"“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that Emiliano De La Cruz might as well have been declared dead and revived.” -Jane Austen
Emilio was not going to say that he was surprised at the amount of questions the media had upon the release of the trailer Thorn of The Thornfields staring Emilio De La Cruz as Gabriel, because he was not surprised in the slightest. After all, he had disappeared for a long period of time and had not even announced his return- the upcoming release did that for him. People did not believe that he had returned, one would hear a rumor here and there, stating that perhaps the ‘movie was shot some years ago because hell this cannot be real?’ or ‘maybe Emilio was replaced by a clone of him because he died in Mexico’ 'was it Mexico? ‘I heard he died in Luxembourg.’ ‘no it was actually England,’
Really, the rumors were amusingly absurd, but he cannot say that he blamed them for thinking the news of his return was fake, because not even most of the residents of Beverly Shores knew that Emiliano De La Cruz was making his return to the infamous gated community. Though, contrary to beliefs his mothers did know of his return, he had texted them, especially his dearest mama Emilia De La Cruz, and again, contrary to popular beliefs- his mothers did know that he was going to be leaving for a while due to one singular reason- or at least they thought it was due to one singular reason. The true story whole story though, nobody knew and Emilio does not think he is ready to tell anyone- at least not yet, perhaps when the time is right and if never gets the chance to tell them, then well- he supposed the secret will just have to be buried inside him.
But one thing was true and it was that- Emilio De La Cruz did not want to leave, no, he had not intended to leave his parents, siblings, his best friends, his wife, her, his other friends and his fans, for the fun of it, no he had actually left due to… That.
“Emilio! Emilio De La Cruz! Is it true that you returned last year but were in hiding?” An interview asked, as Dejay - his bodyguard, best friend and one of the firsts of the Beverly Shores residents to know that Emilio was back in town pushed through a crowd of screaming fans as Emilio headed towards the Yacht.
“Is that what people say?”
He had responded, with a small smile. Though it has been years- dreadful years since Emilio has been ‘interviewed’, he still knew his way around answering a question.
“Yes,” the interview answered without hesitation, “Indeed. People also say-well, wonder where have you been for the past few years?”
It was subtle, the way Emilio had flinched, as if a ghost from the past had whispered a chilling reminder. He steadied himself, knowing this question would come sooner or later.
“Well, it’s been quite a journey”
Emilio began, his voice measured, his gaze somewhere in the distant horizon. “Life,” He chuckled, though the lighthearted-ness in his tone did not meet his eyes, “is a box of chocolates.” He paused, “Remember that, remember I said that, and support the new release of Thorns of The Thornfield coming soon” He said, before turning away from the interviewer, to the yacht party that he was already late for- though, he had told his parents that he shall be late and they should make sure the Yacht does not leave without him.
The phrase, ‘life is a box of chocolates,’ explained the events of his disappearance, though how might not be so easy to decipher and he did not expect to decipher his words, he hoped- in fact that they did not.
Emilio stepped onto the luxurious yacht, feeling the cool breeze of the ocean against his skin. As he entered the main area, he noticed the chatter and laughter of the guests, the clinking of glasses, and the soft music playing in the background. It felt almost surreal to be back in the midst of such a gathering after his long absence.
“Interesting,” Emilio had said as he stared at all of them, taking note on how they had changed or had not changed over the past few years and how many new people where in Beverly Shores now. It seemed that since he had gone, new mega celebrities had formed but of course was that not to be expected?
“What is?” Dejay asked.
“Being back,” With that, Emilio had asked Dejay to go sit down, act natural, as he took a minute to process all this, to think on how to deliver his ‘I’m back hello’ greetings. It shouldn’t be awkward- he should play it cool, fake confidence, fake how comfortable he was about being back after all this years after Matias had died, after he had disappeared without a word, leaving his wife and family alone.
He coughed- Emilio coughed rather loudly, drawing attention towards himself as he approached the table, deliberately walking to a seat near Winsley, “Hope someone saved a seat for me?” His voice was calm, yet carried an undercurrent of confidence. You wouldn’t think that Emiliano was nervous to be seeing all of them again or that he had disappeared for all this years with how casual his voice sounded.
“Emiliano,” Emilia De La Cruz began, a small smile on her face , she opened her lips as if she was about to say more but thought against it and Emilio smiled back at her and Catalina, greeting them as he sat down. in silence, though that silence did not last long, as he could feel the eyes of Sunny and Santiago- his siblings, gazing at him (technically more than those people where gazing at him, but their stares where the most intense.)
“Hello” He greeted, staring at Santiago, “How have you been?” he asked, his eyes turning to Sunny.