My Love Until the Last Goodbye (Mary and Maximus) novel Chapter 819

After thinking it all through, I knew I couldn’t leave her alone. If something happened to me, all my wealth would go to her. My children would never be left unprotected, and she would never have to worry about money again. But that wasn’t enough. I didn’t want to leave her alone to raise our children by herself. For them, for her, and for myself—I had to survive this.

Now I finally understood where she had learned to make that cinnamon coffee I loved so much. The thought lingered in my mind as I was wheeled out of the room, and just before we passed through the door, I heard her say, "Remember that we love you!"

For the first time in my life, I was going into surgery with a room full of people—people who weren’t doctors or nurses—waiting and hoping for me to make it out alive.

"Dr. Wagner…"

"Yes, Mr. Palmer?"

"Tell me the truth… What are my chances of making it through this?"

"You’ll be fine. You’ll see—everything will go well."

"Dr. Wagner, I know that when you say that, it means you’re worried something could go wrong. Just tell me—what are my real chances of surviving?"

I watched as Dr. Wagner took a deep breath. He looked at me, hesitated for a moment, and then finally said:

"Peter, I’d rather not talk about percentages. Everything will be fine. Do you know what the difference is this time?"

"That I’m older?"

"No, Peter," he says with a small smile. "The difference is that this time, you have an entire family waiting for you. And I know that scares you. Years ago, only Mr. Vanetto was there. Back then, whether you lived or died didn’t really matter to you. But now… I trust that, for them, you’ll do everything you can to make it out of this."

"I just want to know what I’m up against."

"Peter, like always, you have a 50/50 chance. Everything could go perfectly well… or it could go dangerously wrong. So stop overthinking it and let me do my job."

"Alright… I know you won’t tell me anything else, just like every other time…"

"Exactly. Now relax and let us work. You know business and numbers—I know brains and surgery. So trust me."

A few minutes passed, and I watched as the nurses attached several wires to my chest. They placed something on my finger and nose. I could faintly hear the doctor’s voice:

"Try to rest, Peter. Leave everything in our hands."

Then, suddenly, I opened my eyes.

A strange warmth surrounded me.

I was holding someone in my arms.

I buried my nose in her hair—

But it didn’t smell like roses.

She wasn’t Celeste.

A cold shiver ran down my spine. I bolted upright, my heart pounding in my chest. That’s when I realized—

I was completely naked.

And so was she.

My hands started to shake. I turned to look at her, and my breath caught in my throat.