Master of his heart (Max and Brielle)

Brielle watched as Annie showed up out of nowhere in the middle of the night, then turned her gaze forward and floored the gas pedal. The move was so sudden that, if Annie hadn't been so quick on her feet, she would've been sent flying by the car. Annie stood her ground, brow furrowed in confusion. What was Brielle up to?

Annie hadn't noticed Ricardo quietly sitting in the backseat. When he wanted to stay hidden, he had a knack for becoming nearly invisible. Brielle glanced at Ricardo through the rearview mirror. He still had that clean-cut look, and he gave her a reassuring smile before asking, "What's the matter, Mr. Haywood?"

Brielle's heart was pounding. She was almost sure that Annie was the woman Murray had loved. That day, when she shot at Murray, Annie had coldly twisted the knife, becoming Murray's heartache.

A chill ran down Brielle's spine. What kind of lunatics were these people? Why were they fixating on her?

After dropping Ricardo off at the set, Brielle didn't leave immediately. Who knew if Annie had more tricks up her sleeve?

She pulled out her phone and messaged Max.

Is Annie really the goddaughter you mentored?

She had already been suspicious of Annie's motives; the woman's occasional actions seemed quite leading. If you linked her to Murray, everything started to make sense. Annie, thinking Brielle wouldn't survive the night, had dropped her facade, revealing her true intentions. She was clearly waiting for Brielle.

Annie had come to kill her.

Sweat broke out on Brielle's palms. After getting out of the car, she headed to Aubree's room. Aubree had just finished a night shoot and had come over after dealing with some house matters in the afternoon. Seeing Brielle show up at midnight, Aubree couldn't help but click her tongue.

When Brielle said she wanted to share the bed, panic flickered across Aubree's face. Brielle watched as Aubree quickly stashed away several pill bottles from the nightstand.

"Are you sick? What medication is that?" The labels on the bottles had been torn off.

Rubbing her temples, Aubree's lips twisted slightly. "Just some sleeping pills. I've had trouble sleeping, so the doctor prescribed them." Brielle said nothing until they were lying in bed.

Half an hour later, she heard Aubree retching in the bathroom. Aubree quickly rinsed her mouth and, seeing Brielle standing silently behind her in the mirror, spoke with pale lips" thinkt can't get used to someone else sleeping next to me."

She only felt safe when she was alone in bed. Another person's breathing made her feel nauseous. Brielle felt a pang in her chest, realizing it might have started back then. "I'll take you to a therapist tomorrow."

"No."

"Then I'll sleep on the couch."

"Bri, I'm sorry."

Aubree had been keeping up

appearances for so long that it was starting to wear on her. As she spoke, her stomach churned again. Without hesitation, Brielle moved to the cramped couch. No wonder Aubree's face had turned pale at the thought of Brielle staying the night.

With the bed to herself, Aubree felt better, but with Brielle there, she dared not take too many pills and so tossed and turned restlessly. At six in the morning, a text from Max came through. Yeah, what's up?

The situation with Aubree had thrown Brielle into turmoil, and only then did she remember asking Max a question. Squinting her eyes, if Annie harbored murderous intent toward her, what was the source of it?

Brielle couldn't connect the dots to the supposed assassin, nor could she imagine that Ricardo's presence last night was to stop Annie. To confirm her suspicions, Brielle took Annie's photo directly to Murray. He visibly tensed, his breath shook, and his tips quivered with emotion. No one, no matter how cold-blooded, could look at the photo of their beloved's demise without losing their composure.

Brielle then knew she had guessed right.