CHAPTER 241 — Where Love Becomes a DecisionAyden hung up the phone and stared at the screen for several seconds, as if another question might still pop up… or perhaps an answer that would give him a certainty that hadn’t come in the form of words, but rather as a weight in his chest. He set the phone down on the table, almost without realizing he’d moved it. Only then did he feel the true silence of the room.Like when life stops talking for a moment to listen to your thoughts.His mother’s question hadn’t been just any question.It hadn’t been out of curiosity.It wasn’t just small talk. It had been an invitation to stop putting things off.A gentle yet firm way of pushing him toward a version of himself he could no longer avoid.He walked over to the window without turning on the light. He looked out at the city, which continued to breathe as if nothing were out of the ordinary, while inside him something enormous was settling into place.Like a decision that hadn’t yet taken sha

CHAPTER 243 — The Ring That Was Lost… And the Life That BeganAyden had organized that dinner with almost superstitious care, as if he feared that any small mistake might ruin what was about to happen. The table had been set early: fresh flowers, glasses lined up with precision, and an expectant calm that seemed to foreshadow something important. He had invited everyone. His parents, both sets of grandparents—Carlos and Olivia—and also Fabián and Isabel, who always arrived with that mix of shared history and future in their eyes. Mili’s brother, Benjamín, wouldn’t be there—he was playing that night in Argentina, with Nacional facing Boca—and his absence made the house seem more attuned to every sound. He’d been planning this for days. No one knew except him.He wanted to propose to Milagros with Grandma Isabel’s ring. Not just any ring: that one. The one that had been passed down from generation to generation like a silent promise.That’s why he’d turned to Mía, the only one capable

CHAPTER 245 — Nights That Never End (Ayden’s POV) Milagros’s pulse was still racing. I looked at her as if I wanted to memorize every gesture, every blink, every breath we shared in that room, which now seemed to smell of the future. I moved closer slowly, with that absurd fear of breaking something sacred that had been born between us that night. “Come here,” I whispered, almost like a plea. We lay down gently, as if settling into a moment we wanted to hold onto forever. The dim light from the lamp outlined the edges of the bed. Milagros rested her head on my chest, and I felt her warm breath. My heart—which had always beaten strongly—now beat differently, fuller, more complete. I stroked her hair and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “Love… I need you to trust me,” I murmured. “You don’t know what this night means to me… this news… you.” She looked up. Her eyes were still moist, shining. “Ayden… I didn’t expect this so soon either.” I smiled slightly, overwhelm