Melissa is upset to see the possibility of two gentlemen fighting over her.At this moment, Frederick appears to work and witnesses the discussion.Melissa interposes between Adrian and Kelvin, “You guys, stop and get over it! Nobody here will fight!”“He disrespected you, Melissa!” Adrian yells.“And who are you, the knight in silver armor to save the maiden?” Kelvin questions him ironically.Frederick holds back not punching Adrian because of Josias. He pretends he doesn't hear the fight and passes them by unnoticed.Adrian takes a deep breath and calms down to impress Melissa, “Okay, I'll pretend Melissa wasn't disrespected. Book me a table.”“Mrs. Rocha has reserved the last!” Kelvin lies, seething with rage. There are still seven tables available.“I hope it's a table for two because we're going to have lunch together.” Adrian turns to Melissa, “What do you think, Melissa?”“It's all right.” Melissa 'agrees' after the crazy person invites himself.Kelvin makes the reservation, fe
As if sensing that William was being sexist to his own aunt, Simeon has kinda discomfort while having lunch with Uélton and Adolfo at the construction site.“What is it, Simeon?” Adolfo notices him restless.“My son keeps complaining that Tiago Bento called Melissa to help him in the presidency of Rocha Constructions.”“He did this so Melissa wouldn't be in the penthouse with depression all the time.” Uélton sums up the whole story.“The problem is that Will thinks he should be in charge because he was in the same position as Josias before he was president,” Simeon responds with embarrassment.“Ah, but he will finish the SENAI course this year,” Adolfo remembers this detail.“It's not just that.” Simeon continues, “He still hasn't forgiven Josias for what happened and he lives to insult his memory. There will be a day when Melissa will scold him severely.”At this, Uélton drops his fork on the floor, “What a...! This is already too much! I need to talk to this guy!”“Take it easy, Uél
In the hospital lounge, Carmen is being cared for by a nurse while Tiago talks to Amoreira in a confidential tone.“I thought you told your wife.” Amoreira accuses him.“There's so much going on in our lives that I forget about some things.” Tiago scratches the back of his head.“Well, next time, make a note in your diary: ‘reveal to my wife who tried to kill my mother-in-law.’”Tiago purses his lips, not taking the joke well. Carmen starts to wake up.“Gentlemen, the patient is reacting.” The nurse informs them and gets up.“Carmen, how are you, my love?” Tiago approaches her.“Tiago... what a horrible thing...”Tiago sits next to his wife, “Forgive me for not telling you sooner.”“Does Pam know?”“No, I didn't tell her either.”Carmen nods, “Well, since she got the injunction for Adrian not to show up here, it makes sense to know that the newlyweds' car was sabotaged.”Amoreira approaches them, “Mr. Barbosa peremptorily denies it and begs me to innocence his son. He believes it was
Tiago and Carmen go straight to Europe Garden, to Miguel and Pamela's “house”, which looks like a mansion.The neighborhood's name encouraged residents to build their homes in the European style, and as stated earlier, Miguel Damascene had adopted Georgian architecture for his abode.Carmen was drooling at the exterior while Tiago rang the bell that imitated heavenly bells.The door opens and Miguel answers them.“Mr. Damascene? Where are the minions?” Carmen asks embarrassingly.“Ehr... sometimes I answer the door too. I'm not very demanding.”Carmen is going to retort that Miguel was only demanding in forcing Pamela to marry him, but she swallows her words in time.“Mr. Damascene, we came to talk to Pamela. There was a complication concerning her mother.” Tiago informs him.Miguel is perplexed, “Oh my, did something happen to Mrs. Barbosa?”“No, but...”Carmen is about to respond when she sees Pamela coming down the hall with Theodore in a pram.“Hello, guys! To what do we owe this
In Pamela's private office, she and Carmen are comfortable in emerald upholstered armchairs.“Tell me, sis, what happened to our mother.” Pamela is already distressed.“Pam...” Carmen speaks slowly, “The detective who is taking care of the case discovered that someone sabotaged the car that Seu Moacyr and our mother were in.”Pamela is confused, “And since when did the accident become a 'case'?”Carmen raises her hands, “I don't know. The Forensic team checked the car without compromise and found that the wires that run the brakes were cut. From there the situation became a criminal investigation.”Pamela's eyes widen, “So Adrian tried to kill his own father just so he wouldn't be with our mother?”“The detective is still investigating—”Pamela stands up abruptly, “There's nothing else to investigate! When he finds out about the judicial impediment that Miguel got...”Carmen gets up and restrains her younger sister, “Pam, the police are suspicious of our father too!”Pamela wiggles fr
Melissa has her eyes closed in the middle of the living room, listening to the song “Hold On My Heart” by Genesis. It's no use, she can't stay without listening to romantic songs to remember Josias, always.João Paulo approaches and laughs at his dreamy sister-in-law, “How are you, Melissa?”“João, you never felt like dancing with your classmate to a beautiful song like that?” Melissa still has her eyes closed.João Paulo is embarrassed. He's seventeen and he's never kissed a girl or asked anyone out.“No, I don't feel like dancing with Ben.” He responds by trying to be funny.The landline rings. Lilian appears out of nowhere to answer, “Hello?”On the other side is Tiago, “Lilian, is your lady boss there?”“Yes, she is dancing while listening to the radio.”“So she already knows that Cristina Barbosa woke up from her coma?”Lilian widens her eyes and smiles, “No, but I'll tell her right now!”“OK, we're all gathering at the Hospital. Bye!”Lilian hangs up and euphorically tells every
A few weeks go by. Cristina is getting healthier and healthier, recovering from the accident. A physical therapist recommended she should walk again to find out if her leg motor function had been affected.When Cristina starts walking with her hands on the iron bars, the physical therapist notices that she barely makes an effort.“Very well, Cristina.” He compliments her, “I can see you're just weak from the time you've been lying down, but soon you'll get that back too.”“Does that mean I won't be paralyzed?” Cristina asks anxiously.“Of course not, who told you such nonsense?”Cristina fades her smile, “I had the feeling when I saw my husband in the wheelchair. Looks like he doesn't get out of there.”“He is also recovering, my friend.” The doctor seems to be hiding something as he is not facing the patient.Cristina has the same feeling but decides to focus on walking between the bars.******At Angela's apartment, she enters with numerous plastic bags from the Ramos Supermarket. T
Dora is upset to see that William practically confessed to her why he got punched.“You said you were robbed and the thief punched you!” Dora complains.“Who told you such nonsense?” William still has the nerve to pretend.“I just got a call from your uncle, reporting you.” Dora approaches him, “Who punched you, Tiago or Igor?”“It was a thief, mother, I was robbed!” William screams in panic like he's the same crybaby from 1980.Dora has the same feeling, “How ironic. You in that expensive and social outfit, as if you were an adult businessman, you actually behave as if you were still that whiny kid from the past, that boring guy who wanted Melissa to be a spinster.”William reddens, “Yeah, what's the use? Now Melissa is destroyed because the bastard allowed himself to die when he went to shut up his lover! If Melissa had obeyed me, none of this would have happened!”Simeon appears in the living room and joins in the conversation, “Son, if Melissa hadn't married Josias, we wouldn't ha
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