CHAPTER 649: 649-HE LIKES TO STAND BEHIND ME

Helanie:

"It is not like that. She is my mate and everything is okay," Maximus said with a smile on his lips, wrapping his arm around my shoulder but I knew at that moment that he was making a mistake from the way Emmet looked so enraged.

"Maximus, behave yourself," Emmet’s voice was sharp and loud, and Maximus instantly stopped, looking between us. Even I felt guilty under the weight of Emmet’s glare.

"You two are cheating on Norman?" He clenched his jaw, his chest rising and falling as he breathed heavily.

"No!" Maximus quickly started explaining before Emmet could say something that might hurt me.

"Then explain this?" he demanded. He was mostly speaking to his brother now, but I still felt awkwardly guilty.

"This was decided by Norman himself," Maximus said, giving me a quick glance to check on me.

Emmet didn’t look like he believed his brother. He shook his head, his hands on his hips, continuing to glare at Maximus as if urging him to explain the vague comment.

"It was the Mate Eclipse—" Maximus went quiet when I cleared my throat.

"I’ll go check if all the doors are locked," I excused myself, quickly leaving the living room so Maximus could be the one to explain everything. I knew I’d feel too awkward facing Emmet right now.

I rushed out, still feeling like I was being watched. Emmet’s harsh glare, even when it wasn’t directed at me, left goosebumps on my skin. How did Maximus handle his brother’s stares so calmly?

I took a deep breath, but it didn’t help. I was still worried about what Emmet would think of me. Would he think I was a bad woman? Or worse—a slut?

’As if you don’t know him by now,’ Cora groaned, clearly annoyed by my anxiety.

’I know him, but what he thinks about me still matters the most,’ I admitted. I had always realized that I act a little too reserved and shy around Emmet. Not because I thought he liked me that way, but because I just couldn’t bring myself to act bold in front of him.

’Maximus will explain everything. We don’t need to stress out,’ Cora reassured me, and I nodded.

I began checking all the doors and windows. It was strange how we were doing all this because one of the owners of the house wasn’t welcome anymore. It wasn’t even about the next full moon, this time, we didn’t even know where Kaye had gone. That made it scarier. He could be planning to attack me any day.

After I was done with the windows, I lingered near the stairs, nervously rubbing my palms together. I wondered if now was the right time to go back to the living room. Then I quickly decided against it.

I couldn’t face Emmet just yet. So instead, I went straight to the kitchen and started preparing dinner for all of us.

That’s when I heard footsteps approaching the kitchen, and I knew instantly who it was.

My body tensed. I straightened up and focused on chopping the vegetables. Just as I suspected, it was Emmet.

He walked in without saying anything at first and wandered around for a minute. I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes, then quickly looked down and focused on the cutting board.

"Need my help?" he finally asked, stopping on the other side of the counter. He leaned forward, resting his hands on the surface, watching my face from under his thick eyebrows.

I felt so shy I couldn’t raise my head. I just shook it to say no.

"Did anybody force you into it?"

The moment his question didn’t sound related to cooking, I looked up, and our eyes met.

"No," I almost whispered.

He gave a small nod, barely noticeable.

"Where do I stand?" he asked, making me grip the knife a little too tightly, trying my best to look confident.

"Where do you want to stand?" I managed to get the words out.

He stared into my eyes for a few seconds before stepping around the counter. Then he stood behind me.

"Here," he whispered, placing his hands on the counter beside the cutting board. He leaned in close, his breath brushing against my ear.

"I don’t know what you think of me now," I admitted. I’d been scared he would judge me, even though Cora had faith in him.

"Helanie, all you need to do is look into my eyes, and you’ll know what I think of you," he said, slowly moving to the side and leaning against the counter, arms folded across his chest.

"I’m not judging you for what it’s supposed to be. And obviously, I wouldn’t judge you when I think—I might finally have a chance," he said in his usual serious tone.

His chest muscles looked more defined now, maybe from all the food and lack of activity over the past month.

"But Helanie, I’ve made mistakes in the past. I had a chance to be with you once, and I lost it. You told me you couldn’t be with me, that you were over me. So if we do anything now, it’ll seem like we were lying to ourselves back then."

He paused.

"It couldn’t have been that easy for you to move on from something you hadn’t truly moved on from until the Mate Eclipse. As for me, I’m still living with the guilt of losing you. So, I suggest we take some time before making any quick decisions," he said, making me nod in agreement.

Honestly, I liked his suggestion even more.

I cleared my throat, feeling a little awkward now. I just hoped he didn’t think I was desperately waiting to start having sex like animals.

"By the way, that well was dry. I don’t think it’ll be any help," I said, remembering the night we lost Emmet and my baby.

Emmet furrowed his brows, then gave a casual shrug and asked, "What well?"