and silent drive, the car finally turned through the gates of Olivia's family estate.
The mansion loomed before them, sprawling and breathtaking. The air smelled of freshly cut flowers, and the lawns glittered under the garden lights. Men in black suits were stationed everywhere, eyes alert.
As soon as the cars stopped, about twenty guards rushed forward. The doors were opened for them without a moment's delay.
Emma hesitated. She wanted to step out but realized that if she parted ways with Max like this, she might never get another chance to talk to him.
Acting on instinct and before Honey could stop her, she called out softly, "Maximilian?"
The sound of his name on her lips made him freeze. He turned to look at her, blue eyes locking on her face. There was something annoyingly pleasant about hearing her say his name, even though everything about her irritated him.
Her black eyes met his, and for a heartbeat, the world around them seemed to fade.
"Please get down, Miss Smith," Max said quietly.
Emma swallowed, summoning her courage. Before she could reply, Olivia's parents had already stepped out of the car, pausing to glance back at them with curiosity.
Max's family, too, exchanged questioning looks.
Max grew tense. Everything that came out of her mouth usually made his temper rise. She was unpredictable, and that made him uneasy.
Then Emma spoke.
"Can I have your number?" she asked.
The question shocked everyone. President Smith and his wife, however, didn't seem bothered at all. If anything, they looked pleased. They had harbored hoped that Olivia and Max might end up together one day.
Max looked taken aback. He was used to people chasing his attention, but something about her asking unsettled him.
"No, thanks," he replied curtly.
Emma blinked and turned toward Olivia's parents. Staying in character meant being a little spoiled, so she tilted her head slightly and said, "Daddy, I want his number. I need to return today's favor."
President Smith smiled warmly. "Sure, baby. I can arrange that."
"Don't call me," Max cut in sharply before anyone could say more. "Stay away from me."
Emma hid her worry behind a small nod. "Bye, everyone," she said sweetly before stepping out of the car, ignoring his words entirely.
You didn't say anything, she thought to Honey as she walked toward the mansion beside Olivia's parents.
"What should I say?" Honey asked.
"Does that mean I didn't step out of character?"
You've actually made progress, Honey replied.
"Really?" Emma asked in her mind, feeling hopeful.
Yes. You've unlocked the chance to use the mini time-reversal system, Emma.
Emma smiled to herself. She was getting there. Maybe this wouldn't be as hard as she thought.
…..
"Olivia is a good girl, Max. She's just a little spoiled, being the only child and all. Don't be so hard on her," Max's mother said gently from the back seat.
Max's hands tightened on the steering wheel, his jaw clenching again. He didn't respond, but his expression said it all.
Why did everyone assume he was the villain, when he was the one who kept being insulted, ridiculed, and called an animal?
He exhaled quietly through his nose, eyes fixed on the road ahead, the faintest muscle twitching in his jaw.