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
In one of the gardens of Cambridge University in London, a refined 20-year-old walked confidently toward his economics class. His stride was abruptly interrupted by the ringing of his phone. Searching through his backpack, he answered the call.“My son, I need you to come home!” came the voice of a
Alden held Celeste tightly as she wept, her body trembling against his. It felt like a part of her was being ripped away. It had already been a week, and still, there were no signs of Peter waking up.The swelling in his brain had gone down, but for some unknown reason, there was no neurological act
"I was thinking we could grab some vanilla ice cream and sit somewhere to talk. Sound good?""Perfect."We stopped by an ice cream shop and bought a liter each.As expected, she devoured hers.I watched her for a moment before taking a deep breath."Mary… there’s something I want to talk to you abou
After a few minutes, I helped Mary into the car. As I closed the door, I noticed Agnes stepping outside to see us off, drying her hands on her apron.Seeing her there—knowing she would be one of the many people affected by my death—I walked over and pulled her into a hug."You stubborn old woman… I
She hesitated. "Well… when you put it like that… maybe."I exhaled, running a hand through my hair."I have to admit something. You’re my least favorite person in the world.""Gee, thanks.""But you’re also Mary’s best friend. And you’ve proven to be a good friend to her. So, I just want to ask one
As I stepped out of my room, I was immediately greeted by the loud, unmistakable laughter of Aurora. God, that woman still got on my nerves… And to think that at one point, Mary had actually suggested that she and I could be a couple. According to her, since we were both wild, chaotic, and loved par
After finalizing the last details of my fortune, I picked up the phone and called the one person who had the power to change my life forever."Peter?""Marcus…""What’s going on? You don’t usually call me twice…""Well… technically, you called me earlier…" I said, trying to sound casual."What’s wro
"I just remembered I have something urgent to go over with Marcus. I can’t put it off—it’s about the meeting. I completely forgot. I’ll talk to my father and the doctor to reschedule our appointment. Just give me until noon, okay? This is really important."Before she could respond, I turned toward
[Peter's P.OV]For a few seconds, I just stared at Celeste.She was just a girl—well, compared to me, she was.She was thin, her curly hair as messy as always, and she wore glasses that made her look even younger. There was an innocence in her eyes, a brightness untouched by the weight of life.I sm
Alden’s stomach dropped. "What do you mean by that?"Maximus hesitated before saying, "I’m sorry, Alden… Celeste… But we have to be prepared for the fact that he might not wake up.""He will wake up," Celeste said firmly, her voice trembling with emotion. "He promised me. You said it yourself—Peter