Chapter 0296
“Mary, tell me… why?”
Mary could see how hard he was trying to control his anger. She knew the truth would eventually come out, but she had always avoided thinking about it.
“Peter knew, didn’t he?”
“Yes,”
Maximus took a deep breath, exhaling slowly to keep calm. It was something he had learned to do during his marriage to Alexia to avoid losing his temper during their endless arguments.
The fact that Peter knew and had decided to keep it a secret with Mary wasn’t surprising. It was just another consequence of the absurd rivalry between the brothers. He knew Mary too well–she wasn’t capable of something like this on her own. She might have left the country or denied him access to his daughter, but lying about her paternity? That was too cruel.
But Peter? Peter was perfectly capable of proposing such a scheme to her. And Maximus didn’t blame him. He knew that if he’d found out his ex–wife was pregnant back then, he would have left Alexia, taken responsibility for the baby, and tried to fix things with Mary.
“What are you planning to do with this?” Mary asked, her voice filled with curiosity as she looked at Maximus’s back.
After a long silence, Maximus finally spoke.
“I’m going to give her what she’s entitled to–her inheritance.” His tone was cold but steady.
Mary understood what that meant: Maximus wouldn’t reveal the truth.
“Mary, I’m only going to ask you one thing,” Maximus said, turning to face her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and locked eyes with her. You denied me the chance to be her father. Don’t deny me the chance to be her uncle. I want to be part of her life, even if it’s just as her uncle. She met my daughter, and they got along really well. I’d like them to keep seeing each other. I want her to know that just as she has a father in Marcus, she also has an uncle in me.”
At that moment, Mary saw the same spark in Maximus’s eyes that she had seen when she first fell in love with him. It was the look he had when they had those few precious conversations after she first arrived in Valentia, still just a naïve young girl.
“Maximus… I…” Mary tried to say something, but no words came out.
“I won’t say anything, I promise. I won’t deny I’m angry, but knowing Serenity is my daughter… it makes me happy. At least something beautiful came out of us. Not everything was ruined Serenity is beautiful. If Catherine had met her, she would’ve adored her. On the other hand, it hurts to think that there’s nothing left of my brother. Despite everything, I loved him. If Serenity had been his daughter, it would have given me something to hold onto.
Valerie was in shock. She had expected Maximus to explode with rage. When he raised his voice earlier, she feared for her safety. But seeing this side of him now, she couldn’t shake the guilt gnawing at her.
“Mary, I love you. It took me a long time to admit it, but I do. My worst punishment is watching you with someone who values you–someone who gave you wings instead of dipping them. I never should’ve treated you the way I did. I never had the courage to admit my mistakes when we were together. I could’ve stopped myself so many times, but I didn’t. Life taught me in the worst way that I was wrong, And now, my life… well, my life isn’t anything like what I imagined it would be.”
+25 BONUS
Chapter 0296
Maximus stepped dangerously close to Mary, and before she could react, he grabbed her by the waist and kissed her. It was warm and unhurried. She froze, unsure how to respond, but something dormant inside her stirred. A single kiss, lasting only seconds, felt like an eternity to her.
