─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

IT WAS TOO silent for Estella, and anyone involved in this world knew that wasn't a good thing. Estella was beginning to grow lonely inside the home where Benjamín and her were still impatiently hiding out. Estella knew that Benjamín was busy trying to fix everything with the public and was trying to help Enedina lead his role while he couldn't.

But it still felt lonely, as if Estella weren't spending as much time with Benjamín. She never said anything, knowing everything was too tense and that he was stressed and trying his best. Estella still wanted to make sure their relationship would be strong though, and she knew the entire situation with Amado hadn't been the best for their relationship.

Estella just wanted to spend time with Benjamín and get away from all the stress, but it seemed like that was impossible due to the massive hate from the public after the bishop's death. But it was an overwhelming feeling knowing they were trapped inside this hide-out for weeks on end still waiting for the call that allows them to go back home to the comfort of safety and familiarity.

"Benjamín, stay a little bit longer." Estella begged gently pulling Benjamín's arm as he hurried to put on his pants, rushing to answer a call that was easily deemed as very important.

"No puedo quedarme, tengo que responder a la llamada. I'm sorry, but remember that I love you. We'll talk. You can hang out at the pool and I'll meet you there for lunch." Benjamín replied as he put on his shirt, glaring at Estella's disappointed look. She stood up holding the white covers to her naked body, making her way over to the closet to grab some clean clothes.

"¿Estás enojada o qué? You didn't reply." Benjamín walked up to Estella, who clipped on a bra. She shrugged as she looked at his reflection in the mirror, she could tell that he was doing his best to listen and communicate despite his hurry.

"Nothing. I just want to spend more time with you, that's all. But you can go along. We'll talk later, I love you too." Estella forced a light smile, watching Benjamín sigh a breath of relief before giving her a quick peck on her forehead.

"I promise we'll talk." He said, running out of the room giving orders to his sicarios as Estella gazed at her reflection in the tall brown wooden mirror.

She observed every feature of herself feeling like something was different. She felt a sense of sickness, but shrugged it off as anxiety. Everything always linked back to her anxiety but this time it felt so strange, but Estella again excused it and made her way to the vanity to get ready for the long day ahead of her.

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Benjamín was currently on the phone with Enedina discussing everything that had been going on. Things were calming down, but it seemed as if nobody would ever forget the bishop's tragic death. But it almost seemed like something else was on Benjamín's mind that seemed to bother him more than the public irritation.

"Benjamín! I asked how's Estella and Ruth? Jeez, it's like you're not even listening to me." Enedina rolled her eyes as she paced around the room while holding the phone in her hand. Benjamín snapped out of the trance as he looked down at where Estella peacefully read a book while sipping on lemonade. He stood on the balcony making sure for her not to notice him, he was worried about their relationship, and he didn't want to make it appear that she wasn't his first priority.

"Ruth is fine and is getting better as the days pass, but Estella hasn't been in the greatest mood. I don't think the hide-out and the isolation are going well for her, I think it's starting to take a toll on her." Benjamín shook his head as he looked down at Estella, who continued doing what she was doing. Enedina shook her head blowing out the smoke from her cigarette, knowing that she was also concerned for Estella.

"Have you been spending time with her?" Enedina questioned as Benjamín sighed, realizing he hadn't, and he had been very busy lately with his schedule.

"No, but it's been hard. We can't go out because of the hiding, and I'm not risking it." Benjamín shook his head, moving away from the window as he raised his voice. Enedina stayed quiet on the other end, knowing she wanted to give Benjamín some advice. She cared about Estella and knew that her relationship with her brother was something that had to last. They were clearly meant to be.

"Benjamín, don't be an idiot! Take the girl out, you have your sicarios, and nobody said you have to take her out to the city. Take her somewhere nice. Make her feel happy. As a woman, I knew that even the most little things can make us happy as long as it comes from the right person." Enedina explained, remembering all the small sweet things Claudio did for her.

She recalled the intimate moments between the two when he would show up with a gift and how her face used to light up feeling so appreciated by him. She almost teared up not knowing if she would ever experience that again and in her heart felt like she couldn't feel that way with someone if they weren't Claudio.

Enedina now felt like it was in a way her duty to make sure that in between the mess of the cartel life and business life, she still made sure that family was number one. She wanted her siblings to have healthy relationships, and she was willing to advise her sometimes foolish brothers who didn't know what made a woman truly happy.

"Okay, I'll find somewhere in my schedule to have dinner with her." Benjamín replied, knowing his sister was right. He didn't want to lose or become distant with Estella ever again like before.

"No! You're doing it tonight, I don't care. Right now, I'm the boss while you're hiding, remember? Tonight, and if you don't, I'll be slapping you for Estella." Enedina joked as Benjamín agreed, knowing he wouldn't win with his sister. He felt a bit glad to just have a nice time with Estella, but hoped he wouldn't miss out on important news or updates.

After the call, he came down the stairs, seeing Estella having a casual conversation with the maid as he watched from afar. She was gorgeous and very polite to everyone she encountered, no matter who they were, but when you made her angry she wasn't afraid to stand up for herself which is something he admired about her.

Estella didn't see Benjamín and was too busy chatting with the maid. She was making small talk like she usually did, but Estella had one question to ask the maid who was clearly older and more knowledgeable about certain things.

"Do you have any children..." Estella paused as she helped the maid chop the cucumbers. The maid smiled warmly, bringing Estella to smile as well.

"I have two children. A daughter and a son. They're older now and barely come see me, but when they do, I get so excited." The maid replied as she continued doing her work, Estella smiled melancholy and nodded her head assuring that she was listening.

"Oh, I don't know why I've been thinking so much about children lately, baby fever, I'm guessing. It's so odd since Benjamín and I are not even close to that stage of our relationship yet...I've also been feeling sick, but I think it's like the placebo effect." Estella laughed as she shook her head in confusion feeling like her body was tricking her. The maid stopped in her tracks and placed a hand on Estella's shoulder.

"Oh, dear, I think-" but before the maid could continue with her initial thought Benjamín walked in with a bouquet of white roses. Estella instantly forgot about the maid's concerned expression as her face lit up at the sight of the romantic gesture.

"¡Te amo!" Estella solely yelled in glee as she accepted the flowers while giving Benjamín a tight hug. She kissed him as he held on to her waist. The maid walked out of the room but couldn't help to be uncertain if she should tell Estella some useful and necessary advice, but knew it wouldn't be right to disrupt the pair during a special moment.

"I want to take you out tonight. You and me. Just ourselves and no one else. I reserved a restaurant just for us two, away from the public. I don't want you feeling like you aren't my priority." He whispered in her ear as she smirked, knowing how much she adored this man. He was so fucking romantic, and she knew that she had to make this man her husband one day.

"Really? But what about everyone? Surely, someone will see us, and I don't want to ruin your time working either." Estella pulled away from the hug, finding an elegant vase to place the flowers in. Benjamín shook his head, ensuring her that tonight was going to be an extraordinary night.

"No, I just want us to spend time together. I already made sure there won't be anyone."

"Then I'll get ready soon. I love you, and I'm so grateful for the things you do for me, Mr. Romantic." Estella grinned as she tugged at Benjamín shirt.

"I'll see you later, beautiful." He whispered and planted another kiss on her forehead before making his way to prepare the plans he had ready for tonight. Estella shook her head with a cheesy big smile, knowing that this day couldn't get any better.

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As Estella did her makeup effortlessly and dressed in a lovely flowing dress, she couldn't stop thinking about tonight and how she wanted everything to go perfectly. Nothing would be able to ruin her night.

She had no bad vibes or feelings, so to her everything would go just fine with Benjamín. She hoped Benjamín would enjoy this night too, and that perhaps he would take this as a sign to spend more time out with her.

Estella flattened the dress and stared at every detail of herself up to her makeup down to her legs, wondering why she felt off. She usually was confident about the way she looked, but today she didn't like it but ignored it and knew that Benjamín would find her stunning even in the worst outfit ever.

As Estella rushed to grab her purse the maid was getting ready to clean the dishes, but she stood debating whether she should tell Estella what she could be dealing with.

"Estella, please, just a quick second." The maid gently grabbed Estella's arm, who slightly flinched at the sudden motion. She calmed down, recognizing it was just the maid.

"Yes? Is everything okay?" Estella tilted her head, worried that the maid was panicked due to her apprehensive facial expression.

"I don't want to assume or offend you at all, Miss, but I've had two children and the behavior and everything you described to me earlier had me thinking." The maid looked down at the marble floor beneath her as Estella furrowed her eyebrows, suddenly finding interest in what the maid was trying to tell her.

"What? Is there something wrong with me? Oh, gosh." Estella sat down in a dramatic matter, anxious that she would be receiving the worst news, but what came out of the maid's mouth was entirely unexpected.

"I-I think you should visit a doctor. You might be pregnant." The maid swallowed the gulp in her throat as she stammered over her words.

Estella pinched her eyebrows again as she nearly dropped the white designer purse out of her hands. She felt stunned and somewhat worried, even though she had no reason to be. Estella couldn't be pregnant, and she was sure of it.

"Sorry, I'm not offended at all, and I'm thankful for your concern, but I'm not pregnant. This might be too much information, but...Benjamín and I make sure to always use protection. I'm sure I'm just having a stomach bug and an unusual case of baby fever." Estella laughed it off as she stood up, the maid could tell that she could possibly be in denial but nodded her head quickly, knowing that she shouldn't have said something that personal.

"You're right, I shouldn't have said anything. Have a good night with Benjamín." The older woman told Estella as she nodded her head thanking her. As the maid rushed away in embarrassment, Estella stood there looking down at her stomach questioning what the hell had happened. She wasn't pregnant, and she knew she wasn't, either way, she knew that she and Benjamín weren't prepared for that stage yet.

"Did you see a ghost or what?" Benjamín snickered walking up to Estella, seeing how she stood while staring off into space. She looked scared and uncomfortable.

"No, sorry." She replied vaguely, not giving any hint to Benjamín on what could be wrong with her.

"You don't want to go out tonight? We can stay in and watch a movie if you want." Benjamín walked up to his girlfriend looking at her expression, trying to analyze it.

"I do want to go out tonight, sorry. I was just daydreaming." She reassured him, rubbing his shoulder as he hesitantly nodded his head but concluded that she must be fine.

"Are you ready for a good night?" He winked, causing Estella to laugh as he led her to the car outside. She looked up at the orange tint sky that was fading to the night sky and grinned.

"Yes, I'm so excited. I love everything about this. Did Enedina tell you to do this?" She chuckled accusingly as the two sat in the back of the car. He shook his head with a mischievous smirk, telling her otherwise.

"You so did get the idea from Enedina! I knew it!" She laughed, hitting him on the arm playfully.

"Shhh, I promise you that she just suggested that I take you out, however, the rest all came from my mind." He explained as he pulled Estella closer. She looked up at him with a glint in her eyes as he looked down at her, realizing how much he really loved this girl.

"Patrón, this is the restaurant?" He questioned as Benjamín nodded his head as Estella sat up and looked out the window, seeing an empty restaurant reserved just for the two of them. She gleamed, knowing she treasured everything about this.

"This is amazing." She said, stepping out of the slight breezy air of late May and looking at the restaurant. There were other buildings around it, but it was clear that nobody would bother them due to the sicarios guarding the place like they were guards of a castle.

"That's not even the best part." He stepped behind her holding her waist, sending chills down Estella's spine, suddenly remembering what the maid had said but quickly shrugged that recollection away.

As the two began to make their way towards the restaurant, several sicarios began to argue with a group of people that had caught the pair, instantly recognizing them since their faces were all over México's news channels and the newspapers. They had been the faces of the people involved in the bishop's murder, which still left the Catholic people of México infuriated and hurt over the unexpected and preventable loss.

The group protested trying to fight off the sicarios and threatened to call the police, but everyone knew that even the police would obey to the cartel due to fear of what they could do in retaliation.

"Let us in!"

"How could you let murderers reserve a place for themselves?"

"They're murderers!"

"They're living their lives lavishly while we have to suffer!"

Furious people protested, trying to push through the sicarios. Andrea scrambled to the scene, knowing she couldn't miss a single moment of this protest or the sight of the couple in public.

"What's happening?" Andrea walked towards Walt who also watched the scene knowing he couldn't do anything, it sucked knowing that Benjamín and his family were responsible but due to corruption and "lack of evidence" he could intervene just yet.

"Estella Conesa and Benjamín Arellano-Félix are having dinner like nothing. So casually too. Not sure what they thought would happen since the public is still angry." Walt crossed his arms, realizing how ignorant they could be at times even though they were intelligent when it came to planning their next moves.

"It's fucking crazy." Andrea mumbled as Walt agreed, nodding his head.

Estella and Benjamín stopped in their tracks, hearing the loud noise of people protesting. Estella wanted to drop her bag and run, fearing for what would happen if the sicarios couldn't hold the group back.

"I-I thought you said that you made sure that nobody would be around!" Estella shouted in panic as her eyes remained at the crowd, who angrily yelled at her like she was some sort of monster. Benjamín wanted to run and take Estella to safety, but it seemed like he was frozen in place and too frightened to make a move to the car.

TW: Violence, panic attacks

"We need to go." Benjamín snapped out of the fear he was feeling yanking Estella's arm but as the group noticed the couple's attempt to flee like they always did, the group pushed through the sicarios running to the couple surrounding them with questions and remarks. Estella stood in the middle with Benjamín as things were thrown at her and journalists asked her questions about her participation in all of this. The mentions of Benjamín and his family's illegal ways were being explained, the mentions of the bishop's death, the airport shooting, Estella's kidnapping, Estella's past relationship with Miguel and now Benjamín were several of the many topics being yelled in her face waiting for her to answer.

"Get away from me!" Estella yelled in terror as she felt her hands shake as she shoved cameras and microphones away from her face. She felt so stressed and began to panic, not feeling in control of her body. She struggled to catch her breath feeling dizzy and out of nowhere she felt a sharp pain in her stomach and began to panic coming to a horrible realization, and before she knew it everything went pitch black.

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Estella had a sharp headache and slowly shot up to sit on the bed, seeing that she was in the hospital. Instead of seeing the man she loved beside her hospital bed, she saw the last person she wanted to see right now, Walt. He sat on a chair as he looked at the clock, which told Estella that it had been 3 hours since the entire disaster had occurred.

"Where's Benjamín and why the fuck are you here instead of him? I want you out! Do you think that I don't know that you planned this?! I'm in the damn hospital because of you and that damn journalist!" Estella threw one of the pillows beside her at him, who of course dodged it before it was able to hit him.

"It had nothing to do with me or Andrea, we were just as surprised as you are. This is all over the news, it was all organized and everyone is in support of it. The reason Benjamín is not here is that the doctor has news and believes you should be allowed to tell him on your terms." Walt explained as Estella laid back down, her messy hair sinking into the fluffy pillow and her anxiety surging.

"No, he should be allowed to be with me! What's wrong with me? Bring the doctors." Estella cried as the doctors came in calmly Walt nodded his head to Estella, stepping out of the room to give Estella some privacy.

"Calm down Estella, you're okay. You're safe now." The doctor spoke softly despite Estella knowing it was all a façade, she knew well enough that this doctor was only doing her job and probably