||Pretenders||☄️

(101).

"We're Strangers"

The extent others go to just to make something work out used to be funny and childish to Maxwell Ross; the sole heir of the Ross's multinational companies. He used to laugh at how people would beg for a relationship until it happened to him. Never did he think he could be this childish. Never would he have thought he would wait out in the cold night for a girl he hurt so badly to appear before him.

•_•_•

Alicia wore and all black dress that covered her arms and at her knee length to welcome the unknown person who had been making her life a typhoon. Her puffy eyes and that lingering headache since Theodore was gone was really having a toll on her and there was no one she could talk to. There hasn't been any report of Theodore gone missing from the media and she just knew, it was all a matter of time. Just like what happened to Luke. She walked ahead to the place Theodore had been buried and every step made her ache and wince. He was really dead too. He was. She brushed off a tear and sighed heavily. She got to the site and looked around for any signs of a person and there was none. She just had to wait.

Minutes of waiting, she heard footsteps approaching her from the back and she froze on the spot. "Alicia?" She heard Maxwell's voice behind her and she quickly turned around.

"What are you... what..."

"What are you doing here?" He completed her question for her and she nodded her head, gulping down. "I got a text."

"They sent... you a text too?" Maxwell looked at her shaking hands and he took a step forward to hand her his jacket only for her to take three steps away from him. "Don't.."

"You look cold." He said calmly and he couldn't ignore the fear in her eyes. "Alicia," he spoke out her name and she took another step back. "I was... once your man and I thought you'll know by now that I would never hurt you. This hurts, you know." He spoke with pain trailing in his voice and she chose to be silent. Maxwell went ahead to take off his jacket and hand it to her. He felt the coldness on that bleak night as well. He could endure the feels and he wasn't sure she could. He took a step forward to hand it to her and she moved away from him. "You don't want it?" She rubbed her sweaty palms on her dress. She didn't want to waste another minute with him and sprinted off to leave.

Maxwell held her hand, trying to stop her from leaving and she screamed at him. "Let me go!" She cried for help and he wasn't letting go off her hand.

"Alicia I just want to talk." He tried reasoning with her.

"Help! Somebody get me out of here!" She didn't stop screaming in her tears and Maxwell let go off her hand, totally surprised at her actions towards him.

In his slow state he said, "I just wanted to talk Alicia."

"I don't want to talk or look at you!"

"Ali,"

"Keep my name out of your mouth! You're everything everyone said about you and I thought you changed Maxwell. I thought you got better.." she cried and he took another step to console her. "No, stay where you are. You let this happen to Theo. You watched it happen to him."

"Because I didn't know what to do Alicia. Why are you.."

"He was your brother. You could've stopped this or help him when they were doing this to him but you didn't. You just sat down and watch it all unfold before you because you wanted him dead! He was all I had, he loved me unlike you did and you couldn't stomach the thought that I was fucking him so you let them do this to him." She spoke angrily and Maxwell listened.