Chapter 10 – The Last Conversation
Chapter 10 – The Last Conversation
The meeting was scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
Not at Whitmore Holdings.
Not at Escalante Tower.
Mariana chose a place neither of them owned.
A quiet botanical garden overlooking the Hudson River.
It was where Andrew had proposed to her five years earlier.
Back then, he had knelt with a trembling smile and a modest diamond ring.
He hadn't been a billionaire.
She hadn't cared.
She had said yes before he finished asking.
Andrew arrived thirty minutes early.
The garden was almost empty.
Autumn leaves drifted across the stone pathway.
He stood beneath the old oak tree where everything had begun.
His hands were buried in his coat pockets.
For the first time in years...
He had no assistants.
No security detail.
No chauffeur.
He had driven himself.
The silence felt unfamiliar.
And deserved.
At exactly six o'clock, a black sedan stopped near the entrance.
Mariana stepped out.
She wore a long camel-colored coat.
No makeup except enough to hide the fading bruise.
No entourage.
Only one attorney waited discreetly near the gate.
Andrew took a hesitant step forward.
"Thank you for coming."
Mariana nodded politely.
"You asked to see me."
They stood facing each other.
Only a few feet apart.
Yet the distance between them felt immeasurable.
For nearly a minute...
Neither spoke.
Finally, Andrew broke the silence.
"I watched the press conference."
Mariana simply nodded.
"I figured you would."
"I deserved it."
She looked at him carefully.
"Did you?"
Andrew lowered his eyes.
"I don't know anymore."
She waited.
"I came here because..."
He struggled to find the words.
"I need to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"Why did you marry me?"
Mariana blinked.
She hadn't expected that question.
A faint smile crossed her face.
"Because you made me laugh."
Andrew looked surprised.
She continued.
"When we met..."
"You had ambition."
"You worked eighteen-hour days."
"You believed success was something you earned."
She looked toward the river.
"You once told me..."
'If I ever become rich, promise you'll tell me if I start acting like I deserve more than everyone else.'
Andrew closed his eyes.
He remembered.
He had said those words in a tiny diner after sharing a five-dollar breakfast.
Mariana whispered,
"I tried."
Andrew swallowed hard.
"When did I change?"
Mariana didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she walked slowly toward a nearby bench.
He followed.
She sat down.
"So did you."
The evening breeze rustled the trees.
Finally, she spoke.
"You didn't change overnight."
"It happened little by little."
"The first time was after your first magazine cover."
Andrew listened quietly.
"You started introducing me as 'my wife' instead of 'Mariana.'"
"The second time..."
"You interrupted me during a board dinner."
"You laughed when I tried to explain why an acquisition was risky."
Andrew remembered.
He had thought she was embarrassing him in front of investors.
"I was trying to protect the company," she said softly.
"I know."
His voice cracked.
"I know that now."
She continued.
"Then came the charity galas."
"The interviews."
"The parties."
"You became surrounded by people who praised everything you said."
"And eventually..."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"You stopped hearing anyone who disagreed with you."
Andrew sat beside her.
Not too close.
Just enough to hear her clearly.
"I never meant to hurt you."
Mariana nodded.
"I believe that."
He looked up, surprised.
"You do?"
"Yes."
She smiled sadly.
"I think you meant to protect your pride."
"You just didn't realize I was the one paying the price."
The words lingered between them.
Andrew reached into his coat pocket.
He removed a small velvet box.
Mariana stared at it.
He opened it.
Inside was her wedding ring.
She had left it on the bedroom dresser the night she walked away.
"I wanted to return this."
Mariana looked at the ring.
Then back at Andrew.
"You should keep it."
He frowned.
"Why?"
"As a reminder."
"Of what?"
"That promises don't disappear when they're broken."
"They become lessons."
Andrew slowly closed the box.
The conversation drifted into silence again.
Then Andrew spoke.
"My mother confessed."
Mariana didn't react.
"I know."
He looked surprised.
"You knew?"
"She admitted it to investigators this morning."
Andrew covered his face with both hands.
"I'm sorry."
"For everything."
"For the slap."
"For believing the lie."
"For Brenda."
"For..."
His voice broke.
"For becoming someone you had to escape."
Mariana watched him carefully.
These weren't the polished words of a CEO.
They were the shattered words of a man who had finally seen himself clearly.
She believed he was sincere.
But sincerity couldn't erase history.
"Andrew."
He looked up.
"I forgive you."
His eyes filled with hope.
Then she continued.
"But forgiveness isn't the same as going back."
The hope faded.
"I know."
She reached into her handbag and removed a sealed envelope.
He accepted it.
"What is this?"
"Our divorce papers."
The world seemed to stop.
Even though he had expected them...
Holding them in his hands made everything real.
"I've already signed."
Andrew stared at the documents.
His hands trembled.
"If I sign these..."
"You'll be free."
She nodded.
"So will you."
He looked at her for a long time.
Then asked one final question.
"If none of this had happened..."
"If my mother hadn't lied..."
"If Brenda never existed..."
"If I had listened..."
"Would we still be here?"
Mariana smiled through tears.
"Probably."
The answer hurt more than rejection.
Because it meant they hadn't been doomed from the beginning.
They had simply made choices that led them here.
Andrew closed the folder.
"I don't deserve another chance."
She didn't argue.
Instead, she stood.
"The lawyers will contact yours."
She turned to leave.
Then stopped.
Without looking back, she said quietly,
"I hope one day..."
"You become the man I fell in love with."
"And not because of me."
"For yourself."
Mariana walked toward the waiting car.
Andrew remained beneath the oak tree.
Alone.
He watched until the taillights disappeared beyond the garden gates.
Only then did he look down at the divorce papers in his hands.
A single tear landed on the signature page.
He laughed bitterly.
Four years ago...
He thought he had married a woman who needed saving.
Now he understood the truth.
She had been saving him all along.
As Mariana's car merged into evening traffic, her phone rang.
It was Alejandro Escalante.
"How did it go?"
She looked out the window.
"It's over."
Her father was silent for a moment.
"Are you all right?"
Mariana took a deep breath.
"No."
Then, after a pause, she smiled faintly.
"But I will be."
Alejandro nodded, though she couldn't see him.
"Good."
"Because tomorrow..."
"There is another matter."
"What matter?"
"The federal prosecutors."
"They've decided to file criminal charges."
Mariana's expression changed.
"Against Andrew?"
"No."
Alejandro's voice grew colder.
"Against someone else."
"Someone who has been stealing from Whitmore Holdings for years."
Mariana frowned.
"Who?"
Her father answered with two words.
"Chief Financial Officer."
Mariana sat upright.
"What?"
"The investigation uncovered something unexpected."
"He wasn't just hiding losses."
"He was running a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme."
"And according to the evidence..."
"He made sure Andrew never discovered it."
Mariana's eyes narrowed.
Everything she thought she understood suddenly shifted.
Maybe Andrew hadn't been the mastermind behind Whitmore's collapse.
Maybe...
He had also been manipulated.
And if that was true...
The battle wasn't over.
May you like
It had only entered its most dangerous chapter.
End of Chapter 10
