116. Need
Maximilian held Chloe for a long time.
Neither of them spoke.
They didn't need to — the silence between them wasn't the suffocating, haunted silence that had swallowed the mansion these past three weeks.
This one was warm… healing… like a small crack of sunlight forcing its way through storm clouds.
Finally, Max exhaled softly and stepped back, wiping the corners of his eyes.
Chloe sniffed and looked up at him.
"You look exhausted," she said quietly.
Max let out a humorless, tired chuckle.
"I haven't slept properly since that night."
"You need rest," she insisted gently. "Come downstairs tomorrow… even for a few minutes. We all miss you."
He hesitated.
"They need to see you, Max," Chloe whispered. "You're our anchor. When you disappear… everyone else starts sinking."
Max's chest tightened painfully.
He knew she was right.
The Brooks family moved according to his emotional gravity.
When he broke… everyone broke.
"I'll try," he murmured.
Chloe gave a small, hopeful smile — tiny, but real, the first one he had seen in weeks.
She turned to leave… but paused.
"Max?"
"Hmm?"
"Don't disappear again," she said, voice trembling.
"You're not alone. Please remember that."
And with that, she walked away.
Aiden had been walking toward Max's room, intending to check on him for the first time in days.
But when he reached the corner, he froze.
Because he saw Max hugging Chloe.
Saw the way Max finally let himself break.
Saw Chloe comforting him, voice soft and shaky.
And Aiden felt an ache in his chest.
He had forgotten what it looked like when Max allowed himself to be human.
Aiden swallowed hard.
"About time," he whispered to himself, eyes burning.
When Chloe left and disappeared down the hallway, Aiden stepped forward quietly, not making a sound.
He didn't interrupt.
He didn't enter.
He simply placed a hand on Max's door, resting his forehead against the wood.
"Please come back to us, Max…" he whispered.
"…I don't want to lose you too."
He closed his eyes, letting out a long, shaky breath.
Then he walked away silently, deciding to give Max one more night.
Tomorrow, he and Chloe would pull him out together.
---
Kyron Watching From the Balcony--
Behind the curtains of the upper balcony, Kyron watched both siblings silently.
He had just returned from another exhausting day of bribing, threatening, managing press shadows, and ensuring no reporter sniffed near the mansion.
He had bloodshot eyes.
Sleepless nights.
A mind exhausted from keeping a secret grave enough to destroy them all.
But when he saw Max hug Chloe…
A tiny bit of pressure lifted from his chest.
"Good," he murmured.
"He needs this… before he breaks completely."
Kyron leaned on the railing, exhaling.
For the first time in weeks, this mansion didn't feel like a coffin.
It felt like… maybe… they were still alive.
Barely.
But alive.
---
Back in Max's Room--
Max closed the door and sat on the edge of his bed.
Chloe's words echoed in his mind.
"You're not alone."
"We need you."
"Don't disappear again."
Max stared at his trembling hands.
His voice cracked into the darkness:
"…I'll try."
Outside, rain tapped against the window gently — a soft, rhythmic sound.
Not threatening.
Not haunting.
Just… rain.
For the first time in three weeks, Maximilian allowed himself to lie back, close his eyes, and breathe.
Really breathe.
It wasn't peace.
But it was the closest he had felt to it.
---