7 years have gone by and Julieta Esperanza finds herself reminiscing about the past. She had stopped seeing Camilo since that snowy night, but she hadn’t forgotten about their bond in all the 7 long years. As she hears her mother’s calls, she runs over to the dining hall. There, her family was meeting with their greatest enemy the Serrano Family. Their families have been feuding for decades and her parents had thought that it was finally time to talk. Upon entering the room, her attention fell to King Serrano’s son. Prince Ramiro’s hair was as pale as the moon and his eyes were as lifeless as his smile. To resolve the conflict, the families had decided on a partnership that involved the engagement of their heirs. Julieta was not ecstatic about the engagement, but something about this boy felt different, somehow familiar. She decided to at least learn more about this mysterious prince, and follow him as he walked to the castle’s garden. 

“It is an honor to meet you, Prince Serrano.” Ramiro stared at her with disdain, “You should be.” he said in a sharp tone. “Let’s be honest, I despise this engagement as much as you do. You might have fooled everyone with your posh facade, but I’m not falling for any of that.” and with that he left the garden. Julieta was appalled by the personal slander that she had just witnessed. “Excuse me?..” she said under her breathe. Regardless of the Prince’s horrible attitude, she owed it to her parents and her Kingdom to give this a chance. However, this was not as easy as it seemed.

Over the next few months, Ramiro and Julieta were stuck in their “game of mouse and cat”. She could never know what to expect with him. Some interactions were absolutely terrible! There were mornings where her peaceful slumber is awoken by the sound of Ramiro’s horrendously played guitar. Oftentimes she finds her private reserves of pastries gone; only the measly crumbs remain in her special basket of goodies! There was even one evening when Ramiro “accidentally” splattered grape juice all over her favorite dress as she was entertaining guests. However, some interactions weren’t as terrible? She thought. There were also times when she would wake up to find him placing a freshly picked bouquet of flowers on her bedside table. As odd as it was, he would also bring her pastries from her favorite pastry shop. Sometimes his guitar playing wasn’t as horrendous, and he would play a beautiful melody in the garden that would be heard all the way from her bedroom; lulling her to sleep at night.

Event with Ramiro’s confusing antics, Julieta is now even more determined to win this tug of war. Tonight was the Grand Engagement Ball, and she does not plan to lose. Julieta greets Ramiro at the ball “Greetings dear prince, I hope you’re having a horrendous evening.” she said with a smile. “Well I hope you have a horrible evening as well, princess.” Ramiro replied. Julieta bows and gestures her hand towards Ramiro. “May I have this dance?” Julieta said with a sly grin. He took her hand and replied. “As you wish.” They began to dance as the music played and the guests watched in awe. Julieta attempted to embarrass him by stepping on his foot, but he twirled her around. Now, their faces were now inches away from each other. “Nice try, I don’t think you’re going to fool me that easily.” Julieta took the lead, hoping to catch him off guard. However, Ramiro followed her movements swiftly, and the two danced harmoniously as if they had waltzed together countless of times. Their goals of outwitting each other slowly faded away, as the music reached its climax and the two performed their steps in perfect synch before. Their eyes met as the music played its final note. They stood there staring at each other for a while. Julieta felt her heart leap from her chest as Ramiro pulled her closer, their lips inches away. He lets out a sigh before letting her go and walking out of the ballroom. Her parents were starting to look worried. She smiled at them before following him out of the ballroom and into the lonely garden. She finds him sat on the garden swing. She faces him, her eyes glowing with rage and frustration.

“What is wrong with you? Our families were watching!” she shouted. He looked at her with a certain look in his eyes, the deep blue in his eyes were seemingly fading to a lighter grey. “I could care less about what they say, but I feel that you’ve been so unfair to me.” he whispered. “What are you talking about! You’re the one who’s been acting so odd. One minute you hate me, then another you don’t! Do you want me to lose my mind?!” Julieta held him by the shoulders and looked him straight in the eye. “I just want what’s best for my family. Do you want me to go crazy?!” she sobbed. “I’ve been going crazy Lilliana! These last few months have been first time we’ve spoken in 7 years and you’ve been pretending like you don’t remember me! I could have forgiven you for lying about who you were back then, but making it seem like it didn’t happen really hurts!” he angrily replied. Julieta could only stand there in shock as everything began to make sense. No wonder he seemed familiar.

“C-Camilo? Is that really you?! “ she whispered. His hands slowly intertwined with hers, he held them tightly. “What does it look like Lil? I’ve only grown a few inches…” he chuckled softly. “I-I really thought you were gone. My parents found out that I was sneaking out of the palace. They told me that you hated me, that you knew who I really was and left the village for good. I didn’t want to tell you I was an Esperanza because I was scared you wouldn’t want me anymore.” she replied. Ramiro approached Julieta, his eyes that were once filled with anger, were now replaced with sadness. He enveloped her in a warm embrace. They stood there silently until Ramiro spoke, “I’ve loved you for a very long time, I still do. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have let my anger take over me.” She places a flower onto Ramiro’s hands and spoke. “Will you promise that we will be together, until the last flower in this garden wilts?” He gently takes her hand and kisses it. He then replied “I will”. He places the flower in Julieta’s hair. He smiles and says “That’s an Amaranta, it only blooms under the moon’s light. “ Julieta replies shyly, “It matches your eyes.” The two fondly smiled at each other as the two continued on their walk. They only wish that this beautiful dream would never end…

A few moons later, Julieta went to her parents to discuss their engagement. “Mother, Father, Ramiro and I have decided that we would like to marry now-“. “You can drop the act Julieta.” her mother spoke. “I never thought that this plan would work but here we are.” “What do you mean this plan?” Julieta asked. “The engagement was just a way for us to lower down their guard, now we can finally strike them down once and for all! I’ve sent the troops out this morning! ” her father shouted victoriously. “So this entire time you were using me? I THOUGHT WE WERE FINALLY GOING TO END THIS POINTLESS WAR, BUT IT WAS ALL FAKE?!”