Chapter 2 - The Breaking of the Mask
I couldn't stay behind the counter.
The soup ladle felt like a lead weight,
and the air in the kitchen had become unbreathable.
"Ruth, I need to take a break,"
I muttered,
not waiting for her response.
I stripped off the apron and the baseball cap,
exposing the man I had tried to hide.
I walked toward their table,
my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird.
Every step felt like a mile,
every face I passed seemed to be judging me for the secret I carried.
Anna saw me coming.
She stopped eating,
her fork clattering against the plastic tray.
Milo was busy dipped his bread into the soup,
oblivious to the storm that was about to break.
"Max?"
he asked,
looking up with a bright smile.
"Did you bring more bread?"
"No, Milo,"
I said,
my voice cracking.
"I just wanted to talk to your mom."
Anna stood up,
her eyes flashing with a protective fire that I had never seen before.
"There’s nothing to talk about, Max,"
she said,
her voice low so the other families wouldn't hear.
"We’re just here for a meal."
"We’ll be gone in twenty minutes."
"Anna, please,"
I begged,
reaching out toward her.
She stepped back,
pulling Milo closer to her side.
"Don't touch us,"
she hissed.
"You forfeited that right three years ago."
"You told me we lived in different worlds."
"Well, look around, Max."
"This is my world now."
"It’s cold, it’s hungry, and it’s a world you built with your silence."
I looked at the scuffed sneakers on Milo’s feet,
the way his coat was too thin for the Chicago winter.
I thought about my mansion with twelve empty bedrooms,
the heated floors,
and the five-car garage.
The guilt was a physical pain,
a knife twisting in my gut.
"I didn't know, Anna,"
I whispered.
"I swear to God, I didn't know about him."
"You didn't want to know!"
she countered,
her eyes filling with tears she refused to let fall.
"You hung up the phone before I could even tell you I was late."
"I called you a dozen times that week, Max."
"Your assistant told me you were busy."
"Then she told me that if I called again, she would have me arrested for harassment."
I felt the blood drain from my face.
My assistant,
Sarah,
had been with my family for twenty years.
She had followed my mother’s orders to 'clean up' the situation.
I had allowed my life to be managed by people who didn't care about anything but the Whitmore reputation.
"I’ll kill her,"
I growled,
the CEO in me rising to the surface.
"It won't change anything,"
Anna said,
picking up her tray.
"The damage is done."
"Milo and I have survived this long without you."
"We don't need your charity now."
She started to walk away,
dragging a confused Milo behind her.
"But Mom, I’m still hungry!"
Milo cried out,
his small voice echoing through the warehouse.
I stood there,
helpless and broken,
as they disappeared into the crowd of people waiting for a bed.
Ruth appeared at my side,
her hand resting gently on my arm.
"You can't let them walk out into that rain, Max,"
she said.
"If you do, you’ll never find them again."
"And you’ll never find yourself either."
I looked at the door,
at the darkness of the city beyond,
and I knew she was right.
May you like
I had spent three years being a billionaire.
It was time to start being a man.
