Chapter 154 CHAPTER 154 – GRANDPARENTS’ COUNCIL

Chapter 154 CHAPTER 154 – GRANDPARENTS’ COUNCIL

POV: Emmanuel
Mateo Jr. showed up at my office at three in the afternoon on a Thursday without warning—something he hadn’t done in years, since we were both men in our fifties who respected calendars and scheduled appointments.
But when my assistant told me he was there asking to see me urgently, I knew exactly why he had come.
—Let him in —I said.
He walked in with dark circles he hadn’t had the last time I saw him and the expression of someone who hadn’t slept well in days. It painfully reminded me of myself twenty-five years ago when I was struggling with loving Isabella.
—I need advice —he said without preamble, sitting in the chair in front of my desk—. Your son loves my daughter, and I have no idea what the hell to do about it.
—What do you want to do about it?
—That’s exactly the question, isn’t it? Because part of me wants to support them unconditionally since I know what it’s like to love despite complications. But another part wants to protect Sofía from all the pain I know is coming.
—You can’t protect her from everything.
—I know. But I can at least try. I can tell her this is a bad idea and convince her Mateo isn’t worth the battle they’ll face.
—But you don’t really believe that, do you?
Mateo Jr. ran his hands through his hair in frustration.
—No, I don’t. Because I’ve seen how you and Isabella have worked for twenty-five years. I’ve seen the love you built despite everything. And it would be hypocritical to tell my daughter she can’t have the same.
—Then you already know the answer.
—Knowing the answer and being at peace with it are two different things.
I stood from behind my desk and sat in the chair beside him instead of keeping the desk between us, because this conversation needed to be between friends, not professionals.
—Do you remember when I first told you about Isabella? —I asked—. You were twenty, and so was I. She was fourteen, and I had just realized I was in love with her.
—I remember thinking you were crazy.
—And I was. Crazy in love with someone I couldn’t have. But you didn’t judge me. You didn’t tell me I was wrong or sick or that I needed professional help.
—What did I say?
—You said love doesn’t choose who it loves. That my job was to decide whether I would fight for her or let her go. And that whatever decision I made, you’d have my back.
Mateo Jr. let out a humorless laugh.
—I was twenty and thought I knew everything about love.
—You knew enough to be a good friend when I needed one most.
—And now what? You return the favor by supporting my daughter?
—It’s not returning a favor. It’s simply the right thing. Mateo and Sofía love each other the same way Isabella and I loved each other. Denying them support would betray everything we learned from our own experience.
—But she’s my daughter, Emmanuel. My baby, whom I carried in my arms and promised to protect.
—And he’s my son. The boy I raised teaching him that true love is worth any sacrifice. I can’t turn around now and tell him I was wrong.
We sat in silence for a moment, forty-seven years of friendship heavy in the air between us.
—How did you do it? —he finally asked—. How did you survive eleven years loving Isabella knowing you might never have her?
—Honestly? I barely survived. There were days I thought I would lose my mind. Days I considered giving up because the pain was too much.
—What stopped you?
—You. Isabella. Eventually the family. But mostly the certainty that giving up meant losing her forever—and that was worse than any pain waiting caused.
—Mateo has that same certainty. I can hear it in the way he talks about Sofía.
—And Sofía?
—She does too. She spent three months miserable after running from Paris. Barely sleeping. Working double shifts to avoid thinking. Exactly like you during your worst years.
—Then you know it’s real.
—I know it’s something. I don’t know if it’s strong enough to survive what’s coming.
I leaned forward.
—Mateo, do you remember when Leonardo finally gave us his blessing? What he said?
—He said true love knows no limits. And that your job was to honor that love by fighting for it.
—Exactly. And now you’re in Leonardo’s position. You decide whether you put obstacles in their way or offer support.
—Leonardo took years to process before he got there.
—And Mateo and Sofía don’t have years. They have now. They have this moment where they can begin their relationship with full family support instead of opposition.
—And if we support them and it still fails?
—Then at least it will fail knowing they did everything possible with all the help we could give, instead of wondering if it would have worked if their family had supported them.
Mateo Jr. closed his eyes.
—I’m scared, Emmanuel. Scared people will judge Sofía. Scared they’ll call her horrible things. Scared she’ll eventually regret choosing this path.
—All those fears are valid because all of that happened to Isabella and me. But you know what? We survived. We built a beautiful life together. We raised three incredible children. And we don’t regret a single second.
—Not even the eleven years of waiting?
—Not even that. Because those eleven years taught us patience and gratitude. They made us value what we had when we finally got it.
—Sofía and Mateo don’t have to wait eleven years.
—No. Because we learned from our mistakes. Because we can give them what was denied to us: support from day one.
Mateo Jr. opened his eyes and looked at me.
—Do you really think they can make it work?
—I think they have a better chance than we did. They have family who understands, who already survived exactly this, who can guide them through the hard parts.
—And our friendship? Does it survive this?
—Our friendship has survived everything in forty-seven years—from leukemia to impossible love to raising children to this. We’re not going to let something as beautiful as our children falling in love tear us apart.
—Even if it gets uncomfortable?
—Especially if it gets uncomfortable. That just means we’re growing along with them.
Mateo Jr. finally laughed—a genuine sound that cut through the tension.
—You know what’s the craziest part of all this?
—What?
—If Mateo and Sofía get married—which is likely given how they talk about eternal love—our families will be connected in even deeper ways.
—We’ll be in-laws.
—Exactly. Forty-seven years of friendship and we end up actual family.
—We’ve always been actual family. This just makes it official.
—And you’re okay with that?
—More than okay. I’m proud my son chose someone from a family I know and trust. Someone raised with values I respect.
—That’s very mature of you.
—I’m fifty-six. It was about time I matured.
We laughed together like we had thousands of times over decades of friendship, and I felt something loosen in my chest that had been tight since Mateo told me about Sofía.
—So we’re doing this —Mateo Jr. said—. Supporting our children no matter what.
—We’re doing this. Together. Like everything else we’ve done.
—And if the extended family has a problem?
—Then we remind them this family was built on love that defied the impossible. And we’re not going to start judging now.
—Some will judge anyway.
—Let them. We survived judgment for twenty-five years. We can survive twenty-five more.
Mateo Jr. stood and extended his hand.
—Thank you. For being exactly what I needed you to be.
—That’s what best friends are for.
We shook hands, but then he pulled me into a hug we had shared thousands of times before—only this one felt different, charged with new meaning.
—Our children love each other —he said against my shoulder.
—Yes, they do.
—And we’re going to help them make it work.
—With everything we have.
When he left, I stayed in my office staring at the family photo on my desk—Mateo at five years old smiling beside his siblings, with no idea he would one day fall in love with my best friend’s daughter.
History had repeated itself exactly as everyone once feared.
But this time, we were going to do it better.
This time, the family would support them from the beginning.
This time, love would win without having to fight an eleven-year battle first.
I called Isabella.
—Mateo Jr. was here.
—And?
—We’re united in this. Both families supporting our children completely.
—How do you feel?
—Proud. Terrified. Hopeful. All at once.
—That’s exactly how I feel too.
—Do you think they can do it?
—I think if we could after everything we faced, they have an even better chance.
—I love you.
—I love you too. And I love that we’re doing this together.
—Always together.
—Always.