My Love Until the Last Goodbye (Mary and Maximus)

Maximus sipped his coffee, his thoughts elsewhere. In just a few hours, he would see Diana-they had agreed to visit Peter and Celeste together. Originally, they had planned to go in the morning, but a last-minute issue had come up for Diana, so they decided to visit them during lunch instead. Maximus had already called Peter to check on them and make sure they had everything they needed.

But right now, his biggest concern was Paul. Ever since they had returned from the Maldives, the boy had been different-distant, withdrawn. Maximus knew things hadn't gone as Paul had hoped, but that was part of life. Relationships could be amazing, or they could be a complete disaster. Unfortunately, this time, it had been the latter.

Maximus was lost in thought when he was abruptly interrupted by Laura, who walked in carrying little Adele.

"What's wrong, Dad?" she asked, curious.

"Hmm?" Maximus blinked, snapping out of his thoughts.

"You look deep in thought. Your mind isn't here," she said, concern in her voice.

"Oh..... it's Paul. Ever since we got back from the Maldives, he's been... well, I don't know how to put it."

"Sad?"

"I don't know if that's the right word, but things didn't go the way I expected. I actually thought we'd stay there longer, but as soon as we arrived, we practically turned right back around."

"What do you think happened?"

"Paul hasn't talked much about it, but I suspect Nadia wasn't what he imagined."

"What makes you think that?"

"Serenity and I noticed some things. We both had a feeling about her... a bad feeling. We tried to warn Paul, but of course, he didn't listen."

"Oh? And what exactly did you two notice?"

"Well, the girl didn't sit right with us. Call it a woman's intuition, but something was off. She was sweet, sure, but the way she treated Paul didn't feel right. Honestly, it seemed like she was with him for what he could give her. I know it sounds cliché, but we saw it."

Maximus listened to his daughter and thought about Paul.

'Did Paul realize something and not feel comfortable telling me?' he wondered. "Do you really think that's what happened?"

"I don't know, Dad, it's just a guess. But I do know this-if things had gone well, he'd be over the moon. And he's not. I have a strong feeling he was seriously let down by Nadia."

"That could be it... I need to talk to him. Paul is a great kid-he's handsome and kind. He'll find someone else. This was his first love, but it won't be his last."

"You're right about that. Paul looks a lot like Mom. He got all of her genes," Laura said.

Maximus let out a slow breath.

It was true-Paul had inherited Alexia's beauty.

But not just hers.

There were traits in Paul that didn't belong to Alexia...

They belonged to his real father.

For years, Maximus had debated whether or not to tell Paul the truth. But now, Alexia was gone. There was no real reason to bring it up.

Besides, he had never known who Paul's father was. And he didn't want this

secret to come back to haunt him someday.

Yet, the truth was far from what he believed.

Paul's real father had never forgotten about him.

Pierre Legrand Bouygues had spent years trying to convince Alexia to let him meet his son. But she, just like Maximus, believed that if Pierre had never been in Paul's life, he had no right to suddenly show up and disrupt his peace.

[Versailles, France]

"Good morning, my love! How are you feeling today?" Pierre said as he walked to the window of the luxurious bedroom.noveldrama

Alexia slowly opened her eyes, squinting at the bright sunlight that hurt her vision.

Pierre had spent a fortune on the best doctors to treat her injuries, but the most they had managed to do was slightly improve the mobility of her already semi- functional hand.

"I don't understand why you insist on reminding me every day that the world

keeps moving forward while I'm stuck here," Alexia said tiredly.

"My love, I know you think of this as punishment, but it's not. Life is beautiful, and

you should be grateful," Pierre replied gently.

"Pierre, life is beautiful for you! You

can walk, run, live freely! I can't. I can't even lift a damn foot without help! Don't you think it would've been better if you had just let me go?" she said, her voice breaking witho frustration.

"No, Alexia. You don't understand. Life is beautiful. I am happy with you by my side. You will never understand, but I have always loved you. You are my life. You are my world," Pierre said, pressing @kiss to her forehead.

Alexia sometimes wondered if this man's sanity was intact.

No matter how much she tried to reason with him, Pierre always came back to the same thing—his love for her, as if that was the only thing that mattered.

"Pierre... can't you see that I'm tired?" she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I'm tired of living. I'm tired of hoping that one day, I'll wake up and this nightmare will be over."

"Alexia, I keep telling you—I won't stop until we find a cure. I know there's a way. Maybe you won't be exactly as you were before, but I know there's hope."