1. Araceli Pov

"I've got great news for you and a bad one too." A tall man dressed in a dark grey suit said to the woman, who was seated on a sun lounger beside the pool. He was large with ripped muscles with his hair pulled into a neat ponytail. One could tell he was a hard man even though he was elegantly dressed.

He has a blank expression on his face as he stood staring down at the woman watching him with steel-blue eyes.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she waited for him to reveal to her what he had to say.

"I found Franco." He finally let out.

"You did?" Her lips parted in shock as the name registered in her mind, memories of times past flickered before her eyes making her heart beat even faster with each breath she took.

"Finally." She mumbles to herself, smiling and gently tapping her chest as she recalls it all, the one whom her heart yearns for, the man whom she owes her every breath.

Her childhood love-Franco was alive.

He was the most beautiful part of her past but yet, the most painful memories were with him.

It was just like yesterday when she stood in the rain right outside the police station, all drenched with no idea where Franco went. Without a goodbye-he left, and for years she'd wanted to know the reason for his disappearance.

'Did he abandon her?'

Despite it all, the thought of meeting Franco again after twelve years of being apart sends chills through her as she kept smiling sheepishly.

She could still recall the sound of his voice and all conversations of the past. The way his lips curve into a mischievous smile and how his tone lowers when he pronounces her name. The feel of his lips on her forehead and their very first kiss.

Twelve years was worth the wait.

She didn’t care how long it has been. All Araceli wanted was her Franco, maybe then, she could be the sweet loving Ayla she once used to be and not the Araceli Castaneda everyone fears.

Her name was driving tremors in the underground world, sending chills to detectives and the hearts of reporters even the civilians, but behind the stone-hearted woman everyone knew her to be, there was a soul yearning for love.

A woman, who has only known the feeling of disappointment. A woman who has always been abandoned by everyone she loved. It makes Araceli pray deeply, that with Franco, it was never the case.

She sniffed back the tears prickling her eyes and carefully placed her legs on the frigid floor. She stood up and turned to look at Rafael, unable to hide the excitement anymore.

Her laugh lines were clearly visible, despite it being late at night her perfectly shaped white teeth gave her away as her eyes light up even more.

"Where is he?" She asked, smiling so much that one would think a family of hers had just cheated death.

"That's the bad news." He mumbled, his eyes lowered to the floor.

Her eyes furrowed with confusion as his words sent tremors through her spine, the fear clearly visible in her eyes and she had her hand clenched tightly by her side, hoping the next words that comes out of Rafael's lips would not be much bad news as he portrays it to be.

“How do you mean?” Her voice was barely audible.

"I've not been able to locate him."

"Rafael!" Araceli yelps out in anger. Her hands ruffle her long straight dark hair backward as moans of relief escape her lips. She expected something worse, she thought maybe Franco died and for a moment there Araceli knew she would have died from the news of his death.

"I thought maybe he died." She grunted at him but then-

"Mi amor!" A voice screams out in the dark, and the sound of footsteps headed towards her direction made her skin crawl. The scent of the man approaching soon blended with the air, and every breath was like the sweet smell of freesias appealing to Araceli's nostrils.

Though her hate for this man was enormous, the sweet smell of his skin and perfume was magnetic. His aura was his secret charm, and his physique, emerald eyes, and his well-chiseled face and body could get him any woman he wanted yet he had her wrapped around his thumbs and never away from his radar.

Francisco Valvez Salazar!

A top presidential candidate in the coming Mexico election. A man whose name could cause shivers in the people of Mexico.

Araceli had approached Francisco cause she thought he had hands in Franco's disappearance. She had gained his trust by helping him frame a detective, which was after him, and since then, Francisco had been all over her and wouldn't let her off his radar.

But it was time to leave him, there was no need to hold on to him, not for business or pleasure or her initial revenge, she was going to give it all up, all she wanted was Franco.

"Mi amor!" Francisco's hands spread apart as he drew Araceli in for a hug. He placed his lips on her cheeks and kissed her leaving her dumb for a minute.

"Mi amor, I've got a surprise for you." He held her gaze for a minute, reading through those blue eyes of hers that held so much disdain for him, but he cared less, he had vowed to break her stone-hearted heart and make her fall helplessly for him. He vows to wait forever if it was what it takes, as long as she never looks at another.

He locks his hands with hers leading her away from the poolside without spearing Rafael a glance. When they got to the bedroom, he made her wear the black figure-hugging dress that was laying pretty on the bed and a silver heel. After which, he drove her to 'Rosa Negra' a perfect restaurant in the middle of the city.

"What are we doing here?" She asked as he pulls the chair out for her.

He hushed her instantly, holding her chin up, and kissed her lips. Araceli couldn't help but felt nervous. Her eyes were busy trailing the restaurant as she gently sat on the chair. He fondled her hair placing it over the edge of the chair, then walks to the seat opposite her.

A waitress walks over and poured wine into their glasses. Different meals were served, one after the other and when it got to the seventh, they finally brought the dessert.

"What's all this about?" Araceli's eyes locked with his.

"Marry me." He smiled, graciously unveiling a diamond ring inside a red velvet box he took out from his suit.

He held her left hand and placed the ring on the tip of her fourth finger.

"You are the only one for me Araceli, no one else." He chuckled.

Araceli's eyes were fixed on the ring, and for a moment it was as though time stopped, her eyes kept searching Francisco's face and the perfect dimples at the corners of his lips, but there was no way she was going to accept his proposal, not when she just found the love of her life.

"No!" She loosens his grip on her hands.

"I'm sorry."

Francisco's countenance that was glimmering like fireflies pleasant to the eyes suddenly overshadowed with rage. The skin of his forehead revealed the lines of his fury as his eyes narrowed deeper.

"I'm sorry." Araceli grabbed her purse and quickly stood on her feet, her gaze darting away from Francisco's, but then it stopped when it met a familiar figure standing behind Francisco.

For a moment, the world was suddenly at a standstill as her gaze lingers on until it finally dawn on her.

"Franco!" The name left her lips in a whisper.

She could hear the thumping sound of her heart as she remained there staring into the man's gaze, but then-

He strides towards her, his eyes locked with her. Every stride unveiled the past, how much he laughed at her silly jokes, and how heart-wrenching the days were without him. The tears welling up in her eyes slowly tinkled down her cheeks, as she lifts her hand to clench his sleeves, but when he was a meter close, his gaze drifted from her to behind her as he walks past her like she was nothing but a ghoul.