Whispers of Destiny: His Belated Love novel Chapter 177

Victoria's heart skipped a beat. The whole internet was buzzing about her and Maxwell being a couple. With this kind of buzz, she was on her way to becoming a solid celeb in the circle.

But now, Maxwell was about to drop a bombshell and clear the air.

This wasn't just stepping in to break the 'ship'—it was a slap in the face. The overwhelming flood of well-wishes was obviously bought and paid for, anyone could see that.

Victoria said, "Maxwell, no one's gonna take this gossip seriously. It'll cool off in a couple of days. If you issue a statement now, you're just gonna make people more curious."

The PR manager overheard Victoria's voice on the call. Mr. Templeton was currently single, so him being spotted with Ms. Temple wouldn't really rock the company's stock price.

Letting the hype die down naturally was also an option.

Maxwell ignored her, "Which media outlet leaked the news last night? We'll sue them following legal procedures."

Victoria's face went pale, "Maxwell, let's not do this, I'm planning to break into showbiz, now's not the time to be making enemies with the press."

Even though she hadn't tipped off the reporters, if they got sued, they'd be pissed. They wouldn't dare lash out at Maxwell, so she'd be the target.

Without even trying, she could be left out in the cold. No matter how high her status in the dance world, in showbiz, she'd be a nobody if they stopped snapping her pics.

Maxwell said, "Do as I say."

After hanging up, he glanced at Victoria's ashen face, "If you make a mistake, you've got to pay the price. Some media, just for clicks, don't care about the truth, they have no bottom line and use fake news to poke people's eyes out."

Victoria suspected he was hinting at her; she had seen the news the night before and had bought the army of fans hyping up their relationship.

She didn't dare say more, scared that Maxwell would catch on.

Her phone in her hand was vibrating non-stop, messages from her agent. Tracy was pretty disappointed with her recent antics. They had a big fight not long ago and hadn't spoken since.

The car drove for over ten minutes.

Victoria, seeing the streets getting busier, couldn't help but speak up: "Maxwell, this isn't the way to the cemetery."

"Yeah, I'm taking you back."

"But you promised to visit my dad's grave..."

Maxwell didn't explain, just said, "Sorry."

...

Greenwood Street was deserted on the first day of the month, with only a few cars now and then. Rosemary wasn't speeding, but the drive that usually took over an hour took less than forty minutes.

But when she stepped out of the elevator, Maxwell was already at her door, having smoked two cigarettes.

Rosemary frowned at the acrid smoke in the air but said nothing.

Maxwell, looking at her distant and indifferent face, spoke in a low voice, "The photo in the news, it's just the angle. I've got nothing going on with Victoria. Last night was her dad's anniversary..."

Rosemary's face was expressionless: "Whether it's true or not, it doesn't matter to me. I'm only upset today because of... Pearl. It's not really about whether you and Victoria hooked up."

She almost called her 'mom' out of habit.

Maxwell's gaze darkened, "Her dad died on his way to see her. At that time, I was unconscious and injured, and..."

"Maxwell, I don't care, and I'm not interested in how her dad died. I just want you to stay away from me. Even if we bump into each other by chance, please act like a stranger."

She wasn't entirely unshaken.

At least, when she heard Maxwell was going to visit Victoria's father, she was deeply moved.

She thought of her own grandfather and mother.

During their three years of marriage, as a husband, he had never visited them.

The mountain housed a resort, which Rosemary had never visited, but she had seen it on travel apps before.

The car kept winding up the mountain road, and Rosemary, gazing at the unchanging scenery outside the window, slowly started to feel drowsy.

She nodded off, and by the time she woke up, it was almost dark, and the car was parked in the resort's parking lot. No telling how long it had been there.

Rosemary realized something felt off where her head was resting. She looked up and saw that she'd been leaning on Maxwell's shoulder.

Frowning, she peered out the window, "Why'd you drag me out here?"

Maxwell popped the car door open, "Fireworks."

"??"

He walked around to the trunk and hauled out a bunch of fireworks of all shapes and sizes.

Ever since Greenwood banned fireworks inside the fifth ring road, Rosemary hadn't had the chance to play with these things for ages. She watched through the rearview mirror as Maxwell unloaded the pile, her brows knitted, not saying a word.

Seriously? Dragging us out here in this chilly weather just to set off fireworks?

Do rich folks really have nothing better to do?

After Maxwell got the fireworks out, he came over and pulled open the passenger door, "Didn't you once say you wanted to set off New Year fireworks with me? I'm making your wish come true. Come on out."

Rosemary said, "When did I ever say I wanted to spend New Year's setting off fireworks with you?"

"You made that wish on your birthday."

This time, Rosemary was truly at a loss for words, "Maxwell, making birthday wishes is just a formality, you know, just something you say."

Even if she had made that wish in the past, she wasn't up for making it come true now.