130. Different
SOLARVEX INTERSPACE CORPORATION —
Kyron re-entered the office with a thick stack of documents.
His playful mood vanished instantly.
This was work.
This was Maximilian Brooks.
This was seriousness — cold, sharp, commanding.
Kyron placed the files on the desk.
"Sir, these require your signature before we leave."
Max straightened, eyes focused again, his CEO aura snapping back into place.
He began signing with quick, precise strokes.
As Kyron waited silently, Max's mind drifted — unwillingly — back to the mansion.
The last three weeks.
The mansion that was once filled with life…
laughter…
warmth…
And the garden —
The pride of his father.
The symbol of his mother's love.
A garden that once bloomed like paradise.
But now?
A land of rotting petals,
wilted roses,
blackened soil,
a graveyard of memories.
No matter what chemicals the gardeners used —
no matter how many experts they called —
the plants refused to revive.
The Brooks Mansion looked like a haunted manor out of a gothic nightmare.
And the worst part?
His family looked the same.
Dead smiles.
Dull eyes.
Silent meals.
Frozen nights.
Maximilian's chest tightened.
Being CEO of a multinational corporation had never broken him.
But seeing his family turn into shadows?
That destroyed him.
And then this morning —
for the first time in three full weeks —
Aiden had smiled.
A real smile.
Because of her.
Maximilian shoved the thoughts aside.
He needed to check one thing before going home.
"Aiden's friend," he said suddenly. "The girl he mentioned this morning. Marcelline. Did you confirm?"
Kyron straightened.
"Yes, sir."
He handed over a slim report.
"Marcelline . Transfer student. Outstanding academics. Very polite. Teachers praise her. Students call her 'Beauty Goddess.' She seems gentle… harmless… the type who probably apologizes even if someone steps on her foot."
Maximilian nodded.
He trusted Chloe and Aiden's words too—
that she was an angelic, warm-hearted girl.
"She doesn't sound like a threat to Aiden," Kyron continued.
"No. She doesn't," Maximilian agreed.
And truly, nothing about Aiden's sweet friend raised alarms.
Kind.
Soft-spoken.
Innocent.
Kyron exhaled.
"At least one thing is normal today…"
Maximilian almost smirked.
"Don't mention that woman again."
Kyron nodded fast.
He didn't want to remember her devilish smirking face either.
Silence.
A heavy one.
Then Max stood up.
"Wrap things up. We're leaving."
Kyron blinked. "Leaving? Sir… you never leave early."
Max's eyes softened — only slightly.
"I need to be with my family."
Kyron understood instantly.
The trauma.
The silence.
The garden.
The ghosts still lingering in the hallways.
And today — that smile.
That warmth Aiden brought home from a single phone call with her.
Max wasn't foolish.
He wasn't reckless.
But he was protective.
"Sir," Kyron said quietly, "you care about them more than anything."
Max didn't answer.
Instead, he grabbed his coat.
The CEO, the warrior, the cold-hearted king of SolarVex…
…was going home.
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