Chapter 9 - The Final Encounter
A year after the night of my wedding, I attended the opening gala of the new Mexico City Cultural Center—a project that Horizonte Capital had heavily sponsored. The grand hall was filled with politicians, international diplomats, and business leaders.
I walked through the floor wearing an elegant dark velvet evening gown, my hair styled up, surrounded by colleagues and reporters.
As I moved toward the VIP lounge, I caught sight of a man standing near the service doors near the back of the catering hall. He was wearing the plain black uniform of a hired event valet, holding a tray of empty wine glasses.
It was Mauricio.
He looked ten years older. His hair was thin and messy, his posture slumped, his face hollowed out by stress and defeat. He was holding a tray, waiting quietly for guests to finish their drinks so he could clear them away.
Our eyes met across the glittering room.
Mauricio froze completely. The tray in his hands trembled slightly, the empty crystal glasses clinking against each other in the silent space between us.
He looked at me—at the velvet dress, the diamond earrings, the security detail standing discreetly behind me, and the respect radiating from every person surrounding me. He saw the woman he had tried to break, now standing at the absolute peak of her power.
I didn't glare at him. I didn't smile triumphantly. I didn't feel a surge of malicious joy.
I simply looked at him with absolute, tranquil neutrality. He was a complete stranger to me now—a ghost from a brief, foolish mistake in my past that no longer had any power to affect my present.
May you like
Mauricio lowered his head, unable to hold my gaze, and stepped back into the shadows of the service hallway, disappearing behind the velvet curtain.
I turned back to the ambassador I was speaking with and continued our conversation without missing a single beat.
