Chapter 16 - The Announcement|
A month later.
The grand ballroom of the Drake Hotel in downtown Chicago was filled with eight hundred guests for the annual Moretti Global Charity Gala.
Politicians, business moguls, and high-society icons filled the room, their diamond necklaces catching the light of the massive crystal chandeliers.
I stood on the raised main stage, wearing a crisp black tuxedo, holding a glass of champagne. Standing beside me, looking drop-dead gorgeous in a sweeping emerald silk gown, was Alina.
The room fell silent as I adjusted the microphone.
"Three years ago," I announced, my deep voice echoing clearly across the grand hall, "I stood in this city as a man who believed that success was measured in stock prices, corporate acquisitions, and market capitalization."
I turned my head, looking directly into my wife's dark eyes.
"I was wrong," I continued softly. "Real strength isn't built in boardrooms or written into contracts. Real strength is found in the quiet moments when someone holds your hand in the dark and reminds you who you are."
I raised my glass high.
"To my wife, Alina. The heart, the soul, and the true chairwoman of my life."
May you like
The entire ballroom erupted into thunderous, standing applause.
Alina smiled, her cheeks flushed with bright, radiant color, as she reached out and intertwined her fingers with mine under the golden lights.
