My Love Until the Last Goodbye (Mary and Maximus)

Lucius frowned, staring at his father in shock. "Where did this man even come from? How do you know he's telling the truth?"

Maximus sighed, clearly uncomfortable. "He knew your mother, Lucius... He even knew about Paul from the moment he was conceived."

"Dad! How could this even happen? Paul.....” Laura trailed off, struggling to process the revelation.

“Laura, Lucius..... Honestly, I never thought this would have to come out. Your mother and I weren't the best couple. We made a lot of mistakes, but you kids... I could never regret bringing you into this world. And now, with this..." Maximus clenched his jaw, clearly upset.

"I know your mother and I handled things poorly, and now it's blowing up in my face. But I need you both to understand whether Paul is my biological son or not doesn't matter to me. I love him, just like I love each of you," he said, his frustration evident.

"Maximus... He needs to take a paternity test. You should take one too," Lucius said firmly.

"I don't need to. As I told you, I already took the test a year ago with everyone except you. That's how I found out Paul wasn't mine. But that doesn't change anything. Paul is my son and always will be," Maximus said, standing up and walking over to his safe.

"Dad, I think Lucius is right. That man has to take a test. How else will we know for sure that he's really Paul's father?" Laura said, placing a hand on her father's back.

Maximus wanted to resist, but deep down, he knew they were right. The story the man had told him lined up-there was no reason for it to be false. Not to mention the unmistakable physical resemblance, even down to a birthmark that had been passed down for generations.

"The wedding is tomorrow, right?" Lucius said thoughtfully. "Yes."

"Well, Amanda and I weren't planning on attending. We can use that time to do the damn test and have the results by the evening. All I need to do is talk to this supposed father..."

"He lives in France," Maximus pointed out.

"Then Amanda and I will fly out," Lucius said decisively.

"Lucius, what are you trying to do?" Laura asked, worried.

"Nothing! I just want to know the truth. Why is this man suddenly showing up

now? Why didn't he come forward before?"

"Because your mother forbade him," Maximus said bitterly.

"What?" Laura's eyes widened in shock.

"We all know how your mother was. I

know she wouldn't have done

jel

anything to hurt you. She wasn't the best mother, but she didn't want this man showing up and turning everything upside down," Maximus said, trying to soften the blame.

Cóntent belongs to

"Dad..." Laura whispered.

“Laura, Lucius..... I told you this because you're his older siblings. If it were up to me, I never would've brought this up. This secret would've died with me," Maximus said in a tone so serious there was no room for doubt.

"So what? Are you just going to let this guy walk in and take Paul?" Lucius asked, his anger obvious.

"Of course not! But tell me, what the hell can I do? The bastard is part of the French aristocracy. He's never had another child-Paul is his only son. If he wanted to, he could take legal action and rip him away from me. I won't let that happen! Čontent belongs to

"I don't want him coming here and just taking him. I don't want Paul to end up hating us. And if he leaves... I don't think I could—” Maximus stopped, his voice breaking with frustration.

"So what now?" Lucius asked, clearly unsettled.noveldrama

Maximus walked over to Lucius, placing his hands firmly on his son's shoulders.

"Lucius, I know you won't understand my decisions, but you need to know something... I don't want to repeat the mistakes that were made with me.

"For years, I watched you go back and forth between your grandfather Frank's house and my father's house. At first, I thought it was fine-I was too focused on the business. But over time, I realized something... You weren't mine.

"Your grandfathers shaped your character, they erased every trace of warmth from you. And now you're far away, but at least I take comfort in knowing that Moriarty turned out to be a good man... Right?" Maximus said, his voice filled with sincerity.