When Mariana finished piercing in her pearl earrings, she zipped up her hoodie over her pink sports bra. She was about to head off to her Zumba fitness session that she attended every Sunday. It was a way for her to de-stress after the week and then start the new one afresh.

She tied her hair into two buns and then fluffed the rest down her back. She grabbed her mini backpack off the floor and went downstairs.

She's always looked forward to doing Zumba. She loved exercising to the songs that were played, even though dancing in front of other people wasn't her thing, she didn't mind it during Zumba because she was too invested in the songs.

"Bye Rio!" She cheerfully said to her cat as she kissed him goodbye. He meowed as she placed him down. She loved seeing his leafy green eyes look up at her. Even though his pin-like pupils sometimes scared her, she couldn't take his eyes off him when they dilated into a black pool of cuteness.

When she left her house, she skipped down to her car and threw her bag into the passenger seat. She got in the other end and drove off.

Her window went down a little as she turned on the radio. The cool breeze from the window brushed against her neck like little kisses. The sun shined faintly on her face, highlighting her cheeks while the rest were still in the shadows.

When she arrived, she got out of her car and went inside the studio. She placed her bag on the bench and sat down to tie her shoelaces.

"Hey Mariana."

She looked up at her instructor Amell. He was very tall with olive skin and a chiseled jaw. His raven black hair was brushed back from his square forehead.

"Hey," she replied.

"Did you just arrive?" He asked out of his coarse voice.

"Yeah."

"Nice." He took a seat next to her and began to stroke her curls.

"Can you not touch my hair please," she pulled it away from his reach and whipped it to the other side.

"Sorry, are you alright though?"

"Yeah, just fine," she said while shuffling away a little bit. Sometimes his behavior towards her creeped her out.

When she was done, she joined the rest as Amell stood in front of everyone.

"Okay everybody, are you ready to Zumba?!" He exclaimed.

They all shouted in agreement and began to play some salsa music as a warm-up.

Mariana followed his steps closely, putting one foot forward and doing the same with the other. She always enjoyed the salsa warm-up, even though she might miss a couple of steps but she was more worried about tripping on her own feet and embarrassing herself.

After their warm-up, Amell went on the main song which was a salsa remix of La Isla Bonita.

Everyone started twirling around, their waist moving in sync with the music. Their hands rotated and their arms were like water ripples.

Last night I dreamt of San Pedro.
Just like I'd never gone, I knew the song.
A young girl with eyes like the desert.
It all seems like yesterday, not far away.

Mariana's eyes were sealed as she was in the wave of the lyrics.

This was it. She was at the peak of her bliss. Within these peaceful moments, she was in her haven of relaxation, and all her anxieties dissipated away.

****

"So how was your Zumba session?" Leilani asked, eating a bit of lemon cake.

"It was good, it really woke me up from my sleep," Mariana replied while sipping her lemonade. "How have you been?"

She met up with Leilani since she was free at this time. They were eating at a cafe that Mariana regularly went to after her session.

"I've been good. It's nice to be out like this, but it feels weird without my Mateo," she let out a sigh while she stared towards the window, the sun hit her eyes, making them light up like a flame.

"Yeah, it must do, where is he now?"

"His grandma took him out."

"Oh okay," she said and took a bite out of her own slice of lemon cake.

"What about you Mariana? How have you been?" She asked sweetly.

Mariana suddenly stopped eating as she remembered the recent messages she's been getting. "Erm, not that great."

"Why? What's the matter?"

"I've been getting these weird messages from someone that is threatening to take Micah away from me," she sniffed and sulked in her response. The thoughts of the hidden threats to steal Micah away, made her feel mood sullen as she didn't want to lose him.

"Really? What have they been saying?"

"That he will soon be theirs."

"Hmm, that's really strange. Have you spoken to Micah about this?"

"Nope," she said and started sucking the straw of her drink. She felt a tear rising in her eye but tried sniffing it away.

"Why not? Maybe he has an idea of who this could be."

"Yeah, I want to ask him about it someday. Maybe I could quickly go over there today."

"You should. Don't let this person ruin your happiness, Mariana."

"I won't..." she tried to reassure herself but it was hard.

"You two have come so far, there's no way that person could ruin it."

"Yeah that's true," she said and her face finally brightened up. She started to feel much better.

"I'll just talk to Micah about it and then everything will be okay."

"That's my girl," Leilani said with a proud smile and continued eating.

When they finished, they parted always and then Mariana got into her car and made her away towards Micah's home.

When she arrived, she parked the car in the parking lot and started to walk around, looking for him.

She went through the flourishing gardens where the gardeners were tending to the flowers and rose bushes. The sun shone brightly on the glowing grass as well as her face. She used her hand to shade herself as she stood in search of Micah.

Her eyes scanned the whole area until she felt a pair of arms wrap around her chest and a kiss landed on her cheek.

"Hey Mariana," he purred into her ear, making her shiver away from his touch.

"Hey," she faced him and jumped into his arms. She pulled him into a kiss as he held onto her legs. His beard tickled her face, causing her to erupt in giggles but she loved the feeling of it.

"What brings you here?" He asked as he let her down.

"Well I wanted to come to ask you about something," she said.

"Really? Is there something wrong?" He looked at her with a glint of worry pass through his hazel eyes.

"Sort of, can we just go inside please?"

Micah studied her face for a bit. Her dark brown eyes were teared up in desperation as her lips were parted in a slight frown. He wondered what could be bothering her so much, so he slowly nodded and they made their way towards an entrance.

"So did you just come from Zumba?" He asked as he opened the glass entrance.

"Yeah, how did you know?" her reply was when she followed him in.

His eyes traversed down her outfit before back to her round face. "I think it's really obvious."

Her eyes traveled down the same path as Micah's. "Oh yeah, true," she chuckled as she was still in her sport outfit.

Once they were in the hallway, Micah began walking with his footsteps lightly tapping on the polished floor and Mariana followed him closely behind.

"I'm actually glad you came today because there's something I have for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I was going to give it to you next week but I might as well just give it to you now," he said and opened a door into a new room.

He went to a cupboard and brought out a navy blue bag with stars.

"Here you go." He handed it over to her and pecked her lightly on the cheek.

"Thank you." She excitedly held onto it and it unfurled to reveal a box inside. It was wrapped with glittery pink paper that twinkled in her eyes and a golden bow.

"Looks nice, I wonder what's in it."

"I hope you like it," he smiled down at her face with most of her curly hair in sight.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" He asked as he sat down on a bench. He put one leg over the other as she had all of his attention.

A/N: Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Since I'm on holidays now, I'm planning to update more often over the next few days( if I can heh)