My Love Until the Last Goodbye (Mary and Maximus)

After a long and intense afternoon, all the Bartz, Palmer, and now Evans women were finally satisfied with the idea of that beautiful dress. Time was running out— only six days remained until the wedding-but the team Marcus Bartz had hired was professional and, of course, well-paid for their services. There was nothing to worry about.

After wrapping up that exhausting day, Marcus returned the children he had been looking after, promising himself never to get into such a mess again.

Celeste, though she would have loved to chat with Aurora a bit longer, had to leave. Her little ones were restless, and it was time to go home. They exchanged phone numbers before she left with Aria, Diana, Danielle, and the newly acquainted Ellie, whom John had just introduced.

Serenity, on the other hand, had already let them know she wouldn't be coming home that night, which meant Alden had the evening off. He took the opportunity to go out with Adam, who excitedly talked about how captivated he was by the country. He also took the chance to ask about his father, which surprised Alden- he was still trying to process the shock.noveldrama

Adam was the spitting image of Theodore, just much younger, more easygoing, always smiling and full of energy.

Valerie looked around her house, which had been full of people all day and still was. That sight filled her with satisfaction, and her thoughts drifted to the past-to the reason she and Marcus had come back here in the first place.

"My love... You look exhausted!" Valerie said, watching her husband.

"I'm dead! Next time, I'm hiring a nanny team too. In fact, I'll hire them for the wedding. Taking care of three big kids and four babies... At least Laura's daughter didn't come, or imagine that."

"By the way, has our daughter left already?" Marcus asked, looking a bit puzzled.

"No, Marcus, she's still downstairs with Laura. The only one who left was Celeste, along with her mother-in-law and the others. The girls looked tired and a little uncomfortable."

Valerie felt a strange sensation as she said that, but she knew she had to get used to it. Once they returned to Hesperia, Peter would become nothing more than a memory.

"Oh! So Serenity's staying over?" Marcus asked, intrigued.

"Yes, she wants to spend these days with us. She knows that after the wedding, we'll be heading to Hesperia for a few weeks to sort out everything for our move."

"Yeah, but we'll come back to Valentia. We'll stay until the baby is born, and after that, we'll finally set a date to go home for good," Marcus said, laying out his plans.

Valerie knew how hard it was for

how

Marcus to be away from his

daughter but staying in this country

was complicated for both of

them not just because of the present, but because of the past as weff. Even though Marcus seemed calmer now, this place was no

longer his home. His best moments were elsewhere, and that place was Hesperia.

"Hey... Guess what?" Valerie said, her face glowing with excitement.

"What?" Marcus responded immediately.

"We finally have the dress design! Serenity is going to look stunning. We found a way to use my wedding dresses," Valerie said enthusiastically.

"Your dresses?" Marcus asked, intrigued.

"Yeah, Maximus sent the dress I wore when we got married. We're only going to take a few details from it, and from ours, we'll use most of the embellishments," Valerie said, downplaying the situation.

Marcus shook his head.

"What's wrong?" Valerie asked, curious.

Qu

"Nothing, sweetheart. It's just that I'm still not used to Maximus being part of our daughter's life. I mean, with Peter, he's technically his father-in-law, but with the othe one. He and I will never be that close, and you know it. So, it's just a bit hard for me," Marcus admitted, a hint of jealousy in his voice but mostly sincerity.

"My love, my darling, I know we still have things to work through, but it was important for Serenity too. And if my little girl is happy with it, I can't say no to her," Valerie said, looking into her husband's eyes.

"Hey! But you have to save part of the dress. Carrie is still little, and I know it's inevitable that one day she'll come to me saying, 'I'm getting married,"" Marcus said with irony.

"Yes, Marcus, they're going to return whatever's left of the dress, don't worry. And yes, I know Carrie will grow up and might want to get. married someday, but that's sti years away. For now, just enjoy your little baby girl," Valerie said before giving him a tender kiss, which slowly turned into something more.