TEST DRIVE: A Night of Forbidden Desire

By that time, Max and Olivia had given up trying to find Edeline, who had escaped. They both realized that Edeline had most likely left the hotel. The conclusion was clear: the evening’s event was a failure. So, they were planning to return to find Vonda when shouts rang through the air.

Max did not know what was going on and honestly did not care. His only concern was every word that came out of Vonda’s mouth.

“If it were me… no matter how stupid I might be… I would never waste Max for another man or for… anyone else.”

“I’m sorry too, Max. I can’t go on with all this. I can’t keep pretending when I… I… Everything between us feels so real, Max.”

When Riley’s voice rang out, calling out Vonda’s name, Max snapped out of his own thoughts.

Vonda.

Max’s legs moved. He wanted to run after Vonda right away. But a hand stopped him, accompanied by a soft voice.

“Max.”

Max realized that another girl had been there all along. A girl who had been absent for a long time and who had once been an inseparable part of his life.

“Giselle.”

Giselle cleared her throat and looked at Max with a mixture of emotions: longing, regret and hope.

Max refrained from taking another step. Riley noticed and went into a hysterical fit.

“You don’t want to go after Vonda, Max?”

Max turned to Riley, who had turned red-either from anger or something else-but her face had hardened.

“Riley.”

Giselle immediately greeted Riley before she could speak to Max. She let go of Max’s hand and tried to shake the middle-aged woman’s hand, but was rebuffed.

“Why have you come back here, Giselle? What is your purpose in seeing Vonda? If you’re here for family reasons, go ahead, but don’t make my future daughter-in-law leave like you did before!”

Riley’s statement shocked Giselle. Her lips parted, but she could not say anything. Her lips trembled and her eyes darted from Riley to Max.

“Your future daughter-in-law?”

Giselle’s voice was barely a whisper as she asked, especially when she asked Max another question.

“Is she your future wife, Max?”

Riley’s patience was running out. She reached out and grabbed Giselle’s hand, unable to contain her anger.

“I didn’t get angry at all when you left Max, Giselle. That was your choice. But if you make Vonda leave, I will never forgive you for the rest of my life!”

“Mama.”

Max grabbed Riley’s hand and let go of Giselle’s. He slowly tried to calm his mother.

“Mom, how about we go in the back?” Max suggested.

Max quickly assessed the situation. It was too embarrassing to continue their private conversation in front of the public. But Riley did not seem to understand that.

Riley looked at Max in disbelief and pointed at Giselle as she spoke to her son.

“You’re defending that girl, Max? The girl who chose another guy when your relationship was already serious?”

“Ma, I-”

“I know I was wrong, Riley. I apologize and I will make it right,” Giselle quickly interrupted. “I truly regret it.”

The commotion erupted immediately. Max made a decision. He approached Giselle, further infuriating Riley.

“Max! If you leave Vonda, I will never forgive you, Max! You’re not my son anymore!”

Max froze, not only because of the outburst, but also because of the tears streaming down Riley’s cheeks.

Edmund tried to calm his wife, but it seemed useless.

“Honey, we’re making a scene in front of everyone.”

Max turned to Olivia, who was still there. With a pleading look, he asked, “Please help Mom for a moment, Via.”

Olivia understood. She reached out to comfort Riley, whispering softly.

“Let’s go in the back, okay? I’m sure Max knows what’s best for him and you.”

Riley looked pained and squeezed Olivia’s hand. “Via, but that girl… she…”

“Yes, I know.”

Olivia continued to soothe her. They slowly led Riley away and left the area.

Max let out a small sigh of relief. He was grateful to have a friend like Olivia in moments like this.

Turning to Giselle, Max motioned for her to leave the scene.

“Let’s talk, Giselle.”

Giselle was surprised but said nothing, following Max’s footsteps as he led her away from the commotion and whispering crowd.

Max led Giselle into a messy room, a place originally intended for Edeline and her partner to prepare before their public appearance.

“Max.”

Giselle called his name just as Max closed the door. Max turned to face her, his expression unreadable, at least in Giselle’s eyes.

Max took a deep breath. “Why did you meet with Vonda, Giselle?”

“Max, I-”

“You knew you shouldn’t have met Vonda, didn’t you? You also shouldn’t have shown up in front of all of us, Giselle. What do you want?”

In an instant, Giselle stepped forward and grabbed both of Max’s hands, her face looking pitiful. “I know my mistake was huge, Max. But I’ll do anything to get back to you. Anything.”

Giselle’s words made Max furrow his brow in disbelief. “Come back to me?”

“Yes,” Giselle replied, nodding. “I… I’m already divorced from Brody, and…”

“And after the divorce you thought of coming back to me?” Max interjected quickly. “Is that it, Giselle?”

Giselle was silent, then nodded. “I know that marrying Brody was the worst mistake I ever made in my life, Max. It’s been a hard lesson for me,” she said seriously. “I don’t want to lose you again. This time I’ll fight for you, no matter what.”

Max blinked once. He exhaled, his jaw moving up and down for a moment.

“You…” Max said with a bitter smile. Giselle’s words left him incredulous. “You lost me? Seriously? You left me, in case you forgot, Giselle! How can you say you lost me? Seriously?”

“Max,” Giselle said, her voice choking. “I’ll do anything to get back to you. Anything. I’ll make up for every mistake I ever made. Give me a chance, Max. I’ll prove it all.”

“Oh God.”

Max looked around slowly. He walked to the center of the room, perhaps needing more air than usual because his body was experiencing a fiery sensation that made his blood rush through his veins.

“Don’t you see, Giselle, that Vonda is in my life now?” Max asked. “You and I are no longer together.”

The question made Giselle pause. “Are you serious about her, Max?” she asked in return, and then something occurred to her. Something Vonda had said some time ago.

“I’m sorry too, Max. I can’t go on with all this. I can’t keep pretending when I… I… Everything between us feels so real, Max.”

Giselle’s eyes widened.

“You and Vonda aren’t really together,” Giselle said. “Vonda mentioned pretending. You… you don’t have a real relationship.”

Max immediately turned and looked directly at Giselle.

“Giselle, you need to know something,” Max said. “Whether my relationship with Vonda is fake or not, only we know the real feelings involved. What right do you have to judge how Vonda feels about me or how I feel about her? You don’t know anything.”

“Max, you…” Giselle blinked, her eyes beginning to well up. Tears slowly began to fill her eyelids. “You can’t possibly love her, Max. I know that. All these years, even after my marriage, you’ve been alone. You’re not married, and-”

“Do you think it’s all because I’ve been waiting for you?” Max asked, cutting her off. “Hahaha!”

Terrifyingly, Max reflexively laughed. As if he had just watched a comedy show that tickled his funny bone.

“Hahaha! Oh my God, Giselle! Do you really think I didn’t get married all this time because of you?”

There was a mocking tone, a sense of amusement in Max’s words, but he was deadly serious. Especially when he went on.

“I haven’t been married all this time…”

Max wiped his face. Something stirred in his chest, as if he had just realized something.

“Why am I only realizing this now? Hahaha!”

As Max’s hands dropped, his vision seemed blurred by the accumulation of tears.

“I haven’t been married… that’s because I’ve been waiting for Vonda all this time.”

Some people might say that Max could not move on from Giselle after their failed relationship five years ago. They might conclude that Max could not get over Giselle, which is why he had not been with another woman and was still unmarried at his current age. But what might have really happened was this.

“Because even though I didn’t know it… I was subconsciously waiting for the right person to come into my life. Damn!”

A single tear rolled down Max’s cheek. At that moment, his memories rewound and he imagined the first time he met a girl he called a “crazy virgin”. Fate seemed to be playing games, trapping them in the same room.

That’s how their days passed. Unconsciously, they were always together from day one. And now Max wondered when a single basil leaf would make him laugh.

Oh, of course. Only with Vonda could a single basil leaf be a reason to laugh. Something so small, and yet it turned out to be something so significant.

“And it’s not you, Giselle. It’s Vonda,” Max whispered with deep emotion.

In that moment, Max seemed to realize something new. That maybe this was how fate worked. He felt heartbreak, then loneliness, and there was someone guiding time to bring them together.

Max was not waiting for Giselle; he was waiting for the right person. She was… someone Max had been waiting for. Even if Max did not know who this girl was.

“She’s Vonda.”

It was a reality Giselle found hard to accept. She was willing to swallow her pride and embarrassment to try to win Max back. But things weren’t going as she had hoped.

“Max, please. Give me a chance. Just once. I’ll prove that-”

Max shook his head quickly. “I’m not like you, Git. I would never be stupid enough to leave someone who loves me for someone else who isn’t worthy. I would never be stupid enough to let go of Vonda for you.”

“Max, I-”

“Enough, Git. Our relationship really ended the day you left me.”

Tears streamed down Giselle’s cheeks. She seemed to realize that her hopes had faded. And Max solidified everything with his next words.

“You need to know something…”

Max took a deep breath, knowing that what he was about to say was something he would promise for the rest of his life. As long as he had breath in him, Max would make this one promise.

“If it were me… no matter how stupid I might be… I would never waste Vonda for another woman or for… anyone else. Including you.”

*

Perhaps no one expected that what was supposed to be a beautiful evening would end in chaos. In the midst of all the turmoil that night, Olivia was suddenly struck with dizziness, migraines, and anemia all at once.

Who could blame her? She was still on the phone, desperately trying to find her beloved sibling, while also trying to comfort Riley. It was not until the door to the room where they were resting opened and Max appeared that Olivia could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

“Mama.”

Max immediately approached Riley, who seemed ready to unleash a string of curses at him.

“Don’t call me Mama anymore, Max. I won’t-”

“I have to go now, Ma.”

Max’s quick statement cut off Riley’s words.

“Go?” Riley blinked. “Where are you going?”

“To meet your future daughter-in-law,” Max said with a smile on his lips and in his eyes. “So, don’t get mad anymore, okay? You don’t want to have a stroke and go to a wedding in a wheelchair, do you?”

Tears immediately welled up in Riley’s eyes. Her hand shot out and made a small flick to the side of Max’s ear.

“You…”

Riley struggled to find the words. So, she decided to hug her son instead.

“I love Vonda, Max.”

In Riley’s embrace, Max echoed a similar sentiment.

“It’s the same for me, Mom,” Max whispered. “I really love her.”

*