3. How they met

Cora leaned back in her seat with her eyes closed and thought more about the question Lisa asked her earlier; Was she still pining for Zachary King... She vehemently disagree then and thinking about it now she still disagreed.

How could she still have feelings for a man that made a mockery of her love for him? A man that shamed her in front of her family and friends. No, she didn't have any feelings left for Zach King, instead, she hated him with passion.

Even with the hatred Cora felt for Zach King, she still couldn't entirely forget about him, how would she be able to forget when her daughter was a constant reminder of her father with her blond hair, green eyes, and dimples. The only difference was Zach's aloofness while Isabella was as vivacious as her mother.

Cora couldn't help it when her mind drifted off to the first time she set her eyes on Zach. Even after seven years of harboring hatred in her heart for him, she could still recollect the day vividly. She was eighteen, fresh out of high school, and waiting tables at her father's cafe before her college admission letter arrived.

She had gone to the kitchen to get a customer's order. And as soon as she walked out with the plate of croissants and cup of coffee, she had the feeling that someone was watching her. The feeling was so strong her eyes drifted in his direction and met square on with a pair of startling green eyes. 

It was as if his eyes were trained on the door, watching for her to come out. She was arrested and so taken aback by his good looks, she didn't know when she walked past the table she was serving until the customer alerted her to her mistake. 

His table was the next one she was attending to, so she walked up to him with her heart almost jumping out of her chest. He was tall, extremely good-looking, with blond hair and deep-set green eyes. She couldn't explain why she felt nervous when she approached his table. Maybe because he was not smiling, even when she smiled at him in greeting

She saw he was American from his accent when he gave her his orders and she managed to communicate and write down his orders with her manageable English without faltering. When she was done, she didn't know how she walked back to the kitchen without falling on her face.  

“Oh my god! Did you see that hottie?" She grabbed Lisa and squealed immediately she entered.

"Yeah, I saw. I saw how you were gushing and almost drooling all over the poor man!"

"I was?..." Cora asked in surprise. She didn't know she was that obvious 

"Yes, Corazon!" Lisa rolled her eyes upward. "He's American. I can bet he's on holiday, looking for a pussy to make his time in Spain more enjoyable. So please get your head out of the cloud if you don't want to get hurt!" Lisa snapped

"Yeah, you're such a killjoy!" Cora replied, swatting Lisa on the head with a napkin.

Later when she went to give him his bill, she met his absence but saw he left some money under his half-empty cup of coffee. 

"He paid way more!..." She exclaimed under her breath. 

When she counted the money, she noticed a folded piece of paper in-between the euro bills. It was a drawing of male and female figures holding hands. The message written under it says...

"Us on our first date. Meet me on the corner of Calle Vida Pobre by seven in the evening.”

The way the note was composed looked like a command but Cora never saw it as such. She was happy and excited that he showed interest in her and wanted to take her on a date. She folded the note and put it inside her apron, hiding it from Lisa's prying eyes. She didn't want to be discouraged from going on a date with her hottie.

Throughout that day, she was all smiles till her shift finally ended by four in the evening. She closed from work and hurried home to get herself ready. She started preparing for her date two hours before seven.

She took her time and soaked in rose-scented water. She was glad she didn't have to worry about plucking her eyebrows and shaving her legs, since they were recently done for her graduation party. After her bath, she dressed in a knee-length, white dress that showed her curves to perfection before putting her raven black hair in a French roll updo, that exposed her graceful neck. 

She was an only child and her parents were overprotective of her, so she was glad they were not around when she left for her date. she just dropped a note for them that she would be out with some friends before taking a taxi to where he told her to meet him.

When she arrived, she saw he was already waiting beside a shiny low-slung car and her heart began to beat uncontrollably when he started walking towards her as soon as she stepped out of the taxi.

"Hello, Corazon. You look beautiful" He commented smiling. She was surprised to see him smiling down at her since he was aloof when he came to her father's cafe.

'Oh, God!... Is there no end to his attractiveness?" She thought when she saw his cheek dimpled when he smiled. His voice was deep, rich, and sexy, making her week in the knee

"Hi!.. H-How did you know my name?" She wondered aloud since nobody call her Corazone except her parents and Lisa

"Does it matter?... Shouldn't you ask me what my name is since we're going out on a date?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. His thin lips curved upward slightly at the corner in a smile

"Yeah, okay... Uhmm, what's your name?"

"I'm Zachary King. I like you a lot and I would like to take you out on not just one date but many. You can give me an answer by the end of today..." 

"We don't have to wait till the end of today. I like you a lot and would like to go on many dates with you too." She excitedly burst out in Spanish and laughed when she saw the confusion on his face

"You're gonna have to repeat that to me in English cos you've lost me"

"Yeah, sorry. I said, no need to wait till the end of the day because I like you too" She carefully picked her words in English and managed to get it right. 

She didn't mind that he was assertive. In fact, she liked his confidence and preferred his straightforwardness to unnecessary witty pick-up lines like the guys she's been coming across.

Even though he was aloof when she first saw him, Cora discovered during their date that he was funny, charismatic, and totally genuine. Their first kiss was magical. It was like an electric shock that ran through her body. Within a few weeks of meeting, she was sure she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. 

Her parents never approved of their relationship. She was a daughter of a baker while he was a billionaire. They thought he was out to deceive her but she was adamant. 

"You can't judge him simply because he's rich! It's either him or no one" She said to her parents and stood her ground.

"If you're sure he loves and respect you as much as you love him then follow your heart. It's your future, we're not going to live it with you." Her father said when they finally gave in to her

Yes, she was sure because they already confessed their love for each other. He's been helping with her English and already promised to take her along with him back to America. Although he never actually proposed, but since he loved her, Cora just assumed they would get married and lived happily ever after. 

Then he was called back home to attend to some urgent business. He promised he would call her every day and he would come back for her the following week. He never called nor did he come back.

After about a month, he came back and called her to meet him at their favorite hanging spot. She forgot that he kept her waiting and never called for a whole month as he promised. She was just happy he finally came and eager to tell him about her pregnancy. 

What he said immediately she sat down wiped the smile off her face. Her heart sank in fear when he informed her their love was a mistake. He realized he was still in love with his ex-girlfriend who was now pregnant with him and they're getting married soon. He even advised her to move on with her life.

How was she to move on with her life? She was just eighteen years old. A small-town baker's daughter with an unplanned pregnancy. She was heartbroken. To be pregnant for a man she loved who rejected her was hard. So hard she wanted to die

The only things that saw her through the hard times were her parents and Lisa who moved out of her parents' house and insisted on moving in with her. They never asked her about him nor tell her,' i told you so!' They just pretended as if he was never there, listened whenever she felt like talking about him, and console her whenever she felt devastated and cried.