Chapter 7 - The Stand
The following morning, Ricardo Aranda did something he had never done in his entire corporate career. He called a press conference.
It wasn't in a sterile corporate boardroom. It was on the front steps of his home. Dozens of reporters and photographers gathered, hungry for more gossip, expecting him to deny the rumors or announce a lawsuit against Bárbara.
Ricardo walked out of the front doors. He was wearing a simple shirt and jeans. He did not walk out alone. He held Sofía's hand in his left, and Regina's in his right. And standing right beside him, her head held high despite her fear, was Lupita.
The cameras flashed like lightning.
Ricardo stepped up to the microphones. "For the past few days, the media has entertained a fictional story sold by a bitter woman," Ricardo began, his voice booming over the courtyard. "You have called this woman next to me a manipulator. You have called her a scheme. I am here to tell you exactly who she is."
He looked at Lupita, his eyes filled with absolute adoration.
"Two years ago, my daughters lost their mother. I was too broken, too cowardly to face their grief. So I ran away into my business. I abandoned them in their own home." The reporters fell dead silent. A billionaire admitting his own failure was not the scoop they expected.
"The woman you are trying to destroy in your magazines," Ricardo continued, pointing at the cameras, "is the only reason my daughters are still smiling today. She didn't manipulate me. She woke me up. She taught me how to be a father again. She protected my children from the emotional abuse of my ex-partner, when I was too blind to see it."
Ricardo took a deep breath, turning fully to look at Lupita in front of the world.
"She is not a maid. She is a woman of incredible honor, deep intelligence, and boundless love. And I am hopelessly in love with her. I would be the luckiest man on earth if she would allow me to spend the rest of my life trying to be worthy of her."
A gasp rippled through the press corps. Lupita covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face. She hadn't known he was going to say that.
"So write your articles," Ricardo challenged the press. "But know that you are attacking the strongest, most beautiful woman I have ever known. And I will protect her with every resource I have."
May you like
He dropped the microphone. He turned, scooped Regina into his arms, took Lupita's hand, and walked back inside the house, ignoring the frantic shouting of the journalists behind them. The heavy wooden doors closed, shutting out the noise of the world.
Inside the quiet hallway, Sofía looked up at her dad, a massive grin on her face. "That was really cool, Dad."
