I am Luis, I am only 20 years old, I am 1.80 meters tall, I am good-looking and I am a sophomore at a university in Mexico City. My life was relatively normal, until I met Doña Carmen—a wealthy 60-year-old woman who owned a chain of major restaurants before retiring.
We met by chance at a charity event I attended at the college club. Doña Carmen, with her elegant bearing, her sharp but warm gaze, impressed me from the first moment.
Although we had been separated for 40 years, we soon became close. She told me about her life: an unhappy marriage, no children, and decades devoted entirely to building her emporium. I was attracted by her intelligence, her experience, and also the sadness she hid behind her smile. After just three months, I decided to propose to her.
“I don’t care about age,” I said as I knelt in the rain. All I knew was that I wanted to be with you.
My whole family was furious. My parents called me crazy, saying that Doña Carmen was “buying” me with money. Cousins, uncles, and even neighbors whispered that I only wanted their fortune. But I didn’t listen to anyone. I truly loved her, not for the money, but for the peace she gave me, something I had never felt in my previous relationships. After much discussion, I moved out on my own and arranged the wedding, which my parents reluctantly accepted.
The wedding was simple, with a few close friends and some of Carmen’s former colleagues in attendance. On the wedding night, at her luxurious mansion in Polanco, I was as nervous as any young man falling in love for the first time. Despite her 60 years, she maintained a distinguished and elegant air. She emerged from the bathroom wearing a silk nightgown, sat down next to me, and placed in my hands three deeds of land in the center of the city, worth ten million, along with the keys to a newly purchased Porsche for 6 million pesos.
Then she gave me a statement that chilled my blood.
I stood motionless, staring at the shiny keys and thick writing. My heart beat fast in my chest. I stammered:
“What… What does this mean? I don’t need these things anymore…
Doña Carmen smiled slightly, with deep eyes that filled me with fear and intrigue. She took my hand and in a deep voice said:
“Luis… If you have chosen this path, you must know the truth. I did not marry you just to have a company. I need an heir.
I froze. “An heir?” What do you mean…?
He paused and in a serious voice, he explained:
“I have no children. My fortune, which is hundreds of millions, if it were not in the name of a trustworthy person, would end up in the hands of greedy distant relatives, who have been waiting for years for me to die to divide it all up. I want it all to be yours. But… There is a condition.
The air in the room became thick, I had difficulty breathing. I asked in a cracked voice:
“What condition…?”
Ella me miró directo los ojos y pronunció, lentamente:
—Esta noche… debes convertirte realente en mi esposo. No solo en papeles. Si no lo haces… mañana mismo romperé estas escrituras y anularé mi testamento.
Me quedé stunned. La cabeza me daba vueltas. Todo el amor que creía puro se tinó de un extraño juego de poder.
Tragué saliva, el corazón golpeando con fuerza. Y cuando, trembling, I extended my hand to her delicate silk camisole… Doña Carmen suddenly sujetó mi brazo con fuerza, y en sus ojos apareció un stello gélido.
—Wait, Luis. Antes de que sigas… necesitas saber un secreto sobre la muerte de mi exesposo.
Doña Carmen squeezed me la mano. Su voz temblaba levemente, but su mirada era fría como una cuchilla:
—Luis… the truth is that my husband did not die of a heart attack, as todos creen.
Me quedé ice cream. All my body hormigueó y tragué en seco.
—¿Qué… qué está diciendo?
Ella respiró hondo y me miró de frente:
—El me golpeaba, me humillaba… Un día, en un ataque de furia, tropezó en la escalera. Yo no lo empujé… pero tampoco lo ayudé. Lo dejé caer. Y desde entonces, cargo con ese peso.
La habitación quedó en silencio; solo escuchaba los latidos acelerados de mi corazón.
—Ahora entiendes —continuó—. No quiero que mi fortune termine en manos de los vuitres que me odian. Quiero que sea para alguien que tenga el valor d
Temblando, miré a la mujer frente a mí: tan vulnerable como formidable. De un lado, el amor y la protection que había sentido; del otro, un secreto capaz de destruirlo todo.
Breathe deeply and take the hand:
—Carmen… no puedo cambiar el pasado. But sí puedo decidir quedarme. No por tu dinero, sino porque… te elijo a ti.
Sus ojos se humedecieron; por primera vez la vi fragil. Apoyó la cabeza en mi shoulder y susurró:
—Thank you, Luis. Nadie me había elegido so.
Esa noche ya no fue un tradeque de poder, sino dos almas desconocidas encontrándose en la oscuridad.
The next morning, as light flooded Polanco’s mansion, I woke up to find three works and the keys to the Porsche on the table. But this time they are no longer a condition: they are a deposit of trust.
I smiled, placed my hand on his shoulder as he slept, and whispered,
“The world may not understand us. But as long as we are together, that is enough.”
Outside, Mexico City was still noisy and full of misconceptions. Inside that room were only two people—a young man and a seasoned woman—who dared to choose each other despite all the rumors.
And that was the beginning of a love story that the family called “madness”… But for us, that was all that was true.