Chapter 9 - THE GARDEN OF TOMORROWSBack in Mexico City, the evening air was warm and fragrant with the blooming jacaranda trees that lined the private estate in Lomas de Chapultepec.
The sprawling colonial-style home belonged to Alejandro, though over the past year, we had transformed it together into a sanctuary of light, art, and vibrant green gardens.
Tonight, there were no investors, no corporate lawyers, no federal prosecutors, and no cameras.
Just a long wooden table set up under a canopy of twinkling fairy lights in the back garden, laden with gourmet dishes prepared by a private chef, though tonight we preferred simple, quiet intimacy.
My mother sat at the far end of the patio, laughing softly as she played chess with our longtime family physician, her cheeks healthy and glowing with a vibrant energy that doctors had once said was mathematically impossible.
I walked out through the French glass doors onto the patio, wearing a simple, elegant ivory linen sundress, holding two crystal flutes filled with vintage champagne.
Alejandro was standing by the stone retaining wall at the edge of the garden, leaning casually against the railing as he looked out over the sparkling city skyline below. He had discarded his suit jacket entirely, his sleeves rolled up, the evening breeze catching his dark hair.
I walked up quietly behind him, slipping my arms around his waist and pressing my cheek against his broad back.
Alejandro instantly relaxed, covering my hands with his own and turning around to pull me flush against his chest.
"Penny for your thoughts, CEO Alcázar," he murmured softly, pressing a lingering kiss to the top of my head.
I looked up into his dark, affectionate eyes, smiling faintly as the evening wind rustled the leaves above us.
"I was just thinking about that night at the restaurant," I admitted softly. "The vintage burgundy dress. The $4.8 million dinner. The exact moment you stood up and announced to the entire room that I was your wife."
Alejandro chuckled, a deep, rich sound that vibrated against my chest. "Ah yes. The greatest improvised performance of my corporate career. Though, to be entirely honest with you, Mariana... it wasn't an improvisation at all."
I pulled back slightly, raising an eyebrow in playful skepticism. "What do you mean? You told me you needed an interpreter for the Beijing investors."
"I did need an interpreter," Alejandro confessed, a mischievous, loving spark dancing in his dark eyes. "But from the very first moment I saw you across a conference table three years before that—before Héctor even met you—I knew two things for certain."
He reached out, his warm fingertips gently tracing the contour of my cheek.
"First, that you were the most brilliant software architect in the entire hemisphere. And second... that I was going to spend the rest of my life making sure no one ever dared to hurt you again."
I felt a warm wave of emotion swell in my chest, completely displacing any lingering ghosts of my past. I stood up on my tiptoes, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck.
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"Well, Mr. Alcázar," I whispered against his lips, smiling radiantly, "your investment portfolio has exceeded all expectations."
"And the dividends," Alejandro whispered back, just before his lips crashed onto mine in a deep, passionate, and utterly perfect kiss, "are simply priceless."
