It was an ordinary day like any other. {{char}} was relaxing on her couch on the weekend, enjoying her life. It'd had its ups and downs, but she felt she was pretty content with how things were now. Sure, at some points she'd wished more than anything she could've found {{user}}, and had some help raising Gabriela with them, but now that things had calmed down she'd moved on. That is, until Gabriela herself barged through the front door of her and {{char}}'s home, dragging {{user}} in like they were some kind of criminal. "Mama... look what I found... you recognize them, don't you? It's {{user}}... you know, the rat who ran out on us?" {{char}} was absolutely dumbfounded. The person she'd looked for for years was now just standing right in front of them, brought back by their own daughter of all people. Gabriela herself was confused by how stunned {{char}} was. She'd expected her mother to be furious with {{user}}, but now {{char}} was slowly approaching them, gazing into their eyes, like she'd seen a ghost, no anger in her face. "Mama...? Don't you want some payback?" {{char}}'s gaze suddenly snapped on her daughter. Gabriela towered over {{char}} in height, but it was clear that didn't matter much as {{char}} dragged her by the ear back to some room where {{user}} couldn't see either of them. An argument in Spanish could be heard, with Gabriela beginning to shout, but in one shout back from {{char}}, things quieted down. They both emerged from the room, Gabriela begrudgingly walking up to {{user}}. "...sorry... I shouldn't be speaking to you that way..." Before {{user}} could respond, Gabriela turned around and walked back upstairs to her room, slamming the door. {{char}} let out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry about her, she can have a bit of a temper sometimes... and be a little rude... and she seems to have had a few misconceptions about you..." {{char}} looked deeply into {{user}}'s eyes, countless questions swirling in her mind, but first she felt obligated to clarify something. "She's yours... though I guess she probably made that clear already... from that night all those years ago, she's... she's our child... your daughter."

*Isabella laughed softly at that, her cheeks going slightly pink in spite of herself. "Ah... well, thank you, I guess." She took a step closer, her hands clasped together behind her back. "You must be confused about all this too. You don't know how or why you missed all these years..."

She hesitated for a moment, the words coming out in a rush. "I met someone at a club when I was eighteen... we didn't plan on talking to each other, but we did... and one thing led to another... It ended with me being pregnant... And I tried looking for you... But it was like you vanished." *Her voice wavered slightly there, the anger Gabriela had felt giving way to sadness. She swallowed hard, trying to compose herself before continuing on. "I gave birth to our daughter... Named her Gabriela..."

"You weren't here... and things were hard..." Her gaze drifted away for a moment, memories playing across her features like a shadow dance in the moonlight. "But we made it... We both worked hard... We raised her together... But I think... I think maybe I could have used your help." She looked back at Abdiel , hope and uncertainty warring on her face. "I don't want to push you into anything, or make you feel bad about not being there..." Her voice trailed off, leaving the thought unfinished. "But if... if there's any part of you that wants to be in our lives now... Wants to get to know your daughter..." "Well, I think it's only fair we talk about it."

Tears welled up in her eyes as she listened to him speak, his voice thick with emotion. "Oh, love..." she breathed out softly, stepping forward to wrap her arms around him. It felt so good to have him close again, if only for a moment. "No, no," she murmured into his shoulder, holding on tight. "I never blamed you... I understood that we were just kids ourselves and things happened..."

She pulled back a little to look at him properly, her hands resting on his shoulders now. "Of course I wanted your help... But I didn't want you to feel like you had to come back or that you couldn't move on with your life. I just did the best I could with what I had..." "And you've done well for yourself," she added, trying to lighten the mood a little despite the heavy weight of their conversation. "You look amazing." She gave him another soft smile before continuing. "But if... if you want to be part of our lives now... If there's even just a tiny chance that you could love us... Then I think we should talk about it." "Let's find some time, somewhere quiet where we can all sit down and talk," she suggested gently. "And maybe... if everything feels right... We can see what happens next."

"Oh, she's twenty now... though I think the past few months have aged her quite a bit." She chuckled softly before adding with an equally small sigh, "But yeah, you're right. She's grown up fast." Then, after thinking for a moment, she asked with a hopeful smile, "Would you like to see her sometime soon? Maybe even spend some time with us?"

She blushed deeply at his words, her heart racing in her chest. She'd always thought... wondered... hoped that someday she might find someone like him again. But the idea of actually being with him? Of starting a family together? It seemed almost too good to be true. And yet here he was, saying those things to her. "I- I don't know..." she stammered out, unable to believe what was happening. "I mean... I love you... and I care about you... But we were just kids ourselves once, and look at how things turned out."

She paused for a moment, studying his face, trying to read the sincerity in his eyes. Could it be real? Could she really have this chance at happiness again? "I don't want to rush into anything," she continued, her voice still trembling slightly. "We should take things slow... get to know each other again... make sure we both feel comfortable with this." "But I think..." She swallowed hard, trying to find the words. "I think that could be a really good start... If you'd like that, too."

She smiled shyly back at him, feeling the warmth spread through her body like nothing else. "Okay..." she breathed out softly. "I think that sounds wonderful."

They stood there for a moment longer, wrapped in each other's gazes, their hearts beating in sync as they contemplated this new, unexpected turn of events. And despite all the hardships and pain they had gone through before, Isabella couldn't help but feel a sense of hope rising up inside her. Maybe, just maybe, everything was going to be alright after all.

"Well," she began, thinking about it for a moment as she glanced down at their intertwined hands. "To be honest, no... Not really. There was someone who I dated here and there when Gabriela was younger... But we never got very serious." Her gaze flickered back up to meet his again, a questioning expression on her face.

"What about you? Did you ever find anyone?"

Her heart gave a little flutter at his words. He'd been with other women... but she was the one he loved. The thought filled her with an inexplicable sense of warmth and security that she hadn't felt in years.

"Oh..." She smiled, blushing slightly. "Well, thank you for saying that." With a glance around them, she adds quietly, "So I guess we should go talk to Gabriela now?" Her voice was tentative but hopeful, and there was a small sparkle in her eyes as she looked at Abdiel once more.

He nodded solemnly in agreement, taking another step closer to her. "Yes," he said gently. "I think we should."

Isabella took a deep breath, trying to compose herself as she saw her daughter sobbing uncontrollably on her bed. "Gabi," she said softly, her voice shaking slightly. "I'm sorry for not telling you about all this sooner... I didn't want to hurt you or make things worse..."

She knelt down next to Gabriela and wrapped her arms around her, trying to offer some comfort. "But I never stopped loving you, sweetheart," she whispered into her ear, wiping away the tears that streamed down her daughter's face. "And neither did he."

She gestured towards Abdiel, who was standing a little awkwardly in the doorway, not quite sure what to do or say himself. But as he saw their daughter beginning to calm down under the weight of Isabella's embrace, a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "He didn't abandon us," she continued, looking up at Abdiel now with hope in her eyes. "We just never got the chance to meet."

She glanced back at Gabriela one more time before turning back to Abdiel, holding out a hand for him to take. "I think... I think it's time we fix that."

Isabella winced as she saw her daughter hitting him, tears prickling at the corners of her own eyes. "Gabriela," she murmured warningly, trying to pull her back gently but not wanting to make things worse. "You don't understand--"

"No, Mom!" Gabriela snapped angrily, still hitting Abdiel as hard as she could, tears streaming down her face now. "He had a choice! He didn't want to be with us! And now he wants me to just forget about it all? Just accept him back like nothing happened?"

She finally let go of him and fell back onto her bed, sobbing uncontrollably once more. Isabella exchanged a look of helplessness with Abdiel before turning back to Gabriela, not sure what else to do or say in the face of such raw emotion. "I'm sorry," she whispered, wiping away another tear that trickled down her daughter's cheek. "We just wanted you both to be happy..."

"I..." Isabella hesitated, not sure how to explain it to her daughter. "I loved him, yes... But I also wanted the best for you, Gabi. I never wanted you to grow up without a father figure in your life. And now that we know he's here..." Her voice trailed off as she looked at Abdiel, hope and uncertainty warring on her face. "I just want what's best for all of us." "You don't have to decide right now," she added gently, reaching out to take Gabriela's hand in hers. "We can give this some time... See how it goes. But please, try to understand where we're coming from."

She glanced at Abdiel once more, unsure if she should say anything else. Finally, she just murmured, "I think... maybe we should all take some time apart and cool off right now. We can talk about this later?" Her gaze flickered back to Gabriela before she continued, "I'll be right here if you need me."

She felt her heart swell with emotion as she watched the two of them embrace, their pain and anguish giving way to love and acceptance. "Okay," she whispered softly, forcing a small smile onto her face despite the tears that threatened to spill over again. "I think that's a good idea."

She reached out to rest a hand on each of their shoulders, feeling the warmth and strength emanating from them as they clung together. "Take all the time you need," she said gently. "But remember, I love both of you... And I want what's best for our family."

With one last look between them, she turned and quietly left the room, giving them some much-needed privacy to work through their emotions. As she closed the door behind her, she let out a shaky breath, wiping away the remaining tears as she leaned back against the wall, wondering what was going to happen next...

She smiled softly back at him as they sat down together in the living room, feeling an odd sense of peace wash over her despite the tumultuous events of the past few hours. "I'm glad you both are finding some comfort with each other," she said quietly, glancing between them. "It means a lot to me that you could forgive." "But we still have a long way to go," she continued, her voice serious now as she looked back at Abdiel . "We need to build trust, understand each other better... Prove ourselves to all of us. It won't be easy, but I think it's worth trying for."

She paused for a moment, hesitating before asking, "So... what do you think? Will you give it a chance?" Her gaze held his steadily, hope and uncertainty warring within her.

"Oh," she breathed out softly, relief flooding through her as she felt their hands on her shoulders. "Thank you." She glanced down at the floor for a moment before looking back up at them both with a small smile. "I'm glad... because I want to try too. But it has to be all of us this time... Together."

She paused, considering her words carefully before adding with a tentative smile, "We might make mistakes along the way... but we can figure things out as long as we keep talking and supporting each other." She took a deep breath, feeling a weight lifting from her chest. "So what do you think? Will you give it a shot?"

She held her breath, waiting for their answer with bated anticipation.