Chapter 0850
Two weeks had passed, and Peter still showed no interest in speaking to or seeing Maximus or Celeste. The hospital, which had once been filled with family and friends waiting outside his room, was now only visited by Alden- and occasionally, Marcus.
Celeste tried to stay calm and positive, but in this situation she wasn’t sure how much optimism she could muster.
After what Peter had told her, she had stayed away from the hospital. At first, Alden insisted that she visit, but one day, Celeste confided in Serenity, telling her everything Peter had said. After that, neither Alden nor Serenity pushed her to go anymore.
Alden decided not to pressure her further. Instead, he focused on visiting his father, who was getting stronger with each passing day. Soon, he would be discharged, and it would finally be time to confront everything that had been left unresolved.
Spending all that time alone in the hospital had forced Peter to process the overwhelming amount of information about his life.
Marcus had visited him regularly, updating him on everything that had happened–including how he had played a role in restoring their family name.
That was something Peter should have been proud of.
But what shook him the most was learning that he and Maximus weren’t blood brothers.
It hit him like a bucket of ice–cold water.
“Peter, your investigation helped Moriarty put the right people behind bars. Your father was one of them,” Marcus had told him.
Days passed, and finally, Peter decided it was time to stop acting like a child. He needed to talk to his brother. Maximus was shocked when he received Peter’s call. It was unexpected, especially because, for the first time, Peter actually wanted to see him.
“Come in,” Peter said, standing by the window when Maximus arrived.
“Peter…” Maximus greeted cautiously.
Peter turned around and looked at his brother.
For some reason, the first time he had seen him, he had judged him too quickly. But now, as he truly took in Maximus’s appearance, he could see the difference. His brother looked older, more mature–the gray in his hair and the weight of time on his face made it clear that life had moved forward without him.
“Let’s take a walk in the garden. I’m sick of being stuck in here,” Peter said, his voice noticeably different from the first time they spoke.
“Alright.”
They took the elevator down, and while they stood in silence, Maximus desperately searched for something to say -anything to break the tension.
Once they stepped outside, Peter spoke first.
“Maximus, tell me… How the hell did we become so close? I’ve been thinking about it, and I just can’t understand it. The last thing I remember is us not speaking after our fight about Alexia.”
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Chapter 0850
“Peter, come on, let’s sit over there. This is going to take a while,” Maximus said, motioning toward a bench. Peter followed, and they sat down for what would be a long conversation.
They talked about everything that had happened between them in their younger years. Even though they had already discussed it many times before, this time was different. This time, they both understood that they couldn’t keep carrying the weight of the past.
Maximus knew that if he wanted a real future with his brother and their family, he had to be completely honest. And so, he was.
After a while, Peter leaned back, covering his eyes with his hand.
“So all of that happened?” he muttered, trying to absorb everything Maximus had told him.
“Yeah… Things have changed a lot from what you remember.”
Peter let out a long breath before speaking again.
“Maximus… I don’t feel ready. I don’t know how to handle the fact that I’m a father, a grandfather… That before my surgery, I promised to get married… and now, I’m going to be a father again,” he admitted, staring into the distance.
Maximus sighed, understanding his brother’s turmoil.
“If I’m being honest, no one knows how to handle these things. In your case, you didn’t raise Alden from birth, but I can assure you–since the moment you came into his life, you’ve left a mark on him.”
“He’s an incredible man. He’s taken responsibility not just for his own family but also for my kids and even Marcus’s son–something neither you nor I could have done at his age.”
“Really?” Peter asked, genuinely surprised.
“Yeah. I wouldn’t lie to you about this. Your son is a good man. There’s a reason why you, me, and even Marcus all approved of him marrying our daughter.”
“Our daughter… That still sounds so strange to say,” Peter murmured, his voice heavy with emotion.
“One step at a time, brother. No one said this would be easy. But the important thing is that you’re alive. Nothing else matters more than that.”
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