On Sunday, the newspapers of Espírito Santo contained the vexing news of Josias Rocha's supposed mistress wanting compensation for their son. The scandal that took place in the middle of the Melissa building's inauguration became the people's topic for days.
Moacyr is in the living room of his house leaving the newspaper on the coffee table. His radio is playing "Breathe" by Pearl Jam.
Someone knocks insistently on the door. Moacyr rolls his eyes and gets up to answer it, guessing who it is.
Adrian enters already commenting on the subject, "Have you read it, old man?"
"Good morning, son, how are you?" Moacyr asks wryly.
"Let's get to the point!" Adrian was with a mischievous grin, "Your favorite son turned out to be the biggest scoundrel that ever existed on the face of the Earth!"
Adrian picks up the dropped newspaper and opens it right on the page where the headline stands out.
Moacyr crosses his arms, "Son, you shouldn't rej
Cristina is packed up to go to church. She heads to turn off the radio that was playing "Unbelievable" by EMF.Pamela comes in from the hallway and listens to the music, "Yes, it's unbelievable how the world turns."After turning off the radio, Cristina turns to her daughter, "Good morning, daughter. What were you saying?""Mom, did you read the newspaper?" Pamela asks with her eyes shining.Cristina, however, frowns and picks up the Bible that was under the countertop, "Oh, dear, we shouldn't rejoice in other people's misfortune."Pamela, however, becomes more animated and excited, "Mother, don't you realize that this is my chance to triumph? Look how it all worked out: I am to become Mrs. Damascene while Melissa loses her position as Mrs. Rocha!""Pamela, I thought you wanted to marry your boss because of your son, or because you had feelings for him.""I don't love him like I loved Beto, and the divorce wasn't my idea." Pamela thin
In Josias's office, he and Melissa encase themselves inside to finally have the long-awaited conversation.Melissa sits in the armchair while Josias remains standing."Aren't you going to sit in your chair?" Melissa asks worriedly."Are you still worried about me, Melissa?" Josias asks with raised eyebrows.Melissa lowers her head, "I... I don't hate you, Josias.""You should hate me. It would make everything easier." Josias replies somberly."What will get easier? You divorcing me and staying in the arms of that bitch?" Melissa crosses her arms."I will never marry Angela Sousa, of that you can rest assured." Josias smiles lightly, "If we divorce, I will never marry again."Melissa is surprised, "That can't be, Josias. You are a fine man, you were not born to be alone. I always knew, since 1980, that I would never be your only wife. In fact, it was Mom who prophesied that.""I know, you guys have always thought I look l
Monday. Josias wakes up in his temporary room, stretching out on his single bed. His room has a small balcony. Josias gets up and goes naked to the balcony to look at the city skyline.Down below, the cars and pedestrians seem to be just little dots and ants. Josias then looks up, as if asking God how to proceed with his life.Josias was sure not to let this latest scandal ruin everything he had built for his life."Who says the story is over?" he asks himself with a smile on the corner of his mouth, determined and resolute.After meditating on this, he goes back to his room and begins to get dressed. He will have to use the common bathroom, and could not parade naked through the corridors.Meanwhile, João Paulo meets William in the hallway."Look, who knew? While you're coming, I'm leaving." William comments playfully."You're leaving?" João Paulo is surprised. He is in his pajamas and has his toothbrush in his hand.
Josias is back at the dining table, drinking coffee at one end while Melissa is at the other end. William is not there. Lilian is serving the patrons."What's it going to be today, boss Rocha?""Do you guys have cornbread today?" Josias asks kindly."Yes, and cheese bread." Lilian places the order on the porcelain plate.Alan turns to Melissa, "Mom, yesterday we prayed that God would not let Caio leave."Melissa feels a squeeze in her heart, "Son, keep eating your cereal.""I don't know why Dad decided something like that so suddenly," Caio complains with a frown."He'll talk to you later, Caio," Josias assures him."What's today's agenda, Josias?" Carlos asks to divert the subject."Today my father will be honored." Josias frowns, "Maggiezine can't seem to get off his back.""What if Mr. Marçal uses this as a pretext to reinstate Vernon?" Melissa asks worriedly.Josias shrugs, "If he wants his compa
Josias is now at Rocha Constructions meeting with Tiago, Igor, and Octavio in the conference room. The gentlemen felt that the meeting called at the last minute would not be to talk about any projects."Gentlemen, you have all read yesterday's paper." Josias starts the meeting in a serious, icy tone."I did not read it, master." Tiago denies the statement."Unfortunately I did read it." Igor apologizes.But Josias does not show that he is upset, "It's okay, guys. It's part of life. Famous people like me will always be the target of reports that either uplift or tear down. Unfortunately, this time it was to try to bring me down.""Can't something be done about it?" Octavio asks."Well, only if there is one thing to do." Josias drums his fingers on the table, "I will have to check if Angela Sousa is telling the truth.""What if she is telling the truth?" Tiago asks with a lump in his throat."I will have to take over the child. T
Hours later, Tiago enters the presidential office as Josias was talking with Octavio."The residents who bought the apartments in the Melissa building have already received the key and started moving in," Octavio informs him."Good thing they didn't give up after the scandal." Josias sits back in his chair, satisfied."Master, speaking of scandal," Tiago approaches them, "Here is the address of the luxury escort."To Octavio's astonishment, Tiago holds out a sheet of paper to Josias with Angela Sousa's address. How?"Tiago, how did you guys find out so fast?" Octavio can't hold his curiosity any longer."I have my contacts," Tiago answers mysteriously and walks away.After waiting for Tiago to close the door, Octavio speaks appalled, "Then he doesn't understand why everyone thinks the Bento family belongs to the mafia."Josias smiles lightly, "Let them comment. The important thing is that I will solve this problem tomorrow."
Melissa gets up, turns off the radio, and returns to the couch to talk to her grandfather."Grandpa Carlos, I still don't know what to do with my life.""Are you going to allow this Pamela to rub it in your face as the new sensation in Lagoon City?"Melissa scowls in contempt, "Pamela should worry about the negative impact this will have on her children. They will grow up completely aimless! I'm not surprised why William has obtained full custody of Caio.""But, remember that you carry the last name, Rocha. That is of utmost importance." Carlos raises his index finger.Melissa wiggles, "It's no use to me for prestige and social prominence if at the end of the day Josias rests in the arms of the other woman."Carlos smiles lightly, "You still love him, don't you?""Of course I love him, the question is whether he loves me enough for this story not to be repeated." Melissa replies vehemently, "You know my parents' thesis."It is
Dora enters the Rocha penthouse. She finds her father-in-law in the armchair listening to "Get Here" by Oleta Adams.When the patriarch of the family finds Dora approaching, he gestures eagerly, "Hey, dear daughter-in-law, I need to exchange a word with you. Sit down!"Dora is surprised, "I came to help with the tidying up. Is Lilian handling it by herself?""She's polishing the silverware. Your son and grandson are packing in an orderly manner without hysteria." He takes a deep breath, "I talked to my granddaughter."Dora sits down on the other couch, "And what did she decide?""What did YOU decide for her?" Carlos 'answers' with another question.Dora hesitates a bit, "Well... I think the best thing for all of us would be if Melissa and Josias would forgive each other. They love and deserve each other.""Exactly what Melissa deserves?"Dora narrows her eyes, not understanding what her father-in-law is getting at, "Melissa des
Josias visits the Rocha Hotel since he didn’t have a day off for the staff. In the management room, Eugenio gathered David, Benjamin, and Sybil. “Why is that mere cook present at this meeting?” David asked disparagingly. “Because that’s how our boss ordered it,” Eugenio replied dryly. “I didn’t say anything and didn’t call this meeting, so if you’ll excuse me...” Benjamin and Sybil were horrified to see David leaving the meeting just like that. However, when he opened the door, David came face to face with his father. “David, where do you think you’re going?” “DAD!” David exclaimed, extremely surprised. “I didn’t know you were coming!” “Didn’t Eugenio tell you I was coming?” Josias asked with a scowl. David understood who the ‘boss’ was. Benjamin and Sybil felt vindicated. Josias sat down at the desk, taking Eugenio’s seat, while the manager remained humbly standing. “Very well,” Josias began the meeting in a formal tone, “I’m here just to make things crystal clear. First
Melissa and Mary visit the Mountain Café.“A guava juice for me, Mr. Mountain!” Mary requested, smiling sweetly.“Of course, my princess!” Rodrigo replied, thinking Mary was very adorable. “Neil will make a delicious cup for you.”“Thank you. But the princess is Carol,” Mary responded, striking a serious pose.Melissa and Rodrigo laughed heartily. Mary is something else...“Rod, how has it been managing the café in your father’s absence?” Melissa asked seriously.Rodrigo served a baked chicken pastry with ketchup to Mary. “I'm getting by, Melissa. Josias was here earlier, more concerned about my loss than his own, as always. Isn’t he supposed to be resting?”Melissa nodded. “My husband is like that: he only relaxes when all of us are relaxed.”“An impossible mission because of certain people.”Neilton approached with the glass. “Who ordered a guava juice?”“I DID!” Mary grabbed the glass and went to a table.Melissa leaned forward, “Neil, Rod, how are Daryl and Diane? Behaving?”“Cont
At João Paulo’s house, he and Josias were about to have a significant conversation.“Walter, do you want to go with your mom to the kitchen?” João Paulo asked, looking at Helen. “I think she made some walnut cake.”“It was carrot cake,” Sandra replied, already getting up from the couch.“You got it.” Helen appeared and picked up Walter in her arms. “Let’s let Dad and Uncle Josias talk.”“Bye, Uncle!” Walter waved goodbye to Josias.“Bye-bye, I want a piece later!” Josias chuckled.Once alone with João Paulo, Josias became serious. “Don’t let anything or anyone ruin this family scenario, little brother.”“I’m fine. No one wants to ruin anything,” João Paulo replied casually.“Well, I hope David hasn’t caused you any trouble.”“He probably doesn’t even know I exist, man.” João Paulo shrugged.“But I stopped by Café Montanha and found out that the Vasquez family has replaced the Mountain family as the ‘annoying people.’”João Paulo sighed in disappointment. “Yeah. They—”The doorbell ran
Josias visits Café Montanha for a coffee and finds Rodrigo there. “Rod, how have you been?” Rodrigo is taken aback. “How am I? You’re the one who suffered a horrific loss recently!” “But you also lost your father. We’re in the same situation,” Josias explained as he sat down on a stool. “I’m okay, Josias. Life has a way of cheering me up. For example, I’m back at the diner after Thierry decided to take his place at the supermarket.” Rodrigo smiled. “What about the photography studio?” Josias smiled back. “It’s still going to operate, and Thierry will make periodic visits. But he’s going to appoint one of the staff to manage the studio.” Rodrigo served a pizza pastry to Josias. “Thank you. Well, I hope everything is alright between you two. I need to visit Rosemary and meet Jean Luc — is that the name of the baby?” “Yes, the name of the supermarket heir. Meanwhile, Frank will be here or somewhere else.” Josias interjected, “If Frank wants to work at Rocha Constructions, count
At the Rocha Mansion, Josias receives a visit from Benjamin. “How have you been, Ben? Any news about your parents?” The two embrace. “Actually, that’s what I want to talk about.” Benjamin scratches the back of his neck. The embrace breaks. “Let’s go to my office.” The two gentlemen enter Josias’s imposing office. “Any problems with Adolfo?” Josias asks, becoming serious. “Not yet, but I hope not to have any,” Benjamin replies with some sadness. “You know, Josias, what happened with your father made me think about my family, about how important it is for all of us to be together in the final moments.” “That’s true. João Paulo can tell you that better than I can.” “I think you can say it too. Vernon was the father you never had.” Benjamin clears his throat. “So, I’ve been looking into some hotels and realized there’s a demand at the Rocha Hotel in Victoria.” Josias looks at Benjamin, understanding where he’s going with this. “You want to go to Victoria to be close to your pare
Someone rings the doorbell at João Paulo’s house. The homeowner goes to answer after taking a shower and putting on clean clothes. But when he opened the door, João Paulo felt like slamming it in the visitor’s face. “Don’t be rude!” Erasmo exclaimed. “What do you want, you old bore?” João Paulo shot back. Erasmo barged into João Paulo’s foyer. “The mourning is over. Let’s pick up where we left off.” “Are you crazy? Who decides how long mourning lasts? We just got back from the trip!” “Not exactly, it’s been a day. Life goes on, my friend!” Erasmo replied mockingly. João Paulo remained serious. “But I don’t want to continue living this way, where fights and intrigues are the order of the day. Mr. Vasquez, you have a business to run, and I have a family to raise.” “But you found time to slap my son-in-law when he was here defending his family, didn’t you?” “Alan was extremely rude, but that was some time ago.” João Paulo frowned. “I don’t feel the same anger as before.” “So a
At the Vasquez Mansion, Alan could hardly believe that the people were thinking about more intrigues and disputes. “Guys, don’t you understand that I even forgot the reason I slapped Uncle João Paulo?” “Ridiculous!” Erasmo gestured. “You just maintained respect because it was a difficult occasion. But now, the mourning is OVER!” “Do you think João Paulo will rest, dear?” Sofia asked, sitting next to him. Alan shook his head. “If Uncle João Paulo doesn’t want to rest, then he is truly despicable. But my dad is back in town. He wouldn’t dare to do that.” The news should have been uplifting, but the members of the Vasquez family merely exchanged silent glances. With Josias present, it’s quite likely that he will put a stop to their fighting. Alan turned to Olivia. “In the meantime, we should celebrate the recovery of my dear mother-in-law!” Olivia and Sofia smiled awkwardly because of the secret they were keeping. “That’s right, let’s celebrate life!” Erasmo wrapped his arm arou
Josias Rocha and his family returned to Lagoon City. Those who were waiting for them stayed in the mansion and greeted them cheerfully in the foyer. “WELCOME BACK!” Melissa, crying, embraced her parents, William, and the twins fervently. Josias greeted them with a light smile. “Where’s João Paulo?” William asked. “He went straight to his house. His kids needed to rest from the trip.” Melissa wiped her tears with her fingers. “Alan went straight to his mansion. Especially now that his mother-in-law has woken up from the coma.” “That was a scare; I thought we’d have two funerals,” Simeon commented. Everyone headed to the living room. “Is Paris very beautiful, Mom?” Mary asked. “Yes, sweetheart, it’s stunning. We’ll go shopping together another time, okay?” “Do you have pictures?” Ignacio asked anxiously. “Yes, son, we took some pictures.” Melissa sat on the couch, pulling out a package from her bag. Josias sat in the armchair, taking a deep breath. William approached him.
At Café Montanha, Daryl walks in for a coffee and finds Rodrigo at the counter while Neilton serves the others. “Hey, are we back to the old tradition?” “Don’t be a clown, man.” Rodrigo laughs. “Yes, Thierry is at the supermarket, as we agreed.” “Hi, Neil. Can you make me a cappuccino while I enjoy a natural sandwich?” Daryl places his order. “Sure thing, Mr. Mountain.” Neilton heads to the back. Daryl sits on the stool. “So, how do you feel after getting back to your element?” “I don’t regret at all helping my dear wife at the supermarket, Daryl,” Rodrigo admitted while preparing the natural sandwich. “I’m not talking about regrets.” Daryl joked. “But it’s undeniable that after Uncle Francisco’s passing, you prefer to stay here, carrying on the legacy he left.” “Just like Crystal Blue.” Rodrigo smiled. “Hey, I’m aware that you’re looking to open another restaurant in Sunset Village. Do you think you can manage it? How’s the prospecting going?” Daryl picks up the sandwich but