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What had Cisco himself taught her? That patience was key.
She wasn't going to resign herself to what life had in store for her, but that didn't mean she wouldn't prepare for the worst.
When she'd been able to calm herself and look at the situation more objectively, she'd asked more questions. She'd recognized the name Villanueva because it was Camilla's maiden name. And so she'd quickly managed to put two and two together.
From her understanding, the marriage contract had been signed when her father had still been around, which meant he'd been complicit to it, too. And it had all started with Cisco choosing to marry Yuyu instead of Camilla, his original fiancée. His refusal had resulted in another marriage arrangement. This time with Noelle as the collateral.
She'd learned that Sergio was thirty years her senior—gross, in her opinion—and that he was a landowner from northeastern Mexico. He'd already been married a handful times, which never bode well. All indicated that it was a disaster waiting to happen—for her, and for her future.
But Noelle was nothing if not determined. And though she'd already decided she would do whatever it took to avoid that fate, she'd started preparing in advance.
After all, knowledge was power.
She'd researched the entire geography of the region, and she'd started taking online Spanish lessons—all in an attempt to be prepared when the time came.
Her family might want to dump her in a foreign country and leave her defenseless, but she was not about to go down without a fight.
But her optimistic outlook would not have been possible without one variable.
Blue.
She'd never imagined that one day, when she'd been at her lowest, she would have confessed her problems to Blue—privately.She'd shared her situation, without any identifiable details, of course, and he had shared his own worries in return.
That one conversation had sparked the most precious friendship Noelle had ever dreamed of.
She'd gathered he was in college, so that made him a few years older than her. But that didn't matter to her. Not when they were on the same wavelength, communicating so effortlessly. They had the same sense of humor, and shared many of the same interests.
Though they still played games in the team format every now and then, she and Blue chatted daily.
Just the two of them.
Usually, it involved mundane conversations, watching movies or tv shows together or reading something and discussing the subject matter afterwards.
It might seem silly for her to be so excited for something like that, but for the first time in her life she felt seen. She was no longer Noelle, the odd girl who wore too much black, or the weird chick who played the piano. She certainly wasn't the psycho piano girl anymore.
No, for Blue she was just curiouscat. Hisfriend—curiouscat.
He listened to her and she listened to him. It had been entirely eye-opening to find someone who actually listened to her opinions without mocking them, or without diminishing her intellect. Though Blue could be playful and sarcastic, he was never belittling. He made her comfortable to share her thoughts, and she liked to think he felt the same in return.
Suddenly, a green dot appeared next to his name and her pulse sped up.
"Hullo, stranger," she drawled.
"My, my curiouscat. So early. Anyone else and they'd think you're too eager," he chuckled.
"Is that so?" she raised a brow, her lips tipped into a perpetual smile.
"But I know the truth. You're just dying to see the next episode," he added playfully.
"Maybe I'm dying to talk to you," she fired back, inadvertently revealing the truth.
There was a brief pause, and she hoped she hadn't said the wrong thing.
Though they'd been talking for months now, their friendship was still relatively new. She didn't want to scare him away with her other thoughts—the not so clean or friendly ones.
"You'd better. Otherwise I'd wonder why you've been torturing yourself with me this whole time," he laughed. "Especially after you took on the challenge to educate me in pop culture."
"And I've taken my lesson seriously, haven't I? You're now familiar with all the American Pie movies, Blue. I'd say that's a success."
