My Love Until the Last Goodbye (Mary and Maximus)

"What chance, love?" Celeste asked, not quite understanding what he meant.

"You gave me the chance to be a father. To watch my blood grow day by day. You gave me the chance to see two little pieces of me come to life. I love seeing your face in our daughters. I love how, even though they're identical, they're already so different in personality.

"I really do love them with everything I am-and everything I have," Peter said, glancing at his daughters in the rearview mirror, then at the woman by his side.

"Thank you, Peter..." Celeste said, her eyes welling with tears.

"Why are you thanking me?" he asked, gently wiping a tear from her cheek.

"For coming back for me. For being persistent. For ignoring me when I tried to push you away. For being there when I needed you most. For being stubborn, for being you... Thank you.

"And I mean it—if you hadn't insisted... honestly, I don't know how I would've managed alone with the girls," she said, her voice catching as she remembered those first lonely days in Willowcombe after coming back from Slovenia.

"I love you, Celeste. And it's that love that makes me want to be the best version of myself for you and for them.

"I might not remember my past, but please know that today, I would never do anything to hurt you or our daughters. I just want a happy life with you, with my girls, with our family.

"I want quiet afternoons lying under that big ash tree in the backyard. I want breakfast as a family. I want evenings by your side, with our daughters. I love every night we spend together, making love until we can't take anymore. I love your passion, your devotion, the woman you are. I love you, my Celeste—and I'm at peace with the life we've built."

Peter understood the weight of his words. No one-not even Theodore, his closest confidant-knew the secret he had vowed to take to the grave.

Because one random night, while he and Celeste were asleep, Peter had woken up drenched in sweat, shaken by a dream that felt far too vivid to ignore. His mind had taken him back to a moment-one he hadn't remembered in years. A day when Mary and he had once again seen Albert Preston, her grandfather.

That day had been one of Mary's happiest.

But what made the dream so strange was what he saw within it: a woman he now recognized as Valeria-his best friend's wife-holding his hand, looking at him with love.

And that dream hadn't been a dream.

It was a memory.

When he felt the tightness in his chest from what he saw, he got up, put on his pajamas, and left the room. He went to check on his daughters, who were sleeping on their backs, peaceful as ever.noveldrama

Just watching them calmed something in him-gave him a serenity nothing else could.

He stood there for a long while, just admiring them. And once he felt settled, he returned to his bedroom There, he saw Celeste, fast asleep and bare under the sheets. He watched her silently, not touching her, not saying a word.

Then he stepped out onto the balcony, letting the night air clear his head. He knew it wasn't just a dream. Everything in it had felt too

real. It had been a memory-of a life

he once lived but had since been

taken from him by fate.

Finally, after sitting with the weight of it for a long while, he smiled faintly and looked up at the sky.

"So it was you... You're the one who never let me rest... Oh, Mary. How fast time flies," he whispered to the stars.

He turned to glance back inside the room, where the silhouette of the woman he now loved lay peacefully.

And that was when it truly clicked for him.

Mary's happy ending had been

found-with his best friend and her family. And his happy ending... it was right there in that bed, in the form of the woman he adored and the daughters he loved beyond words.

From that night on, Peter finally felt at peace. Because even though he had

everything, there had always been a subtle restlessness inside him—something unspoken that lingered in the background.

Now, at last, he could breathe easy.