Chapter Text
It was the proposal dinner between Isabela and Mariano. The night was going smoothly, and the thought of it going wrong wasn’t on anyone’s mind.
“Isabela, the most perfect of the Madrigals,” Mariano started, hopeful, “Will you marry me?”
The world held its breath, and everyone at the table was looking at Isabela for her response.
“...no.”
Gasps filled the air at Isabela’s response.
“But,” Isabela continued, a gleam in her eye, “I’m sure my prima Dolores would take you up on that offer.”
Everyone at the table looked confused. There was a pause where it seemed the silence would continue forever.
“Isabela Madrigal! This is unacceptable behavior. Mariano has been nothing but good to you, and your answer shouldn’t have been anything besides a yes. Explain yourself!” Alma Madrigal was the one to break the silence.
Multiple people at the table trembled at the rage the woman was emitting, even though the anger wasn’t directed at them.
Isabela kept a cool head and looked to her grandmother with a steady gaze.
“Abuela, I was never interested in Mariano. I was doing it to satisfy your demands for me to be perfect, and was content for our relationship to exist in those terms. However, I realized that if we were to get married, that would ruin the boundaries I had for our relationship, and neither of us would be happy.”
Isabela continued, holding eye contact with her grandmother.
“It would also ruin the fraying relationship I have with Dolores, since she’s been infatuated with Mariano since before we started dating. I thought that the two should at least have a chance with each other, since I think their interests and personalities complement each other perfectly. I hope you understand my reasons for this carefully thought out decision, Abuela.”
She held eye contact for a few more seconds before gracefully leaving the room.
“That was actually pretty impressive.”
“Camilo! Not the time, mijo!” Pepa scolded.
“What, are you saying Isa going up against Abuela wasn’t impressive?” The shapeshifter said, earning a whack at the back of his head by Dolores.
“Is this true, Dolores?” Abuela Alma said slowly.
The young woman shakily met the elder’s gaze.
“Sí, Abuela,” She took a deep breath, “I just never thought that I’d get the chance with Mariano because of something Tío Bruno said before he left, so I never tried.”
The Madrigal matriarch frowned at the mention of her son.
Agustín, feeling the tension, stood up quickly, knocking a couple of dishes over, which only served to increase the tension.
“I’m going to talk to Isabela,” He said quickly, stumbling away from the table and towards his daughter’s room.
Everyone watched the man leave, and the two families were left there standing awkwardly.
“If I may,” Mariano broke the silence, “I’m not all that surprised by Isabela’s decision. I noticed that she never seemed too interested, but I still tried to treat her well and respect her boundaries even though she appeared disinterested. I’d still like to be her friend, but I’m willing to try again with someone else.”
The young newly single man turned his gaze to Dolores, who squeaked when she noticed his attention on her.
“Dolores, I’d be fine with starting anew with you. I’d be willing to navigate around your gift to surprise you as much as I can, and gain your trust in a way that I was never able to do with your prima. I’ll do my best to treat you with the same respect I did with Isabela, and I’m looking forward to learning about the Madrigal who can hear everything.”
Dolores turned red at Mariano’s short monologue.
“Wow, that was super cheesy. Dolores, why are you even interested in this guy again?”
“CAMILO!”
“Sorry ma”
“Well, now that that’s settled…” Senora Guzman was the next to break the silence, “I suppose we should leave. I’ll make sure to send Mariano over tomorrow to help clear things up.”
The two left silently, taking some of the tension with them.
“Welp, I’m going to go to bed, see you!” Mirabel said a little too loudly, rushing up the stairs.
“Me too!” Camilo followed his cousin.
The rest of the family trickled up to their rooms, not sure how to handle the situation from there.
A few minutes after the kitchen had been cleared out, Agustín came from Isabela’s room with a cactus stuck on him, and he took a few arepa’s to heal the damage.