"Miss, we should leave now," Benson, her bodyguard, urged."Relax, Benson. I’m almost done," Laura said calmly, crouching down in front of Alice, who was still on the ground. "Listen carefully, Alice. Never. And I mean never refer to my daughter like that again. Because I promise you—you don’t want
Laura arrived home, and though the drive had given her time to calm down, she was still shocked by everything she had said. She had researched Alice George before, but she never imagined she would actually use that information to intimidate her.Without meaning to, she had proven that a part of her
After that long conversation between Laura and Magnus, the latter went to Maximus’s study, found a number, and made a call."Joseph George..." Magnus said into the phone."Magnus? What a surprise! This is amazing. A call?" said a raspy voice on the other end of the line."I wish I could say the same
Maximus, Diana, and Adele arrived home. Little Adele was completely exhausted—her day out had been long and tiring. For Maximus, spending time with his granddaughter filled his heart and eased the anxiety of what was coming.Laura heard her father arrive and immediately left her room to see him.“Da
"Come here," Maximus said, opening his arms.Laura walked over and hugged him."My girl… Never apologize for standing your ground. Never—hear me? Never apologize for defending what’s yours. Honestly, I can’t picture the scene, but I wish I could’ve seen it.""Dad… This is embarrassing. I’ve never ac
Another day passed at the Evans residence. The family was gathered for breakfast while Diana ran around in a rush, realizing she was running late for work. Maximus, ever the bad influence, kept telling his future wife not to worry so much, but it was impossible—Diana was always incredibly respectful
"Dad?""Come in," Maximus said, still checking his inbox."What’s going on, Maximus? Why all the secrecy?""Alright… Serenity’s wedding is over, and Lucius, I know you’ll be heading back to New Zealand soon. Moriarty won’t give me another extension, so we need to move forward with whatever decision
As if fate itself wanted to set things in motion, the time had come. Laura, Lucius, and Maximus left the house together.The younger siblings saw them go, but they didn’t think much of it. Lately, the three of them had been leaving without saying where they were going, so this time didn’t seem any d
After Maximus said goodbye to Pierre, he went back into the mansion and headed straight to his son's room. Paul was lying on his bed, facing away from the door."Paul, can I come in?" Maximus asked gently."You're already in, Dad… Are you here to scold me for something that happened years ago?" Paul
"That's right. I'd like to speak with him alone, if you don't mind, Mr. Evans.""I think you're misunderstanding something. Letting you into my home doesn't mean you get to decide whether I'm in the conversation or not. Still, I'm trying to be reasonable—and if Paul wants to speak with you alone, on
Not too thrilled about it, Paul left his room and headed toward the garden, where a man was already waiting for him—one who didn't look his age. And to be honest, the resemblance between young Paul and the man was unmistakable.As soon as he heard footsteps approaching, the man—already sipping a cup
Time had flown by. The Bartzes were about to leave, and with them, Serenity and Alden. In just a week, everything would change again. It was clear that once the Bartzes returned to Hesperia, the families in Valentia would start making moves too. As everyone already knew, Theodore would stay in Flor
She was still holding her bridal bouquet—hadn't even had the chance to toss it. And even if she had, there would've been no one to catch it, since the whole wedding had been so secret and closed-off.Mary walked behind him, trying to catch up. She didn't understand why he was so upset."Mary, there'
She ended the call. She could feel her grandson was suffering because of the mistakes he'd made, but she couldn't give him the same kind of affection she used to when he was a child.This time, he hadn't just fallen—he'd hurt someone else. And not just once. He'd hurt her both physically and emotion
[The past]Mary woke up after a long nap. Peter had been right—the lavender oil had really relaxed her.Maybe it was the move, maybe it was having Grandma Catherine and Peter around, or maybe it was just that she knew she had to be strong so she could recover quickly and see her grandfather again—bu
"Mr. Palmer, I know you came here looking for something that might stop me from seeing my daughter. But I can assure you—if there's one thing I've always been, it's stubborn. I didn't even listen to my own parents—at least not until they finally found a way to tie me down..."And I won't back down f
Maximus looked at the young man, stared him in the eyes—and saw exactly what he'd been hoping to see. After receiving the full report on Adrian's life, he already knew the guy was telling the truth. At moments, he could even see himself reflected in the young man. Though, if he was being honest, Ad