CHAPTER 179: CHAPTER 179: THE WEIGHT OF A FATHER’S HEART

For a long time, Maximus didn’t answer.

He just looked at Serena. His eyes were deep, unreadable, and heavy with thoughts only he knew.

Serena waited quietly, her hands clasped together on her lap. Her heart was pounding, though her face remained calm.

The silence stretched until it almost hurt to breathe.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Maximus spoke.

"...I don’t have a photo of her," he said slowly.

His words fell softly, but each syllable cut through Serena like a blade.

Her eyes flickered, and the small, faint hope faded away before it could take shape.

"Oh..." she murmured, her voice almost too quiet to hear.

For a second, she looked down. Her fingers trembled just slightly, then stilled again.

Her face didn’t show much emotion, but her eyes told the truth that something inside her had just broken a little more.

Maximus saw that look. It was small, but enough to make his heart twist painfully in his chest.

He wanted to reach out. To say something. To explain. But he didn’t. Because he knew he couldn’t.

Because the truth was, he did have a photo of Elara. Hidden safely away, where no one could find it.

He’d kept it for years with himself, her smile frozen in time, the one thing that still kept him sane on his darkest nights.

But how could he show it to Serena?

How could he let his daughter look at that face, the face of the woman who had been his mate, his love, but not Serena’s mother?

He couldn’t risk it.

He couldn’t bear the thought of Serena hating Elara.

Because Elara was innocent.

And so was Serena.

It wasn’t anyone’s fault. It was fate, which was cruel and merciless to them.

So he only watched her quietly, forcing himself to stay silent even though every part of him wanted to tell her everything.

Serena didn’t look up again. She sat still, her expression calm, but her thoughts were far away.

Maximus took a slow breath. "Serena..." he said softly.

She finally looked up. Her eyes were dry but tired.

"You should rest," he said gently. "It’s been a long day. You’ve gone through a lot. Don’t think too much tonight. I’ll send someone to check on you later. Make sure you eat something before sleeping, alright?"

Serena nodded faintly. "Yes, Father."

Her voice was polite but distant.

Maximus gave a weak smile, the kind that didn’t reach his eyes. He stood up slowly and looked at her once more before turning toward the door.

He paused there for a second, as if he wanted to say something else, but no words came.

He finally said, "Good night, my daughter," and then walked out quietly.

The door closed behind him with a soft click.

Serena sat there in silence for a long time after he left.

The room felt too big but empty at the same time, or maybe it was her heart that was empty.

She lowered her gaze to her hands and whispered to herself, "You don’t have her photo... or you don’t want to show me?"

Her lips curved in a faint, bitter smile.

The kind that hides pain behind gentleness.

The clock ticked quietly in the background, and the only sound left was her soft breathing.

Finally, she leaned back on the couch, her eyes staring blankly ahead.

The faint smile faded from her lips.

Her thoughts drifted to the name he had spoken...Elara.

The woman who had been his mate. The one he had loved for his entire life. The woman who wasn’t her mother. Or maybe she was not even his daughter, and they are all just stuck...

She is not angry that he didn’t show her the photo, but she was disappointed that she couldn’t see it, because maybe seeing Elara would explain many things and would prove that she was right all the time, but how could she prove it without seeing who Elara is?

***

Maximus walked out of Serena’s room with his heart clenched so tightly it hurt to breathe.

He didn’t look back.

The moment the door closed behind him, he felt something inside him break like a crack in ice.

He took a deep breath and tried to steady himself, but his chest still ached.

As he walked down the hallway, he saw Vaelen waiting for him near the end. The young man’s face was filled with worry.

"Uncle," Vaelen said quickly, stepping forward. "How is she? Is Serena alright?"

Maximus stopped for a moment and looked at him. He could see the concern in Vaelen’s eyes; it was genuine and pure. It reminded him of how different things were before... when life was simpler, and no one had been hurt by the past.

"She’s fine," Maximus said quietly. His voice sounded rough even to his own ears. "Give her some time. Let her rest."

Vaelen hesitated, looking toward the closed door behind him. He looked like he wanted to ask more, but Maximus’s tone left no space for questions.

Finally, Vaelen nodded. "Alright... I’ll check on her later."

He gave one last look at Serena’s room before turning and walking away down the corridor.

Maximus stood there for a few seconds more, his gaze on the door. Then he let out a long sigh...one that came from deep inside his chest and turned away too.

He walked slowly, each step heavy. The hall felt colder than before.

His mind was a mess of thoughts that refused to quiet down.

He knew he wasn’t a good father.

He knew it the moment he saw her eyes that quiet disappointment, that hidden sadness.

How could he tell her everything?

How could he tell his daughter that he was nothing more than a selfish man who had abandoned everything?

That once, long ago, he had walked away from a woman who loved him because he had found the one the Moon Goddess chose for him?

What kind of father would she see him as after that? Would she not only think that he abandoned her mother for someone else?

His chest tightened even more. The guilt was like a chain around his throat.

But only he knew the truth.

He had never crossed that line. Never betrayed his mate, even when fate itself had played the cruelest trick on him.

Elarliya Serena’s mother was a good woman in the past. Gentle, loyal, and kind. She didn’t deserve the pain she got from being caught in his storm.

And yet, one night... everything went wrong.

That night, when he was lost in the haze of emotions and longing and had thought he was with his mate, his beloved Elara.

But when morning came... he realized the truth.

It wasn’t Elara.

It was Elarliya.

The moment that truth hit him, he had wanted to die.

He remembered the look on her face, and his own heart felt like it was being ripped apart.

He had betrayed the woman he loved, even if it wasn’t intentional. And from that one mistake... Serena was born.

His daughter.

His light.

His greatest sin and his only redemption.

But how could he tell her any of this?

How could he make her understand that even after knowing everything, he had never stopped loving his mate and that his heart still belonged to Elara?

He couldn’t.

He didn’t want her to hate her mother.

He didn’t want her to hate Elara either.

So he carried it all alone...the guilt, the regret, the love buried deep inside him.

By the time he reached his room, his steps were slow and heavy. The silence there was suffocating.

He closed the door behind him and leaned against it for a moment, closing his eyes.

The memories refused to fade.

After a while, he walked to the old cabinet near the window.

He opened it slowly and reached inside, pushing aside a few old books and letters until his hand found what he was looking for a small wooden box.

He pulled it out carefully and set it on the table.

When he lifted the lid, the faint scent of old paper and dust filled the air.

Inside was a single photograph.

He picked it up gently, his thumb brushing over the surface.

The picture showed a young woman ... beautiful, with a shy smile and soft eyes.

And behind her was a much younger version of himself, his arms wrapped around her waist, his chin resting gently on her head.

His eyes in that picture were full of love.

Maximus stared at it for a long time, unable to look away.

"Elara..." he whispered.

The name left his lips like a prayer and a curse at once.

His vision blurred for a moment, and he pressed the photo closer to his chest.

"I’m sorry," he said softly. "I’m so sorry... for everything."

The candle beside him flickered weakly, and the shadows in the room deepened.

He sat there in silence, the photo still in his hand, his heart frozen between two worlds.

one that was lost forever, and one that he didn’t know how to save anymore.