Valerie and Marcus made their way down to the garden for breakfast. The housekeeper had already set the table, and Serenity sat sipping her coffee, visibly uncomfortable. She felt awkward about arriving home earlier than planned, knowing her mother would sense that something had happened—even if she
Valerie hugged her daughter tightly. Though Serenity was tall and carried herself with confidence, today, after hearing her mother’s story, she seemed as small and vulnerable as she had been at five years old, clinging to Valerie’s legs for comfort.“Mamá… I never imagined you had lived through some
Valerie held her daughter tightly in her arms, feeling the girl’s ragged breathing. She wanted to comfort her, just as she used to when she was little. Slowly, the embrace seemed to dissipate the sudden anger that always erupted when things didn’t go her way. But this wasn’t a child anymore—this was
Valerie left without giving Serenity a chance to join her. Her security team was alerted and followed her at a discreet distance. Those tasked with her protection assumed she had errands to run, so they didn’t notify Marcus.After driving for a while, she arrived at Pizzeria, a café-bar located in a
Valerie tried to hold back her tears, but a flood of emotions and memories overwhelmed her, and she couldn’t stop them. A couple of tears escaped, and she quickly wiped them away under the astonished gaze of her ex-husband. Rising to her feet, she said, “Maximus, stay away from her! I won’t say it a
[The past]Sunday arrived quickly, and Valerie and Serenity were at the airport, saying goodbye to Marcus. Serenity’s eyes widened when she saw her father boarding a massive airplane. Tears began to well up, and she didn’t fully grasp that he was leaving but would be back. Inevitably, she burst into
“I gave it to my daughter. She didn’t want me to leave, so I promised her I’d come back soon. That means we need to work faster than usual—I don’t want to be here more than a week, two at most.”“Marcus, you have a daughter? You didn’t mention this last year! She must be a baby.”“It’s a long story,
After Peter’s death, the Palmer family descended into utter chaos. While Peter hadn’t been the one running the family, what he represented to each of them triggered a cascade of emotional reactions.Grandma Catherine fell into a deep depression. The once strong, proud matriarch slowly became a shado
After the conversation between Pierre, Laura, Lucius, and Maximus, it was time to talk to Paul. However, Maximus felt it was something that needed to be discussed between father and son.He fully understood that Laura wanted to be involved, but this—this was something only he could and should handle
"We never said we would deny you that," Laura replied sharply. "But let’s be honest, Mr. Legrand, this puts us in a very uncomfortable situation. I do believe he should meet you, but we should take it slowly—we can’t just drop the truth on him all at once.""Lau…" Lucius finally spoke, his voice cal
[Present Time]Adrian replayed the conversation in his mind, but there wasn’t much to consider. The offer was tempting—anyone in his position would see it as the perfect deal. But he already knew what he truly wanted: his daughter.He had made the mistake once before—choosing what his school, his fa
"You said it yourself—if I wanted to, I could’ve hit her back. But I won’t. I don’t want to. And I refuse to let this situation escalate any further. Look at me now—I have stitches in my head. Who knows what will happen next? I’d rather put an end to this now.""Adrian! You don’t have to air our bus
Adrian sighed as he watched Alice disappear in the distance. A short while later, he arrived home. Hilda, the housekeeper, rushed to help him out of the car."Sir… How are you? I thought you’d be back later… We were all worried!""Relax, Hilda. It was just a hit to the head. A few stitches, and that
As if fate itself wanted to set things in motion, the time had come. Laura, Lucius, and Maximus left the house together.The younger siblings saw them go, but they didn’t think much of it. Lately, the three of them had been leaving without saying where they were going, so this time didn’t seem any d
"Dad?""Come in," Maximus said, still checking his inbox."What’s going on, Maximus? Why all the secrecy?""Alright… Serenity’s wedding is over, and Lucius, I know you’ll be heading back to New Zealand soon. Moriarty won’t give me another extension, so we need to move forward with whatever decision
Another day passed at the Evans residence. The family was gathered for breakfast while Diana ran around in a rush, realizing she was running late for work. Maximus, ever the bad influence, kept telling his future wife not to worry so much, but it was impossible—Diana was always incredibly respectful
"Come here," Maximus said, opening his arms.Laura walked over and hugged him."My girl… Never apologize for standing your ground. Never—hear me? Never apologize for defending what’s yours. Honestly, I can’t picture the scene, but I wish I could’ve seen it.""Dad… This is embarrassing. I’ve never ac