Maxim’s POV
She’s not eating.
I know before anyone tells me.
Because patterns don’t lie.
And Alicia—
She’s starting to create one.
I sit in my study, eyes on the documents in front of me, but my attention isn’t there.
It hasn’t been for a while.
“Sir,” one of the staff says from the doorway.
I don’t look up.
“Speak.”
“She refused breakfast.”
I nod once.
Expected.
“Leave it,” I say.
The door closes.
Silence returns.
But not completely.
Because now I’m thinking.
Not about the refusal itself.
That’s irrelevant.
People react when they lose control.
They push.
Resist.
Break in small ways before they break completely.
What matters is how they do it.
And Alicia—
She’s not panicking.
She’s choosing.
That’s the difference.
---
By midday, I get another update.
“She ha
