Stranger in my Ass-Chapter 277

Maxwell’s POV

I pulled up to the Hopton house just before noon, my hands gripping the steering wheel so tight I thought it’d break.

This was it. My last shot.

If they didn’t help me, if they refused to tell me where Olivia was, I didn’t know what I’d do. I’d already exhausted every other option, called in every favor, searched every place I could think of.

The Hoptons were my final hope.

I took a deep breath, straightened my tie, and walked up to the front door with as much composure as I could muster.

Which, considering I’d barely slept in two days and felt like I was coming apart at the seams, wasn’t much.

I knocked.

Footsteps approached, and the door opened to reveal Mrs. Hopton. Her expression shifted when she saw me - surprise, then something softer.

"Maxwell," she said quietly.

"Mrs. Hopton." My voice came out rougher than I’d intended. "I’m sorry to show up unannounced. I just... I really need to talk to you. And Mr. Hopton. If that’s okay."

She studied my face for a long moment, taking in whatever desperation must have been written all over it.

Then she stepped aside. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Come in."

Relief flooded through me so intensely I almost stumbled.

"Thank you," I breathed. "Thank you so much."

She led me into the living room, where Mr. Hopton was sitting in his armchair with a newspaper. He looked up when I entered, and his expression hardened slightly.

"Wellington," he said, his tone neutral.

"Mr. Hopton." I stood there awkwardly, suddenly feeling twelve years old again, even though I was just here weeks ago. "Thank you for seeing me. I know I don’t deserve your time, but I’m begging you to hear me out."

He folded his newspaper and set it aside, gesturing to the couch.

I sat, but couldn’t keep still. My leg bounced with nervous energy. My hands clasped and unclasped in my lap.

"I came to apologize," I said, the words rushing out before I could second-guess them. "To both of you. For hurting Olivia. For the way I’ve treated her since we crossed paths again. I know I’ve messed everything up, and I know sorry isn’t enough, but I need you to know that I never meant to cause her pain."

Mrs. Hopton sat down beside her husband, her expression sympathetic but cautious.

"Maxwell," she said gently, "we know you care about Olivia. We’ve always known that. But what we don’t understand is why you hid the truth from her. After all those years of searching for her, after finally finding her, why didn’t you just tell her who you were?"

I ran my hands through my hair, frustration and shame warring inside me.

"Because I was terrified," I admitted. "Terrified that if she remembered what happened - if she remembered my cowardice, how I stood there and said nothing while Kennedy was arrested - she’d hate me. And I couldn’t... I couldn’t bear the thought of finally finding her only to have her look at me with disgust. Also, I was just plain stupid."

"So you thought lying to her was better?" Mr. Hopton asked, and there was an edge to his voice now.

"No. God, no." I leaned forward, elbows on my knees, head in my hands. "I didn’t think at all. I just reacted. I saw her walk into my office for personal advice and I panicked. And then I kept telling myself I’d tell her the truth tomorrow, next week, when the time was right. But there was never a right time, and every day that passed made it harder to come clean."

"You really messed up, son," Mr. Hopton said, but his tone had softened slightly. "Hiding something like that from someone you claim to love? That’s not love. That’s fear controlling you."

"I know," I whispered. "I know I messed up. I’ve been messing up since I was twelve years old and too scared to speak up when it mattered. I’m still that same coward, still too afraid to do the right thing when it counts."

Mrs. Hopton reached out and touched my arm gently.

"You’re not that scared boy anymore, Maxwell," she said. "You got our beach house back. You saved Olivia’s life when she was hit by that car. You’ve been searching for her for twenty years. You even gave her a job. Those aren’t the actions of a coward."

I looked up at her, tears burning in my eyes.

"Then why do I keep hurting her?" I asked, my voice breaking. "Why do I keep making the wrong choices? Why do I prefer playing crazy games?"

"Because you’re human," she said simply. "And humans make mistakes. Especially when they’re in love and terrified of losing the person who matters most."

I swallowed hard, trying to get my emotions under control.

"I love her," I said. "More than anything in this world. And I know I don’t deserve another chance, but I’m begging you - please, tell me where she is. Let me try to make this right. Let me apologize to her properly and tell her everything I should have told her from the beginning."

Mr. and Mrs. Hopton exchanged a long wordless look.

Then Mr. Hopton sighed.

"She’s not here," he said.

My heart plummeted into my stomach.

"Where did she go?" I asked, and I could hear the desperation in my own voice. "Please, I just need to talk to her. I need to explain..."

"Maxwell," Mrs. Hopton interrupted gently. "She needed some time alone. To process everything. To heal."

"Where?" I pressed. "I won’t push her, I won’t force her to talk to me if she doesn’t want to. I just... I need to see her. Need to know she’s okay."

They hesitated, clearly weighing whether or not to tell me.

And I couldn’t take it anymore.

I slid off the couch and onto my knees on their living room floor.

"Please," I begged, and I didn’t care how pathetic I looked, how desperate I sounded. "Please tell me where she is. I’m begging you. I’ll do anything. Anything."

"Maxwell, get up..." Mr. Hopton started.

"I can’t lose her again," I continued, the words pouring out like a dam had broken. "I’ve already lost her so many times. Please. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to her, I swear. Just give me one more chance."

Silence filled the room.

Then Mrs. Hopton spoke quietly.

"She’s at the beach house."

I looked up, hardly daring to believe what I was hearing.