Crashing into an Old Flame
Chapter 309: I adore you

Chapter 309: I adore you

The glaring lights on the highway blinded Maxim’s vision, but the mild headache persisted.

But could not bother to care. He took a turn while dialing Diana’s number.

But every time, his call went to voicemail.

He stopped the car and grabbed his phone but before he could text Diana, Daisy’s text popped up on the screen.

Maxim dialed her number without hesitation. The call was answered on the second ring.

’’Is Diana with you right now?"

Before Maxim could ask anything, Daisy asked him.

Maxim froze.

’’She was sick. I told her to rest but now she is gone. I can’t track her. Tell me she is with you right now...’’

Maxim disconnected the call.

Hours passed as Maxim went around looking for Diana in every place he knew she could be.

She had told him about each of her favorite bookstores, and favorite places in her city years ago and it was not even bizarre to him that he remembered all those places till this day.

Yet, every place he visited turned out to be a greater disappointment when he could not find her there.

Maxim even went to the airport anticipating Diana to be there or maybe already on her way back to Beijing but there was no recent flight to LA.

By the arrival of dawn, Maxim reached back to the hotel he was staying in, feeling lost and helpless.

’Click’

As the door opened, the sound of television greeted him.

Maxim raised his head and the sight in front of him made him freeze.

Diana sat there crossed-legged on the carpet with a tub of ice cream on her lap, while some movie played on the television screen in the background but he could not bother to avert his gaze from her. She was wearing his shirt with his jacket draped over it, her blonde hair framed her face as she focused on the movie.

A voice in his heart told him that he was possibly still drunk, his mind was hazy and he was hallucinating her. She would disappear the moment he looked away.

So, he stood still, with his gaze fixated on her.

’’Ana?" her name left his mouth in a whisper.

Diana paused and tilted her head to the side, and Maxim noticed every minute expression on her face. The way her face lit up at the sight of him but the next moment, hesitation crossed her eyes.

She opened her mouth to say something but then she did not say a word.

And Maxim did not wait for her to speak. He could not.

He crossed the distance between them in huge strides and squatted in front of her. He took the tub of ice cream out of her grasp.

Diana’s eyes widened at the sudden proximity but without letting it register, he pulled her into his arms, holding her in a hug so tight that he hoped it would express how terrible her absence made him feel if his words failed to do so.

’’Liar,’’ Maxim whispered.

Diana pulled back to look at him but he tightened his grip on her, not letting her break the hug.

He buried his face in her neck, ’’I read your diary.’’

Diana froze.

And he did not have to look at her face to know that a rosy tint would have crept up her cheeks by then.

’’Why do you care?’’ Diana said softly, face flushing, ’’You told me you wanted to prove me wrong, that’s why you were with me.’’

Maxim pulled back from her and looked into her eyes, ’’You believed that?"

Diana shrugged and averted her gaze, ’’Just the way you believed that I would ever want to leave your side.’’

’’Ana, look at me.’’

Diana did not move her head.

Maxim pinched her face and tilted her head to the side. As their gazes met, he opened his mouth to speak, ’’Ana..’’

’’You don’t have to explain,’’ she tried to push his hand away but he gripped her chin firmly, not letting her budge. Her voice was laced with a hint of frustration as she spoke, ’’You read my diary so you should know things are not the same for me as they are for you now.’’

’’What is not the same for you?" he asked softly.

’’Do you have to make me say everything?" Tears welled up in her eyes, ’’I am not as calm about this whole thing as you. You... and me... I... I expect things, I feel complicated when I realize I am falling for you. I asked you twice if you have ever been in love and you said you haven’t. I won’t say the same if you ask me the same question because I love you! I did not intend to. I resisted. But you make it so easy for someone to fall for you. You...’’

’’Ask me again,’’ Maxim wiped the tears that rolled down her cheeks as he spoke gently.

Diana blinked, ’’Huh?"

’’Ask me again if I have ever been in love.’’

Diana’s lips parted, something shifting inside her chest, ’’Have you?"

’’No,’’ came his swift reply that had her frowning.

Diana raised her hand to punch his chest but he captured her wrists.

She struggled to move her wrists out of his grip but he tightened his hold on them.

’’The word doesn’t justify what I feel for you,’’ he uttered, releasing her hands.

He cupped the side of her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb, ’’I yearn for you. You spend the nights in my arms yet I miss you the hour you leave my side. I desire you. I can have you for weeks and weeks. I can own your body, yet I am addicted, I am intoxicated. The way you flush against me, the way you shiver, your voice, your touch, your everything. I am addicted to you,’’ Maxim chuckled, shook his head, almost in frustration as the realization dawned on him, ’’Love? Funny, sweetheart. I remember looking into the brightest green eyes when I was young and I recall adoring them ever since. Your smiles, your laughs, your gazes, your insecurities, your needs, dreams, desires, and you. I adore you.’’

A soft smile appeared on his face, helpless as it was, ’’To your question, yes. I do love you, Ana. But that’s not all that I feel for you. I love you more than life yet my love for you is only a fraction of the feelings that I have for you. You have consumed me, my entire existence. I belong to you. You get it... right?"