My Love Until the Last Goodbye by Alut

Maximus knew full well that his daughter was going through a pivotal moment in her life. He could see it clearly -just as his children grew, so did their problems.

All he could do now was pray to every saint he could think of, asking for the wisdom to guide them the best way he could.

Maximus had already looked into Adrian Brown. In fact, he started digging the moment his daughter told him she wanted the father of her child to have skind of relationship with the baby. So, in secret, he had investigated the young man's entire background.

To be honest, Maximus didn't feel like he had the moral high ground to call him out. Considering his own past with Mary, he was probably the last person who could throw stones. But this was his daughter-and for her, he had to step in.

After giving it a lot of thought, he decided it was tto have a man-to-man conversation with the boy. Without telling anyone, he reached out to Adrian. The young man was both surprised by how calm Maximus sounded... and a little terrified by that scalm.

Adrian had heard of Maximus Palmer-and not in a good way. In fact, his cousin Antonia had given him sof the worst impressions about the man. But after the truth cout about her, it was clear there were a lot of shades to the stories surrounding him.

In the end, if Adrian truly wanted to be a part of his daughter's life, he had to go through this test. He had to show that his intentions with Maximus Palmer's granddaughter were sincere, and that what he really wanted was to make up for lost tat least with his child.

"So, you finally decided to meet with that kid?" Peter asked, with a touch of irony.

"Yeah. I'm seeing him today. I really hope he shows up. If he doesn't... then it'll be obvious that he only shows his face when my daughter's alone." "Does Laura know about this?" "Of course not." "Why not tell her?" "Peter, the day your little princesses becteenagers, you'll understand that sthings are meant to be talked out man to man. In this case, the kid-like you called him—I haven't even had a proper conversation with him. So what I'm trying to do here isn't to scare him... I just want to see how he reacts.

"His reaction will tella lot. From that, I'll decide whether he gets to meet my granddaughter or whether I pay him off to disappear from their lives entirely." "Hmm. What can I say? I'm absolutely sure my karma is my girls. I can already see myself a few years from now chasing off all their boyfriends. And it's going to be double trouble with twins... But I do know that if I just make the sface you're making now, more than one will think twice before getting close." "Well, you know all the tricks guys use to charm innocent girls. So it's best you start preparing yours for what's coming." "Yeah, as soon as they start saying they like slittle boy at preschool, I'm going to start training them to spot the fake ones from the real deal." "Don't you think that's a bit much?" "No! Absolutely not! Don't you remember that I was a little flirt myself as a kid?" "Well, yeah, but... you were a kid." "Exactly. But even then, there are heartbreakers in the making. I can't afford to have one of my girls get hurt at age three." "Peter, I think you're overdoing it. But fine... I know I'm not going to change your mind." A couple hours later, Maximus arrived at the bar where he had arranged to meet Adrian. He had planned to get there early to catch him off guard.

But to his surprise, sitting at a corner table in that sbar Peter once took him to... was Adrian, already waiting for him.

"Good evening, Brown." "Mr. Palmer... G-Good evening," the young man stammered, trying to stand up.

Maximus noticed right away that the young man was using crutches.

"What happened to you?" he asked, though he already knew the story.

"An accident," Adrian replied, brushing it off.

"Don't givethat crap, Brown. Don't try to play me," Maximus said, watching the young man's reaction closely.

"Well, I guess you already know the story. And if you're calling it a lie, I'm assuming you've hadinvestigated. Am I wrong?" Adrian shot back, visibly annoyed.

"Sit down, Brown... You're right. So you already know you can't lie to me. I know my daughter's agreed to let you see my granddaughter.

"If it were up to me, honestly, I'd be the one making that decision. But the truth is, Laura is an adult. She knows how to make her own choices. So far, she's done well with that. But I wanted us to meet because there are a few things I need to put on the table." "Fair enough, sir. I know there's a lot we need to talk about and-" Adrian started, clearly nervous in the presence of Maximus.

"What would you like to drink?" Maximus asked, studying every move the young man made.

"Sparkling water's fine for me," Adrian replied. Maximus didn't fully believe him but went ahead and ordered what he asked for anyway.

"Alright, kid. I think this conversation should've happened months ago," Maximus said, downing his drink in one go.

"I'm listening, Mr. Palmer," Adrian said, trying to keep his cool.

"It'd be pretty hypocritical ofto sit here and call you a piece of trash, A hurt father could say a lot of things... but if I look back at my own past, I wouldn't exactly call myself a model citizen either. "Now tellsomething. What do you really want out of meeting your daughter? What are your intentions? Or better yet, just tellhow much do you want?" "What?" the young man replied, completely caught off guard.

"Yeah, tell me. How much do you want to walk away, disappear, and never cnear my girls again?" Maximus said, watching Adrian's every reaction.

"Mr. Palmer, I'm well aware that you know I don't have a cent to my name.

my! So I get that you think I'd take a check with a lot of zeroes and just vanish-walk away from my responsibility.

"But I'm afraid you're way off base. It's true-I've got nothing to offer my daughter right now. Sometimes! have money, sometimes I don't. But once my foot heals, I'll go out, get a ve job, and whatever I earn no matter how little-it'll go to her. "I know I'll never be able to give her what you can. You could buy her the best of everything. But believe me... whatever I do give her, it'll cwith all my love and my whole heart." Maximus watched him closely-the look in Adrian's eyes said exactly the sthing his words did. Over the years, Maximus had becan expert at reading people-clients, business rivals, liars, manipulators. Reading this young man was child's play.