||Pretenders||☄️

(132).

"Empty Desires"

       "This is Cora's fashion. How may we be of help to you?" James asked from his desk and he scratched his head for the hundredth time in the day. "Sorry ma'am. All items have been sold out. We're restocking soon. Yes, we can assure you that." He said and looked at Maxwell, Ryan and Lydia. "Thanks for calling." The call beeped and he groaned out.

       "Are we not restocking?" Lydia asked and they turned to Maxwell.

       "We should." Ryan said and nudged his head to Maxwell. "Max?" He pinched him and Maxwell stared at him. "Are we not restocking? People keep calling."

       "Yes... yeah. I'm on it. We're getting them on Wednesday." Maxwell answered. "I think that's all for today." He smiled at them and headed to his office. Ryan followed him in and watched him take a seat. Maxwell bowed his head on his desk and Ryan got closer to him.

        "You just sold out everything. Why are you not happy about it?" Ryan asked. "Max,"

       "This doesn't feel enough. I don't know. Like something is missing." He raised his head up and looked at Ryan. "Something feels off."

      "Nothing seems off..."

      "It is. I can swear it is." He firmly said.

        "And what do you feel?"

         "Empty." He said. "Just empty." Ryan nodded his head to him. "Do you feel the same way?"

         "No. I feel better that this is doing well than we thought it would. Whatever is weighing you down, sort it out. You can't be looking like this all the time." Maxwell nodded his head. "And I know you're going to decline this but Alicia's wedding is on this Saturday. We should go together."

         "Hell fucking no!"

        "Dude, you still love her don't you?"

        "She's getting married. End of discussion." He threw the conversation away and picked up his phone. Ryan smiled at him and sighed.

•_•_•

         The remaining days ahead, Maxwell was consumed in work, trying hard not to think of the fucking wedding. He spent all his time creating new ideas and attending to his daughter's needs. Then on Friday, he woke up in the middle of the night, broken and sore with an aching heart. He stayed up on his bed until the morning lights shone on him. This was Alicia's wedding day, and she wasn't getting married to him as he had wanted. Instead, she chose the brother he despised. He got up from bed, washed up and got into the kitchen to make breakfast for Cora and Alia. He heard Cora cry in her room from the kitchen while he was setting breakfast up and he called on Alia.

        "Ali! Cora is up!" He called.

        "What's making her cry again? It's fucking seven in the morning and she's not a fucking child!" Alia burst out and Maxwell laughed in the kitchen. "Max better say something to her. I need my beauty sleep." Alia showed up at the hall looking angry and Maxwell shrugged his shoulders at her.

        "Come and make her breakfast. I'll see what's wrong with her." He stepped away from the kitchen.

        "No, I'll do that. Make it delicious. I want extra eggs." She said to him and walked into Cora's room.
Maxwell finished setting up breakfast along with Alia's extra omelet and Cora's yucky baby food. Alia came out of Cora's room with her and they walked over to the dining table.