REBORN: MEET MY BROTHERS-Chapter 17: WHY ARE WE AT YOUR PLACE?

Maximus lowered Ava into the leather seat with surprising gentleness despite her furious squirming.

Ava shot out of the seat like a spring, only to find Maximus blocking her escape with one arm as the car door slammed shut. "You’re insane!" She yelled.

"You’re not going anywhere," he said firmly, his piercing eyes locking onto hers. "Not until we talk."

Ava crossed her arms, breathing heavily. She was furious and she made no attempt to hide it. "Talk? Oh, now you want to talk? Maybe you should have started with that instead of tossing me around like luggage!"

Maximus’s gaze softened slightly as he stared at her frowning face. "I didn’t come here to fight you, Ava. Whether you believe it or not, I’m just trying to talk to you."

"By manhandling me?!" she shot back with sarcasm. "Oh, yes, that screams ’i just want to talk.’"

Ethan smiled from the front seat, glancing at the rearview mirror. He could barely keep the amusement from the way Maximus was treated off his face. Never in his life would he have ever imagined that the aloof billionaire would one day be yelled at.

Maximus exhaled slowly, his jaw tightening as he struggled to rein in his patience. "If I wanted to manhandle you, Ava," he said in a low voice, "you wouldn’t be sitting here arguing with me right now."

Ava rolled her eyes, crossing her arms as she leaned back against the leather seat. "Oh, how generous of you. Should I be flattered?"

Turning away from Ava, Maximus leaned back into the seat, shutting his eyes as the car began to move. Frustration boiled gently behind his calm expression, the kind of frustration that came from dealing with someone as stubborn as Ava.

He’d come to realize a little too late that there was no point talking to Ava when she didn’t want to listen. The girl was as stubborn as a locked vault with a missing key and her temper was worse.

He exhaled sharply from his throbbing head as the exhaustion from the long flight clawed at him. He was supposed to be in Cebu right now, seated at the head of an important meeting that had taken months to arrange. Instead, he was here, chasing after Ava like a possessed man.

The images from the photos Ethan sent to him last night flashed through his mind again -- Ava, standing stiffly at her grandfather’s party, surrounded by those men. Their hands had been too close, their intentions too obvious. His jaw tightened at the thought.

The rage that had surged through him then when he saw the photos hadn’t abated, not even now. That moment had left no room for negotiation in his mind. He’d canceled everything, rescheduled the meeting, and taken the next flight to Lebron City without hesitation.

Maximus’s eyes fluttered open. The golden hues of the passing cityscape glinted in his dark irises as he glanced toward Ava. She was pressed against the window, and her head tilted as she watched the sceneries blur by.

It had just been three days since he left Lebron City, but in the short time, a lot had happened in her life, some of which he wasn’t pleased with.

Fighting the urge to run his fingers through the strands of her long, wavy hair, he crossed his arm to his chest and closed his eyes once more in an attempt to block out the magnetic pull of her presence.

Twenty minutes passed in a silence that was anything but peaceful. Ava hadn’t spoken a word or even glanced Maximus’s way.

The car turned smoothly, entering the gates of a sprawling estate. The manicured lawns stretched endlessly, flanked by rows of towering oak trees that swayed gently in the breeze. The cobblestone path stretched past the huge fountain at the centre of the estate to the entrance of the building.

Ava’s head turned slightly. She frowned as she took in the grandeur of the place. "Where are we?" She asked, finally breaking the silence.

Maximus opened his eyes. His gaze landed on Ava first before he looked around. "My place," he said softly.

Ava’s brows shot up in disbelief. "Your place? Why are we at your place?"

"To talk," Maximus simply replied. His calm demeanor betrayed the frustration he still felt. But that answer only made Ava angrier.

Her jaw tightened and her eyes narrowed into slits. "To talk? And what happened to restaurants? Cafés? Literally anywhere else? Why drag me to your place if all you want to do is talk?" She asked coldly.

Maximus tilted his head slightly, and as his dark eyes met hers, he could already read her thoughts. "I don’t want to take advantage of you, Ava. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. I just want to talk in a more comfortable place, and my place seemed like the best option."

Ava’s cold laughter caught Maximus off guard. "Convenient excuse. I mean if you can forcefully drag me away from school, what’s one more decision of bringing me to your place, right? I no longer have a say. You just decide what to do and do it without my permission."

His lips pressed into a thin line. He’d expected this reaction, but it didn’t make it any easier to stomach. He exhaled sharply, already feeling his patience running thin. "I didn’t have much of a choice, Ava. You weren’t exactly in a listening mood back there."

"Oh, and you think this is supposed to magically make me more agreeable?" She snapped.

Maximus pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt his temples throb even more. He silently cursed his decision to handle this himself instead of delegating. Ava Whitlock was unlike any woman he’d ever encountered. She was very stubborn and was also determined to push every single one of his buttons.

Sensing Maximus’s frustration, Ethan opened Ava’s door with a polite smile.

Ava’s sudden glare at Ethan made a man who’d faced hardened negotiators and cutthroat businessmen, take a step back. Then she turned to Maximus. "I’m not going inside," she hissed.

Instead of talking back, Maximus let out a slow, resigned sigh as he stepped out of the car. He was done playing games. "I tried doing this the easy way," he muttered under his breath before leaning down and effortlessly scooping her up into his arms.