Chapter 157 Max's Point of View The world around me blurred into an indistinct haze as my gaze locked onto the children playing in the sprawling garden. Four of them. Four small, vibrant lives filled with an innocence that made my heart ache. The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the man
My throat constricted painfully as I turned back to Eva, unable to keep the pleading note from my voice. "Eva... tell me the truth. Are they mine?" Before Eva could respond, Mia's small hand reached out to touch my face. Her tiny fingers brushed against my cheek with such innocent tenderness that I
Chapter 158 Max's Point of View I stood frozen in the fading daylight, my heart pounding like a drum in my chest. Josh's words echoed in my head, growing louder with each passing second until they drowned out everything else around me. "The kids are mine, Max." Five simple words that threatened to
Chapter 159 Max's Point of View The glass in my hand felt cold against my skin, the amber liquid inside burning a familiar path down my throat. I welcomed the burnt, it was the only thing keeping me from completely falling apart. Around me, the upscale bar's dim lighting cast long shadows across t
Chapter 160 Eva's Point of View The living room was filled with the sound of laughter and the pitter-patter of little feet as my quadruplets ran around, their energy seemingly endless. James and Leo were arguing over a toy car, their voices rising with each passing second, while Sam was busy tryin
Chapter 161 Max's Point of View The morning sun filtered through my office windows as I absently shuffled through paperwork, my mind wandering to the same place it had been stuck for days Eva's children. The possibility that they could be mine haunted every waking moment. Their faces, so similar t
"It's okay," I assured them, fighting to keep my voice steady. My hands itched to reach out, to touch them, to confirm their reality. "I'm... I'm a friend of your mother's." The description felt woefully inadequate for what Eva and I had once been to each other, for what we might still be to each ot
Chapter 162 Max's Point of View The tension in the classroom was suffocating as Eva stood before me, her eyes blazing with a mixture of fear and anger. The children huddled closer together, sensing the storm brewing between us. My heart hammered against my ribs as I slowly rose from the tiny chair
Chapter 190 Max point of view The car ride to Eva's home was filled with noise and laughter. The kids were still buzzing from their day at the mall, talking over each other as they relived every moment. I smiled, keeping my eyes on the road, but Sara’s voice echoed in my head. I clenched the steer
Chapter 189 Max point of view Sara’s voice cut through the noise, sharp and cold. I froze, my heart sinking. She stood there, dressed perfectly as always, her eyes scanning me and the kids like we were part of some joke she didn’t get. “My kids,” I said firmly, pulling Leo closer to me. Sara ra
Chapter 188 The mall was a riot of noise and color, and I found myself constantly counting, one, two, three, four. Making sure all of them were there, within reach. It still felt surreal sometimes, looking at these four amazing kids and knowing they were mine. Five years of their lives I'd missed,
"Age is just a number," Leo declared grandly, another line I suspected came from Eva's romantic comedies. "And my heart wants what it wants." "Your heart wanted to marry the pizza delivery girl last week," Sam reminded him. "That was before I met Clara," Leo said with dignity. Then he turned back
Chapter 187 Max's Point Of View I stared at the stack of reports on my desk, each one thicker than the last, but none containing the answers I needed. Finding Emily's secrets was like trying to catch smoke, just when we thought we had a lead, it would slip through our fingers. "Mr. Graves?" Clar
Chapter 186 Max point of view I sat at Eva's dining room table, watching my kids do their homework. It had been a week since the cookie incident, and things were... well, different. Not perfect, but different. James was actually letting me help him with his math now. He still rolled his eyes whe
Chapter 185 Eva's point of view I got up from the floor as fast as I could, trying to brush cookie crumbs out of my hair. My face felt like it was on fire as I met Josh's stare. Even though he's only a few years older than me, that look on his face still made me feel like a little kid who got cau
Chapter 184 Max sat on the living room floor, surrounded by opened presents and four very different reactions to his presence. Mia beamed at him, clutching her new stuffed unicorn like it was made of gold. The boys, however, radiated waves of barely contained hostility that made the room feel ten d
"Sometimes," Sam continued, his young voice unnaturally steady, "she would look at pictures and get really quiet. Was that because of you too?" I swallowed hard. "Yes." "Then why should we want you here?" Leo demanded. "You hurt Mom. You didn't want us." "That's not true," I said quickly, too qui