Mrs. Cordova was a highly energetic person, to say the least. She had a bubbly personality that could easily draw a long person in, the exact opposite of her quiet husband and her son. But she also had an air of confidence to her that demanded respect despite the fact she was nearly as short as me.
With an arm hooked with mine, she bombarded her favorite cafe with a boisterous voice, asking for her usual seat. I wanted to shrivel away under all the eyes that were instantly drawn to us, but the employees seemed to be used to Mrs. Cordova’s bubbly personality as they happily showed her to her “usual” seat and laughed at her antics as she randomly pointed new things in the cafe from the last time she visited.
I was a bit uncomfortable with everyone’s attention. They whispered very poorly to each other about us, asking about who was with the madam of the Cordova household. However, Mrs. Cordova easily pulled my attention away from their whispers with the mere mention of Rafael’s name.
She told me about what he was like as a kid. How he excelled at his academic classes as a child and often left tutors flabbergasted at his blunt comments questioning their credentials.
I couldn’t help giggling at her animated reenactment of a little Rafael who would proudly stand before his tutors and demand to see their education degree. It reminded me of Liam and how he used to scare the teachers of the classes I sent him to before I switched him to online homeschooling.
All throughout breakfast, Mrs. Cordova told me stories about Rafael’s childhood. How he ran into his father’s meetings as a 4-year-old and called one of the investors a “moron” for yelling at his father. Or how he constantly followed his mother around when his younger brother was first born, insisting on helping out even though he was too little. Or how as he got older, his eyes would secretly light up at the sight of sweets but still stubbornly say that he didn’t want them out of the belief that he couldn’t enjoy sweets if he wanted to be taken seriously.
I was so absorbed in her recollections that I forgot all about the strangers surrounding us. It felt like I was secretly being let in on Rafael’s past, one that he would probably never tell me about himself. Things that would only ever be told a mother’s guilty pleasure, like when I teased Liam for his embarrassing mistakes.
When we finished our food, Mrs. Cordova gleefully whipped out a similar-looking black card from her husband and declared that all of today’s escapades would be the boys’ treat, paying for breakfast before I could even protest. Then, she dragged me out of the cafe and told her driver to take us to her tailor.
By the time we arrived at her tailor’s boutique, she had bombarded me with an uncountable amount of questions about Rafael and I’s relationship. Questions like if I was the one that he would disappear out of the room in the evenings to call or if he would text me a lot throughout the day, or if he had stayed with me before.
Although I wasn’t ready to tell her about Liam yet, I told her everything else, like all the little signs of affections that Rafael would shower me with everyday. Like how he stole kisses at work when no one was looking. Or how he started coming over to my house for dinner every night. To how he would always show up with a bouquet of flowers or random boxes of pastries and greet me with a kiss on the head before asking me about my day. Or how he would always insist on cleaning the dishes for me even when I said he didn’t have to. To how he would never leave without saying that he would see me again tomorrow.
It was all little things, but Mrs. Cordova squealed like a little girl at every sentence, saying that she would’ve never imagined her son to be so loving. It was as if her energy only increased with each comment to the point that she was nearly bouncing off the roof by the time we arrived at her tailor’s place.
She happily bounded out of the car, keeping me in her arms, as she blasted her way into the quaint little shop tucked away between two towering brick buildings.
The bell chimed at our entrance, making all three of the people in the shop turn their attention to the newcomers.
“Ah, it’s the amazing Mrs. Cordova! How have things-”
Despite her tailor’s joyful greeting, Mrs. Cordova’s focus was drawn away by the other patrons already in the shop.
“Mellisa! I never expected to see you here today. Why didn’t you tell me before? I would’ve came with you if you said something.”
The other elderly lady chuckled at Mrs. Cordova’s bubbly chatter and replied, “You know I would never miss out on getting your fashion advice, but I’m not shopping for myself today. I’m actually helping my daughter get a dress for the gala next week.”
“Ho, ho, ho, I, myself, have also come to request a custom dress for my new daughter.” Mrs. Cordova proudly pointed at me, drawing everyone’s attention to me. “Look how cute she is! How could I not make her the center of attention at my son’s gala.”
I became flustered under all the attention. My body instinctively tried to make itself smaller as if it would do any good in hiding from the unwanted attention.
Mellisa’s eyes fluttered up and down my figure with curiosity before commenting, “She really is adorable. Somethings in a mellow baby color would look amazing on her.”
Mrs. Cordova squealed at her comment and clasped her hands onto her friend, rattling her friend with her unavoidable burst of energy. “I was just thinking the same. Why don’t we talk to Amanda together? I’m sure the youngsters won’t mind waiting a bit until we’re ready to take their measurements.”
I nodded meekly, unsure of what to make of the situation.
Then, Mrs. Cordova dragged her friend away with the tailor ‘Amanda’ locked between their arms towards one of the back rooms.
Once they were out of sight, I released a soft sigh, relieved that I was no longer put under the spotlight. Glancing around the shop, I noticed that there were already a few manikins hanging around the store with loose pieces of fabric in a dark wine-red color pinned to them. Several rolls of fabric were hanging around the tables with random pins and drawings scattered about.
All the intricate silver and gold details decorating the edges of the shop screamed luxury. It was nothing that I had ever seen before as someone who only bought ready-made clothes from retail stores.
Would it be really expensive to get something custom-made here? It seemed like it would cost at least more than twenty-fold of an ordinary formal dress, but I didn’t want to waste Rafael’s money on something like this. Maybe it would be better for me to put it on my card instead… Did I even have enough cards to split such a bill?
“Um… I’m sorry for my mother. She’s been friends with Mrs. Cordova for ages, and they act like teenage girls whenever they get together. But I hope you aren’t too taken aback by it.”
Snapping out of my thoughts, I warily glanced up to the right of me, trying to find the owner of the voice. My breath hitched when I caught sight of an elegant woman standing right next to me.
She was more than half a foot taller than me, with a slim frame that still had curves in all the right places. She had dark black hair that fell pin straight down her back, perfectly framing her emerald eyes.
Everything about her was the epitome of mature beauty, the exact opposite of my tiny and frail frame.
“Uh… I’m Cassy, Mellisa’s daughter… What’s your name?”
I timidly diverted my eyes and replied softly, “Danary.”
She gave a light hum in thought before adding another question, “How do you know Mrs. Cordova? She’s always complained about only having a bunch of emotionless sons, but I’m hoping that she didn’t actually kidnap you and force you into being her daughter.”
A small chuckle escaped from me. “She didn’t kidnap me… But I did just meet her for the first time today from Rafael.”
“Rafael?” She turned her head toward me with a raised eyebrow and a surprised expression. “You know him too?”
I nodded mutely.
Her lips dropped into a small circle as she turned her head back forward. “I hope you won’t hate Rafael too much. I know that he can be cold at times, but he really is a good person.”
“I… I don’t hate him per se…” I didn’t know why, but for some reason, the way she said her words made me feel anxious.
“That’s good…” Her features softened as her eyes drifted back off into the distance. “I’ve known of him since we were little. After all, he was the famous heir of the Cordova family. He was known as the picture-perfect child in all of our families, one who was both studious and mature, standing miles ahead of the rest of us… It made the boys from the other families jealous of him whenever they got compared to him, and they often tried to pick on him during our families’ outings. But he never really paid them any mind to them and stuck to himself… He always looked kind of lonely…”
Her words held so much melancholy that I didn’t know what to say. I had always thought of him as some who was always in the spotlight and loved by others, but I guess the same scenario could be seen as being placed in such a high pedestal that he no longer had anyone by his side.
Her grip on her arms tightened to the point that she was digging her nails into her skin as she continued, “I don’t think he really ever noticed me all throughout our childhood… He didn’t recognize me when we met again after all these years, but I expected that… Even so, I would never be upset at Rafael. He’s always been kind despite his cold exterior. He often chased off my bullies when I was younger and helped treat my wounds, even though he never learned my name…”
I turned my gaze down onto the ground. Why was she telling me all of this? She was obviously still in love with him…
“I guess what I’m trying to say is that… don’t give up on him because he is honestly one of the most respectable men out there despite everything…” She let out a heavy sigh. “If you’re here with Mrs. Cordova, you must be the girl that Rafael mentioned a couple of weeks back, the one that he couldn’t stop thinking about… He said that he would never be able to win you over, but you must’ve fallen for his charm as well, right?”
I clenched my jaw and nodded stiffly. So she knew this whole time…
My chest felt heavy, but I couldn’t tell if it was out of guilt or sympathy. I wanted to ask her what she wanted from me for telling me all of this, but the words just wouldn’t come out.
I feared that she might tell me that she would never be able to get over him. That she was angry with me for taking away her man. That I was someone who didn’t deserve to be by his side. A person who didn’t have the proper background to be by his side. Someone who could 1never be by his side the way she was.
But, before anything else could happen, Mrs. Cordova and Cassy’s mother come out of the backroom boisterously with an exhausted tailor trailing behind them.
“Danary! My daughter! Are you ready to get measured? We came up with the most perfect dress for you, and I’m sure you’ll love it when you see the design.”
Mrs. Cordova swiftly hooked her arms with mine and eagerly tugged me along with her, pulling me toward the backroom before I could say anything.
I hesitantly glanced back at Cassy as she calmly spoke to her mother without any indication of our previous conversation.
She was everything that I was insecure about.
Someone who I feared more than anything else, for she was the one who could take away the one person who could make me feel safe and happy.