My Love Until the Last Goodbye (Mary and Maximus) novel Chapter 918

Aria lived in peace for a while, but after turning 23, she found out that Leonardo was looking for her—and that he was close. From one day to the next, her father, the man who had forgotten about her for years, suddenly reappeared and moved her to a different convent. It became a pattern. Roman took pleasure in leaving clues for Leonardo, making him believe he was getting closer, only to move Aria again at the last moment. It was his twisted way of exacting revenge for the past.

He had never gotten over the fact that his family had nearly secured a place among France’s aristocracy. He had never overcome the humiliation. Money didn’t matter. The fact that he was now rich didn’t matter. The dream of reaching the top consumed him, and he never allowed Leonardo to find Aria—at least, not until Leonardo discovered what he was doing and orchestrated his death. A slow and painful one.

If there was one thing Leonardo excelled at, it was patience. He was calculating. He simply set things in motion, and everything played out according to his will. Roman died in a fit of rage after being bitten by a rat—one that Leonardo had personally chosen for him. How did he do it? No one knew. But if there was one thing the man had, it was creativity.

Because of her father’s vengeance, Aria had lived in misery, hidden away from the world. Looking back, even though he hadn’t killed her, it was as if he had. By the time Leonardo saw her again, Aria was 54 years old—a weary, broken woman, nothing like the bright, cheerful girl he had once known.

Leonardo tried to stay close to her, not as a lover, but as someone he needed to protect. He wanted to give her a bit of the peace he had never been able to before. But Aria couldn’t bear being around him—not after seeing the photos he showed her of Peter, their son. The child she had never held, never seen.

Peter was the spitting image of Leonardo.

The weight of everything she had lost was unbearable. She had never seen her son’s first steps. Never nursed him. Never cared for him when he was sick. She didn’t blame Leonardo. In fact, she was grateful to him. But she couldn’t pretend as if nothing had happened. Not when she had spent 37 years in silence. Not when, at 17, her own father had killed her in every way that mattered.

Aria had heard of the City of Everstone from her mother, who had told her about the little town known as "The Dying City." People called it that because of its fragile foundation, slowly crumbling away. Aria’s mother had admired it for its resilience, for the way it refused to disappear. She had also loved the fact that only a single bridge connected it to the outside world—no cars, no transportation. If you wanted to reach it, you had to walk.

It had been her mother’s dream to take Aria there one day. That dream never came true.

So, one day, Aria decided that if she was going to die alone, she would do it in The Dying City. Her life had ended before it ever truly began. The least she could do was choose where to wait for the end.

"All done, sweetheart! Tia is as good as new." Aria handed the rag doll back to the little girl, who, for some reason, had come to trust her deeply.

"Aria? Hey, have you seen—?" A younger woman appeared, out of breath. "You little rascal! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!" She turned to Aria. "Sorry, Aria! She took off while I was busy, and of course, the first thing I thought was that she’d be here."

"Don’t worry! We just had a very difficult surgery. Tia had a broken arm," Aria said calmly.