My Love Until the Last Goodbye (Mary and Maximus)

"Have I told you you look like a teenager?" Maximus said, watching his brother with amusement.

"Why?" Peter asked, deeply focused on the flower section.

"Because of all this..." Maximus said, gesturing toward the flowers.

"What's wrong with it? I want everything to be perfect! You don't get married every day," Peter said, lifting bunches of flowers and trying out different combinations.

"Well, looking at it your way... you're right. This is your first wedding, isn't it?" Maximus added, watching as his brother debated between roses or freesias-or both.

Maximus had to admit that both Peter and Aria were taking the whole "dream wedding" seriously. It was clear Aria had rallied the troops-Peter's mom had practically summoned everyone to help.

And obviously, the Evans, Palmer, and Bennett women had rolled up their sleeves and jumped into action without hesitation.

The men, on the other hand, were genuinely surprised by Peter's behavior. Most of them already knew Peter was a completely different man now, but seeing him this invested in organizing the wedding was proof that life with Celeste had truly changed him.

"For God's sake, Peter, take both. You said she likes freesias, right? And the roses will balance out the bouquet..."

"These are for the garden."

"Oh! I thought they were for the bridal bouquet."

"Nope, that's being handled by my mom and Daniela."

"Wow. I really thought these were for Celeste."

"Nope. See why I'm in charge of coordinating?" Peter replied, finally settling on the flowers he'd use to decorate the house.

"This whole wedding-planning thing... how are you doing it? When? I mean, you're always at home, taking care of your daughters, spending time with Celeste -I don't see how you're managing this," Maximus said, baffled.

"I've only been sleeping about two or three hours a day. That's enough for me. Besides, you're all helping, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"No buts. Come on, let's go home. Diana and Celeste are probably waiting for us by now. By the way-how was the honeymoon? You told me you didn't want to go to the place Diana picked, and I was a little worried," Peter said, looking directly at his brother.

"It was amazing, honestly. I didn't expect things to turn out the way they did. For

the first time in this marriage, I feel free. I feel like me. I am me.

"Diana is an incredible woman, and I won't lie-there were times I felt insecure." "Why do you say that?"

"Because it's true. Diana's way younger than me. I could practically be her father. But she has this way of making me feel like I'm the only one that matters. She has a gift for making you feel secure."

"I get that. It's the same with Celeste. Believe me, I've tried to remember how we met, but no matter how hard I try-I just can't. I talked to Theodore once, and he told me it was basically love at first sight. After more than twenty years alone, apparently I was instantly captivated by her.

"Those were Theodore's words, not mine. I want to remember that time. All I have

in my head now is waking up to see her with a little baby bump and a face full of

fear."

"Brother..."

"I know, I know. I know it's pointless to dwell on the past. I know I shouldn't torment myself with this. But still... I wish I could remember.

"I want to know how I made her fall in love. I want to see how our first date went, what that year and a half we had together was like. There's so much I've missed, Maximus.noveldrama

"I'm not saying I'm not happy now on the contrary, every day with her makes me feel alive. Sure, we argue now and then, but nothing major. Nothing we can't fix." "Peter..... let me ask you something again-have you ever thought about Mary?" "Of course. She's Marcus's wife, right?"

"Yeah. But have you ever thought about her as a woman-as what she meant to you?"

"Well, yeah, but it's not the same. I know she's Marcus's wife now, and she's very happy. And I'm happy too... I think we both closed that chapter in our own way— but it was closed, don't you think?"

"I guess so..." Maximus said, noticing the certainty in Peter's voice.