A R A B E L L A ' S P. O. V
"Max, I'm so sorry." His hopeful smile faded, as did the happiness swirling in his eyes. I cringed for the expected reaction of anger and the string of curse words to follow but he did the unexpected.
Instead he hugged me. Then let out a long sigh of relief as though he had been weeks to exhale it.
Slowly, I returned the hug and met Xander's equally confused expression from across the room. "Uh Max, are you okay?"
He pulled back, hastily wiping away the tears that had fallen from his eyes, and gave me an openly glazed look of appreciation.
"I'm good. Better than good I...I'm so sorry. I should have commit my heart to you fully but the truth is that I'm in love with another. I met her just before I left for the competition and she's never left my mind."
