TEST DRIVE: A Night of Forbidden Desire

“The dinner was delicious, Mom.”

“Isn’t it? My cooking is always good. That’s why you should come over more often, so you can taste my other dishes.”

Vonda was surprised. She had to admit that the dinner cooked by Riley was indeed delicious, even though it was simple. Ordinary food tasted extraordinary to her, as she usually opted for takeouts rather than cooking herself. However, her praise was not to hear Riley’s invitation. Especially when she realized how Max’s mother’s hand reached out to her, giving a comforting pat on her back as the three of them sat relaxed in the living room after enjoying dinner.

“When do you want to come to our house?” Riley asked again. “Tomorrow?”

Max, who had anticipated this, quickly interrupted, “Mom. Now that you’ve met Vonda, why don’t we arrange a time for her to visit our house another day?”

Riley wanted to express her objection, but Max’s next words made her swallow back everything.

“Mom, you saw it yourself, right? Vonda fell asleep earlier. She’s tired, Mom. She’s been working overtime these days.”

Riley looked at Vonda. “Is that true?”

Vonda blinked. “Well… yeah, I haven’t been getting enough sleep for the past few days.”

But it was not because of work, it was because of Max’s emotional pressure.

“Oh.” Riley sighed; a bit disappointed. “Alright then. Rest on the weekend, okay? Get enough sleep so you won’t get sick.”

Vonda nodded, relieved that she had a valid reason to avoid Riley’s invitation.

Just met, got proposed to, and now asked to visit her house? Forget it, Von. It’s too much too soon.

“Besides,” Riley continued, “who would be heartless enough to make you work overtime for days? Your boss sounds like an inhumane person.”

Cough!

Max coughed suddenly, and Vonda could not help but chuckle reflexively.

“Indeed, Mom. My boss is inhumane.”

“Tsk tsk tsk! Be patient, Von. Just consider your boss as a test from God.”

For once, Vonda smiled and nodded in agreement. For some reason, a small sense of happiness began to bloom in her mind.

Shortly after, feeling satisfied after dinner, Vonda decided to bid farewell to Riley. It was already approaching 9 PM, and she needed to get back to her apartment.

“Mom, it’s getting late. I should go home now.”

Riley shifted her position slightly to get a better look at Vonda’s face. “How will you go? Take a taxi or something?”

“I’ll probably take a taxi later, Mom.”

Riley’s playful gaze landed on Vonda. “Max will take you home.” She turned to Max. “Right, dear?”

Max gulped nervously. Stiffly, he nodded once and stood up. “Sure, I’ll take you home.”

At first, Vonda intended to decline the offer. However, a mischievous idea crossed her mind.

This might be a chance to get back at him.

Max’s hair stood on end. It was exactly when he saw a terrifying expression on Vonda’s face.

No way, I’m not doing this. She’ll probably mutilate me in the middle of the road.

*

Max’s eyes darted back and forth, trying to gauge the cruelty Vonda might inflict upon him from her expression. However, it was difficult to read her, especially since she chose to slightly turn her head to the side, looking out at the street. Thanks to the faint reflection in the car window, he could see Vonda remaining expressionless.

Feeling uncertain, Max decided to follow the situation, remaining silent for a few moments. Eventually, his car stopped by Vonda’s apartment building.

“We’re here,” Max whispered softly.

Click!

Vonda unbuckled her seatbelt.

Screech!

Max shuddered as Vonda turned slightly, looking at him with horror in her eyes. Especially when she said, “How about we stop by my unit for a bit?”

Gulp!

Max blinked. “Y-you want to talk to me?”

Vonda nodded.

“Uh.” Max cleared his throat, trying to calm himself. “H-how about we just talk here?”

“Here?” Vonda squinted. “What if people see the car shaking. What will they think?”

Max’s eyes widened. “Sh-shaking? What do you mean?”

Wait, what’s the connection between going to her unit and a shaking car? It can’t be, right? No, impossible.

Vonda tilted her head slightly. “Come with me, Max.”

As if confident that Max would comply, Vonda stepped out of the car. As expected, Max followed suit, half-running to catch up with her.

Max felt awkward as he entered Vonda’s apartment unit. He glanced around before finally stepping inside.

In the living room, Vonda paused, waiting for Max to catch up. Then she asked as she approached him, “What weapon do you want me to use to kill you, Max? A knife or insecticide? I have both.”

Max froze.

I knew it. The shaking car was about this. She’s really planning to murder me.

“Knife or insecticide?” Vonda repeated flatly. “I have both.”

Max took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “I-I don’t want to be killed. I’m really sorry. This was not my intention at all.”

Vonda’s eyes remained sharp as she raised her index finger and pressed it against Max’s chest with each question. “So, calling me your fiancee in front of your mother wasn’t part of your plan? Your mom called me her future daughter-in-law, was that not planned?”

Oh, dear.

Max’s body was slowly pushed backward with each press of Vonda’s finger on his chest. Her questions were scathing.

“You have no idea how shocked I was, do you? And then you said you were going to propose to me? Tell me something, Max. Even the craziest girl wouldn’t be proposed to at the dinner table under those situation!”

Max took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “Well, there are plenty of girls who get proposed to at the dinner table.”

Vonda growled. “Really? The only proposal I know happens over a fancy steak dinner, not while eating salads and nuggets!”

Max pursed his lips as Vonda’s hand swung, hitting him with frustration.

“You said we were just playing around, but why did you go so far as to propose?”

Max caught Vonda’s hands, quickly restraining her and with a swift move, he changed their positions, pinning her against the wall.

Vonda’s eyes widened. “You…”

“You better calm down, Von,” Max said. “Listen to my explanation first. If you keep acting like this, everything will get even messier.”

Realizing the truth in Max’s words, Vonda tightly closed her mouth. She felt embarrassed, but she had to admit that her actions could worsen the situation.

Feeling Vonda had calmed down a bit, Max slowly released his grip on her wrists, and he lowered his face to look at her.

“I really had no idea that Mom would visit my place today. If I had known, I wouldn’t have invited you over.”

Vonda remained silent.

“Besides…” Max took a deep breath. “You know, you also contributed to complicating things.”

Both of Vonda’s hands went up, clasping together as she looked at him. “What do you mean?”

“You won’t believe it, but you were sleep-talking.”

Vonda’s face turned as if she had seen a ghost. She was shocked to hear Max recounting every word she had spoken in her sleep.

Max’s narration brought back the disturbing emotions he had felt earlier. Chaos.

“You can’t imagine how terrified Mom was when she heard what you were saying,” Max continued. “Look at this!” He pointed at his ear. “You wonder why my ear looks like this?”

“No way.”

Max grimaced. “I got pinched by Mom. I’m lucky she didn’t bury me alive tonight. Argh! Why did I end up with two equally crazy women?”

“You’re talking about your own mother, Max.”

“All because of you, you know?” Max’s eyes widened. “Oh, my goodness. I should have learned from experience. It seems like you have a natural talent for disrupting my life.”

Vonda frowned. “Well, the other day we both liked each other. You can’t say that I disrupted your life entirely.”

“You-”

“Moreover,” Vonda interjected, “because of what happened that night, you had a reason to cancel your engagement with Olivia, right?”

Max opened his mouth, but no words came out. “You’re good at twisting facts, huh?”

“Not like that. Besides, you were also twisting the situation,” Vonda retorted. “I was going to scold you about the impromptu proposal, but you started talking about my sleep-talking.”

“Because if it weren’t for your sleep-talking, Mom wouldn’t have pressed me to marry you as soon as possible.”

Vonda was taken aback. “What?!”

“That’s why Mom told me to propose to you quickly. So, who do you think is at fault here?”

Vonda froze.

“If it weren’t for your strange sleep-talking, Mom wouldn’t have panicked, thinking we might go overboard anytime.”

Vonda’s head suddenly began to ache. “Oh my god. So, it’s because of me?” She squeezed her hair. “Why do I always go crazy at the wrong times?”

Max rubbed his neck, feeling overwhelmed by the situation.

“So, what now?” asked Vonda. “Are we really going to get married?”

“What do you think?” Max replied.

“I don’t think so,” Vonda hesitated. “We don’t have any feelings for each other. How could we get married?”

Max took a deep breath and nodded once. “Of course.”

“So?”

“I think for now…” Max’s brain raced, “… we should just continue like this. After a while, we can come up with a reason to end our pretend relationship.”

Vonda was uncertain. “How?”

Max paused, deep in thought. “I can pretend to cheat. No intelligent woman would forgive infidelity, right?”

Max’s words left Vonda momentarily speechless. It was as if she had lost consciousness, no longer standing on solid ground.

Max must have said that accidentally, right? He didn’t mean anything else, did he?

Max quickly realized his mistake after seeing the change in Vonda’s expression. It was as if a part of her had gone back in time, reliving the shadows of betrayal she had witnessed firsthand. Max took hold of Vonda’s hand.

“I’m sorry. Really, I didn’t mean to bring that up.”

Vonda nodded. “It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean it.”

Dammit!

In Max’s opinion, facing Vonda’s anger was much easier than encountering this sudden change in her expression. Her face showed momentary despondency, as if a part of her had returned to her past, witnessing betrayal with her own eyes. Max held Vonda’s hand.

“I apologize, really. I had no intention of reminding you of that.”

Vonda nodded. “Don’t worry. I’m not bothered by what you said,” she said, trying to uplift her spirits. “In fact, I think what you said is true.”

“Oh?”

“What you said earlier…”

Now Vonda’s smile felt more genuine, not forced.

“A smart girl wouldn’t forgive infidelity, right?”

Max was taken aback for a moment. For reasons he could not fathom, he felt the need to comfort Vonda. So, he spoke impulsively.

“You’ll surely find the best guy. You’re at a high level. Don’t settle for someone beneath you. What should happen is a guy who raises his level to match yours.”

Vonda blinked. She could not believe what Max had just said, and it made her heart flutter.

Seeing Vonda’s bright and gleaming eyes on him, Max felt awkward. Rubbing his neck, he said, “Well, that means you have to put in a lot of effort. Because, you know…” Max glanced to the side slightly, “Good guys are becoming rare, especially those who are above your level.”

Max’s statement made Vonda’s stunned expression turn relaxed again.

“I’m worried that, in your circle now, I’m the only good guy with a high level you’ve met.”

And that final sentence made Vonda burst into laughter, completely forgetting the dark thoughts that had crossed her mind earlier.

“You?” Vonda asked teasingly. “You’re quite full of yourself, Sir.”

Max’s expression changed. “Hey! Are you doubting me? Seriously?” Max was genuinely offended by Vonda’s doubtful response. “Really?”

However, Vonda didn’t answer that question. Instead, she let her laughter flow freely, overlapping with Max’s protestation that he was being doubted by her.

*