Second Chance Soulmate: Engaged (Marked By Fate Series #1)

19: Confrontation

“Max, I wish you luck. You can do it,” Count mumbled lowly as he softly pushed Maxien towards the place's entrance.

“Thank you so much, Count. You are the best. I owe you yet another one. I am going now, and I will tell you how it went when it is over, okay?” Maxien gratefully stated, before bidding a permanent goodbye to get inside the restaurant they have agreed to meet in for a talk after long weeks of asking for a cool off from the immaturity.

It did not take too long for seven to come, as they arrived there ten minutes before the exact time Maxien has declared. And, at the exact call time, Brian appeared in simple clothes, did not even try to make himself look presentable to dine in on one of the most famous restaurants in town.

If Count has noticed a thing about him, though, it was that; Brian looked depressed and all messy. His thin beard was now growing and it did not seem like he was planning to shave it any time near. He looked thinner, too. His head was dishelved and unneat. His eyes has dark circles underneath as well.

Brian was also wearing an apologetic expression, not just in the face, but reflected by his whole body's ashamed movements, he looked too gloomy and... guilty, so down, with eyes screaming sorry, even without opening his mouth. He could not even seem capable of looking Maxien straight in the eye, based on what the CEO was seeing from his direction.

Now, d*mn, did Maxien calling their engagement off affect him this bad? He looked like a complete wreck that would be incapable to get renovated in a snap, at this point, it would take him a lot of efforts to get back to his initial state. Clearly, he was not used to not having Maxien with him...

Witnessing the scene unfold from afar, all while cautious not to get caught being nosy and watching Maxien's expressions to, at least, somehow tell what was going on, Count stayed hidden in one column, with half of his face peeking to get a small sight.

As a naturally curious person, and someone who has been invested and involved in the topic that included Maxien and her fiancé, it was torture to him not to hear what the two was talking about, it almost hurt his head, almost made him walk inside and just sit down the same table as the two, then tell them to speak in his front.

Nosy, although he could barely remember being that anticipated to gossip around...

On the contrary to Brian's not-so-energetic entrance and greeting after a while of missing to see Maxien, the latter has quickly flashed her sweetest smile with a little wave, mouthing, “Hi.”

The sight of a genuinely smiling Maxien made Count smile just too in contentment, yet, with a hint of bitterness in his tongue. Such a bittersweet vision.

Even if seeing Maxien with Brian kind of hurt, if he was being honest, Count stayed and watched. What a masochist he was, no? But he just wanted to fulfill a promise he made to himself upon suggesting to go there with Maxien; make sure she would not get hurt, physically, mentally, or emotionally, by her fiancé once more. Because if a drop of Maxien's tear drops while she was with Brian, that would be where Count would finally draw the line.

However, all of a sudden, Brian... ran away and left Maxien alone in their table, in a swift moment, he was gone somewhere Count was not able to relocate.

At the same time, Count has seen how the smile dropped into a pained wince, while the girl's eyes began bawling out with uncontrollable tears.

In a moment, Count was still standing outside the restaurant, baffled and unable to process what was happening, unaware of the truth behind Brian's trip of walking out. And then, the next thing he knew, he was inside the place and holding Maxien close, with eyes full of worry and questions.

“What... what happened?”

And, maybe, the answer to his query was the most random sh*t he has heard that day, that it left him wondering if Maxien was either joking and pranking him, or was actually in a state of pondering.

“Brian... Count, Brian lied to me, all this time, he was making a fool of me. Brian, he is not... my soulmate, after all, would you believe such bullsh*t?”

The pain written in Maxien's face was too visible to ignore. The previously composed girl, who has always been good at masking her pain underneath a pretentious smile she has managed to conquer prettily and pull in every possible situation, was now gone, has now turned to an emotional wreck who could not contain a bit of her hurtful distress due to the thing she just learned from her fiancé's — ex-fiancé's — very mouth.

It somehow made Count guilty and blaming himself for keeping the truth from Maxien hours ago— for days, even. Instead of contemplating before they came to meet Brian, she could have oriented Maxien about it already, so the girl would not be this shocked upon finding out.

But, that f*cking i***t, Brian Advincula. Why would he reveal it just like that, then leave as if nothing happened? Even Count could not seem to understand why Brian acted like that, even if he tried to think of all the possibilities and reasons to make Brian valid, at least, he still could not.

Instead of proving how he loved Maxien despite being not the one who was actually destined to be the girl's soulmate, why did he dip and leave the girl crying on her own?

Why would a man that trashy got a right to be loved by a woman like Maxien? D*mb f*cker, Count though, he could rot in hell and stay there until he becomes able to follow and hit that annoying face— this time with a straight uppercut, instead of a low strike jab in the nose.

“I... haha,” the girl laughed sarcastically, “I do not know... I don't know what the f*ck is going on anymore. The... this rush of events I have not processed yet, and now, another addition. Just... what? How could that be possible, right? Count, is that even possible! Brian... I have known him since college. And we have always compared our birthmarks, it is similar, in every way, I am certain that ours are a pair. There is no freaking way, just no...”

“Max...”

Seeing the tears dropping from the girl's eyes, he felt his heart breaking into tiny pieces, shattering in pain, feeling for Maxien. He felt guilty, to say the least, and he could not just tolerate the different ache brought by Maxien's breaking state in his front.

It might be a normal reaction to seeing someone hurt and it would be inhumane not to sympathize with such a person like Maxien. And the thing he was feeling for the girl even added to the piled up heartbreak, and he could not differentiate himself from Maxien.

God d*mn.

He should have seen that coming— should have visualized how Maxien would be very hurt once she learns about it. But he did not do the thing he was supposed to execute; tell Maxine beforehand and put the information ou in the slowest and most careful, so the girl would not get too overwhelmed with the sudden revelation.

And now, it was already happening.

He already witnessed how Brian got his tattoo checked, has confirmed it through the tattoo artist's words mentioning Brian and the sin of deceiving people through birthmarks that were actually tattoos, yet he didn't do anything to prevent this scene from happening, and now, Maxien was hurting.

It was partially his fault.

But Count wondered if something would have changed if he did tell Maxien about it before they went there to meet Brian? Would it have affected the present? Or, just like what anyone would expect it to end, Maxien would still get hurt and heartbroken over learning how her fiancé, her supposed soulmate, lied to her and deceived her for years, and it lasted for a long while until it was known today?