Chapter 25
The heat slapped my back, glass and fire chasing us out the collapsing doors.
Maximilian’s breath came fast and furious in my ear. “Don’t look back, Dahlia. You’re safe now. I won’t let anything touch you.”
And I believed him. Even as the warehouse turned into nothing but flame and rubble, I held on to him like my life depended on it.
Because it did.
–
I woke up with the smell of antiseptic filling my lungs, the soft hum of machines around me. My body ached all over, wrists sore and bruised, but I was alive. I blinked, and the first thing I saw was Maximilian. He was right there, sitting in a chair beside my bed, his shirt stained with dried blood, his eyes dark and burning with something I had never seen so raw in him before.
‘Dahlia,” his voice broke just slightly as his hand hovered over mine, afraid of hurting me. “Does anything hurt too much? Tell me where. I’ll kill the damn doctor if they missed something.”
tried to smile, but my lips trembled. “I’m okay… just sore. You didn’t leave, did you?”
‘Leave?” He scoffed and leaned closer, brushing his knuckles against my cheek. “I’m never eaving your side again. They touched you once. No one gets that chance twice.” Before I could answer, a groan echoed from the other bed. I turned my head and saw Austin. Bandaged, pale, struggling to sit up. His eyes found mine immediately, guilt swimming in them.
‘Dahlia,” his voice was weak, cracked, “I… I didn’t mean for any of this. I should’ve protected you.
should’ve-”
Maximilian stood instantly, his presence like thunder filling the room. “Stay the hell away from her. One wrong word, one wrong move, and I’ll finish what Yvette’s bullet didn’t.”
‘Max,” I whispered, reaching for his hand. “Stop. Please.”
Austin’s eyes watered. “I was wrong. Letting you go, choosing power over you. I regret it every second. But I- I couldn’t just let you die in there. That’s why I stepped in front of you.”
Tears stung my eyes. “Austin… nothing can undo the past. But you saved me. You took that bullet for me. For that, I forgive you. Thank you.”
He bowed his head, whispering, “I don’t deserve it.”
Maximilian’s jaw clenched. For a moment, silence. Then he let out a low sigh and muttered, “I’ll give you that. You saved her. I’ll thank you for that, but nothing more. After this, you stay out of her life.”
Austin nodded weakly, shame heavy on his face.
I turned back to Maximilian, my fingers gripping his hand tightly. “Yvette and her family… they betrayed us all.”
“They’re gone now,” Maximilian’s tone was steel. “But their roots, their dirty money, their mercenaries-I’ll burn every last one. No one touches my family again. Not while I breathe.”
I broke then, clutching his shirt and pressing my face to his chest. “Max, I thought I’d never see
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you again. I thought… I was gone.”
He wrapped me up so tightly, his lips pressed to the top of my head. “You’re mine, Dahlia. Alive. You’re mine. That’s all that matters.”
Then the door burst open, and I heard sobs before I saw them. My grandparents-Don Castillo and Dr. Celeste-rushed in. My grandmother’s hands shook as she cupped my face. “My baby, my Dahlia,” she cried, kissing my forehead. Don Castillo wrapped his arms around me too, holding me like he was afraid I’d disappear.
“I’m here,” I whispered, tears streaming. “I’m safe now.”
From that day forward, everything shifted. The Castillo Group moved like a storm, exposing Yvette’s family, cutting down their allies, erasing every mercenary tie left. Maximilian ran the operations himself, sharp and merciless.
And me… I took over as CEO. A surgeon in the day, but now also the woman carrying my family’s
egacy.
We stood together at the press conference. Cameras flashing, reporters shouting. I spoke firmly announcing the crimes, exposing every betrayal. Maximilian stood beside me, unshakable, his hand never letting go of mine.
Austin was there too, leaning on Allen, watching from the shadows. His eyes told me everything… regret, longing, but also acceptance. He knew he had lost me forever.
Later that night, Maximilian and I finally had quiet. No enemies, no chaos, just us. He held me on the balcony, city lights stretching endlessly below.
‘What do you see?” he murmured into my hair.
Our future,” I whispered back. “Stronger. Untouchable. Together.”
He smiled, kissing me softly, fiercely. “Then that’s what we’ll build. You, me, our family. And God help anyone who tries to take it from us again.”
knew then, I loved him with everything I had. And nothing, not betrayal, not bullets, not even death itself, would tear us apart again.
1
Days passed, and for once, they weren’t filled with battles or betrayals. Max and I had time-real ime. We cooked together in the vast kitchen, laughing when I nearly burned the pasta. He corrected me with that patient, amused smile of his, and I teased him about being too perfect. We trained together too, though half the time it ended with me pouting and him pulling me into nis chest just to kiss the frustration away.
One evening, after dinner, my grandparents gathered the hospital staff and family members in the grand Castillo hall. My name echoed proudly across the room. “To Dahlia,” Don Castillo announced, his voice cracking just slightly. “Our granddaughter. Our heir. Our pride.”
The applause was overwhelming. For once, I didn’t shrink back. I stood straighter, knowing I had earned this. I was no longer the fragile girl people whispered about. I was the rightful head of the
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Castillo Group.
Austin was there, at a distance, watching everything with that hollow gaze. He didn’t come close. He didn’t even try. He knew. He had lost, not just me, but the future he once thought he controlled. A week later, he quietly left for New York.
Life shifted again when the announcement came. A formal gala, with the most powerful families of Monaco present. I walked in on Maximilian’s arm, dressed in a gown that shimmered like moonlight. He stood tall, his hand steady over mine, as he declared before everyone, “This is Dahlia. My fiancée. The heir of the Castillo legacy.”
I heard the gasps, the whispers, the cheers. But what I focused on were the tears in my grandparents’ eyes. Dr. Celeste whispered, “At last,” while Don Castillo’s hand trembled on hi cane. They had prayed for this day, and it was finally here.
Later that night, on the balcony of the estate, the view of Monaco glittered beneath us. The sea stretched endlessly, reflecting the fiery sunset. Maximilian wrapped his arm around me and
lowered his voice.
‘You are my queen,” he whispered into my hair. “No one touches you again. Not ever.”
leaned into him, my lips curving into a smile I hadn’t felt in years. For the first time, there was no fear, no shadow waiting to steal me away.
The last scene of this chapter of my life wasn’t in a ballroom or a boardroom. It was in the hospital, where I belonged. My hands moved with precision as I saved another patient’s life, the monitors steadying, the nurses whispering my name with admiration. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Maximilian, arms crossed, watching me with a quiet pride that spoke louder than words.
We were unstoppable together.
E.N.D
