My Love Until the Last Goodbye (Mary and Maximus)

[I know I wasn't the best man, and I made a lot of mistakes. Martina and I loved each other at first, but over time, our differences became impossible to ignore. She wasn't a saint either-yes, she's your mother, but she didn't exactly keep her vows to love me until death do us part.

When we were 27, she cheated on me with Magnus. When I found out, I didn't handle it well. At first, I was just angry. We argued a lot. I tried to control myself, but I couldn't—not when I knew she had fallen in love with him.

I left home for a while. You were too young to remember, but I was gone for some time. That was when I met Aria.

She came into my life unexpectedly, slipping into my mind and, in some ways, my heart. The problem? She was ten years younger than me. And not just that—she was the daughter of an old friend.

Aria and I had an affair behind her father's back. She was barely seventeen- beautiful in every way. But as the saying goes, what starts wrong, ends wrong. I never told her I was married, and she never told me that her father was a complete son of a bitch.

It didn't last long. Catherine forced me to go back home, and then Aria's father found out about us. He couldn't do much to me, but he could to her. He took her away—at least until he found out she was pregnant. That's when he came looking for me.

Roman Fairchild took his daughter's child away from her. He handed him over to me in exchange for a large sum of money. The bastard disappeared after that, never telling me what had happened to Aria.

I knew the boy was mine. I couldn't abandon him. So, in a completely hypocritical move, I gave him to your mother. I was already taking care of you-now, she would have to take care of my son.

To my surprise, Martina accepted him. She raised him, loved him as much as she loved you. Part of me was always grateful to her for that. The other part... could never rest. Your mother and I were never the same after that. We both carried our own guilt. We both knew what we had done.

For years, I lived with uncertainty. I never forgot Aria. No matter how much I searched, it was like she had disappeared from the face of the earth. At least, that's how it seemed-until I finally stepped down and left you the company.

At first, I enjoyed my freedom. But soon, it became dull. And in that boredom, I realized I finally had the time to resume the search. Years later, my efforts finally paid off. I had found her.

But then, you had to pull your bullshit. I had to drop everything and come back. I had to pretend nothing was happening. And then... everything fell apart.

Your divorce.

Peter and your ex.

His supposed future child.

Her death.

Catherine's depression.

Your marriage.

My own depression.

At one point, I just couldn't take it anymore, and I left.noveldrama

After that, at that exact moment, I finally resumed my search for Aria. If nothing else, I wanted to give her the peace of knowing that her son had lived until he was 31.

It took time. Before I could find her, I had to get rid of Roman.

The moment he found out I was looking for her, he started moving her from place to place, keeping her hidden. And she... she was not okay.

Aria had paid the price for getting involved with me. When I learned what she had been through, I had no choice but to take her father out.

After that, finding her was easier than I expected.

Aria was still beautiful. A little unkempt, but still breathtaking.

The moment she saw me, I knew she recognized me. But something about her

had changed. She looked tired. Defeated.

Roman Fairchild never forgave her for her mistake.

She suffered under him. A lot.

The only thing that gives me peace is knowing that bastard suffered even more.

His death was slow. And painful.

And no, Maximus-I would never have laid a hand on that woman.

And you know exactly why.

For the same reason you never did with Alexia.

Because I loved her.

When she saw me, she thought I was bringing her to meet her son. The boy who,

by her calculations, should have been around 37 years old by now.

I wasn't ready to tell her there was no son left to meet.

That all I could do was take her to his grave.

So, I simply took her there. The place would explain everything for me.

And it did.

Aria broke into pieces. She had never had the chance to hold Peter in her arms. She had never even seen him. Her father had stolen that from her. And now, I understand that I did too.

Aria lives in Everstone, Valeria. She's 65 years old now and lives alone Roman never allowed her to marry. And by the time I got rid of him, she was already too old to start over.

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Back then, I was too lost in my own plans to ever consider a life with her again.

If you decide to look for her, maybe you should introduce her to Aldo and Ethan. From what I've heard, they're the only thing left of Peter.

She would probably be happy to see the boy who is the spitting image of the son she never got to meet.]

Maximus was in shock.

Leonardo had never truly accepted that Peter was alive.

Had it been because of guilt? Or had he genuinely believed it was impossible?

In the end, Leonardo had died without ever facing the truth. He had never seen his son again.

But at the very last moment, he had done the right thing.

He had finally given them the chance they had been denied for decades.

Maximus clenched the letter in his hands, his jaw tightening.

"Damn you, Leonardo. You waited until the very end to do the right thing... hate you... but I also thank you. I know this is the only selfless thing you ever did for your

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son."

Just as he was about to put the letter away, something slipped out of the

envelope.

A small, brief note.

"Go to the bank. Locker 330."

Maximus froze.

What the hell had Leonardo left at the bank?

After taking a moment to process everything, he knew two things for certain:

One, he needed to go to the bank.

Two, Peter's mother was closer than he had ever imagined.

He wouldn't be able to go today. But tomorrow, he would drive as far as possible -because Everstone was only accessible by bridge.

Technically, Aria had gone there to die.

It was an isolated place, difficult to reach, almost forgotten by time. He had heard

it was ancient—almost untouched by modern life.

Glancing at the clock, he realized he still had time to make it to the bank.

Without wasting another second, he grabbed the letter and rushed out the door.

He had no idea what he would find.

But based on what he had just read, he knew it had to be connected to the mystery of Peter's mother.