Chapter 297: His Trust

Catherine’s heart sank as Maximilian reached for the buttons of her blouse.

He paused after undoing the first one, looking directly into her eyes. He was giving her every opportunity to stop him. She knew that. If she asked him to, he would.

But she didn’t.

They needed to have this conversation. Better now, while they were alone, than later, when the silence between them might become something harder to cross.

One by one, he opened the buttons.

"I did not sleep with him," Catherine said quietly.

The words came out more quickly than she intended.

She remembered what Maximilian had told her earlier. I’ll always trust you.

So she trusted him enough to say it.

She wanted to look away, afraid that she might see something in his eyes she wasn’t prepared for. Disappointment. Hurt. Doubt.

Instead, Maximilian simply said, "Oh, I know."

Catherine blinked.

There was no accusation in his voice. No hesitation. He didn’t even look away as he continued, carefully opening the remaining buttons.

"What...?"

He didn’t answer.

His attention had shifted to her arms.

He examined her forearms first, then her upper arms, his fingers gentle as they moved over her skin. He checked her shoulders, her sides, her legs, and her thighs, searching quietly for anything she might have hidden.

Catherine stared at him in growing confusion.

Finally, Maximilian let out a breath that seemed to come from somewhere deep inside him.

"Thank goodness," he murmured.

She frowned. "What are you doing?"

He looked at her then, and the relief in his eyes was almost overwhelming.

Instead of answering, he pulled her against him.

"Oh, thank goodness you’re fine," he whispered.

He kissed her cheek, then the other, holding her as though he had only just convinced himself she was truly safe.

Catherine remained in his arms, utterly bewildered.

"Maximilian..."

He closed his eyes.

When he had first seen the bruises around her neck, fear had immediately taken hold of him. He knew she had stayed with Dorian. He knew the world had believed she was Dorian’s fiancée. And after everything he remembered from their previous life, he couldn’t stop wondering what else might have happened to her.

In their past life, that dinner had been different. He had been excited to see her, but even then, he had quietly searched for signs that Dorian had hurt her. There had been none. He had asked her about it as carefully as he could, and she had looked genuinely surprised by the possibility that Dorian might ever hurt her physically.

This time, however, Maximilian knew Dorian was different.

Dorian had already put his hands around her throat.

If Catherine had been living under the same roof with him while the world believed she was his fiancée, Maximilian couldn’t assume that the bruises on her neck were the only injuries she had suffered.

And he knew Catherine.

She was brilliant. She was resourceful. She was brave enough to walk straight into Dorian’s territory knowing exactly how dangerous he was.

But she was also the woman he loved. And she loved him fiercely.

He could not imagine her willingly surrendering control of her body to Dorian. Not after everything they had shared. Not when she had never even given that part of herself to Maximilian.

If Dorian had tried to force her, he knew Catherine would have fought him with everything she had.

And if fighting had failed...

That was the possibility that had frightened him most.

He had been afraid that, faced with something she believed she could not escape, Catherine might have hurt herself rather than allow Dorian to take something from her.

The thought alone had nearly broken him.

Thankfully, she was here, alive and safe. And, as far as he could see, unharmed beyond what he already knew.

Maximilian held her tighter, burying his face briefly against her hair.

"Were you scared I might have hurt myself?" Catherine asked after a while.

He didn’t answer.

But she didn’t need him to.

He wasn’t doubting her. His touch had told her that much. The slight tremor in his voice, the way he had searched her body for injuries, and the sheer relief on his face had nothing to do with her chastity.

It had been fear.

Fear that she might have hurt herself to escape Dorian.

The realization loosened something inside her. Her thoughts finally settled, and for the first time since the conversation began, she could breathe normally.

Catherine smiled against his chest.

She knew better than to tell him she had been saving herself for him, or that she would give herself only to him. Maximilian would never want her to make her safety secondary to something like that. He valued her life far too much.

Something about that realization settled over her like a cool drop of morning dew on a spring leaf. It was calming, almost tender. She suddenly understood just how much his love for her gave her—not merely happiness, but a strange, quiet strength.

"I wasn’t planning on letting it go that far," she said softly. "I belong to you, Maximilian."

He pulled back.

His expression immediately became serious.

He cupped her face between his hands, his thumbs resting gently against her cheeks.

"Remember this, Catherine. Nothing is more valuable than your life. Nothing. Remember that for me."

She looked into his eyes.

She wasn’t surprised by his answer. In some ways, she had expected it.

But she couldn’t agree.

There were things she valued more than her own life. People. Promises. The lives of those she loved.

Still, she nodded.

"I love you," she whispered. "You should know that, Maximilian. I love you more than anything."

He studied her face for a long moment.

He knew she wasn’t entirely agreeing with him. He could see it in her eyes.

But he didn’t argue. He simply bent down and kissed her forehead.

"I love you."

His fingers then moved gently along the bruises around her neck.

The tenderness in his touch made Catherine’s chest ache. She could see the guilt in his eyes, even though he hadn’t said a word.

If I had been there, this wouldn’t have happened.

She knew that was what he was thinking.

"Fitzgerald came at the right time," Catherine said. She didn’t want Maximilian blaming himself. "I wasn’t left without help."

"Fitzgerald?" Maximilian raised his brows.

"Rathbourne."

She began explaining what had happened, telling him how Fitzgerald had arrived when Dorian had been about to hurt her, how he had kicked and punched him, and how badly Dorian had been beaten that he had needed makeup to hide the damage before today’s press conference.

"He was furious," Catherine said, her expression softening as she remembered it. "I’ve never seen someone hit Dorian like that. Fitzgerald didn’t even hesitate. He just walked in and—"

She demonstrated the motion with her hand, almost laughing.

"—punched him."

Maximilian listened quietly.

Too quietly.

Catherine was still standing in front of him in her underwear, her blouse hanging open around her shoulders after he had examined her for injuries. She seemed completely unaware of it now, far more absorbed in recounting the moment Fitzgerald had intervened.