My Love Until the Last Goodbye by Alut

[Sometime later]

"What are you thinking about, sweetheart?" Maximus asked as he approached Laura.

"Nothing, Dad. Why?"

"Come on, Laura. I'm older than you-I can tell when something's weighing on you," he said, watching how she tried to avoid his gaze.

"Dad... did you ever doubt the love you had for Mom?"

That caught Maximus off guard. And if he was honest with himself, it hadn't just been once-there were many times he'd questioned his feelings for Alexia.

"Yeah... I think I did. Why do you ask?"

"Okay... I'll tell you, but promise you won't judge me," Laura said, glancing at him nervously.

"When have I ever done that?"

"Never..." she admitted quietly.

"Then? I'm your dad, Laura. I'm here no matter what-whether I agree with your choices or not."

said, her voice barely

figured," Maximus replied

"What?" Laura asked, surprised.

the only guy I've seen who can leave you like

"Dad..."

asked gently, encouraging her to open

Adele-how much he protects her. We've talked a lot. At first, I thought giving him a second chance would be easy, but... sometimes I'm not sure. I don't want him waiting around forever, not

you feel. What's your heart telling you?" Maximus asked,

"What do you mean?"

near him? I mean, the guy's not exactly hard on the eyes. And Adele? She's the perfect mix of you both. But all of that's surface-level.

think

Don't think this isn't a maybe.

we're together with Adele, I feel calm. And when he takes my hand... I don't know, I feel

we go out, we do things I haven't done in ages. We go to the movies-kids' movies, of course-but seeing

forever. Trust me, when I think about who I was at

"Seriously?"

And Adrian-though it might leave a bitter taste in my mouth to say this-Sa good man. I've seen how hard he works, and honestly 'm proud he's the father of your daughter. It means you made a good choice back then. Sure, he's made mistakes-so have I. So

But you gave