In a few minutes Max was dressed up for the day now the turn was to cover up her puffy eyes and dull skin.

As Mike can take it as some serious health issue and then he would rush her to the doctor, leaving his girl on date behind.

She took the foundation first, applied it carefully to hid her drying skin. Then she came up to the eye make up to hide the puffiness of eyes.

"Damn the redness is still visible. How to hide these eyes? I know if I didn't look straight in his eyes while talking , he will be suspicious."

She slapped her forehead then thought about something, "I am a true idiot . It's all effect of that idiot's company. It's his Date! Why will he looks into my eyes? And why will he thinks so much about me." Her tone lowered down a bit on realization of the fact that now onwards his priorities would change.

"well that mean these shades will work well for me." She smiled to herself and put on the shades, stood up, tying her hairs in a pony tail.

"Awesome! You looks great Max. Now just be cool ok!" She told herself loudly and moved out of her room.

She knocked at her brother's door of room but there was no reply so instead of knocking again she opened it for herself and entered to find her brother sleeping next to his wife. Without thinking anything she just jumped and laid between them, "Good morning my sleeping bears" she almost screamed to wake them up when none of them awaken after her jumping too.

"Good morning Max. What do you want?" her brother whispered tossing opposite side, away from her.

"What? An innocent girl can't greet her bears?" She exclaimed nudging his back.

"Yes my love you can." Her sister in law encircled her arm around Max's waist and kissed her cheek gently. "A very good morning baby."

"Aww only my Jenny loves me." Max hugged her back, shifting a bit closer to her.

"You used foundation? Are you going to propose him today?" Jenny whispered in her ear so that Eric can not hear their girly talks.

"Certainly Not!" Max rolled up her eyes after replying in the same tone and then spoke up in normal tone , "Where is your keys?" She nudged her brother's back again to which he groaned and shifted a bit more away from her and in result he fell on floor from the bed.

Both ladies started to laugh insanely at him to which he could not do anything but made face and pulled out the keys from the side table, "Here is your keys. And yes let Mike drive you really drives rough."

Grabbing the keys of XUV She jumped out of bed; ran to the door of room, turned back and replied with devilish smile on her lips, "My Car, My Rules. I will drive and don't worry your vehicle will be back in garage in one piece."

"But if am not wrong it's his turn to drive. Isn't it?" He said reminding her their pact about 'Who will drive?'

"As I said. My Car, My Rules." She smirked at it confirming his doubt that she hasn't forgot anything but willing to tease Mike only. And she left the room shutting the door behind.

"Honey don't skip your breakfast." Jenny said aloud as Max shut the door.

"Why She don't accept that she loves Mike?" She added in low tone.

"She will not because She hates the word and apart from that..." Eric took a pause while sitting back at his place.

"That?" Jenny inquired.

"Mike is going to propose someone else today." He added getting back into the blanket.

"What are you saying? How can Mike think about it? He is making my baby suffer. Am gonna talk about this with his mom. Am sure they don't have any idea about this foolishness of him." Jenny threw away the blanket from him and roared aloud.

"Calm down Jenny. I just told you what I heard yesterday when they were talking on call." He stood up to pick up the blanket from floor and laid at his place again.

"How can you be so calm Eric? Your sister going to bear the hardest pain today. I am really worried now what if She... sank into depression." She looked at him with lots of worries in her eyes.

"You think She is not?" He sat back and looked away from her. "I know her. She never shows up but I know how much she loved Mom, Dad and Michelle. Their loss had broke us but Max is a true fighter. She never let us know about her sufferings because She loves us the same."

He wiped his eyes turning his face away but Jenny got her husband's plight. She placed her palm on his shoulder, "why don't you talk to her? We can talk to that doctor again if she needs."

"No. That's the reason I don't talks to her directly about her problems. I have seen Michelle breaking in pieces, She was an open book. Too knave, too fragile to handle this world. My Max is not like that. She knows her fears and knows well how to defeat them." He said reaching to the window which was opened on the street side. He could see Max walking across the street toward Mike's home.

"But She don't need to fight within herself when it comes to Mike. We know him." Jenny said standing next to him.

"Yes. But Max need to know what She wants. She need to overcome her fears. Or it would be better for Mike to find someone who values his and her own feelings." He turns toward Jenny and hugged her to console.

● ● ● ● ● ●

Max closed the door behind and started with heavy heart and stepped towards the next door across the street to reach his place. It was going to be one of the most tough day for her.

As she took steps toward his home it started to feel more heavier then she expected.

Should she back off and run away for ever to some place where no one knows her!

Or should she try and talk to Mike about this heaviness in her heart!

"No no what if He took it as if Am in love with him. No I am certainly not!" she assured herself shirking the weird thought of talking to him about those feelings which she herself can not accept or even decline.

In all these messy thoughts she stepped at his door step.

"Abort! Abort!" She whispered to herself yet pressed the door bell, "Shit! I shouldn't have."

And she quickly turned around to run back to her place but as she turned the door got open and his father was standing there smiling at her.

"Good morning Beautiful." He greeted her with a bright smile.

"Good morning Dad." She smiled at him and gave him a warm morning hug.

"Looking pretty and cute as always." He complimented her while taking her inside the home.

"Is he ready ?" She inquired expecting a negative reply unconsciously.

"He? Oh you mean Mike. No , No. How can you expect him to wake up early in morning." His father replied pulling a chair for her on breakfast table.

"Oh that mean we are going to be late again." She complained adjusting herself on the chair.

"Late for the Date honey?" His mother peeked from kitchen and commented, giving Max a winning smile.

"Aww... look at that devilish smile and spark in your eyes." She raised up from her place and went to kitchen to hug his mother. "I love this shine in your eyes." She hugged her tight from behind and kissed her cheek from behind only.

"And I love you and that yummy coffee you makes." His mother replied patting her cheek.

"Ok I got It. Am making it for all 3 of us." Max replied and started to make coffee while his mother had almost prepared rest of breakfast.

"Max dear I know my son is late but that doesn't mean you will not allow him to taste coffee made by you." His father chuckled from his place only.

"well he would have tasted a cup if he ever could make it to this table in morning." His mother replied this time from Max's side.

"Yeah very true Mom." Max added while pouring it to serve in cups.

"It smells Good as always." His mother complimented her while taking a whiff of it.

"Thanks to you. Otherwise Jenny would never let me touch even an utensil and Eric still thinks I will set the house on fire if I ever entered the kitchen." She replied with a smirk.

"Oh Honey they love you that's why they don't want to bother you." His mother assured her placing a peck on her head.

"Yeah and it suffocates me at times." She hived. Sitting back in her chair on table with tray of coffee.

"Love can't be suffocating my child. Unless you taking it as pressure. Stop overlooking it baby." His father patted her back gently while looking into her eyes. She felt his words, as if He was not just talking about Her brother and sister in law but his words had much deeper intentions.

"well enough of philosophy for today. Let's enjoy our breakfast." His tone and expressions transformed into much lighter quickly and he added further after a sip of coffee.

"so where you guys are heading towards for the coffee date?" he inquired glancing at the news paper in his hand.

"Dad- Mom!" She took a deep sigh and looked at them one by one. "We are not going on Date or anything like that. Am just going to help him in some gift selecting process for his coffee Date with Elizabeth. So She won't turn him down." She raised her hands above shoulders in submission, trying to clear their fake notions.

"What! Are you serious? He is going to ask someone else?" his mother exclaimed but before she could continue further her husband pressed her hand lightly at table. As she looked up at him he nodded in negation.

She kept her calm and waited for reply from Max.

"Yes Mom. He was admiring Beth from last few months but was not accepting it. I think he was skeptic, kind of scared of rejection. So there I meddled in and asked her to meet him on coffee. And here we go." She said it all in one go and raised from her place with her plate to place in sink.

"well my son had a bitter experience of rejection you know." His father said emphasizing 'YOU KNOW'.

"I know." Her heart felt the pang for a moment but she maintained the fake smile to cover it up and continued while leaning on his shoulder from behind, "That was a childish act Dad. Stop teasing us. Or his would be Girlfriend will be insecure." She placed a peck on his cheek and started to step toward the door to leave.

"Am going to get the car from garage. Hope he will not make me wait or else I have to kick him so early in morning." She said before closing the door behind.

"Kick him well Honey.." His mother replied from behind and took a deep breath.

"You knew about it? Which girl my son is going with when Max is there! I think I need to talk to him before he steps out of home today." She said annoyed and raise up from her chair to step toward Mike's room.

"Daisy, stop treating him like a small kid. He has grown up guy. I feel we shouldn't interfere here." Her husband suggested her to stay calm. While flipping the page of his news paper.

"How can you be so calm dear. When you know your son loves Max and going to propose some other girl. He is going to make it tough for himself and some other girl too." She looked up at his face with amazement.

"because we have talked over this. He came to me yesterday after getting the selection call from that company. You know he was not happy. Though he should have to be." He took a pause to look up to his wife and continued, "He was not happy because before coming to me he had called Max to share his excitement for getting selected in campus selection. And in return Max told him that she has talked to Elizabeth the girl Mike is trying to replace with Max in his own life." And he took a deep breath.

"Replace! How can he think to replace! He was talking about two living girls not a pen or his jacket." She got anger on the word replace.

"Daisy, calmdown dear our son knows the difference between human and non living thing. Atleast trust him a bit" he said placing his hand on Her's.

"He is a kid at heart and seems like at mind too. Why didn't you asked him to stop Max if she was forcing him to meet that girl." She burst this time.

"Because She was not forcing him. He accepted himself that he likes that girl somewhere. And whether you accept it or not our son is a grown up guy. He have to learn to take decisions of his life. Let him fly dear. Let him choose what he wants." He looked into her eyes and patted her shoulder lightly.

"You are right. But Max..." she was about to say something but her husband interrupted her.

"If Max Loves Him, She will not let him go. And if He actually loves Max he can't go with anyone else. And We know the power of love very well. Don't we." He smiled at his wife to which she smiled back at him.

"Yes we do." She nodded with that meek smile.