My Love Until the Last Goodbye (Mary and Maximus) novel Chapter 966

The afternoon was lively and long. Several dress designs were considered and discarded, and between rounds of desserts and non-alcoholic drinks, everyone was busy helping Serenity with advice, laughter, and heartfelt moments. Anyone who witnessed the gathering would have been surprised—because in that room were the wives of the men who had shaped Valerie’s life.

Yet, despite their complicated histories, they were all here simply as guests, all for the sake of Serenity’s happiness. Without realizing it, she had managed to bring together two families that otherwise would never have crossed paths again.

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While the women were busy in the salon, Marcus was doing his best to take care of all the kids. Thankfully, John, Ethan, and Ellie were easy—they only needed to be fed and entertained, as they were well-behaved.

The real challenge was the babies.

If one woke up crying, the rest would soon follow in a perfectly synchronized chorus of wails.

"John, can you pass me the wipes? I think one of these little ones desperately needs a diaper change," Marcus said, sniffing each baby without picking them up.

He knew that one wrong move would set off a chain reaction of crying, and then he’d have to bottle-feed, rock, and soothe four babies back to sleep.

"Dad, be careful. And the one who needs a change is my sister, Caroline," John said proudly.

"How do you know? I was just starting to check," Marcus asked, a little lost. Watching over two babies was one thing, but keeping track of four, plus three older kids, was starting to get confusing.

"She gets fussy when her diaper is wet or when she, you know… poops," John said like a total expert.

"So, you've become an expert on your siblings, huh?" Marcus asked, filled with pride.

"Well, you always run off, Dad… So I have to pay attention because both babies are the same," John said matter-of-factly. "Hey, Dad… Are we really moving to Hesperia?"

"If you like her, you don’t need to do anything special. Just be yourself, my boy. Don’t pretend to be someone else," Marcus said, finishing up Caroline’s diaper change. "Come here, sit on my lap."

John hesitated but climbed onto his father’s knee.

"What’s wrong, Dad?" he asked, looking a little embarrassed.

"If you like Ellie, then just play with her. Get to know her. Maybe there's something specific about her that you like—her eyes, the way her mom does her hair, how she looks in overalls, or maybe just how she acts. That’s all fine. But that doesn’t mean you or Ethan need to do anything extraordinary. Just be yourselves, okay?" Marcus said, hugging his son and kissing the top of his head.

Marcus couldn’t help but reflect on the moment. John was still so young, and maybe he had a little crush on Ellie—but there was no reason to worry. The best thing was to let the kids get to know each other naturally. After all, John was still a little boy who played with stuffed animals. There was no need to rush things or complicate them—especially since both John and Ethan seemed to have taken a liking to Ellie.

"Come on, let’s go outside for a bit. You, Ethan, and Ellie can play in the garden. The babies are settled for now, so I’ll just take the monitor and watch over all of you from the balcony," Marcus said, standing up and taking John’s hand.