The plaza wasn't that busy today. There were people here and there, sitting on benches scattered around the circular area, exiting and entering the stores. Some sat on the the edge of the fountain in the middle of the plaza. A man was kneeling in front of a little girl, who was sitting on the edge.

"Do you like the candy Daddy bought for you?"

"Mhm!" The little girl mumbled as she sucked on her lollipop, a silly grin spreading across her face. The man smiled back and took out a tissue from his shirt pocket. He wiped the little girl's cheek free of saliva, making her giggle.

"Don't tell Mommy I bought these for you, okay mi preciosa?" He placed his index finger to his lips to make a shushing sign. The girl giggled again and did the same, making a "sshh" sound in the process.

"That's right, mi niña, don't tell your mother-"

"Don't tell me what?"

The man let out a little "eep!" and turned around.

A woman behind him was carrying a shopping bag and she had the ghost of an amused smirk gracing her lips.

"Hello mi amor, I didn't see you there!" The man stood up and scratched the back of his head, smiling awkwardly.

"Mmhmm," the woman's lips turned into a thin line, "Honey, I thought I told you not to give Rosa any sweets. They're not good for her. Especially those from your office."

The man's smile faltered. "Hey what's wrong with the candy from my office?"

"They could be expired." The woman set the bag down on the ground and walked toward her daughter. She tried to gently pry the lollipop from her lips, but the little girl only made and annoyed sound and tightly gripped onto the lollipop stick.

"They're not expired!" The man retorted, "I've been eating them all this time and I'm feeling fine!"

"Well you're not a growing child anymore, not like our Rosa." The woman pinched Rosa's cheek, making the girl giggle.

The man sighed and reached his hand over to pinch Rosa's other cheek. Rosa shrieked with laughter and tried to bat the two hands away, lollipop in one of her hands.

"Ah, my break is over," He quickly gave Rosa a kiss on the cheek then stood up to give his wife a quick peck on the lips , "I promised my manager I'd only be out in the plaza to meet my wife and kid, since it was so close by."

"See you at home." His wife replied, smiling.

"Bye-bye Daddy." Rosa perked up.

"Goodbye, mi flor." Her father replied, as he turned around and walked away towards the exit to the plaza.

"You're only getting a lollipop this one time, okay Rosa?" Her mother said as she sat down next to her daughter.

"Why not?" Rosa whined.

"They're bad for your teeth and we don't want any ugly teeth on our little princesa, no?"

"No!" Rosa took the lollipop out of her mouth and tossed it towards a nearby trashcan, missing in the process and getting the lollipop stuck in the edge.

"And our little princesa will be a beautiful one when she goes to her friend's party!" Rosa's mother brought the bag onto her lap and reached in to take out a little blue dress.

Rosa squealed in delight and clapped her hands.

"Pretty!"

"Sí, Rosa, you will be a pretty princess. My little princess." She set the bag string around her arm and picked up her daughter, "Ooh, you're getting heavier. Let's go home now."

"(____)?"

The woman froze. Her grip on her daughter tightened for a second before she turned around.

He looked the same as before. Of course, why wouldn't he? His curly brown hair peeked out of a hat he was wearing. Those mesmerizing green eyes...they shone with a look of...was it surprise? Happiness? Did it even matter anymore? His lightly-tanned skin shone from his sweat, which was strange since it wasn't that hot today. Did he run here? Why did he run here? There were so many questions running through (____)'s head.

"A-Anton-"

"España!"

(____) turned her head towards her daughter, surprised she spoke out loud, and in such a cheerful voice.

"Ah, that I am." He smiled and (____) could feel her chest clench,"It's been a while, (____), or should I say, Mrs...?"

"Adriano. You may call me Mrs. Adriano." She forced out a small smile.

"And this is...?" Antonio motioned to her daughter.

"My little Rosa."

Rosa giggled at the mention of her name.

"Ah, she looks just like you when I first met you." Antonio looked back at (____), smiling, but it turned into a frown when he saw she was looking anywhere but at him.

By this time, the people around them were giving them glances and whispering and pointing, mostly at Antonio. There was a group of girls behind (____) who were giggling and taking out their phones to snap a picture.

Antonio took the front tip of his hat and bent it down to cover more of his face.

"So how long has it been...Mrs. Adriano?" He continued.

"Ten years." (____) curtly replied. Ten years since you pushed me away. I've gone on to live my own life, see? I don't need you in my life anymore. I have my own story now.

"You've changed."

(____) smiled a pained smile.

"Ah, well, ten years can do you some good, I guess. I have a loving husband, a good home, a stable income, and a beautiful daughter. How have you been? I suppose nothing has changed much for you."

Antonio let out a "heh".

"Well you know me, being a country and all, nothing really changes much."

They stood in utter silence for a few seconds. Rosa looked between her mother and Antonio, genuinely confused with the matter at hand.

"Mamá, you're crying."

(____) didn't feel the warm tears filling up her eyes and sliding down her cheeks until her daughter pointed it out for her.

"Ah, so I am." She quickly wiped the tears away.

"Mrs. Adriano," Antonio started to say, "I want to say that I-" He stopped mid-sentence, thinking of his next words.

"I want to say that I am very happy for you and how your life turned out."

Now there were more people noticing Antonio and more people had there phones out. Antonio clearly looked uncomfortable under all this attention.

"I better be going. The media had really changed over the years, hasn't it?" He let out that familiar laugh, making (____)'s breathing hitch.

"I'm glad you're doing well, (____)" He said, backing up and pulling the hat down more, "If anything, that gives me the greatest happiness. Adiós!"

Before (____) could reply, Antonio turned around and quickly walked away, darting past the phone cameras and disappeared from sight.

It wasn't until many years later that (____) saw him again.

Translations

Mi preciosa - My precious

Mi niña - My girl

Mi amor - My love

Mi flor - My flower

Princesa - Princess

Author's Note

WOOWEE it's been almost a year since I last updated and I have to admit, I am a bit rusty. So please excuse me if my writing seems to be going downhill and I AM SO VERY SORRY for not updating in such a long time! Don't worry, I plan on updating more of my stories now that I finally have more time on my hands. Thank you to all my readers and I hope you're enjoying my works so far!

Kudos to WhoHaveIBecome for the translations. Ty fam.