Some time passed and neither Mirabel or Isaac said a word. They just sat there, holding hands, with her head on his shoulder. While she could have sat there all night, it was starting to get late and Mirabel needed to start helping Mila get ready for bed.

Finally, Mirabel pulled her head away and let go of his hand. She smiled at him. "I'm sorry, I have to go."

"No, don't apologize," he said as they both stood up. "I actually need to get going as well. I'll, uh…see you soon?"

"Yes, absolutely," She leaned forward and they hugged goodbye. He gave her one last wave and walked away. Mirabel smiled as he walked away. She couldn't believe how lucky she was.

When Mirabel finally walked in her house and into the living room, she saw both her mom and Tia Pepa. They smiled at her as she walked in. "How did it go with Isaac?" asked Pepa excitedly.

Mirabel smiled and blushed a little bit. "Um…really good. Better than…I could have ever hoped." She already couldn't believe how brave she was for being able to handle holding his hand and leaning her head onto his shoulder.

"Well…?" asked Julieta anxiously.

Mirabel bit her lip and said, "Well…I…told him that…I'm in love with him." Mirabel couldn't help but notice the smiles on her mom and tia's faces get even bigger. "I explained to him…in greater detail why being in a relationship is so hard for me." She took a shaky breath. "He understood everything and was…so sweet about it. But…I wanted to try something and I didn't know if I would be able to handle it, but…I did. I held his hand." Saying it out loud made her emotional and her eyes filled with tears. "He didn't make me do it. It was all my decision and…at first, it was freaking me out, but…I kept telling myself where I was and who I was with and…I calmed down. I was even able to rest my head on his shoulder. I know it seems silly to be so proud of that. Holding hands is nothing. I hope that someday I can…handle more, but…just holding his hand was a big deal for me."

Both Julieta and Pepa stood up and walked up to her. "It's not silly at all." said Julieta. "That is a huge deal, mi amor. I'm so proud of you." Julieta's heart was melting at the thought of her youngest daughter finding love. She deserved it more than anything. "I'm proud of you for not rushing anything. I'm so happy you were able to hold hands today, but please, don't push yourself. There's no timeline for how your relationship has to be done. It is yours and Isaac's relationship, no one else's. Okay?"

Mirabel nodded. "I thanked him for being so patient with me and…he said…one step at a time and we've got this."

"It sounds to me like you couldn't have found a better man." said Pepa with a shrug.

"Agreed," said Julieta.

"I know." said Mirabel. "I could have stayed out there all night, but I knew it was time to get my birthday girl ready for bed. Has she come looking for me yet?"

"Yeah, she did, but we told her you were out talking with Isaac and she wanted to join you two. We got the hint you wanted to be alone with Isaac, so we told her you guys wanted to be alone and that made her really excited."

Mirabel rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. "I'm pretty sure that girl wants me and Isaac together more than me and Isaac."

Julieta and Pepa laughed, agreeing with her.

Mirabel went upstairs and found Mila in her room, already in her pajamas. She was playing with her new toys, but struggling to stay awake. She smiled sleepily at Mirabel, who walked right up to her and picked her up. The older she was getting, the harder it was to lift her up like this, but Mirabel was determined to hold her as long as possible. She could not believe how big her baby girl was. Mirabel tucked Mila into bed and then she got ready for bed herself, thanking her lucky stars that she had found someone like Isaac.

It was never really said, but Mirabel and Isaac just kind of knew now that they were officially in a relationship and they took it very slow. They knew there was no reason to rush anything. They had a nice conversation with Mila after a week to tell her they were together now. She jumped up and down, squealing with joy. It made Mirabel so happy, but also very emotional. She had no idea what the future held for her and Isaac, but she was thrilled that Mila would now have another positive male role model in her life.

For 3 months, the most they did was hold hands and hug. For that first month, holding hands was still something Mirabel had to really gather up her courage to do. It didn't come natural. It would always cause her heart to beat fast and she had to take deep breaths and remind herself who she was with and that she was safe. But at the 3-month mark of being together, holding hands became natural and it didn't give her anxiety. She was just so happy to be able to spend time with him almost every single day.

The next step would be kissing and she didn't know how she'd ever be okay with that, but she wanted to be. She wanted to kiss him. She could tell he wanted to kiss her, too, but he was not ever going to pressure her and she knew that. It still made her feel awful, though, because she felt like she was depriving him of things he really wanted.

"I'm so sorry we haven't kissed."

Isaac turned to her in confusion. They were walking through town, holding hands, after dropping Mila off at school together one morning. "You're sorry that…we haven't kissed?"

"Yes. I feel like…I'm keeping you from so many things that you want." Her eyes filled with tears. "This is one of the things I was so afraid of. I knew I could never be enough for you. I can never…do the things that…a guy would want." She loved this man more than she could explain and it hurt that things couldn't be normal. "I'm so sorry, Isaac."

She was about to burst into tears, but before she could, he stopped and turned to her. He held his arms out, signaling without words that they could hug. He knew not to hug her without warning and she appreciated it so much. She wrapped her arms around him tight and pressed her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

There were so many things he could have said in that moment, but only one thing came to mind. "You are more than enough, mi amor, and you always will be. I promise you that right now."

Every time she didn't think she could love him even more, he surprised her. "I don't know what I did to deserve you."

He pulled apart, so he could look her in the eyes. "I'm the one who doesn't deserve you. You have overcome so much in your life and I'm so proud of you for opening up your heart to me. I know it wasn't easy. Every day that we can be together is a day I am beyond grateful."

Mirabel smiled. He was always so sweet with her and it made her heart flutter.

Isaac joined the Madrigals for dinner frequently, at least 2 times a week. Everyone in the family loved him and Mila still absolutely adored him. She wanted him around all the time and she would have been happy to crash every single one of their dates. Sometimes, they let her, but other times, they did want to be alone to just sit and be with each other.

It was 4 months into their relationship and Isaac was taking Mirabel home after a date. They were holding hands and staying silent, just observing their surroundings. Mirabel's mind wandered to being trapped in that awful house and how she wished so badly she could have some freedom. It was 6 years later and she still couldn't believe she had that freedom she longed for. She truly never thought she'd escape his abuse and she was so scared her baby girl would have to grow up in those living conditions. But, thank God, her baby girl never experienced a day that wasn't full of laughter and happiness. She never had to be put through any of the hell Mirabel, unfortunately, had to go through.

Mirabel smiled. She was feeling extra grateful and happy. In this moment, walking with Isaac, life couldn't get much better. They were getting close to Casita, so Mirabel knew she needed to do this fast. She stopped walking and turned to Isaac, smiling at him. He smiled back. "Everything okay?"

"Couldn't be better," She took a deep breath. She was gathering up every inch of courage she could muster up. She thought to herself, "This is my decision. He is not making me do this. I'm doing this, because I want to. I'm safe. I'm with someone who won't hurt me."

Slowly, with shaking hands, she wrapped her arms around his neck. He wasn't moving a muscle or touching her in anyway. He had a pretty good idea what she was about to do and he didn't want to make it harder on her. "Mirabel, are you sure?"

She nodded, still feeling so anxious and heart beating so fast, but also so happy. She wasn't going to let Gonzalez ruin anything else for her. She wanted to enjoy life. "Just…try not to move. I'm sorry, I know that's not fair, but…"

Before she could finish her sentence, he said, "I'll do whatever you need and you don't have to explain yourself."

Mirabel could have put it off all night, finding any excuse to not do this, but she didn't want to. She was ready for this. She told herself, I can do this, and before she could talk herself out of it anymore, she leaned forward and kissed Isaac. She expected to have old, painful memories flood her brain, but they didn't and it was a very pleasant surprise. All she could think was, I can't believe it took us 4 months to do this.

It was only a few seconds later that they pulled apart. They were both smiling so big. "Well…" he started off, still smiling. "How do you feel?"

"Honestly…I feel…wonderful and like…we should kiss again."

Isaac laughed and they proceeded to kiss again.

A little while later, they said bye and Mirabel headed inside. She found her mom headed downstairs to get started on dinner. Mirabel explained what just happened with Isaac and Julieta was ecstatic about it. "I'm so proud of you. You have come such a long way, mija."

"Thanks, Mama." said Mirabel. "I still don't know how I did it. I mean…how was I okay with it? I didn't think this would ever be possible."

"Because you're not being forced to do any of this. Everything is your choice and that makes all the difference in the world, mi vida."

Mirabel knew her mama was right. Consent was what she should have always been given.