The press conference feels like stepping into fire on purpose.
Cameras flash, reporters buzz, and the world expects stock updates and damage control.
You give them none of that.
You say the word they don’t expect: “Love.”
You say Marina’s name out loud, in public, with no apology in your mouth.
You credit her for your recovery and confess the worst part—your hesitation, your fear, your failure.
Then you look straight into the camera like it’s a door to her heart.
You drop to one knee in front of a nation that’s never seen you beg for anything.
And you ask her to marry you, not as a billionaire, but as a man finally brave enough to be seen.
Marina watches from the restaurant in her apron, hands shaking, tears falling without permission.
People around her go quiet, because even strangers can recognize a moment that costs something.
Her boss leans in and says, “Go,” like he understands that some doors only open once.
When she arrives at the mansion, the sky is turning gold, and you’re waiting like you’ve been waiting your whole life.
“Did you come?” you whisper, as if you can’t afford to believe in miracles anymore.
She answers through tears, “You kneeled on national television—how could I not?”
Sofía throws herself into Marina’s arms like she’s catching her favorite person before she disappears again.
And you realize love isn’t the proposal—it’s the return.
Marina doesn’t accept like a fairy tale.
She accepts like a woman who has survived being underestimated.
“Yes,” she says, “but I finish my degree.”
“I become a real physical therapist, on my own merit.”
You nod, because that condition is exactly why you love her.
You tell her about the scholarship, and you swear it isn’t ownership, it’s support.
She laughs through tears and calls you reckless for proposing like that.
You smile and admit, “I’m done being careful with the wrong things.”
And for the first time, the mansion doesn’t feel like marble and silence.
It feels like a home learning how to breathe.