Time: After Camila's dirty secret revealed
All eyes are on the daughter of Ramírez in dead silence. The girl's parents glanced uncomfortably between their daughter and the Madrigals; there was an awkward moment of long pause after Camilo excused himself from the dining room.
Abuela's eyes widened, and she inhaled several deep breaths; no one dared to utter a word before the senior Madrigal started.
''Dolores, can I trust you with your words?'' asked Alma, facing her granddaughter instead of Camilo's soon-to-be esposa and her parents.
Dolores gave a big nod while Mariano hugged her shoulder, nodding at Abuela.
''(Y/N)'s been home almost a week. She told us,'' Dolores gestured to Isabela as confirmation, ''what happened in the mountains.''
''Why don't you say this earlier?'' questioned Abuela, again, not sparing the Ramírezs a glance.
''She told us to keep the secret, said it'll only get her into trouble,'' answered Isabela with sad eyes; she looked beautiful even if bothered.
''Did you know?'' Abuela eyed her three children and two sons-in-law.
''We don't know that much, Mama,'' replied Pepa, and clouds formed above her head for Dolores and Isabela's explanation; she felt distressed about your situation by making a painful decision. ''We only know (Y/N)'s in the room and visit her sometimes. But she won't tell us anything about Camila's threat nor what happened in the mountains.'' Bruno and Julieta nodded their head in approval of Pepa's comment.
Abuela finally turned to face the Ramírezs, knitted brows with a slightly upset expression could be seen. ''Do you know this all along? You're her parents; how could you let this unfortunate thing happen in our Encanto? Do you know how much I owe (Y/N)? To Camilo? After I've been blind and allowed this marriage to go on?''
''No, Madam. We're just being shocked as much as you are,'' answered Camila's father at once, ''We have no idea that our daughter had done such shameful business in our village.''
However, Camila's mother stopped her husband. ''We're truly sorry, Madam. I found a crumpled paper in our dustbin after mi Hija left the house, but I didn't know she had planned to get rid of (Y/N) for her own sake.''
''How could you, Camila?'' demanded Abuela, ''Why did you do such a selfish act? You faked the death of (Y/N) and lied about her last words.''
Camila slightly lowered her head, a mean look spread over her pretty face, smirking in glee. She then clenched her jaw, sending a nasty glance to Dolores, Alma, and her parents. ''You don't know what it's like to ignore for years. I've been accompanied by his side all this time, yet he still has not noticed me. I could have more chances and time to win his heart if she did not butt in.''
All the remaining Madrigals were shocked by Camila's words. Especially Tia Pepa and Tio Bruno were taken aback when Dolores blurted out everything. So why shouldn't they anger more towards the girl with two pigtails?
''You're mad, Camila,'' cried Señora Dulce, ''How could you do such things?''
''Mamá, I'm not mad. I'm just a girl who wants my crush to be mine. Is that so wrong?''
''Camila, your hatred towards (Y/N) is because you are so in love. I can understand that...'' stated Abuela, but she spoke sternly with her eyes fixed on the girl. ''However, I cannot tolerate such a selfish mind; I will seek (Y/N)'s advice to punish you when she is better. Now our wedding with Ramírezs cancelled; Casita, please send off the guests.''
''No, you can't do that! I am Camilo's fiancee; no one can tear us apart!'' argued Camila, defending herself; she refused to get up her seat, even if her parents wanted to leave so bad for their daughter had caused disrepute in town. All villagers ought to have been aware of this scandal in the morning.
''Well, let's see... How can you be so naive that Camilo wants to marry you after he knows precious (Y/N) is alive?'' Isabella sneered, looking nonchalantly between her pretty fingernails and Camila's.
''You-'' Before Camila could finish another retort, Casita had already swept her outside, along with her parents, then shut the gate; they had no choice but to return.
-
By the next morning, Camilo urged you to go downstairs with him to enjoy the breakfast; you no longer needed to hide in Casita anymore.
''Good morning, Camilo...oh!'' greeted Tia Julieta, ''It's good to see you walk in the dining room again, Querido (Y/N).''
You smiled, knowing you owed Dolores a big one this time. ''Thank you, Tia Julieta. How can I help with the breakfast?''
''Please, sit down and wait for everybody. Camilo, can you help set the table?''
''Por supuesto!'' Within a blink, Camilo worked efficiently with the help of Casita, placing his plate down at last. ''There you go, cariño; miss dining here?''
''Always. I was treated like a patient and forced to stay in bed for the past few days; it's good to be back without hiding.''
Once the Madrigals started to take the seats, Abuela was the first to welcome you back to sit with them at the dining table and then discussed the previous wedding plan for Camilo and Camila.
''How about you both get married tomorrow? In this case, the ceremony won't have to be cancelled,'' exclaimed Tia Pepa, grinning at you with a rainbow formed above her head.
''Mama, please. (Y/N) has just restored to her healthy state,'' said Camilo, carelessly rubbing circles on your wrist. ''I don't want to rush her.''
''That's a lie; Camilo proposed to (Y/N) but failed, for she wasn't ready,'' whispered Dolores to Isabela, but loud enough for everyone to hear. ''(Y/N) told her to propose in a year or two.''
All the Madrigals laughed at their joke star, seeing him all flustered and abashed for Dolores's enhanced hearing; he forgot his sister could hear everything in town.
''(Y/N), will you come with me to the Ramírezs afterwards?'' asked Abuela.
You gulped, thinking this was about confronting Camila; the time had come at last. No way to escape. Slowly nodding your head, you quickly finished the meal, rehearsing how to react after meeting the girl.
Camilo insisted he should take a day off to accompany you along with Abuela to meet the Ramírezs. He said it was not safe for you to confront her alone, though her parents seemed to have nothing to do with their daughter's issue, but better safe than sorry.
Knocking on the door, Señora Dulce came to answer it after a short while. Her eyes were dark and bloodshot, indicating sleep deprivation from her daughter's act. ''Good morning, Señora Alma, Camilo and (Y/N). Please do come in; I'll pour you some tea. Please get yourself comfortable. Mi Hija would come down in a moment.''
You looked around and realized this was your first time entering someone else's house besides Casita. Despite some villagers being hospitable and often offering you to visit their house, you always turned them down because of the busy tasks, and those tasks would come so instantly that you didn't have much time to sit down to have a cup of fine tea.
Just then, Camilo's demeanour stiffened. He crossed his arms on his chest and looked furious over at the girl who entered the living room. You followed his gaze, watching Camila come to sit on the sofa across from you three.
Abuela put down her cup of tea with flames in her eyes, locking into Camila's. You knew Abuela was angry for telling lies, making up things, and nearly getting Camilo to marry her.
''Hola, Camila. I'm sure you have not met (Y/N) since she returned from the mountains,'' said Abuela coldly.
Camila nodded but did not spare you a glance.
You assumed she was still mad for what you did to her, but that wasn't your fault anyway. She should learn to respect others even though her crush got a girlfriend for years and had to win him with her charms or personality; it wouldn't work for everything by force.
''Apologize to her,'' uttered Camilo, tilting his chin up to look down at the girl with pigtails. ''Apologize to (Y/N) first, then we discuss.''
Camila inhaled a big breath, head lowered, mumbling sorry without looking into your eyes.
The boy in yellow ruana clenched his fist, making you jump for the first time as you saw his sulky look. He was never that angry with people, not the man who tried to flirt with you, not to mention with girls or children. However, here he was, being hostile to Camila, his once so-called Amiga.
''I'm very sorry for my actions, (Y/N),'' repeated Camila, but better this time.
''(Y/N), do you accept the apology?'' asked Abuela, gently holding your hand. ''If you don't want to, you can tell us how you would like to make your anger disappear as long as it is a reasonable punishment.''
''Don't forgive her,'' Camilo snarled, squeezing your palm, ''Look what she did to you! Forced you to make a choice, threw away the ruana, and made you chase after it, then fell. You had been stuck in the mountains and bed for days. Don't accept the apology that easily.''
''Camilo, it isn't your position to tell (Y/N) what to do,'' scolded Abuela.
You sighed, knowing you still had to make the decision.
''I...'' You startled, watching nervously at the girl you once called 'friend.' The devil and angel were playing a good game called tug of war. Part of you wished to punish her, banishing her away from Encanto, sending her to her brother in a foreign country so she wouldn't disturb your life for good. On the contrary, your angelic self told you to put out the demonic anger. Indeed, Camila was lost. She was like you three years ago, showing all those irrational behaviours in the name of 'love.'
Love is like a double-edged sword, containing two sides; it either draws the best out of you or drives you to madness, obsession, infatuation, manipulation, etc.
You couldn't blame her for the whole thing, not really. She was just stubborn, and she didn't know what to do. Camila was lost, being pushed to the limit, and you didn't want to be like her. At least she taught you a lesson: harm set, harm get. Never try to hurt people; it'll only get back to you.
You had made a decision--
''I forgive you.''
Silence and you knew it happened again when all three were confused by your act.
''W-what are you doing?'' exclaimed Camilo, ''you can't just accept her apology-''
'' 'Milo, let (Y/N) talk,'' said Abuela sternly, but she was knitting her brows in confusion.
''I forgive Camila. I'm not going to lie; she did those regrettable things for her own sake, but still, it's out of love. And love makes people crazy.'' You explained to them.
''What are you trying to play?'' Camila finally spoke to you with her full attention. Her breaths were calmer than before, as her eyes brimmed with tears and were about to overflow. ''Don't act like a saint; I know you want to get back at me. Just tell me what to do!''
You chuckled, not fully understanding your point of coming to this conclusion. ''At first, some punishments came to my mind, but I knew it was wrong. What you did to us is wrong, and the deeds eventually got back to you. I don't need to cross that line to make the situation worse. It's a matter of causation; therefore, I forgive you, Camila. That's enough when you and your parents got swept out of Casita. It's all good now; I won't blame you anymore.
''I dreamed about my parents yesterday; it was a memory at the age of ten. They taught me about quitting while I'm ahead. If you do something bad, it'll come back to you eventually. It's a circle of good and evil deeds. So, are we cool? We can start all over again, Camila.'' You smiled at her, stretching out your hand for her to shake.
Camila sneezed, only slightly nodding her head. She pulled you into a tight embrace, whispering, "Thank you for not sending me out of town."
-
''Why did you decide to forgive her,'' said Camilo, snuggling up to you once the three of you returned to Casita. ''You should have asked her something, like bake a good year of bread and send it to our house. Or, never disturb our dating time.''
You laughed at Camilo's little whining session. He cocked a brow, having no idea why you were laughing. ''You want to eat free food, my knight. That's so childish; maybe try to grow up?''
Camilo let out a dramatic offended look, hugging your waist tighter. ''Childish? (Y/N), she did all those things--''
You interrupted him with a quick peck on the lips. ''It's over, Camilo. It's my decision, so deal with it. Sometimes, you need to learn how to control your anger. Personally, I think she learned her lesson. Camila won't bug us for the rest of the days. I dare say.
"And, as I said, I dreamt about my parents telling me to forgive. It's a clue to the right choice."
''And I dreamt about breaking her pretty face," muttered Camilo. "Why are you always so angelic? Why is my girlfriend such an angel?''
''I'm not an angel, 'Milo; I almost sent her to exile. But we don't need to be that harsh. As I said, it'll only get back to you afterwards.''
''Whatever...'' murmured Camilo, kissing you on the forehead, ''I still think my girlfriend is an angel.''