Chasing The Vengeful Villainous Heiress-Chapter 85: School’s fine

Mariam who was fairly young when their mother passed away relied a lot on Maximus. But the kind, soft, and caring brother she once knew had suddenly disappeared overnight and she had to cope with that new version of him.

She didn’t know why he was bartered or why he spent five months in the hospital, but she decided to blame his coldness on the fact that they lost their mother.

She could still vividly remember the look on his face when he heard that his mother had died. It was blank and hollow.

Instead of crying, as everyone might’ve expected, he went ahead to throw a tantrum. With his healed hand, he started breaking everything, screaming at the top of his lungs and refusing to believe it.

He refused to believe anything.

His breakdown made her scared of approaching him. She feared that he would hurt her. They all did but one day, she approached him with her favorite doll and said,

"Here. If you can’t take it anymore, squeeze her as hard as you can. It doesn’t matter if you end up ripping her apart, as long as you’re okay."

She smiled, staring at her brother who had a caste on one hand and looking lifeless. Just as she was scared he would hurt her, she didn’t want to distance herself from him. She didn’t want to lose him.

Max accepted the plushie. He stared at it for a while and squeezed it. It was only then that he let his tears roll down and he cried.

Mariam hugged him, telling him it was okay and that she was there.

After that, it was Max and Mariam. Their father kept to himself, drinking his sorrow away and staying away from his kids to avoid hurting them. He wanted to grieve alone so he took them to Stewart’s family house for their grandfather to take care of.

Now, that mother that they had both cried for and was declared dead all those years ago was sitting in front of her, and sitting next to her was the mad villainess she had heard so much about.

She looked at her brother with eyes that asked, ’What the hell is going on?’

Max cleared his throat and decided to speak up.

"Mariam, I can tell you have a lot of questions to ask." He said, and Mariam folded her arms.

"You think?"

"First off, glad you had a safe flight." He said. "How was school?"

"School’s fine." Mariam said. "We rounded up our exams successfully and were preparing for prom, which is why I came back because I need you to be my date to the prom and..." She paused. She was talking too much again.

"Wow, prom." Valerie said, bringing everyone’s attention to her and she subconsciously darted her eyes to stare softly at Max. "What a wonderful thing."

Mariam squinted her eyes. She was still not clear why Valerie was in her brother’s house and why that woman looked a lot like her dead mother.

"Do you want me to take you?" Max suddenly asked Valerie. "We never got to experience it together. It’s for kids but we can still make do with it."

"Don’t make this about us." Valerie simply said and turned to look at Mariam who was trying to figure her out. "This introduction might be coming late and though you may already know who I am, I’d like to speak for myself. My name is Valerie Ross, nice to meet you."

"Miss Ross, you’re right that I know who you are and that you’re not a sane person either. But what I don’t know is what you are doing in my brother’s house and why you two were kissing. It doesn’t make sense."

"I’m sure it doesn’t." Valerie muttered, slowly darting her eyes aside.

"Brother, I heard that you’re getting married to Lucy Ross, so what’s she doing here? Shouldn’t she be locked up in an Asylum or something? She’s clearly insane."

"Mariam." Max suddenly called in a cold tone, frightening her. He had this angry look on his face as she looked at her sternly. "Don’t talk based on assumptions." He said. "Look at her. Does she look like someone who is insane?" He asked and Mariam gulped.

She looked at Valerie who was calmly seated. She didn’t look like someone who was insane but she saw the news and... She turned her gaze to see her brother still staring angrily at her.

Why was he so mad at her? She was just saying what she had heard.

"I understand your point." Valerie suddenly said. "But as Max said, it’s better to see for yourself and judge than live off of what you hear others say."

"So, you’re not insane?" Her words were straightforward and she did not see a problem with it as she has always been a straightforward person with a straightforward tongue.

"Oh, no, I’m insane." Valerie said and laughed. "But it’s for something else."

"What?" Mariam was confused. What did that mean? Was she insane or not?

"Rather, I think there’s something else you need to pay attention to." Valerie said.

"What? Will you explain to me what you’re doing here now?" She asked and Max answered after letting out a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"It’s because she’s my wife." He said and Mariam looked at him more confused. "Does that clear things up for you?"

"If she’s your wife then, what about Lucy Ross?" Mariam asked, utterly confused. "Isn’t she the one you’re getting married to? It’s just a few days from now and..."

Max scoffed, interrupting her.

"You know, you always wanted to know why I was hospitalized seven years ago and why I had to spend two months in rehab with a cast on." He said and raised his gaze, looking dangerously serious. "It was thanks to Lucy Ross. So I plan to use this setup to get back at her tenfold and expose her crimes.

Mariam blinked and then rested her back on the couch. She heard the reason but she was still confused.

How did he fall in love with this well-known Villainess? How did he end up getting married to her? And how did they come up with such a way to get back at someone whom the whole world knew as sweet and gentle?

Was it really possible for such a person to plan such a thing with such a character? If she was asked, she’d say this lady sitting in front of her, Valerie Ross, was the kind of person to do such a thing and not Lucy Ross.

But what did she know? She has been away for so long and she trusted her brother. If he said Lucy was a witch and Valerie was a saint then that had to be the case.

"Since you’ve come to terms with that," Max sat forward. "It’s time to talk about the last thing." He said and all eyes fell on Tiana.

Tiana had been silently listening to them talk while keeping her eyes on her daughter who had grown quite the size compared to when last she saw her.

"Mariam," Max called. "This might be hard to believe but this lady is our mother."