“Wow, you remember a lot about me.”“I remember the things I liked most about you.”As they talked, time passed, and the temperature dropped. Maximus took off his jacket and wrapped it around her, holding her close. They sat in silence for a while, and then Maximus spoke again, “Mary, come back home
“Maximus! Well, it’s just that… I don’t know what… I don’t know what to think.”“Mary, I want us to talk about what happened and what comes next.”“What do you mean?”"What I told you a few hours ago is true. I want you with me, Mary, and it makes me anxious to think you’ll leave soon. I want you to
Maximus returned to the office after two weeks away, the longest he had been absent since becoming the president of the company. He looked exhausted, but he had no choice but to push through and keep his mind off the memories and thoughts of his wife, who was now under Emma's care since yesterday."
Dr. Xavier, noticing her tone, began to piece together that her emotional turmoil was likely connected to her husband. He had seen similar cases before—patients whose mental health was deeply affected by their relationships. But something else troubled him. When Mary had first arrived, he had notice
"Nonsense! I've already signed everything. We don't need Maximus for this. Your things are already at my home, and we'll be heading to the vineyards this afternoon. There's someone there who's eager to see you."Mary's eyes widened in surprise, a smile slowly spreading across her face. "My grandfath
"It was on our wedding day…""Go on…""I wanted to see Mary before the ceremony…""Don't you know that's bad luck?""Grandma… are you going to listen, or do you already know where this is going?""No, not yet.""When I was about to knock on the door, I noticed it was open, and you were inside.""Oh,
Maximus felt a sharp pain in his chest. If everything his grandmother was saying was true, Mary had been the only victim here. She was a victim of him and Alexia, but mostly of him."Maximus, I want you to know that it really took a lot to convince her. She was young, but she wasn't a fool. It's obv
Maximus stood up from the bench, feeling the weight of guilt pressing down on his heart. For so long, he had been a fool, the executioner of Mary's hopes and dreams, all for a crime she had never committed. She had given him her heart, her youth, and her innocence, only to be treated like a pawn in
For the Palmer family, discovering that someone as important as Peter’s mother was still alive was a great source of joy. It was remarkable how a family that had once consisted of only four men had now grown into a large, predominantly female household.After a big family dinner—where they had to im
“Alden Pieotrovich Palmer, Grandma. It’s a pleasure to meet you! I think we have many nights of long talks ahead of us to catch up,” Alden said as he hugged Aria and kissed her forehead. “This is Ethan, your great-grandson. He’s six years old. And this is Serenity Bartz. Pretty soon, we’ll be gettin
Peter and Aria held each other for a long time. She still couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that this was really happening. It had been so many years—an entire lifetime, really. There was a whole life’s worth of stories to tell, and they wouldn’t be able to share them all in just a few hours or
Peter felt as if time had stopped. He rested his cheek against Aria’s head, holding her tightly. He saw out of the corner of his eye how everyone else had quietly left the room, but it didn’t matter. Nothing else mattered. He felt good—for the first time in a long time—wrapped in the arms of this wo
“Maximus, what’s going on? I don’t understand…” Celeste said, looking worried.“Come on! In a few minutes, you’re going to meet Peter’s real mother. It’s a long story, but let’s go. Peter is nervous and anxious—he ran out so fast that no one could stop him. He’s probably in the foyer by now.”“Yes!
Maximus pulled out his phone and called Magnus, asking him to bring Aria. His father was confident everything would go well, so he had already set off. He was bringing all three guests with him since Danielle, still somewhat distrustful, refused to leave the woman who had been by her side for nearly
When Maximus hugged his daughter, he felt something strange—the warmth of her body, the small bump of her belly. Seeing his 21-year-old daughter pregnant made him imagine what it must have been like for Peter’s mother—the fear she must have felt, the loss, everything… All of it reminded him why he w
Maximus had been driving for about two hours. When he finally got home, he knew that before introducing Aria to his son, he needed to have a long conversation with his brother. He stepped out of the car and gestured for his three guests to do the same. On the way there, he had already messaged Magnu
Seeing Aria go from disbelief to outright desperation stirred something deep inside Maximus. He hadn’t lived through the same pain as she had, but he understood uncertainty—he was living it himself, not knowing where his own eldest son was."We can leave now. My car is parked on the other side of th