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 163 Max's Point of View The drive back to my office was a blur of frustration and determination. My grip on the steering wheel was tight enough to make my knuckles white as I navigated the busy streets of downtown. Eva's words echoed in my mind, sharp and cutting: "Stay away from my childr
"When?" I demanded, already rising from my chair, my body coiled with tension. "In thirty minutes," Clara replied, already anticipating my next requests. "The board is gathering in the main conference room." "Notify legal," I ordered, grabbing my jacket from the back of my chair. "And have the lat
Chapter 164 Eva's Point of View My heart pounded against my ribs like a trapped bird as I stood before the board, Samuel glaring at me with a mixture of shock and fury. The whispers and murmurs of the board members filled the silence, but I kept my head high, channeling every ounce of strength I h
Chapter 165 Max's Point of View The tension in the boardroom was thick enough to cut with a knife. I sat at the head of the table, my fingers laced together to hide their slight trembling as I watched Samuel Graves struggle to maintain his composure. The board members exchanged glances, their deci
Chapter 166 Eva's Point of View It was my father's funeral day. The sky hung low and gray, mirroring the hollow ache in my chest as the priest's words droned on, a somber melody marking the end of my father's life. The air felt heavy with the promise of rain, nature itself seeming to hold its brea
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