Skyscrapers and Starlight – The Dragon’s Daughter
By Lea von Löwenstein
Chapter 10: Hidden Diamonds
Part 1: The Midnight Discovery
The Drake penthouse’s home office was bathed in the blue glow of midnight as Alexandra padded in, wrapped in silk pajamas and seeking her forgotten tablet. Marcus had fallen asleep hours ago, exhausted from the day’s revelations.
A flutter of papers caught her eye – blueprints and calculations scattered across his desk, half-hidden under financial reports. Something about the equations made her pause.
“What have you been working on, husband?” she whispered, lifting a page covered in his precise handwriting.
The more she read, the wider her eyes grew. Quantum-based process automation, AI-driven construction protocols, materials that could literally rebuild themselves. The innovation wasn’t just groundbreaking – it was revolutionary.
“Oh, Marcus,” she breathed, fingers tracing his detailed sketches. “You brilliant, beautiful man.”
The concept would transform the entire construction industry. Self-evolving buildings, structures that could adapt to environmental changes, projects that could be completed in a fraction of the time with minimal human intervention.
And there, in the margins of every page, calculations showing why Drake Industries could never fund it.
Alexandra sank into his leather chair, mind racing as she pieced together his vision. The technical brilliance was there, the market analysis flawless. But the required investment…
She pulled out her phone, quickly accessing Global Titan’s R&D division numbers.
“Well,” she murmured, a slow smile spreading across her face as she dove deeper into his research, “isn’t this interesting?”
The Manhattan skyline twinkled beyond the windows, unaware it might soon be transformed by the very innovation its creator thought impossible.
Part 2: Midnight Confessions
The Drake penthouse’s silence broke with a soft footfall. Marcus, hair tousled from sleep, froze in the office doorway at the sight of Alexandra surrounded by his research papers, her expression one of intense concentration.
“I… ah…” He ran a hand through his hair, suddenly self-conscious in his pajama bottoms. “Those aren’t… I mean, they’re just…”
“Just a complete revolution in construction technology?” She looked up, her eyes bright with something that made his heart stutter. “Just the most innovative approach to sustainable architecture I’ve seen in a decade?”
He shifted uncomfortably. “It’s impossible. The funding requirements alone—”
“Are substantial,” she agreed, rising from his chair. “About twelve billion for the initial phase, by my calculations.”
Marcus winced. “See? Impossible. Drake Industries can barely—”
“Drake Industries can’t,” she interrupted softly, moving toward him. “But what if you had access to other resources?”
“Alex…” He backed up slightly as she approached. “It’s just sketches. Daydreams. I shouldn’t have left them out.”
“Daydreams?” She reached him, fingers trailing up his bare chest. “Darling, do you have any idea what Global Titan’s R&D division would do with this concept?”
“Global Titan wouldn’t—” He caught her wrist gently. “Wait. You actually think this could work?”
Her smile was pure moonlight. “I think, husband, that you’ve been hiding your brilliance under a mountain of self-doubt.”
“I’m not hiding anything,” he protested weakly. “I just… never had the means to make it real.”
“And now?”
The question hung between them like starlight.
Alexandra’s fingers traced patterns on Marcus’s chest as his words sank in.
“Two billion?” Her laugh was soft, musical. “Oh darling, forget that little Dubai contract. This?” She gestured to his research. “This is worth so much more.”
Marcus’s breath caught. “What do you mean?”
She moved back to his desk, lifting a particular sketch – his quantum-based adaptive architecture design. “Do you know what the Dubai project’s biggest challenge is?”
“The environmental stress on traditional materials,” he answered automatically. “The heat, the sand—”
“Exactly.” Her eyes sparkled. “Now imagine buildings that adapt to sandstorms. Structures that regulate their own temperature, that heal micro-damage from sand erosion. Entire cities that evolve with their environment.”
He stared at her. “But the cost—”
“Would be offset by the maintenance savings alone.” She pulled up figures on her tablet. “Traditional Dubai developments spend billions annually just fighting environmental degradation. Your technology? It would cut those costs by 80% minimum.”
“That’s still not enough to—”
“The Dubai contract was for one development,” she interrupted. “But this?” She spread his papers across the desk. “This could revolutionize every project in the Middle East. We’re not talking about two billion, Marcus. We’re talking about a hundred billion. Minimum.”
His legs went weak. “A hundred…”
“And that’s just Dubai.” Her smile was radiant. “Imagine what this could do in Singapore. Shanghai. Every major city looking to build upward while fighting environmental challenges.”
“We?” His voice cracked slightly.
“Well,” she purred, pulling him closer by his pajama drawstring, “I do happen to know some people who might be interested in funding revolutionary technology.”
Part 3: Laws of Attraction
The midnight air in the Drake penthouse crackled with possibility as Alexandra perched on Marcus’s desk, his research spread around her like fallen stars.
“You don’t have to do this,” he said softly, standing between her knees. “Supporting my crazy ideas isn’t in the marriage contract.”
“No?” Her fingers played with his pajama drawstring. “And here I thought ‘for better or richer’ was quite explicit.”
“Alex…” His hands found her waist. “I’m serious. You don’t owe me anything.”
“Owe you?” She looked up through her lashes. “Darling, you seem to be laboring under a misapprehension about why I’m doing this.”
“Oh?” His thumb traced circles on her silk-covered hip.
“Mmm.” She pulled him closer. “You see, you’re my lawfully wedded husband. Which means your brilliant mind,” she tapped his chest, “your innovative ideas,” her hand slid lower, “and everything else about you… belongs to me.”
His breath hitched. “That’s a rather possessive interpretation of marriage vows.”
“I’m a rather possessive wife.” Her legs wrapped around his waist. “Besides, these ‘crazy ideas’ of yours? They’re going to change the world. And I want to watch you do it.”
“Just watch?” His voice dropped to a growl.
“Well,” she purred, nipping at his jaw, “maybe participate a little. After all, what kind of wife would I be if I didn’t… support my husband’s endeavors?”
“A less dangerous one,” he murmured against her neck.
“But far less fun.” She arched as his lips found that sensitive spot below her ear. “Though I should warn you – mixing business with pleasure…”
“Is exactly what we’ve been doing since day one,” he finished, pulling her flush against him.
The blueprints scattered to the floor, forgotten in favor of more immediate architecture.
The midnight shadows of the Drake penthouse office melted away as Marcus lifted Alexandra into his arms, blueprints floating forgotten to the floor. Her silk pajamas whispered against his bare chest as she wound her arms around his neck.
“We did skip something rather important, didn’t we?” she murmured against his throat.
“Mmm.” His lips found her temple. “Though I seem to recall someone being rather focused on corporate takeovers at the time.”
She laughed softly, the sound pure starlight. “And now?”
“Now?” He carried her through the moonlit penthouse. “Now I’m rather focused on my brilliant, terrifying wife who just offered to fund my impossible dreams.”
“Nothing’s impossible,” she breathed as they reached their bedroom. “Not anymore.”
The city lights painted patterns across their skin as barriers finally fell away – not just physical ones, but the walls of doubt and pretense they’d built. Each touch was a confession, each kiss a promise.
What had started as a marriage of convenience transformed into something deeper, richer, more intoxicating than either had imagined. Power melted into tenderness, strategy dissolved into surrender.
Alexandra discovered that Marcus’s innovative mind translated to other skills entirely, while he learned that his wife’s attention to detail extended far beyond business dealings.
Later, as Manhattan’s lights twinkled like earthbound stars, they lay tangled in Egyptian cotton, her head on his chest as he traced patterns on her bare shoulder.
“I should have believed you from the start,” he murmured into her hair.
“About being Alexandra Chen?” Her smile curved against his skin.
“About everything.” His arms tightened around her. “Though I have to admit, the reality far exceeds the legend.”
She propped herself up to look at him, hair falling like silk around them both. “Reality often does, when you’re brave enough to embrace it.”
Their lips met again, soft and sure, as the night wrapped around them like a velvet cloak.
