A/n: the next chapter will be posted when this gets 100+ votes. hope you enjoy it!

"I don't have to be your shrink to know that you'll never be happy."

side note: I have mentioned a lot of times that this is a SLOWBURN you cant expect them to be together in like chapter 4, that's not how it works, at least for me. So if you are gonna comment stuff like "it's getting boring" then just don't read. 

DISCLAIMER: TENSION. TOO MUCH TENSION. YOU WILL DIE. OKAY, NOW U CAN CONTINUE.

(idk how to feel about this but okay here you go)

|T H I R D  P E R S O N|{UNEDITED}

He looked down and saw that she had a knife pressed to his throat.

His eyes skimmed over her face, the pile of clothes she is balancing on her hip and the knife she was holding to his throat.  

His vision turned to see that she is having trouble holding all the clothes in only one hand so he moves his hand away from her waist and scoops all the clothes from her hand into his, grasping them tightly in his hold.

Her eyes narrow at his actions, the knife in her hands pressing a little tighter to his neck making him hold back a hiss of pain.

" A knife, seriously? I thought you were more modern, sweetheart."  he cocked his head to the side lightly, the knife grazing his neck once again as he passed her a mocking smile.

You are asking for death Maxwell, he thought to himself when he saw the look on her face. And oh boy she wasn't amused. not even in the slightest.

However, that wasn't enough to fade his amusement completely as he took a step forward, the knife shaking in her hand as she presses it to his throat, drawing out a little bit of blood.

"Are you going to kill me?" he asked, his eyes darting to look at her light green ones. His face skimming over her slightly flushed cheeks, the silver nose pin embedded on her nose, and a strand of her brown hair falling on her face.

"I can," she replied with a straight look on her face, clearly bored of this conversation and him.

"but would you?" he asked, getting a hold of her hand leaning close to her side.

"That depends on you. Tell me, why have you been bothering me? What's your problem?" she asked bitterly.

"You were ignoring me" he shrugged and tigthed his grip on her hand, which was on the knife that was still on his throat.

Sensing her silence and the pointed look that she was giving him, he spoke again, his hand loosening on the knife.

"Not that I care or anything, but did I do something? Like, at least give me a reason to why you are ignoring me," he said in a breath, his hand reaching up to rub his neck in embarrassment.

She spoke nothing, knowing this is one of his tricks or he has actually gone psycho and she needs to call the mental asylum.

"Please," he said, as he saw that she was still glaring at him.

"You made fun of me," she spoke slowly, not sparing him a glance and looking at the wall in front of her.

"When?" he questioned, his eyes squinting as he tried to remember when exactly did he make fun of her. 

"Oh fuck," he said as he remembered exactly, "Shit b-Delilah, I didn't mean that I mean I kind of did but like it was because you called me "ew" like what the fuck, how in the world can you say ew to me, but like I didn't mean to hurt you it just came out because I was angry and I won't apologize for it because you also haven't apologized for calling me ew but like you should know that I am-"  she cut of his rant by pressing the knife harder to his throat, making him pause.

He looked at the knife and then looked back at her again, sighing he said "And please remove this fucking knife from my throat, I don't know what type of mafia romance book shit you are trying to pull up on me but this is not cool. Like you and I are just two normal people, it's not like we are in a fucking boo-" he spoke, removing his hand from the knife and running it through his messy brown hair.

"You are asking for death Maxwell," she said as she moved the knife away from his throat slowly, making sure he doesn't notice and she doesn't hurt him in the process.

His actions paused as he heard her words, them being the exact same that he thought some time ago. This bought unknown happiness in his chest and before he could stop it, his mouth let out a giggle that he tried his best to cover up with a fake cough.

I would love to die if I am getting killed by your hands, he thought.

"You wouldn't kill me," he grinned, a new profound happiness in his chest blooming by every second.

She scoffed, gritting her teeth she spoke "and how are you so sure about that?"

"you are too nice for that b-Delilah," he spoke softly as his hand moved to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear, but before he could do that, she pushed his hand away using the same hand which held the knife causing her to cut her finger.

"Ouch," she grumbled, her finger clenched in pain.

"Oh my god Delilah" Maxwell clamored, his hand going to hold onto Delilah's fingers gently.

"If you can't even hold a fucking knife properly, then why are you trying to be cool and put it to my throat and all. Now, look at what you have done." He grumbled, his eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes angered.

"But- "she tried to speak.

"I swear to fucking God, I will throw you over my shoulder and carry you all the way till the washroom if you don't fucking cooperate with me right now." His tone was hard, unlike his hand that was gently holding Delilah's wrist.

"Max-" she started to speak again.

"You really like to test my patience, huh?" he voiced out, his eyes darting out to flick over her lips for a split second then going back to meet her eyes.

The next thing she knew, her feet were being swept off the ground, and she was upside down. Maxwell had tossed her over his shoulder, and all the air left her body as his shoulder bone dug into her stomach.

"Maxwell" she screeched, her legs moving frantically, trying to get down.

"Stop," Maxwell said as he put her down on the floor, removing her hair from her face. He turned her around and opened the sink tap, the cold water running through it. 

His fingers gently glided Delilah's fingers as he held her hand and washed the wound under the water. Her back was pressed against his chest, and she could feel his breath hitting her neck and the rising of his chest every time she moved a little.

This felt too close... too intimate for her liking.

She felt her eyes blink close for a second as Maxwell's hand stroked her wounded finger with his thumb. 

He turned her around, now facing her face to face as he looked into her eyes, the tip of his fingers lightly grazing her arm as he hesitated to speak while she looked nothing but bored by his presence.

"What is it?" she snapped finally, tired of his silence and stupid eye gestures.

"Didn't your mother teach you how to thank people?" he snarled, his voice thick with accusation not realizing the words he spoke.

As his mind repeated the words that he had said to his wife less than a second ago, his eyes leered and his mouth became dry.

How could he go this low? He knew her mother was a vulnerable topic for her and yet he bought her up just when she got hurt.

His mouth opened to spew out an apology but she stopped him, right and there.

"I am not so sure about myself, but I know exactly what all my mother ended up teaching you." she mocked, her hands removing her from his hold as she went backward to create some distance between them.

"L- like what?" he stuttered stupidly, cursing himself for not asking a logical question and instead, asking her a question that will agitate her more.

She scoffed, her hand moving to fiddle with her wedding ring as she said "Unlike some people, I am not that cruel to say things that will make people cry in misery, although I wish I could say them to you right now, Maxwell. I know exactly how to make men like you cry,  I have been dealing with people like you all my fucking life. Trust me, if my patience ever demolishes then I won't be going easy on you."

With that being said, she left the washroom, quickly rushing down to the kids.

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He couldn't sleep the entire night.

It was too cold.

And he felt guilty.

Way too fucking guilty.

He turned his eyes towards Ryan who was peacefully sleeping on his chest, and Alisia who had her arms wrapped around Ryan from behind, back hugging him. His eyes then turned towards Delilah whose back was facing him.

He closed his eyes, trying to sleep when he heard shuffling on the other side. He slowly opened his eyes, just to see Delilah sitting up on the bed, turning towards his side.

He quickly shut his eyes, fisting the bedsheet tightly in his hands as he felt her getting closer and closer until he could feel her breath hitting his forehead. 

He heard her mutter some incoherent words, but then the words that came out of her lips twisted something in her heart.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that," Delilah whispered, as her hand moved to remove a strand of hair falling on his forehead.

And then in a second, he didn't feel her presence and heard the room door's close.

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There was a hollow feeling in his heart.

It was ripping him apart.

He has to apologize to her, asap.

He quickly adjusted his hair and headed downstairs, where he found Delilah sitting on the couch, working on her laptop. He casually went and sat down next to her, stretching his arms and casually keeping his hand behind her head that was on the couch.

She didn't bother looking at him but he knew she felt his presence when her fingers stopped typing on the laptop.

"Do you want coffee?" he casually asked, leaning a little close to see what she is doing on the laptop.

"Chai?" he asked again when he didn't get any reply.

A few days ago, he saw her making some type of milk tea in the kitchen, and after a few google searches that it was tea made by boiling tea leaves with milk, sugar, and sometimes spices. 

"No thanks," she said with her lips pressed in a thin line, trying to avoid the fact that he is sitting so close to her.

"Listen Delilah I am sor-" his lips spilled out an apology but they were cut off by her.

"No Maxwell, I am the one who should be apologizing. I have been treating you like shit. I know there are some secrets that I am still unaware of. I spent 6 years trying to forget about you Maxwell. Six fucking years. And it wasn't easy. So seeing your face just made me lose my fucking mind. I was so fucking lost on what to do and what to not. Ignoring you was the only way I could find, I didn't want to fight with you and I didn't want to know all the shit you and Isabella have done behind my back. I wasn't ready. " she paused, taking a deep breath and looking into his eyes.

"But now I am ready, Maxwell. I am not sure if I am ready to give us one more chance as lovers, but I will rather be friends with you than nothing at all."

"Y- yeah? You are ready to give us a chance again?" he stuttered quietly, his mind taking up her words.

She nodded, giving him a small smile.

"Um, but can you wait for a while? Like I have to do some stuff before telling you everything?" he questioned, his fingers twisting the wedding ring on his finger.

"Of course," she said softly with a smile on her face.

He smiled and got up, mumbling a soft "goodnight' to her and walking up the stairs.

"The author is finally giving her some character development." he thought as he laid down on the bed, a smile on his face.

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It's been six days since that night. 

Safe to say that Delilah isn't really ignoring him now.

But she isn't really talking to him either.

She has been really busy with her work and is barely spending time with him or the kids, making them and him sad.

If it wasn't for him, then she would not even eat food because "she didn't have any time".

Her words, not his.

He had to threaten her that he will throw her over his shoulder if she didn't come down and eat her food.

Worked perfectly fine. 100% recommended.

It was early in the morning, and the first thing he noticed was that Delilah was not in bed with him.

He saw Alisia and Ryan cuddled up, hugging each other close and his heart warmed at that sight. He pecked both their cheeks and went up to the washroom to do his business.

He came downstairs while attempting to fix his messed-up hair.

The first thing he saw was that Delilah was in the kitchen, cooking or at least trying to cook. He knew that Delilah couldn't cook to save her life.

There was soft music playing from the TV, and Maxwell recognized that song to be "August" by Taylor Swift.

He quietly came behind her and saw that she was making pancakes, which was one of his favorite foods.

She was mixing the pancake mix with a spatula when suddenly she felt his presence behind her, she was going to turn but then he suddenly pulled her closer by keeping his left hand on her stomach from the back. She was flushed against his chest and she could feel goosebumps rise on her neck. He moved his other hand and took the water bottle which was kept near the mix, holding it tightly in his hold.

"Maxwell?" she squeaked embarrassingly when she felt him slowly almost teasingly remove his hand from her stomach and step back a little.

She still didn't turn around to look at him.

"Good morning," Maxwell said going near her to peep over the pancake mix that she was making.

"Morning," she said as she focused on the mix, looking at it like it was the most interesting thing ever.

"You need any help?" he asked softly, pleased by her reactions.

"Nope," she said distractedly, still not used to being this close to him.

"Are you sure you aren't gonna burn these pancakes, sweetheart?" he blew a soft breath near her neck and asked teasingly.

She turned her face to look at him but went wide-eyed when she noticed that his face is close, way too fucking close to hers.

She immediately turned her face away and heard him release a quiet chuckle behind her.

"I can manage, why don't you go up and see if the kids woke up yet?" she said after a while, calming herself down when she felt him walk upstairs.

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The kids came down shortly, screaming a loud "good morning" which made Delilah chuckle as she pecked both of their foreheads.

Maxwell watched this scene from afar, his heart taking flips seeing how she behaved with his brother.

Alisia frowned after she was pecked by Delilah and whispered something to Ryan, who nodded looking between Delilah and Maxwell.

Alisia came forward and said, "Lilah are you sure Max is your husband?" 

Delilah murmured something like "unfortunately" which didn't go unheard by Maxwell who was standing next to Delilah, listening to all of them talk.

"Yeah baby, why do you ask?" Delilah questioned gently, her hand fiddling with her wedding ring distractedly.

"Well because mama said that all the married couples say "good morning" and kiss, the first thing in the morning. I have seen mama and dad do it too, but I have never seen you both do it. So that's why I was asking." Alisia said thoughtfully, Ryan nodding in agreement.

That made Maxwell chuckle sadly, not all married couples are in love.

"So a kiss is a proof of marriage huh? Maxwell said, stepping closer to Alisia.

Before Alisia could respond to Maxwell, he was turned around by non-other than Delilah as she pulled him closer by his neck and placed a soft kiss on his forehead, making sure her lips linger there for a while to make sure Alisia and Ryan see it. 

She removed her hands from his neck, leaving a blushing and shocked Maxwell behind. 

Deliah bend down to the kid's level and asked "happy now?" to which they both nodded.

Delilah turned and looked at Maxwell who still had a visible blush on his face and his eyes were wide, mouth slightly agape.

That's what you get for teasing me this morning, she thought smugly as she looked at his red cheeks.

Maxwell-0, Delilah-1.

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It was the last day of the lockdown.

Alisia and Ryan were taken back to their mothers this afternoon.

Currently, Maxwell and Delilah were both seated on opposite ends of the sofa. A packet of Cheetos in Delilah's hands and a pack of Doritos in Maxwell's. 

They have been arguing over the past twenty minutes about who gets to watch the TV. 

It has been one of the good days when Delilah finally got a holiday and she wanted nothing but to just laze around the whole day and watch K-dramas but she has to share the TV with her husband.

ew.

"Delilah, I don't want to watch your cringy K-dramas, just give me the fucking remote' Maxwell gritted out, his hands coming close to the remote that was on Deliah's lap but before he could take it, Delilah took it up in her hands and glared at Maxwell.

"First of all, they are not cringy. Its romance." she paused and looked at him and said "And second of all, I will only be watching k-dramas because you said that the male leads of the drama didn't look good. Like, have you gone blind, or are you just too straight?" 

"First of all, I am not straight, I am pansexual." he gritted his teeth and said, that information new to Delilah. 

"And, second of all, I did that just to see your reaction. Of course, they are hot, I mean only a blind person would say they aren't" he said smirking slightly.

Delilah rolled her eyes and said, "Then why don't you want to watch the drama?" 

Maxwell glared at the screen and murmured some incoherent words to himself.

"Because I don't want you ogling over them all the time, it's fucking annoying," he thought to himself.

Delilah ignored his glare and said dramatically "God, how did I survive 2 weeks with you. I am surprised both of us are still alive." 

That got Maxwell's attention, as he bantered "Oh please, don't act like you didn't enjoy these 2 weeks. You must be really happy getting all the free donuts that I was paying for." 

Delilah raised her eyebrows in amusement but didn't say anything, instead, taking her phone out.

"Which store were the donuts from?" she inquired, looking at her phone.

"Marines, the biggest cafe in town," Maxwell said smugly.

Delilah nodded and dialed a number on her phone, keeping it on speaker.

"Hi, is this Marines bakery?" she questioned with a cheerful voice.

"Yes ma'am, may I know what you would like to order," the girl on the phone said with an equally cheerful voice.

"Uh, how many donuts do you have in total in the cafe right now?" Delilah queried, her eyes darting to look at Maxwell's confused ones.

"Um," The girl on the phone paused and Delilah could hear some noises in the background. The girl finally came back on the line  and spoke "Around 230 of them, why ma'am?" 

"I would like to buy all of them,"

word count: 3520+ words. hope you all liked the update.

Make sure you vote and comment<3

Also, I am hoping the development isn't quite fast, it will make sense in the upcoming chapters.

until next time, ily

-Alishba<3