Thanks to everyone who is reading my story! I'm going to try to start posting longer chapters. I hope that I'm going to be able to post a Christmas special tomorrow, but I would have to write it all tonight, but I'll try my best! Enjoy this chapter for now!
I hear Maxon move towards me. "Please Maxon. Stay away," I say over my silent sobs.
"Bella, please let me explain," Maxon says. "You don't understand the whole story. Kriss was-"
"Maxon, I don't know if I can. You said you were going to talk to me tonight, and instead, I find Kriss in your room. Then I see you and Kriss kiss passionately. I was supposed to explain myself, but instead, you want to kiss Kriss. I was going to tell you stuff I have never told anyone before. I don't know if I can trust you anymore, since you lied to me," I say through my tears. I look up at him. His eyes are glassy.
"Bella, I didn't mean to hurt you like this. Please let me explain," Maxon pleads.
"Maxon...I-," I say and take a deep breath. I turn to look at him and his face looks so desperate. "guess you can." Maxon looks relieved.
"Thank you, Bella. I asked you to come to my room before Kriss even mentioned coming to my room. Kriss approached me after dinner and asked if she could talk to me in my room. I said yes. We walked to my room together and we shut the door behind us. She told me that she was leaving because she didn't feel like she wanted to be part of the competition anymore. She told me she was leaving today. She wants to leave because she loved someone before she came here, but they broke up before she came here. Her boyfriend was worried that he would hold her back from loving me. She still loves him and realizes that she can't love me fully because of it. We left my room and she kissed me. It threw me off guard, so I let her kiss me. If you weren't here, Kriss would be the One, Bella. When I kissed her, it was a kiss goodbye. I'm sorry you had to see that. I thought we would be done before you came, but obviously, we weren't. It was supposed to be a private moment. I'm sorry," Maxon says. He looks at me.
"I-I-I don't know what to say," I say. His story makes sense, and he hasn't lied to me before. "What about that time with Celeste?" I ask. One time, I saw Celeste making out with Maxon in the stairwell. I wasn't concerned about my relationship with Maxon then, but I wasn't in that deep of a relationship with him.
"Celeste. You know she is very persuasive, not to mention she fights until she gets what she wants. And anyway I wasn't really in a relationship with you," Maxon replies, becoming a bit angry.
"Yeah, I know," I reply. "I'm sorry. I'm just shaken from those men." I start to cry again. Maxon grabs me and pulls me into his lap. We sit like this until I stop crying.
"I'm sorry that happened to you, Bella," Maxon says, lifting my head so he can look me in the eyes. He looks genuinely sorry.
"Thanks, Maxon," I reply. "Can we go to my roo-," I start to say, but then realize that my room is probably gone because of the fire. "Oh, my room was in the fire."
"Oh my gosh, your room was in the fire?! Bella, I'm sorry. You lost everything," Maxon says.
"Actually, I didn't. I packed to leave the palace after the whole Kriss thing," I say, a little guiltily.
"Bella. Look at me. I love you no matter what," Maxon says.
"I love you too Maxon," I say. Maxon leans down to kiss me, but I swerve my head so he only kisses my cheek.
"Bella, why did you move your head?" Maxon asks.
"Can we go to your room so we can talk privately?" I ask.
"Of course," he replies. We walk to his room and he opens his door. I was excited last night to see his room, but right now I don't really care. He ushers me into his room, and he follows behind me, closing the door. "So why did you turn your head?"
"About that...I was supposed to tell you this yesterday. You see, I promised my father that I wouldn't kiss a man until I got married. It was the only way that I was allowed to compete in the Selection. I don't like to break promises. I love you, Maxon, and I want to kiss you, but I promised." I sigh, not wanting to tell Maxon this part, but I know I should. "Maxon, I grew up in an abusive household. My parents want me to be perfect, but when I'm not perfect, I get punished. I'm honestly scared of my parents because of what they have done to me. Not to mention they fight all the time, sometimes over the stupidest things. I wanted to be in the Selection because then I could get away from my parents."
"Oh, wow. That's a lot to process...Bella, I had no idea," Maxon says.
"I know. I'm sorry."
"There's nothing to be sorry about. If anything, your parents should be apologizing to you," he says, giving me a hug.
"I just want to get away from my parents. I can't go back to them."
"Well," Maxon says, reaching into his pocket. He gets down on one knee. I gasp. Maxon takes out the box in his pocket and opens the box. There's a giant diamond ring inside. The ring has huge heart-shaped diamonds in the center with my birthstone, which is tourmaline, surrounding it. The band is rose-gold. He grabs my head and says "Bella, will you marry me?"