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"How is it that they still have things to talk about?" Stefanie munched on an apple as she stared soullessly at some family members that were chatting their mouths off.

"I wonder that too." Fransisco stared at the people in more amazement than anything. "Even I spend a day or so where I don't even know what to say to Erica."

Erica only looked at Fransisco in a panned and unamused way before returning her attention to her giddy baby. Melissa had become much more social and talkative since staying in Spain, but her parents guessed that since she had been exposed to much more family, she was bound to talk more and catch onto more conversations now.

"You'll be happy she can talk more now, but just you wait..." Stefanie had grumbled as she passed by the loud toddler when her parents were praising her pronunciation.

Meanwhile, Ella had been packing up for their flight back that would take place tomorrow at dusk. Luckily for her, Damien had proven to be very neat and tidy so she didn't even need to worry about his luggage. Now it was just hers that was left to pack and load onto their vehicle.

"Ella," Elizabeth knocked on the bedroom door slightly, warning her of her presence.

"Come in." Ella continued folding some of her sweaters, packing the freshly washed clothing neatly.

"Oh," Elizabeth entered, peeking around the room. "I thought Damien was in here."

"He's downstairs with Papá," Ella shook her head. For some reason, Damien and her dad had really gotten along well, and their time together these past few weeks only enforced that.

"I don't know what Theo is going to do once Damien leaves. We might end up moving there." Elizabeth laughed, and so did Ella, but her mom wasn't completely kidding.

Elizabeth had already given it some serious thought, and she really thought that it might be for the best. Her children were already forming their own families over there, and she didn't want to be so separated from them. Melissa was growing at a rapid pace, and something told her that it wouldn't take Ella and Damien long to also have a child.

"I just came to relay a message," Elizabeth sighed, sitting down on the corner of Ella's bed, her hands immediately busying themselves by rubbing the duvet free of wrinkles. "Diego is downstairs. He wants to see you."

Ella slowed her movements.

"Did he say anything?"

Elizabeth shook her head, grabbing some garments and folding them to help pack as well. "I think he found out about the engagement."

Ella felt a tiny, minuscule headache forming. That might've just been because she was recovering from a cold, though.

"I'll go." Ella placed one last pair of pants inside before leaving. She had calmly thrown on her coat before stepping outside to the front yard where Diego was already standing. "Hey," she alerted him of her presence.

"Hey, how are you?" Diego leaned in for a hug, noticing how Ella tensed up a bit. It wasn't enough to show that she was super uncomfortable, but it was enough to show Diego that things had changed.

"Mamá said you had something to say to me." Ella shoved her hands deeper in her pockets, trying to fight off the cold shivers.

"I..." Diego trailed off, just quietly admiring her beauty. Ella was downright gorgeous during the day, but once night hit, she always seemed to get hit with a majestic, almost royal and dark beauty. He figured it was due to her dark hair and fair skin.

"You what?" Ella gently prodded, flickering her hazel eyes from the neighboring houses and onto him.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing." Diego licked his chapped lips. The cold weather was no joke in this part of Spain.

Ella smiled softly, her dazzling smile twinkling just as bright as the light in her eyes. "I'm happy. I'm well. How are you doing? How is everything for you?" Ella quietly masterfully directed the attention from her and to him. She had an inkling of what he wanted, and she wasn't sure if she could give it him.

"It's going," Diego vaguely stated, clearing his throat. "Truthfully, I came to ask something." He looked at Ella, seeing that she was giving him her undivided attention. "That Damien dude... do... are things like-"

"I'm sorry, but can I stop you for a minute?" Ella intervened when she realized what exactly he was wanting to ask. She didn't want to have this conversation. She didn't want to have to put him and her in an awkward situation.

Diego paused, closing his mouth and nodding meekly. He knew that what he was doing was not going to get him any brownie points with Ella, but this conversation was more for his benefit than hers. He understood that he was being selfish, but he needed to know where he stood with her.

"I'm sorry that you came all the way here to ask a question that you are probably not going to like the answer to." Ella looked away, her feet becoming numb from the cold snow that was sinking down the more she stood in one place. "We're getting married."

Diego pressed his lips, obviously not happy with the announcement, so he nodded and looked away. The more he looked at Ella, the more he was filled with regret for not coming earlier, for not finding her sooner.

"I think we all have our own paths, and sometimes they are interlaced with a person. I also believe that it happens for a reason. I hope you also find the happiness you deserve, Diego."

In polite terms, she was meant to be with Damien, and Diego needed to bug off.

That was fine, he got the message, Diego thought. He didn't want to continue making the situation worse or even more awkward.

"Thank you for always being the friend I needed, even if it only was for the summers." Ella murmured into his shoulder when they were giving each other a farewell hug. "You're a good person, Diego."

Diego chuckled, pulling back and ruffling her soft hair. "Thank you for teaching me how to be a good person. Believe it or not, you had quite an influence over me. You are four years older than me." Diego teased, knowing that even if she was older, she still had a child-like and bright light shining in her eyes as well as a pure and innocent soul. She was one of a kind.

"Women just have more to worry about, so we grow up quicker." Ella hit his shoulder playfully, "will you come in?"

"No." Diego scrunched his face in discomfort. The idea of seeing Ella all happy with Damien hurt. For now, he would just create some distance, more than he already had with her, and try to move on. "Don't even think about sending me a wedding invitation!" He yelled once he was about to get into his truck and Ella inside her house. "I won't go!"

Ella chuckled, feeling much more relieved that he was strong enough to make jokes. That meant that he wasn't feeling that much rejection and hurt.

Once inside, Ella was surprised to find Damien leaning against a nearby wall, two steaming mugs in hand.

"How did it go?" He approached her, a serene aura around him as he helped take off the coat that had now gotten wet due to the melted snowflakes.

"How did you know?" Ella accepted his help and the mug of hot chocolate that he had prepared. He had found out that even though Ella didn't particularly enjoy warm beverages as much as he did, which was quite ironic, she still enjoyed a mean cup of hot chocolate, only Mexican-style though.

"Your mom mentioned it. I came, thinking you were finished, to give this to you." Damien pointedly looked at the mug in her hands.

"Thank you." Ella sighed, leaning back on the door. She waited for Damien to ask... well, anything, really. It was only natural for couples to be curious about things relating to their partners.

"Are you okay" Damien finally asked.

"He asked me if things were serious with you." Ella admitted, looking at him to see his reaction, expecting to see him flare a bit with anger or indignation, but nothing.

"What did you say?" Damien glanced down at the shining, engagement ring.

"That I was happy. That we had met for a reason, and that we were getting married." Ella smiled softly.

"Good answer." Damien chuckled softly, reaching to rub her hair softly. "Come on. Your family is waiting on you for dinner."

Ella followed him in, taking small sips of her beverage to heat herself up even though Damien's reaction and words had already warmed her up more than she ever thought was possible just by being him.

"Ella? Where'd you go?" Stefanie mumbled while taking a big bite out of some garlic bread that had been placed on the table. "We were waiting forever."

"Mouth closed when eating, Stefanie." Elizabeth nudged her daughter's shoulder when placing a salad bowl at the center of the table.

"This is good. The meat is tender." Lilliana praised Elizabeth, nodding in appreciation as she chewed.

"I didn't do it. That was all Ella." Elizabeth clarified, pointing at her daughter.

"Seriously?" Lilliana was genuinely surprised. "It's really good! Now that you can cook, you really are prepared for marriage." She joked, and suddenly, that become the topic of conversation.

"And Auntie Jessica can come, and then we can get Ignacio to cook the tacos! Oh, yes." Lilliana began planning, and Stefanie followed along just as enthusiastically as Elizabeth.

"The colors will be light. That brings good luck, you know." A family friend that knew Ella since she was a child was also there, giving her opinion.

"What do you think, Ellie?" Stefanie turned to a flustered Ella.

"What type of dress do you think you'll like?" Elizabeth questioned right after.

Ella opened her mouth, but no words would come out. She didn't really know what to say. She hadn't really thought about all of that.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there." Damien stepped up, and the ladies agreed, returning to a different topic altogether.

Ella sighed quietly in relief, grateful for Damien stepping in to redirect them to another topic shortly after his comment. She hadn't given their wedding much thought; for now, Ella was simply enjoying the engagement process of just being with Damien.

"What are you thinking?" Damien asked that night when he was working on his laptop but noticed that Ella had been stuck on reading the same pages of a book for a solid twenty minutes. When Ella gave no response, not even a gesture that showed that she heard him, Damien paused typing and turned to look at her. "Amore?"

Ella blinked. "Did you call me?"

Damien frowned, seeing that she seemed troubled, so he put away his laptop and planner, setting them on the floor before closing Ella's book.

"What's on your mind?" Damien positioned himself so that he could see her beautiful eyes while he spoke to her. The glare of the lamp light reflected off her glasses that were cutely perched on her small nose.

Ella pondered on how to word it for a bit before she decided to just be honest. This was her partner, someone whom she had agreed to spend the rest of her life with.

"Do you want to get married soon?"

Damien smiled gently, chuckling as he brought her closer, tucking her head under his chin as he pat her back gently, soothingly. "I want to make you happy. If you want to get married next week or next year, that's fine with me."

"Next year is too soon." Ella mumbled, reaching to grab onto the soft material of his tee shirt. She loved the way if felt and looked on him. It also smelt like him, which Ella felt like would always be a good thing. He was soothing.

Damien brought Ella back to reality when he laughed sincerely, his chest rumbling. "Alright. Then how about... whenever we're ready?" Damien pulled back to measure Ella's reaction to his words. He never really knew if he did a good job at consoling her, he just kind of hoped for the best.

"I think that sounds marvelous." Ella agreed, feeling much more relieved.

"Good," Damien saw her eyes begin to sparkle gently again. It always amazed him how expressive her eyes were and how much they gave away. "I love you, and I want our wedding to be a beautiful experience. Tell me when it gets too much." Damien pressed kiss to her forehead, pushing her down below him as he leaned to turn off the light.

"Ah, we have to wake up early tomorrow," Ella whispered into the night once she and Damien had found a comfortable sleeping position.

"You can always sleep on the plane ride." Damien squeezed her hip from where his hand was throw over her waist from behind. Ella didn't answer, knowing that she wouldn't be able to anyway, but that would be okay. It wasn't like she would die from a few hours of lack of sleep.