One year later...

Mariana stood in her kitchen, preparing dinner for later in the day. She had on a baby pink sleeveless top and blue leggings. Her curly, brown hair was in a messy bun as she was getting ready for the evening she was going to spend with Micah. It's been three weeks since she last saw him because he went to Paris with his brother Mason.

She lived in the house that Micah had brought for her when they flew back from Majorca. She had stayed with his family for a month until she could get a stable job, and they managed to put Xavier in prison for all the crimes connected to him, and what he had done to Mariana and her poor mother. So she was now free from his grip.

The police had also retrieved the bodies of her mother and her two younger siblings, so she was able to give them a proper funeral and get some closure.

While she sliced up the onions, she heard a banging knock that resounded from her front door. She placed her knife down and went to open it.

Stood outside, was Leilani with her 9-month-old son Mateo sleeping soundly in his stroller. She had orange eye shadow with eyeliner as her dark brown wavy hair rippled down like a waterfall to one side.

"Hi, Leilani!" She enveloped her arms around her, squeezing her tightly. They had grown closer over the past year and Leilani was like an older sister to her.

"Hey!" Leilani returned the hug and Mariana allowed her through.

"How are you and Mateo?" She asked as her eyes gazed down to his sleeping face sucking on a pacifier. He had short curly brown locks, a button nose, and small lips.

"I'm good and so is he. I warmed his milk this morning, so he should be asleep for a few hours."

"I can tell. He just looks so peaceful and cute." She bent down and tickled Mateo's fuzzy little cheek gently. His head slightly jerked which made Mariana's heart melt.

"I know," Leilani said with endearment. Her peachy cheeks glowed and stretched into a smile that lit up like the sun.

She put the stroller by the door and carefully took Mateo out with his carrier seat and placed him on the silver-toned couch.

"I brought the mangoes you wanted." Leilani got a basket filled with big juicy mangoes.

"Thanks, Lels, you can just place them on the counter."

They sauntered onto the creamy, marble floors of the kitchen and Leilani placed her fruits down on the black, smooth counter with white spots. "So, what are you going to use these for?"

"I'm going to make homemade mango ice cream."

"You can do that?"

"Yeah, my mom taught me when I was younger," She muttered with a pensive smile, while she twirled the heart of her mother's necklace around her fingers. Even though she still missed her mother, she will always have her necklace with her so wherever she was, she will always have a piece of her mom.

She snapped out her reverie as some fingers clicked near her ear. "Mari? You still there?"

"Oh yeah, sorry, I was just daydreaming."

"Careful you don't do that when doing the actual cooking."

"Don't worry I won't," She smiled with a tint of blush creeping in and resumed cutting her onions.

Leilani joined her and helped her with the garlic and bell peppers.

Suddenly, they felt something soft and fuzzy circling their legs.

"What's that?" Leilani asked.

Mariana looked down and saw her brownish-gold tabby cat rubbing against them affectionately. "Oh, it's just my cat Rio."

He meowed loudly at them while walking between their legs, his long tail flicking against them. Mariana had got him a month after she had her own place. Since she was living on her own, she needed the company.

"What's the matter baba? Do you want food?" Her voice went all babyish as she gently rubbed the top of his head. He continued meowing and looked up at her with his pale lime eyes.

"Okay, baba, I'll go get your food." She grabbed some chicken flavored food and walked over to Rio's bowl who kept moving between her legs.

"The only time this boy loves me is when he sees this." She jiggled the packet towards Leilani and shook her head when Rio was just sitting there, with his head held up high like royalty, waiting for his food to be poured out to him.

Mariana squeezed out the chunky jelly-like food which smelled heavenly to her. Ever since she got Rio, she became fond of the smell of his food and sometimes wanted to try some.

"Here you go, my baby." She left Rio to eat and returned the food to its original place.

"So, if I got this right. Today we are going to make BBQ honey glazed chicken kebabs with popcorn and for dessert, mango ice cream?" Leilani said.

"Yep!"

"I think Micah is gonna end up falling asleep on your couch,"

She let out a light-hearted chuckle, her cupid-bow lips stretching across her cotton-like cheeks. "I wouldn't mind that to be honest."

"Of course, you won't," she smirked.

They continued making the food, including the popcorn to pop around like bubbles, the chicken being grilled in the oven, and the golden ice cream freezing up.

Once everything was done, they took a well-deserved break and made a smoothie with the remains of the mango.

"So how have you been?" Mariana asked as she sipped her drink on the couch.

"I've been okay. Nothing much has happened this week, what about you?"

"Pretty much the same, except I started playing the piano again."

"Really?! Can you play any songs now?"

"Well, I practiced with 'twinkle, twinkle little star' and other tunes just to get used to the keys again, but now I'm trying to play 'A Thousand Years' because that's what I played at my dad's funeral."

"May I hear you play it?"

"Erm, I'm not sure about that..." She turned away, scratching her head.

"Come on! I bet you sound lovely!"

"Maybe another time."

"Aw okay."

"Anyway, do you wanna watch something?"

"Sure." Leilani gently tugged the remote out of Mateo's hands who was pressing random buttons. She pressed a random channel, and they started watching it together.

****

When Leilani and Mateo left in the evening, Mariana settled herself on the couch with a cocktail in her hand. The amber ceiling lights were dimmed low, and Rio napped peacefully on the dusty pink rug. The only thing that was missing was Micah.

She went to her Netflix and started watching The Hustle as she got comfy. She couldn't wait to see her beloved Micah because every second that approached his arrival, her legs would fidget and get restless due to her impatience.

Halfway through the film, Mariana's eyelids drooped as her vision got fuzzier. She was about to fall asleep due to the warm atmosphere when a sudden knock alerted her senses. She quickly put her glass down and rushed to open the door.

When she did, it revealed Micah standing there in a maroon hoodie and blue jeans, with a bouquet of roses and a bag in his hand. He was light-skinned with a little mustache and a fuzzy black beard.

"Micah! I've missed you!" She leaped into his arms and hugged him tightly.

"My Mariana, I've missed you too," He kissed her and gently lifted her high. His kisses went from her lips, around her neck and collarbone. He missed her so much during his holiday with his brother.

"How was Paris?" She asked as she got put down and allowed him through.

"It was very good; it was just the rest I needed after having a rough time at work."

"Aww well, I'm glad you're finally back."

"Yeah, me too."

They went into the living room and sat down on the couch. "So, what did you do in France with Mason?"

"Well, we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower, and we caught up with some old friends and spent most of the day together."

"Do you have pictures?"

"Yeah, here you go." He brought out his phone and Marian swiped through them. There was a particular photo she liked with Mason and Micah together in what looked like a bar. They were wearing navy suits and had big smiles on their faces.

Mariana slowly caressed her fingers over Micah's face as she couldn't stop staring at it. She had honestly missed seeing him and was happy that he was now here, by her side.

"I also brought you some gifts while I was there." He lifted a royal blue gift bag from the floor with a pink ribbon on it.

"Oh, thank you." She kissed him on the cheek and opened the contents of the bag out on her lap. There was a bottle of champagne pink perfume, a snowy teddy bear with a plump red heart, two snow globes with the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, and some jewelry.

"Thank you, Micah, I love them!" She got the perfume and sprayed some on her hand. It smelled of raspberry mixed with strawberry, but its strong aroma stung her nose.

"Careful not to spray too much, it's quite strong."

Mariana rolled her eyes at the late message before she carefully placed it down on the glass coffee table. She held up the snow globes at eye level. She had always loved having them in her possession and found it so enchanting when the snow slowly danced around the miniature buildings like a glistening tornado. "To be honest, I thought you were going to forget about getting these."

"Why would I forget?"

"Because I thought you didn't hear when I said I wanted snow globes."

"Oh, don't worry, I was definitely listening."

She smiled at him and then placed the globes near her TV and slipped the roses into a light blue, flower-patterned vase.

He went onto her Netflix and she plopped down next to him. She grabbed her leopard print blanket from behind the couch and threw it over themselves.

Before Micah could press play for Stranger Things, Mariana suddenly remembered the food she had prepared.

"Hold on, before your start, I gotta get the food out from the oven." She rose and dashed to the kitchen.

She quickly got the kebabs out of the oven and emptied the popcorn into a bowl. She squirted honey and then brought it back to the living room.

"Here you are, Micah." She placed it down and Micah's eyes gazed over in wonder.

"Is that chicken kebab?"

"Yeah, it is," She smiled and bounced back on the couch with the bowl of popcorn.

"Nice!" He picked one up and one chunk of chicken slid into his mouth. Its honey glaze along with the BBQ sauce coated his taste buds. He moaned in the delight of it. "Oh, it's so good..."

"Thank you!" She exclaimed and started eating the popcorn.

Halfway into the episode, Mariana laid her head on Micah's shoulder while having the blanket cloak them in warmth. She was eating her mango ice cream while having more of her cocktail.

"Micah," She whispered through the thick darkness.

"Yeah?"

"I love you..." She murmured with a smile and nuzzled his nose.

"I love you too," He kissed the tip of her nose before going down to her lips.

"Can I come over to your house tomorrow after my job?"

"Of course, you can Mariana, you're always welcome."

"Thanks, I just want to spend some more time with you." She clung onto his arm tighter.

"Yeah, I know. I missed you a lot while I was in Paris." He slowly brushed down her hair and kissed her softly. She giggled and cuddled close to him.

When they finished watching a few episodes, it was quite late so Micah got ready to make his journey home.

"Bye Micah, I hope you get home safely."

"Bye Mariana, see you tomorrow." Micah stepped out into the chilly night with the stars and the chiseled crescent moon.

"Bye!" She waved at him until he got into his car.

When he drove off into the twilight distance, she went inside and got ready for bed for work tomorrow.

A/N: Hey guys! Here's the first chapter!

Just wanted you guys to get comfy and settled in before all the fun starts😊😊😊