On the night of the wedding she put in my hands 3 land deeds and the keys to a Porsche worth 6 million pesos, but when I lifted her dress I froze…

My name is Luis, I’m only 20 years old, I’m 1.80 meters tall, I look good and I’m 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 retirement.

We just happened to meet at a charity event I attended at the college club. Doña Carmen, with her elegant bearing, her sharp but warm look, 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 drawn to her intelligence, her experience, and also the sadness she hides behind a smile. Three months later, I decided to propose to him.

“I don’t care about age,” I said as I knelt in the rain. All I know is that I want to be with you.

My whole family was furious. My parents called me crazy, saying Doña Carmen was “buying” me with money. Cousins, uncles and even neighbors whisper that I just want their fate. But I didn’t listen to anybody. I truly love him, not for the money, but for the peace he has given me, something I have never felt in my previous relationships. After much discussion, I moved in on my own and arranged the wedding with my parents’ reluctant acceptance.

The wedding was simple, with a few close friends and some of Carmen’s former colleagues. On the night of the wedding, in his luxurious mansion in Polanco, I was as nervous as any young man making love for the first time. Despite his 60 years, he has maintained a well-known and elegant air. She came out of the bathroom in 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 he gave me a statement that made my blood run cold.

I stood motionless, staring at the shiny keys and thick writing. My heart was beating faster in my chest. I’m stammered:

“Now… What does this mean? I don’t need these things anymore…

Doña Carmen smiled slightly, with deep eyes that gave me fear and intrigue. He took my hand and in a deep voice said:

“Luis… If you have already chosen this path, you should know the truth. I didn’t 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, explained:

“I don’t have any children. My fortune, which is in the hundreds of millions, if it is not in the name of someone trustworthy, will end up in the hands of greedy distant relatives, who have been waiting for years for me to die to divide it all. I want everything to be yours. But… There is a condition.

The air in the room was so dense, I was having a hard time breathing. I asked in a low voice:

“What are the conditions…?”

She looked me straight in the eye and said, slowly:

“Tonight… you must really become my husband. Not just papers. If you don’t… tomorrow I will tear up these deeds and annul my will.

I was stunned. My head was spinning. All the love I thought was pure was tinged with a strange power game.

I swallowed hard, my heart pounding. And when, trembling, I stretched out my hand to her delicate silk nightgown… Doña Carmen suddenly held my arm tightly, and an icy glint appeared in her eyes.

“Wait, Luis. Before you go any further… you need to know a secret about my ex-husband’s death.

Doña Carmen squeezed my hand. Her voice trembled slightly, but her gaze was cold as a blade:

“Luis… the truth is that my husband did not die of a heart attack, as everyone believes.

I froze. My whole body tingled and I swallowed dry.
“What… what are you saying?”

She took a deep breath and looked me straight ahead:

“He beat me, humiliated me… One day, in a fit of rage, he tripped on the stairs. I didn’t push him… but I didn’t help him either. I dropped him. And since then, I’ve carried that weight.

The room fell silent; I could only hear the racing beat of my heart.

“Now you understand,” he continued. “I don’t want my fortune to end up in the hands of vultures who hate me. I want it to be for someone who has the courage to stay, even though they know who I really am.

Trembling, I looked at the woman in front of me: as vulnerable as it was fearsome. On one side, the love and protection I had felt; on the other, a secret capable of destroying everything.

I took a deep breath and took her hand:
“Carmen… I can’t change the past. But I can decide to stay. Not because of your money, but because… I choose you.

Her eyes moistened; for the first time I saw her fragile. She rested her head on my shoulder and whispered:
“Thank you, Luis. No one had chosen me like that.

That night was no longer a power exchange, but two unknown souls meeting in the dark.

The next morning, as the light flooded Polanco’s mansion, I woke up to find on the table the three works and the key to the Porsche. But this time they were no longer a condition: they were a deposit of trust.

I smiled, put my hand on his shoulder in his sleep, and whispered,
“Maybe the world won’t understand us. But as long as we’re together, that’s enough.

Outside, Mexico City was still noisy and full of prejudices. Inside that room there were only two people—a young man and an experienced woman—who dared to pick each other out despite all the murmurs.

And that was the beginning of a love story that the family called “madness”… But for us, that was the only truth.

WAKAS