A/N: Athena and Maximus' story has finally come to an end and I'm happy because you've been with me from the beginning 'til the end. Honestly, 'Royal Saga 1: Athena, Princess of Costavia' is the most difficult story that I have ever written. Why? Because during these past few months, my family had been through a lot. We encountered the most difficult trial in our lives and it affected me mentally and emotionally. Thankfully, I managed to finish this after everything that had happened these past few months. We're still in the process of healing and I hope that everything will be okay soon. Anyway, thank you again for the support and I'm hoping that you will still support all my next stories. Love you, Amores! Zoé Isabel

A/N: My next story will be 'THE BEAUTY & THE POSSESSIVE SERIES 5'. Do you have any idea who from the TBG club will be the main lead in series 5?

One more thing. I granted your wish for a long update so I hope you like the ending. Enjoy and see you in the next story!

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EPILOGO

MAXIMUS' POV

I ran after Athena, determined to not let her go. We've been through a lot already and I would never let our relationship come to an end like this. The moment she turned her back on me and walked away, I knew that instant that I couldn't care less about anything else anymore.

Fùck everything that I've been trying to get back since I was a child because all those things would be meaningless without her by myside.

I've fought all my enemies not just because I wanted to obtain the justice for my mother but because I wanted to fix my life for Athena as well. I wanted to live a peaceful and happy together with her and our future children.

Now that I finally defeated my enemies, we could finally start over again but I wouldn't be able to do that without Athena. She's my life and I wouldn't know how to live life without her by my side.

"Mi hermosa, wait!" I called for her loudly but she didn't stop and continued running away until she reached the gate which was open at that time for some reason.

I picked up my pace. I knew that she just wanted to get away from me for the time being but not like this. I should make sure that she would be okay.

When I ran past the gates, I saw Athena getting near the road. Then, my eyes widened when I saw that a speeding car heading towards her.

"Athena!" I called for her with a loud voice as inexplainable fear crept within me. If I could only fly, I already did it in an instant. I heard the squeaking sound of tires and I felt like the beating of my heart stop when the car hit her.

"No! Athena!" I felt like my head became double in size. Everything became slowly motion and as I ran toward her, calling for her name.

"No, no, no! Athena!" I said with a trembling tone as I held her in my arms. I saw blood and it felt like my brain wasn't functioning at all. Tears ran down my cheeks. I felt so scared.

"Mi hermosa, please, don't leave me. Please, wake up." I cried like a child, didn't know what to do.

She slowly opened her eyes and then raised her hand to touch my cheek. "D-Dolce m-metà..." Her voice was faint. "I-" Whatever she wanted to say was cut off when she suddenly vomited blood.

"Mi hermosa!" The fear and panic within me doubled. I was literally shaking in panic and fear. I was about to shout for help when I saw an ambulance stop before us. It was the Palace's private ambulance.

"Let us handle everything from here, sir." One of the people who came out of the ambulance said. I watched them as they tended on Athena until they put her in the stretcher and into the ambulance.

"Make sure that the driver will not escape!" I ordered one of the PRGs and looked at the car. The driver of the car was still inside.

"Yes, sir!" Then, we took off. While inside the ambulance, I was holding Athena's hand the entire time, begging for her to stay with me.

"I love...you...so much, dolce metà..." I took her hand and kissed it.

"I love you so much too, mi hermosa. Please, hang in there. We're almost there."

"I'm...sleepy..." My eyes widened as my heart throbbed. I've never felt this kind of fear before and it was escalating with each passing second. Seeing her in this state felt like I was dying too.

"Please, don't, mi hermosa! I'm begging you! No! Fight for me, please!" I kept on begging her until we finally arrived at the emergency. While they were pulling her on the stretcher out of the ambulance, her eyes closed.

"Athena! Please, don't! Can you hear me? Please, fight for!" I felt like I was going crazy as I pulled my hair. My whole body was shaking as I cried like a baby.

"You can't come inside, sir. Just wait here." The nurse said before shutting the doors before me. I kept on pacing back and forth while waiting at the waiting area. Tears pooled from my eyes continuously but I didn't care. I knew very well that I was a tough guy until Athena came into my life.

She's my weakness and I know that I wouldn't be able to keep on living without her by my side. She's my life. For the first time in a long time, I begged for God's mercy. I prayed so hard for him to save the love of my life together with our unborn child for I didn't know how long.

It felt like an eternity. I poured everything in that prayer while my eyes were closed tightly until the doors finally opened and the doctor came out.

I was about to ask him how was Athena when I noticed the look on his face. Sadness...

"I'm sorry, sir, but...Her Royal Highness Athena and the baby...didn't make it." I felt like a bomb explode in front of me as another batch of tears fell from my eyes.

"N-No...You're lying..." I answered with a trembling voice while shaking my head.

"I'm so sorry-" Before he could finish what he was about to say, I grabbed him by the collar tightly.

"No! Don't say that! Athena and our baby are okay! Don't lie to me!" I shouted at him, unable to accept the bad news at all. I refused to believe!

"Sir, stop!" The staff tried to stop me but I didn't listen.

"Athena is okay, right?! Tell me they're okay!" I felt like I was losing my sanity while shouting in so much despair. I didn't care what I was doing anymore. All I wanted was to hear that the doctor was lying.

"I'm sorry, but we did everything we could but to no avail." The doctor said with a trembling voice. I felt like my strength left my body as I slowly let go of him. He tapped me by the shoulder. "I'm sorry, sir." He said before leaving me there.

I fell on my knees as I sobbed in so much anguish. It hurt so much. I couldn't believe it. If I've only known that this would happen, I would never have told her the truth and kept it to myself. Because I wanted to be honest with her, I lost her and our unborn child.

"Athena..." I cried, uncaring if people were watching me. The pain of losing both of them felt like killing me. Is this the payment for everything that I've done? Why did this have to happen? Just when I finally found the love of my life and this happened.

Why is life so cruel to me? First, it took my mother and now, Athena and our unborn child. Why? Am I not worth it to love? Am I a jinx to my loved ones?

There were many questions circulating my mind but I couldn't find any answers to all of it. I didn't know when did I have the strength to go inside the room to see Athena. The moment I saw her lifeless body, I another batch of tears brimmed my eyes.

"Mi hermosa...please, wake up. I c-can't live without you." I kept on pleading but she wasn't responding. I took her in my arms and embraced her ever so tightly.

"Please, God. Have mercy on Athena and our baby. I'm begging you." I wept so hard. Oh, God. My heart felt like it was about to burst. It hurt so much and I felt like I couldn't take it. How would I live life without her now?

I shook my head. I couldn't live life without her. It would be hell here on earth without her by my side. I closed my eyes and prayed again that everything that had happened was nothing but a dream. Please, one more time. Let me be with her one more time and I promise that I will treasure every minute of it. I will love her and treasure her until our hair turns grey. Please, one more time...

I slowly opened my eyes and saw the familiar ceiling. Then, my eyes widened as I sat up abruptly and frantically looked for Athena, heaving. Fear was consuming and I was on the verge of panicking when I saw her quietly sleeping beside me.

I gingerly checked if she was breathing and relief washed over me when I saw that she was. I couldn't stop myself and took her in my arms tightly.

"Hmmm...What's happening, dolce metà? It's still early in the morning." She whined sleepily with a husky voice.

"I'm sorry, mi hermosa. I had a very bad dream and it scared the hell out of me. It made me remember what happened that day." She heaved a sigh and then tilted her head to look at me.

"Shhh...I'm here. I'm alive. Forget about what happened that day. It has been so long. We're here, happy being together so let's not think about the past." My face softened. It has been more than five years since that day but I still dream about it sometimes.

Maybe because that was the scariest moment of my life that I dream about it from time to time. It was scary in my dream because there were additional scenes that didn't happen that day just like that moment the doctor declared Athena and our baby were gone.

Thankfully, it was far from what really happened in real life. Even though the driver managed to stepped on the break, the car still reached Athena. I really thought that I would lose her that day but thankfully, she survived.

"But you and our baby died in my dream and-"

"-That was nothing but a dream. Look." She took my hand and brought it to her cheek. "See? I'm here with you, right? I'm alive and nothing of that sort happened." I caressed her cheek and then stared at her lovingly.

"I love you so much, mi hermosa, and I thank God everyday because He gave me a second chance to be with you again. Thank you for all these wonderful years with you. You made my life wonderful and meaningful." Her face brightened up with a sweet smile.

"You did the same to me, dolce metà. I love you too, so much that I can't explain how much." My heart swelled. Hearing her say that ignited the fire within me.

"Ohhh. What are you doing? We're having a serious talk and now, you're doing this." She said as my hand began caressing her breasts alternately. We're still naked from making love last night. Instead of answering, I pulled her on top of me and began latching on her turgid nipples hungry.

"Oh, God. Haven't you had enough? We just made love last night."

"That was last night, mi hermosa. Today's another story." My breathing became hard as I began grazing my c*ck against her already drenched womanhood. Damn! We've been married for 5 years already but our desire for each other is incomparable. We're both insatiable of one another.

"Oh, my. You're already so hard. I can't believe you."

"Yes, mi hermosa, and I want you now." I declared throatily as I began entering her. We were about to kiss when we heard a knock at the door.

"Mamma! Papà!" Our bodies went still upon hearing our little one's voice. I grunted.

"He really has bad timing." My wife laughed because of what I've said.

"You know what to do, my dear husband." She teased. I groaned inwardly.

"But we're not done yet." I complained but she already got off me and laid down next to me. I grunted again and then raked my fingers through my hair in frustration.

She laughed. "You look like you haven't had your way for so long when in fact, we just made love last night. You haven't changed. Still as h*rny as ever."

"C'mon, mi hermosa. Have mercy on me." I begged like a fool. She kissed me on the cheek.

"Just get up and open the door. Your son is waiting. Don't worry. I'll make it up to you tonight." I got excited like a kid.

"Really, mi hermosa?" She laughed again.

"Yes. Now, go and open the door. I'm sure, he's already getting impatient." I chuckled and got off the bed. I was about to walk towards the door when she spoke.

"Hey! Are you planning to open the door without clothes on?" I looked at myself and laughed.

"I almost forgot." She rolled her eyes and then got up. She looked for her nighties and underwear and quickly put them on.

"Go get dressed and I'll open the door." I did as I was told in a hurry.

"Good morning, mamma, papá!" The merry voice of our son, Aemilius, as he entered our room. He's already four years old. Yes, it was a miracle that Athena didn't have a miscarriage that day because even though the impact wasn't that strong, she still got hospitalized for two weeks.

The doctor even said that there was a possibility that she would lose the baby but thank God, she didn't. Now, we're enjoying every day with our son. He's our joy and strength.

We greeted him back and he kissed us on the cheek before throwing himself into the bed.

"Don't you want me coming in here, mamma, papá?" He then asked, pouting.

"Of course, not. Why would you ask that, tesoro?" Athena asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"Because you never opened the door right away whenever I knock in the morning." Athena and I shared a look before we smiled amusedly.

"Come here, tesoro." She coaxed our son as she sat on the edge of the bed. Aemilius obliged and then sat on her lap.

"You're always welcome here in our room. Your papà and I were still asleep that's why we couldn't open the door right away." Aemilius' sapphire blue eyes brightened up in happiness.

"Really, mamma?"

"Of course, tesoro." She then looked at me. "Am I right, dolce metà?" I smiled.

"Your mother is right, figlio. You're always welcome here."

"Yehey! Then, I'll sleep here again tonight!" He happily said as if he just won the lottery. Well, he sleeps with us at least 3 or 4 times a week. But then, I remembered something.

"Figlio, I think it's best for you to sleep in your room-"

"-You don't want me here, papá?" He suddenly looked like he was about to cry. I sighed in defeat.

"Fine, you can sleep here with us tonight, but you sleep in your room tomorrow night, okay?"

"Yehey! I'm going to sleep with mamma and papá again tonight!" Aemilius stood up and then jumped on the bed happily.

"I'm glad, you said yes." Athena whispered to me. I chuckled.

"How would I say no to him with that face?" She chuckled.

"You're right. Such a cutie. He looks like you whenever he's pouting like that."

"Of course. He's my boy." I answered proudly and we both smiled.

"Thank you, mamma, papá! I love you!" Our son said and then hugged us both.

"You're welcome, tesoro. Mamma and papá love you so much too." After that, we went downstairs to eat breakfast.

"Are you excited, tesoro?" I asked I asked Aemilius while we were eating.

"Yes, papá! I want to see everyone especially my cousins. I missed them already." That made Athena and I smile. Three days from now will be Athena and I's 5th anniversary and we chose to celebrate it in Costavia.

Yes, we've been living here in Nuevo Imperio for more than five years now.

"Me too, tesoro, so let's finish eating so that we could get going." Athena said. After eating, we got ready for our flight.

"May you have a wonderful vacation with your family, Your Majesty." Romeo, the head butler said while we were at the living room, waiting for Athena and Aemilius.

"Thank you, Romeo. Take care of everything here."

"Of course, Your Majesty." Until now, I still couldn't believe that I am now the Imperial King of Nuevo Imperio. After everything that I've been through, I've finally managed to take back everything that they stole from me.

Everyone in our nation accepted me with open arms and fought by my side during the time that I had to prove in court that I was indeed the original Prince Maximus Zorion Santana Vázquez. I'm thankful too that Athena chose to stay with me and had forgiven me even after discovering all of the things that I've done before.

She served as my strength and because of that, I succeeded. If it wasn't because of her, I wouldn't surely have that strength to fight anymore.

Yes, she got mad at me but after the accident, she forgave me after I admitted to her that her mother was alive. I knew, I promised Xerus and Red Fox not to tell a soul about that but I didn't have a choice. I didn't want Athena to resent me and leave me.

But I didn't tell her about what really happened and how come their mother was alive because it wasn't my place to say. I made her understand that. She said that she wanted to see her mother and hear about that from her.

When I explained to Red Fox and Xerus about that, they understood my situation but not after telling me that I should make sure that Athena wouldn't tell anyone that she was alive.

It was chaos back then because of Xerus' enemies. Even though Athena was longing to see their mother, she couldn't for the time being. But now, everything's okay and everyone's finally happy.

"Are you ready, dolce metà?" I was pulled out of my reverie when I heard the voice of my wife as she descended the stairs with Aemilius. Damn. She looked so beautiful and I couldn't take my eyes off her.

I smiled. "Hi, my beautiful wife." She sneered but there was a smile on her face.

"Flatterer." I was about to answer but our son spoke.

"Let's go, papá!" Athena and I chuckled. He's really excited. We were about to head out when someone came in.

"Buenos dias!"

"Abuelito!" Aemilius squealed and rushed towards him for a hug.

"You're so energetic as always, nieto." He hugged Aemilius and then ruffled his hair affectionately.

"I'm glad you decided to come with us to Costavia, papá. Aemilius here will surely be sad if you wouldn't come with us." I said.

My father chuckled. "Of course, I would come. I wouldn't want my only grandson to be sad. Anyway, sorry. I forgot to greet you two properly because I was so happy seeing Aemilius." He bowed towards us.

"You don't have to do that, papá." I said.

"My husband is right, papá. We're the only ones here. Besides, we're family." Athena said and my father, Manuel, smiled.

Yes, Manuel is my biological dad. Red Fox, who was my mother's best friend, knew all along. Even Xerus knew about it but they didn't tell me until Manuel finally confessed everything to me right after he helped me defeat Warren 5 years ago.

I became emotional upon hearing the truth and I remembered all those times that he protected me from when I was a child until I grew up.

Apparently, he and my mother hid their relationship from everyone because the law back then stated that a Queen or a King wasn't allowed to have a relationship let alone marry someone who wasn't a royal.

According to him, when my mother married Giuseppe, she felt like she died because the one she dearly loved was my father. Even so, they continued their relationship until her last breath. They were planning to tell me the truth but unfortunately, my mother passed away.

"Thank you for accepting me as your father. It's been years but it still feels surreal. If your mother was only here, I'm sure, she would be so happy. This was her dream; to see us like this."

"What do you mean, papá?"

"She wanted nothing but to tell you that I was your real father; for us to bond like a normal father and son, but she didn't have the chance to do that because Giuseppe took that away from her." I could hint the anger in his voice.

I released a breath and then tapped him by the shoulder. "Don't worry, papá. I'm sure that wherever mamá is right now, she's watching over us and happy because her wish was finally granted." His face softened upon hearing that.

"Your right, hijo. Sometimes, I just can't help remembering about her. She's the love of my life and I hate myself because I failed on protecting her."

"No, papá. I'm sure that you did everything that you could. If there's someone to blame, that is Giuseppe. He was the one who took mamá away from us. But let's not think about that. He's already paying for his sins and now, we're finally free. We should be happy because that's what mamá wanted for us."

"You really changed a lot now, hijo. I'm really proud of you. Whenever I look at you, I always remember about your mother. I'm glad that you're my son."

"And I'm glad that you're my father." We hugged each other.

"Abuelito, papá, enough of that! Let's go!" We laughed when we heard the impatient voice of Aemilius as he pulled my hand.

"You're such an impatient little man." Athena said amusedly to our son and gently squeezed his nose. He giggled.

After that, we drove off to the airport. After two hours, we arrived in Costavia. Everyone was so happy seeing each other again. Queen Isabella was delighted seeing Aemilius and our son hugged her tightly.

In the past, Athena got mad at her nonna after knowing the truth that she was the one who set everything up so that she could get Warren out of her life. But she quickly forgave her because according to her, if it wasn't because of her nonna's meddling, we wouldn't meet and be together.

Our family bonded with everyone in the next two days and we even went to the beach. Aemilius was so happy playing with his cousins.

Then, during our anniversary party, Athena and I were both emotional yet happy. We couldn't believe that it has been five years. Our families and friends were all present and we couldn't ask for more.

"You're glowing, Ath. You still look like newlyweds whenever I see you two." Lucca complimented while we were chatting at their table. Athena and I approached them to talk to them.

"Well, she has found her happy ever after. Look how in love they are." Daniella teased. Her baby was sleeping on her lap while her first born is with her father who was busy talking to his friends.

"Look who's talking. You look the same." Athena playfully said and Daniella chuckled.

"Well, I won't deny that." Everyone laughed. Thankfully, she's happy now too. Just like Athena and I, she's been through a lot too and I'm happy for her.

"And I'm the only one who's lonely and loveless." Lucca uttered and sighed as if he was having self-pity all of a sudden.

"Why? I thought, you have someone now?" I asked. Lucca and I became closer as friends now because of Athena and Daniella who didn't stop until we finally got along.

"Nope, I don't. Honestly, I'm kinda afraid now. After what happened in the past, I don't want to take the risk."

"C'mon, Lucca. Don't give up on love just because of that good for nothing Greco or should I say, Warren. He's gone now anyway. Not every guy out there is like him. It has been so long so you should move on now." It was Daniella. Lucca sighed.

"It's not like that. Yes, I have fear inside of me but not for me. I'm afraid that I might put you all in danger again because of my stupidity. Look what happened with Greco. I thought, he was the one but it turned out that he never loved me and just used me for his plans. Because of me, I put Athena and everyone in danger."

"Lucca, stop. That wasn't your fault." He smiled bitterly at me.

"No, Your Majesty. It was my fault. I trusted him so much and told him about your wedding. I didn't think that he was dangerous back then. It didn't even occur with me that he only approached me and made me fall in love with him so that he could get closer to you.

"I loved him that's why I failed to see through him. Because of me, he managed to ruin the wedding by kidnapping Athena. Thank God, nothing bad had happened because I wouldn't surely forgive myself. Until now, it's been haunting me. I'm really sorry for my carelessness." His voice cracked as he became emotional.

Athena hugged him. "Shhh. It wasn't your fault. You didn't know his true nature back then. You trusted and loved him so much and he took advantage of that in order to use you. You don't have to say sorry because I know that you didn't mean to hurt anyone." Lucca was teary eyed.

"C'mon, stop crying now and forget about the past. Look at me. You're making me cry on this special day." Lucca wiped his tears and chuckled.

"I'm sorry for being emotional. You're right. We should be happy and forget about the past. The important thing is, everyone is happy." He took a dee breath.

"Finally, you stopped crying. Look at you. You look like a monkey now because you ruined your make up." Daniella teased him and everyone laughed.

"This girl. You really know how to piss me off." Lucca sneered and Danielle beamed. The party continued and everyone had smiles on their faces.

"Ready, mi hermosa?" I whispered to her while we were on the stage, ready to announce our surprise. She smiled at me.

"Yes. Shall we?" I smiled back at her and nodded my head. Then, we proceeded on our announcement

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for coming tonight to celebrate with us on our anniversary. We're very happy because we get to celebrate this special day with all of you. Today, we're very excited to share a very good news to all of you." Athena said and then we looked at each other with a smile on our faces.

"We're pregnant!" We announced in unison after a couple of seconds and everyone clapped and cheered happily for us. Yes, we found about it last week because Athena had been having morning sickness.

When her test results came and it was positive, I was over the moon.

Everyone congratulated us and we happily thanked them.

"Mamma, papá, am I not your baby anymore?" Aemilius said after our announcement.

"What are you talking about, tesoro?" My wife asked amusedly.

"Because there's a baby inside your tummy now, mamma." He looked nervous and I couldn't hold back my laugh. I ruffled his hair.

"Tesoro, you will always be our baby but the difference now is, we have two babies. You and the baby inside mamma's tummy."

"You still love me?" Athena and I shared a look and we both chuckled.

"Of course, tesoro. We love you so much. Remember that, okay?" He finally smiled.

"Okay, mamma." He became cheerful again.

"Now that you will be a big brother soon, you should be brave always so that you would protect our little princess." I said.

"Our little princess? Who's that?"

"The baby inside mamma's tummy."

"And how sure are you that it will be a girl, my dear husband?" My wife asked and I beamed.

"I can feel it, mi hermosa. For sure, our baby will be girl."

"Me too, mamma, papá. I want to have a little sister and I will protect her from bad people." Aemilius said and that made us smile.

"Very good, my boy." I ruffled his hair once again and he smiled contentedly. When the party was over, we went home to our house. It was the place where I took Athena when I kidnapped her in the past. Our love nest.

Everytime we come here to Costavia, we stay here and Athena and Aemilius love it.

"He finally fell asleep after all the talking about his little sister. Now, he's really expecting that the baby inside me is a baby girl. What if it turned to be a boy? He would be disappointed for sure." Athena said while shaking her head. We're at the terrace of our room and Aemilius is already fast asleep on our bed.

He really didn't forget and slept with us in our room tonight.

"Don't worry, mi hermosa. If it's a boy again then we could always make another one. Easy as that." I playfully said and she pinched my arms. I laughed.

"Shhh. Aemilius might wake up!" I gathered her in my arms and kissed her temple.

"Kidding aside; you don't have to worry about anything. Our son is smart and I'm sure, he would understand if we explained the situation to him if that happened." She leaned her head on my chest as we savored the moment in silence.

"Happy anniversary again, mi hermosa. I'm looking forward for the next coming years with you. I'm sure, it will be as wonderful as these past five years."

"Happy anniversary too, dolce metà. I'm sure, the next coming years will be as wonderful as now because you and our children are with me. Thank you for being the best husband to me and father to Aemilius all these years." I cupped her face and made her look at me.

"I should be the one telling you that because I'm the luckiest man on earth for having you as my wife. You and our children are the best thing that ever happened to me. I love you so much." I professed with all my heart.

"I love you too. So much." She whispered before our lips met for a passionate kiss. Our hearts were the singing the same song and I couldn't ask for more. I really thought back then that happiness like this was out of my reach but Athena gave that to me.

This is only our fifth anniversary but I'm already sure that ours is forever. We will walk the path of life hand and hand and whatever storm we encounter, no matter how strong it is, I'm sure that we could withstand all of that because of our love for one another is stronger than any storm.

🅰️💕Ⓜ️🅰️💕Ⓜ️🅰️💕Ⓜ️

Just like I said before; there will be unanswered questions in this story but it will be answered in the next stories of this series, so stay tuned! Don't forget to share this story. :)

What do you think of Athena and Maximus' story?

What did you feel upon reading the first part where Athena died?

What do you think of the ending?

Did you expect that Lucca was the one who told Greco about the wedding?

Who among the Romano siblings do you want to be the main lead in Royal Saga 2?

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