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It was a boring Saturday morning. Nothing much was happening in the Cabello-Hansen house.

At least, that's what eight year old Liliana thought.

Little did she know, her parents were arguing like crazy downstairs.

"You can't just act like it's all fine, Dinah! You can't just tell our manager we can go on tour without confronting me first!" Camila told her. "You didn't think about our children. You're acting like you'd be fine if the kids were just taken out of our custody and put up for adoption!"

Dinah sighed. "Mila, fucking listen to me. We can't take them on this tour! It's all the way across the country and the kids need to go to school! They have lives that don't revolve around ours, babe."

"Don't 'babe' me right now." Camila said. "You're acting like you'd be fine if we were all just out of your life. Do you even love your family anymore? It only ever seems like you care about yourself nowadays."

Dinah felt the tears sting her eyes. "No! I-"

"I can't do this anymore." Camila was about to cry as well. "I don't want to have to do this, Dinah but-"

"Shit, Camila!" Dinah yelled, overly frustrated. "Don't fucking tell me I don't care about you or Liam or Lilo. You are all my fucking world. I'm gonna do better, I promise. I'm trying to be there more, just trust me-"

"That's what you said every other time!" Camila was screaming now. "And nothing has changed!"

Dinah stayed silent, she stared at her wife shamefully. "Were we a mistake?" she then asked.

"Get out." Camila told her. "Just go. I don't care where you take yourself, I just can't stand to look at you right now. Please understand."

Dinah frowned, her eyes sagged.

She could have stayed, she could have begged for forgiveness again, but what would it have done?

The Polynesian went upstairs to go get her belongings.

That's when she ran into Liliana for the last time.

"Mama?" the little girl said. "Where are you going?"

Dinah stopped, seemingly frozen in time for a moment. She hesitantly turned to face her daughter.

"Mama has to go for a while," she answered the eight year old, smiling sympathetically. "For a little vacation."

Liliana frowned. She knew her parents were fighting again. She wasn't stupid despite being so young.

"I can tell you probably know why I'm going." Dinah sighed at her daughter. "You've always been smart like that, haven't you kiddo? Just tell your mother I love her, and I also love you and Liam lots, never forget that Lilo. I love all of you."

She leaned down to hug her child, not wanting to let go, but eventually doing so.

Liliana remembered that as the last time she saw her Mama and Mami together as a couple.

That day sparked something inside of her. She knew her parents still loved each other, and they loved each other with such passion.

She was not going to let them slip away so easily. Not after all the memories they've made.

~

A few weeks after Dinah left the house, Camila seemed to be doing okay.

Liliana noticed that her Mami was apparently acting more happy and excited. She smiled a lot more, too.

But her and her brother Liam both sensed an emptiness in their home. They missed their Mama. And they missed her very much.

"Kids, time for dinner!" Camila called up to them.

Liliana helped Liam down the stairs, and walked into the kitchen to go eat whatever had been made for them.

Quesadillas.

But not just any quesadillas, they were made using the special recipe both Camila and Dinah came up with.

Liliana sat down hesitantly. She hadn't eaten something like that in a while.

Well, at least, not once in the two weeks after her Mama went away.

Time passed by rather slowly to an eight year old like her, and it had seemed like Dinah left ages ago.

"So how was school today?" Camila asked her kids as they sat down to eat.

"Good!" Liam smiled. "We learned how to spell words!" he explained contently.

"That's so cool Liam!" Camila praised. She then turned to Liliana. "What about you, sweetie?"

Liliana shifted uncomfortably. "When is Mama coming back?" she asked.

It was a random question, but knowing the answer meant the world to her.

She just had to know.

Camila only stared at the younger girl. "Oh, well uh, Dinah won't be back for a while mija. She said she has something very uhm, important to take care of. For her job."

Well, at least she tried to sound convincing.

"I'm not stupid Mami." Liliana mumbled in response. "I know you two were fighting again, and I'm sick and tired of it tearing you guys apart."

The eight year old stood up out of her chair. "I want the Mami and Mama that said they weren't going to let anything in between them back." she said.

"Liliana, there's nothing wrong with-"

"Don't lie to me!" Liliana yelled at her. "I hate being lied to."

She was too young to have to deal with this. Too young to have to watch her parents fall.

"What am I supposed to do then, huh?" Camila screamed back. "I'm so lost!"

Liliana cowered, taken aback by her mother's tone.

Realizing she had snapped, Camila held her arms out to her daughter. "Oh baby.. I'm sorry." she said. "I'm so, so sorry. Forgive me, I didn't mean to raise my voice at you. It's not you that I'm mad at."

She then embraced both Liam and Liliana.

"I love you both, and I promise that things will be alright." she told them. "Times are difficult right now."

But how could things ever get better?

~

A/N: hey hoes! Welcome back to the sequel of The Road Back Home 😩

Just so y'all know, that was your cue to go read the first book if you haven't already. This story does work as a stand-alone book, but there are probs gonna be references back to the original story line that you might wanna understand, so yeah.

Anyway, thanks for choosing to read this.

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