There he was, black hair, dark skin, green eyes. Maria was staring at him from the window of her room, dreaming about her future with him. She heard a knock; it was her father, she quickly acted naturally. Her father entered the room, walking slowly towards Maria, he had a big smile on his face. Maria was confused, she asked her father,  
 
“Papa, what’s up?”  
 
“Nothing, mi Hija, Thiago just came, and we signed the deal!” Pedro replied.  
 
“Are you serious, Ay papa, gracias a Dios!”  
 
Maria jumped on her father with joy, Manifer entered the room and saw the two laughing and jumping. Manifer didn’t like it when Maria and her father bonded, because every once in a while, occasionally, she gets jealous that Maria loves her father more than her mother, but she asked anyway,  
 
“What happened mi corazones?"  
 
“Thiago de Leon signed papas deal!” Maria said with excitement.  
 
“Good job, Cariño, speaking about Alex de Leon, he has a son that is looking for una esposa, his name is Alex, he is 22 years old, and it turns out Mateo is friends with him. I have arranged a date for the two of you, tomorrow night.” said Manifer.  
 
“Sí mi hija, I forgot to tell you." Pedro agreed with her. 
 
Maria was outraged about this, she couldn’t believe it, she was in love with Juan, she didn’t want a rich jerk her mother had found. She couldn’t admit to her feelings about Juan either. She was put in a tight spot. She left her room dramatically and slammed the door. She went to her other brother Mateo’s room.  
 
“Mama y Papa are crazy!”  
 
“What happened, don’t be sad hermanita!” Mateo said trying to comfort her.  
 
“They are forcing me to date Thiago’s son, Alex. But you know I love Juan; I don’t know what to do Mateo!” She said sobbing.  
 
“Tranquila hermanita, it will be okay, I think you should tell mama y papa about Juan, who knows, maybe they will accept it, after all its tu vida.”  
 
Maria was lost in her own thoughts, she was broken, she didn’t know whether to confess her feelings for Juan or to just date someone she didn’t love. She decided to talk to Juan about it, because even when she was little she talked to Juan about all her problems. She decided to talk to Juan about i little, she talked to Juan about all her problems. So, she went downstairs, Juan was watering the plants. She went to him and sat down. She said, 
 
“Hola Juan, how have you been?” 
 
“Maria, I’m so glad to see you, everything is alright, and how about you?” He replied. 
 
“Not good, my parents are forcing me to date a stupid rich jerk whom I don’t love.” Maria said sadly. 
 
“Well maybe he is the right guy but just don’t know it yet.” He hinted without making it obvious. 
 
Maria agreed with Juan and decided to give Alex a try. So, she slept and the next day she started to get ready for her date. She put on bright red lipstick, and a long slim red dress, with shiny red heels. She put over a black overcoat and went downstairs waiting for Alex to come. She heard a knock and got up, she opened the door, and it was Juan. He asked Maria to talk. Maria said  
 
“What do you mean we have to talk Juan, Que esta pasando?” She asked him worriedly. 
 
“Look, I told you to go on the date because I didn’t want to admit I had feelings for you, your father would kill me if he heard this. I had to say this before you went on that date.”  
 
“Ay dios mio, I am s…” Maria, struggling to speak, barely managing to say it. 
 
She was cut off by the sound of the doorbell, it was Alex, they both went out, to a fancy restaurant, but Maria’s mind only thought about Juan’s words. Alex was starting to sense something was wrong, he could tell Maria was distracted by something, so he asked, 
 
“Todo bien Maria, you seem distracted.” 
 
“I’m fine, I just saw something today that caught my mind.” She replied 
 
So, they continued on with their date, and Maria couldn’t wait to get back home to talk to Juan. Her phone had died so she couldn’t even text him. Maria faked a headache so Alex drove her home, Alex told her he had a lot of fun, and they should do this again. Maria agreed. When she got home, she saw him. She ran towards him, but Juan pushed her away. 
 
“Que pasa Juan?” She said worriedly 
 
“Rosa esta pregnant.” He replied 
 
“What? Are you serious?” She replied, not knowing whether she was angry, sad, worried, happy. 
 
The two of them went outside to talk and played in the grass, watching the stars, they lied there for about 2 hours before they both drifted away to sleep. Juan fell asleep thinking about his feelings for Maria and she did the same. They both woke up at about 6.00 AM due to the sounds of the rooster. Maria got up and ran to her room. She was unnoticed. Juan went back to work. Juan kept thinking that the baby wasn’t his. He wanted Rosa to take a paternity test, a part of him wanted the baby not to be his because that baby would stop him from living a life with MariaMaria. He convinced Rosa to get a paternity test and it turns out Juan was not the father. 
When heard this he sprinted to Maria and told her 1 of our  problems is resolved, time for the next one, her parents. Maria was not happy about this, she didn’t want to tell her father as she knew he would not support her. Maria was not happy about this; she didn’t want to tell her father as she knew he would not support her. But Juan convinced her, so she told Mateo and they decided on a plan. Maria went downstairs to the living room with Juan and Mateo. Pedro asked, 
 
“Juan, what are you doing… What is happening?” 
 
“I have feelings for your daughter sir, and she has feelings for me!” He exclaimed. 
 
All eyes were on Pedro, what would he do next, this truly outraged Pedro was not seeing straight. Pedro ran toward Juan, punching him once on his face and one in his stomach. Everything was blurry and disoriented. Mateo running to help Juan. Manifer, Maria, Mateo, Pedro, Juan all screaming at the same time, not knowing what to do first. Maria didn’t know what to do so she just looked at her lover. Thats when she saw the blood dripping out of his nose. That’s when she yelled, 
 
“STOP!” With all the power she had in her. Everything was blurry for a moment. 
 
“Maria callate la boca there is no way you are going to have relationships with this beggar. I forbid it.” Pedro exclaimed 
 
“You have no right to forbid me I don’t need you telling me what to do and what not to do!” She screamed ragefully. 
 
“If it’s like that, then I guess you don’t want my money and my house!” Pedro said ironically. 
 
“Pedro calm down, it's just a crush it will end soon!” Manifer said trying to calm down the situation. 
 
“No!” Maria exclaimed, “It's not a crush, I love him!”  
 
“Say that again!” Pedro screamed, “I love him” Maria replied, “SAY IT AGAIN!” Pedro exclaimed, filled with anger. “I   L O V E   H I M!” Maria spelled it out. Pedro slapped Maria while yelling, “GET OUT OF MY HOUSE NOW!” 
 
Maria ran to her room, packed her bags, and left. Mateo left with her as he was not willing to leave his little sister alone. Mateo Maria and Juan got in a Taxi and left. They never spoke to their parents until the day they died.