"Why don't you just end it then?" she asked quietly, her voice trembling.
Max looked up at her with glassy eyes, not just from the alcohol, but from the vulnerability of bearing something he had kept caged for too long.
"Because I didn't want to hurt her," he whispered. "She didn't deserve that. And because… I was afraid."
"Afraid of what?" she asked, even though part of her already knew.
"Afraid if I let her go…" He hesitated, eyes locked with hers now. "I'd have to face what I really wanted. And maybe… maybe I was too much of a coward to admit that what I wanted was never her."
Natalie swallowed hard. She was standing so close now. So close he could see the way her lashes trembled, the way her lips parted just a little, breath unsteady.
"I didn't mean to fall for you," he said, voice barely audible. "I tried not to. God knows I tried."
"Max…" she whispered, her voice caught between caution and the avalanche of emotion she'd held back for too long.
