My Love Until the Last Goodbye (Mary and Maximus)

"You said it yourself—if I wanted to, I could've hit her back. But I won't. I don't want to. And I refuse to let this situation escalate any further. Look at me now-I have stitches in my head. Who knows what will happen next? I'd rather put an end to this now."

"Adrian! You don't have to air our business in front of my grandfather!" Alice snapped, offended.

"I can and I will, because this is over. I can't do this anymore. You act like we should all worship the ground you walk on, but I won't anymore. If you want someone to pay for our family's debts, go talk to my father-he's the one who agreed to this marriage, he's the one who took the money. Not me."

Joseph listened to Adrian, and little by little, his earlier assumptions faded. The young man was right. When Joseph himself was young, he had built a strong marriage. But as his children grew up, they became more demanding, more entitled, expecting the lavish lifestyle to continue without lifting a finger.

After a moment of contemplation, the old man finally spoke.

"Adrian, your family took out a lot of money after your wedding. And you're right- you shouldn't have to pay for their choices. But I have a proposal for you."

Adrian remained silent, listening.

"Stay with my granddaughter, and everything-the George fortune, our entire legacy-will be yours. You'll have full control. You'll decide what stays, what goes. Looking at you, I see a bit of my late eldest son in you—the one who could have led this family."

"I know keeping my granddaughter as a wife would be a punishment. Frankly, I'd want to run, too. But what I'm offering is no small thing. Think about it, and let me know your decision."

Then, turning back to Alice, he added coldly, "And you, you spoiled little brat, I already told you-not a single cent more. Not until you prove you're worthy of carrying my last name."

Alice looked at him in disbelief. "Grandpa, are you seriously taking that bitch's side?"

"Of course I am! I'll take whichever side I damn well please! What I do―or don't do-is my damn decision, and you have no say in it, you entitled little brat!"

"Grandpa! You can't do this to me! I'll talk to my father-he'll fix this!" Alice shrieked, her face red with rage.

At that moment, Joseph, fed up with his granddaughter's nonsense, slapped her across the face.

Adrian flinched in shock. "What the hell, Grandpa?"

"This is something yournoveldrama

father

should have done a long time ago!"

the old man roared. "But no-he

preferred to spoil you, to let you believ@you're entitled to everything. Tell me, what exactly have you done to deserve the George fortune? You're nothing! You're no one! You never cared to study, never wanted to work. We only married you off because we saw an opportunity for someone else to take responsibility for you.

"But in reality? You are not indispensable to this family."

Alice was speechless. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. The man who had always supported her, who had always ensured she had everything she wanted, was now speaking to her like she wasa stranger.

What she didn't know was that everything she had ever enjoyed bad come from him, not her parents. It was Joseph George's money that had given her the life she lived-not her father's, not her mother's.

Once his harsh reprimand was over, Joseph got up, ready to leave. It was already past midnight, and he still needed to return home. Before leaving, he placed a firm hand on Adrian's shoulder and said:

"Think about what I said. You can have everything—but the condition is that you stay with this spoiled brat and forget about the Evanses. That includes your daughter. You decide."