The forgotten groom

The Final Chapter 40

Full Circle
Peace had a strange way of feeling unfamiliar after so many years of chaos. But here we were — no longer business partners held together by an arranged marriage, but lovers, husbands, and above all, home.

Nik stood barefoot in the kitchen of our coastal villa, flipping pancakes with his usual intensity, as if it were a boardroom presentation. I leaned against the doorframe, heart swelling with quiet joy. This man — the one who once barely looked up from his work — now burned breakfast for me with a ridiculous apron that said "CEO of My Heart."

"You're getting flour everywhere," I pointed out, trying not to laugh.

Nik looked over his shoulder. "Flour adds character."

"That's not how flour works," I chuckled, walking over to wrap my arms around him. "But I love you anyway."

He turned, pulling me into a slow kiss. "I love you too, Max. More than I ever thought I could love anyone."

We sat down to eat by the balcony overlooking the sea. The air smelled of salt and syrup. It was perfect — not because everything was flawless, but because we had finally chosen each other. Freely. Fully.

Later That Day
We drove into town to visit Harold.
Since stepping down from the business, he'd settled into a quieter life. His once-imposing energy was now focused on gardening, volunteering, and hosting "Tea Tuesdays" with retired board members who still feared and admired him in equal measure.

When we arrived, he was in the garden, pruning roses.

"I see my favorite grandson finally decided to visit," he teased, eyes twinkling.

"I'm your only grandson," I replied dryly.

Harold chuckled and waved us over. "That's beside the point."

We sat on the bench beneath the big oak tree, the one I used to climb as a child. For a moment, none of us spoke. The wind carried the smell of rosemary and soil. Peaceful. Real.

Then Harold looked at us, his tone more serious. "I want to say something to both of you."

Nik and I turned toward him.

"I spent a lifetime trying to protect what I built. I thought saving the company meant saving the family. But somewhere along the way, I forgot that the company isn't the family. You are, Max. And by extension, Nik."

He looked at Nik. "You've proven yourself a thousand times over — as a man, as a leader... and as someone who truly loves my grandson. I was blind not to see that earlier."

Nik nodded, deeply moved. "Thank you, Harold. That means more than you know."

"I may not have done things the right way, but if you'll both allow it... I'd like to try again. To be part of this next chapter. As a grandfather, not a strategist."

I reached out and squeezed his hand. "We'd love that."

And then I added, with a nervous smile, "Actually... there's something we wanted to tell you."

Nik beamed and pulled an envelope from his jacket pocket. "We've started the process. Surrogacy. The first step was approved last week."

Harold blinked. "You're... having a baby?"

"We are," I said, barely containing my excitement. "It's happening."

For the first time I could remember, Harold's face crumpled — and not with anger or frustration. With emotion. Pure, unfiltered joy.

"A new generation," he said softly. "A chance to do things better."

One Week Later
Our home was buzzing with subtle change. We'd cleared out the guest room, flipping through design ideas, debating over soft pastel palettes and tiny furniture. Nik was surprisingly opinionated about crib designs.
"I'm just saying, if our child is going to be stylish, we start now," he said, holding up a sample board.

"I didn't know babies cared about Scandinavian aesthetics," I replied, laughing.

We were ridiculous, and happy — and Harold had started coming over every weekend. He even helped pick out books for the nursery, insisting on including a few classics. "Every child needs a copy of The Art of War," he declared. Nik almost choked on his tea.

It wasn't perfect. We still had hard days. But for the first time in our lives, love wasn't something we sacrificed — it was something we built everything else around.

Final Scene
One night, we stood on the balcony, stars above us, arms wrapped around each other.
"I used to wonder if we'd ever be free of everything," I said quietly.

Nik kissed the top of my head. "We're not free from it. We're free through it."

And beside us, Harold laughed gently from his chair, sipping wine, watching us like we were his greatest legacy.

Epilogue
One year later, baby Leo Nikolas Maxwell was born. He had Nik's eyes and my smile — and a whole family ready to love him more than any empire ever could.            [THE END]

     
Authors Note
My dear readers , I know how long this book had dragged on and how some of you spent endless hours checking for an update and I can only imagine how long some of you have kept this book in your library! I promise I don't takes that for granted and I truly thank each and everyone one you for your relentless optimism in hoping this book would one day be completed, seeing your continued interest helped me build up the courage to write this 2 remaining chapters to give you all closure
In my absence, here's what I discovered...
I started writing as a hobby and nothing serious just for fun 🤩 I was a fresher at Uni and life was so simple! My mind was free and I had all the space to be creative and let my imagination run wild
What I didn't know was every author writes a part of themselves into each page and every letter you pen down!  As life went on and I left Uni into the real life, things became real! Working and trying to build a career completely clashed with that free spirited mind that wrote for fun and could Churn out chapters in an hour.. your environment and whatever is going on in your life truly influences your ability. For me it was the opposite! I completely stopped writing and focused on other things! I have so much respect for authors! We truly bleed on paper and write with our souls!

Thank you all for walking this journey with me, it's not just a book, every-time I felt lost , I would read your comments and know despite everything, maybe I created something that made people happy and escape into this world and that gave me so much courage ❤️❤️