"He painted over her scars
with every color he could find
until she lost them in the setting sun."

-Atticus

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The past week had been a mix of exhilaration and melancholy for Max.

Kate ignoring him was like a thorn pricking his heart without a break.

What was more? She had even accused him of kissing Sarah. She had called him a cheater and a heartbreaker.

But he knew he wasn't one. In his life, he had found love, a partner, a friend, a companion--only in her.

He would grab her by force if needed, but he would tell her the truth.

There she was in the Nature class, seeming like a lily among the greenery.

Though she was seated beside him, she felt far away.

He couldn't lose her. What he felt for her was much more than mere lust or amorous feelings.

He couldn't get the taste of her lips out of his head, nor the pain her eyes had held before she pushed him away.

He was sure she felt the same way but something was stopping her. He badly wanted to know the reason but he also knew that forcing her was of no use.

First of all, he couldn't even keep his word of not talking to her.

Her face, pure and innocent, her eyes, strong and brave, wouldn't let him be away.

Her close presence felt like an unquenched thirst, despite being near a sea. He couldn't hold her, nor could he be away from her.

The hesitation in his fingers told him not to touch her hand but the voice in his heart pushed him forward.

He held her palm, giving it a light squeeze. Startled, she glanced at him, her honey-like eyes seeming sweet and bitter.

"Kate, listen to me," he whispered.

Shaking her head, she removed her hand from his hold and went back to studying the sapling in her other hand.

"Kate--"

"I will be back in some minutes, please continue studying the saplings." Mrs. Ford, the Nature teacher smiled.

Max threw a suspicious glance at the teacher's back. As if sensing it, she turned and winked at him.

Gesturing her head towards Kate, who was engrossed in the sapling, the teacher showed two thumbs up and left with a grin.

So, the teacher was also rooting for them, huh? Great.

With a small smirk on his face, Max held Kate's palm again.

Narrowing her eyes, she placed the sapling on top of the shelf beside her and brushed off his hold.

Before she could leave, he grabbed her wrist and tugged it. Her back crashed against his chest and he enclosed her waist in his arms.

The tight hug released a calm energy in him. With a sigh, he nuzzled her neck, inhaling the scent he had fallen in love with.

Her scent; unique and tempting, was a mix of wet soil and fresh grass.

He couldn't get enough of it and inhaled some more. Placing a soft kiss on the crook of her neck, he rested his head against her back.

"Stop sniffing me," she said and pushed him away by hitting his stomach with her elbow.

He grabbed hold of her waist and spun her around. Her wrists were enclosed between his thumbs and index fingers as he pushed her against the shelf.

He breathed deeply. "Listen to me, stop running away."

He cupped her cheek and stroked it, noticing her eyes fluttering to a close.

But she opened them again, the amber in them blazing as the muscles in her jaw tensed.

Max shook his head. For him, there was no space for anger. He didn't like making her mad. Only smiles and giggles suited her face.

He placed a soft kiss on her jaw, her eyelashes felt against his forehead were wet.

When he gazed at her eyes, the water in them wouldn't hold itself.

"Stop doing this." Her voice held a quiver. "Stop acting like I'm so important when it's clearly not the case."

"Who said so?" He wiped her tears and she slapped his palm away.

Her quietness gave him the chance to capture her lips.

What he didn't know was that his lip would be at the transferring end of her anger.

She bit his lip and he broke the kiss, eyeing the fire in her eyes.

She wanted to play rough, huh? He would show her what rough was.

Her sides were held by his palms in a firm grip, the pathway of one side of her face till her neck was covered by his frenzied kisses.

Without giving her a chance to gasp, he plunged his tongue inside her mouth and felt her arms around his neck.

Breaking the kiss, he eyed her face, which could put a rose to shame.

He breathed heavily. "What you saw wasn't the entire truth. You must have seen the kiss, but not the push I had given her."

He kissed her cheek gently, his lips lingering on the soft surface.

With a sigh, he pressed his lips against her forehead. "She wanted to make you jealous. She kissed me forcibly, without my liking and against my wish."

"She had kissed me, not the other way around."

He pecked her lips one more time, the fire in her eyes was long put out, replaced by a soft caramel glaze.

"I love you, Kate. There's no other girl in my mind. My love may be incomplete without you... but it's complete in its own way."

"One more thing, vanilla-cheeks, your eyes are beautiful. Don't let tears fall from them."

Giving two feathery kisses on her upper eyelids, he smiled.

Now, there was only one thing left to do.

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"Today isn't the day for Aurora Weekly to be shown. Why are we here?" Sarah made a face and pouted at Max.

Rolling his eyes in his mind, he faked a smile. "I wanted to do something special for you, baby."

Sarah squealed, her friends, Riva and Ruby beside her, cheered and clapped.

Max grinned. How much would he love to see the horrified Aurora Weekly's editor: Sarah.

The girl looked quiet and timid superficially, but was one big, bad wolf on the inside.

Max had felt something off about her since the day she'd helped the twins with their Astronomy project.

Only to find out the truth behind her naive face, he had pretended to be close to her.

And boy was he right. Turned out the girl was the one badmouthing Ashley and the twins in the school's newspaper.

He knew there was more and that was confirmed after he had placed audio bugs under her study table.

It took one visit at her cottage and the job was done.

What he had found, the whole school would know today.

The smart board flickered to life, resting on the HD image of Sarah.

Then the audio played...

"The twins are still with Ash, why didn't they abandon her? Do you know how hard it was to send that video from Kate's mobile to mine?"

"That girl doesn't even keep a lock on her screen, which fool doesn't? She's so stupid."

Riva and Ruby's giggles were joined by Sarah's.

Max scanned the faces of his classmates. Elena and Kate looked cross, Sarah's face was horrified, Ashley's eyes were teary, Ivan glared icily, while the others were taken aback.

"Do you like Max?" the audio continued.

"If you mean his money, then yes."

The audio ended with high-pitched giggles and the smart board turned black.

"How could you do this to her!" Riva shouted and grabbed a fistful of Max's T-shirt.

Max chuckled. "How could she do this to others?"

The twins and Ivan stepped near Max and he intertwined his fingers with Kate's.

Giving her a bright smile, he kissed the top of her brown head. "You won't be jealous anymore."

"Shut up, Sunflower." She smiled back and placed her head on his chest, her arms wrapped around his waist.

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Hey, people! 💗 How are you all doing? I'm back with a new update.

So, what do you think of Max's side of things? Were you expecting his involvement with Sarah to end this way? 😂

What do you think of Max and Kate's moments? Did you like them? Could you feel their love?

Did you like this update? If you did, why/why not? :)

If you like this Chapter and the previous ones, please do leave a vote by clicking on the star sign below. Thank you so much for reading. 😻

The Alien Memory👽 has only two more Episodes remaining. I hope you've liked reading my story. Thank you so much to everyone who has given it a chance.

Sneak-Peek of Episode 42:

Stay tuned for Kate's final POV in this book, where she reveals her past.

Keep smiling! 💕
Lots of love❤💙
Sakina

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