Josias enters Rocha Constructions, but this time, many people avoid eye contact or greet him in a low and shy tone. Josias realizes that it’s a matter of the mess involving his wife and decides to fix it.When he walks into his office, Pollyanna is still adjusting the temperature on the air conditioner, “Oh, good morning, boss...”Josias is serious-faced, “Pollyanna, where is yesterday's paper? Nobody let me read it. And get a copy of Maggiezine urgently.”Pollyanna swallows hard, “We are very sorry for the slip, sir. Excuse me!”When leaving, Pollyanna was going to leave but she bumps into Octavio. Her look said it all and he goes in to talk to his best friend.“Josias, you didn't ask for a copy of Maggiezine, did you?”“But of course I did!” Josias goes straight to the drinks table and pours himself a shot, “I want to know what's going on with my wife. What motivated her to slap Maggie Marçal? She is editor-in-chief of the most famous magazine in Espírito Santo, I cannot allow Mrs.
At Lagoon City P.D., Amoreira and Ivan want to know why Tiago sent the suspect to another city.“Mr. Bento,” Ivan begins, holding back his anger, “if I arrest you for obstruction of justice, would the underworld machine-gun the police station?”Tiago widens his eyes, “What are you talking about, Sergeant? I don't belong to the mafia! There is an explanation for what I did.”“I’m waiting.” Amoreira jokes.“I’m fully convinced that this whole sexual harassment thing is nothing but a hoax.” Tiago explains himself, “I investigated all the information about Cláudio Guzman for Melissa Mountain's peace of mind and found that he is innocent. Obviously, he must have had his love moments with some girl... or even he must have had a girlfriend. The point is that the children of Melissa Mountain and Josias Rocha saw Mr. Guzman with a girl on the beach at Sunset Village and from there they started to spread the word that the guy was a deviant.”Ivan nods, “Yes, Josias Rocha came to accuse him here
Melissa is even embarrassed to answer Josias about Cláudio, “Josias, don't get upset about this. You know your father does these things because he is the only one who dares to anger the sheik.”“I don't know why everyone thinks I'm a sheik.” Josias responds in a fit of modesty, “But my father... he could have been frank with me. I would be delighted to tarnish the reputation of this pervert who sexually abused my—”“STOP, Josias!” Melissa can't take it anymore, “You know damn well that didn't happen. Why are you still in a state of denial?”Josias is surprised by Melissa being frank and straightforward with him, “Melissa... do you care that much about what I think about things?”Melissa controls her emotions so as not to give the wrong impression, “I just don't want you to be seen as a fool in the eyes of others. You are a kind and charitable man, Josias. Sometimes certain people might want to take advantage of that.”“Including my wife?” Josias asks dangerously.Melissa tries to patc
At Lagoon City P.D., Amoreira and Ivan are slowly revealing the truth that will free Josias from ignorance.Amoreira takes the copy of Maggiezine and shows it to him, “Here it is. Read the article.”Josias narrows his eyes when he sees the photo. It looks like Kate was desperate and Claudio was pretty mad. His fierce countenance reminded Josias of a rabid Doberman dog.But the article hinted at Kate more than at Claudio, as if Gabriela suspected something hidden.“This article is less objective than the article my father wrote.” Josias hands the magazine back to the detective, “It seems that this editor Gabriela wanted to cast some doubts on my wife on purpose. Why did Maggie Marçal approve such an article?”Ivan is bothered, “Mr. Rocha, are you saying that you agree with the writer being beaten and admitted to the hospital in serious condition?”Josias shakes his head, “No, I'm just saying that Kate acted on impulse, but she had her reason. Please, let me speak to my wife.”Before Jo
In the Mountain Penthouse, Melissa was on the balcony watching the sunset. She had a cup of tea in her hands. Her countenance showed that she was thoughtful... remembering the last conversation she had with Josias.Why had Josias been using such a magnetic, seductive tone lately when talking to her? Does he not realize how dangerous this could be for both of them?Melissa shakes her head, reproaching herself. Stop these daydreams, Melissa! You are no longer a desirable and hot young woman! You are now a mother of four and on your way to turning forty! Not to be confused with your 'Sweet Love' female characters!Kelvin comes up behind her and hugs her gently, “Thinking about what?”“How Josias uses a sexy voice without realizing it,” Melissa responds in a playful tone.Kelvin laughs. He's not jealous, except when it's William who blurts out, “Josias better clear things up with Kate, or he'll be single for life.”Melissa shakes her head, “That won't happen. There will always be a bitch
At the Campos Pizzeria, to the sound of “American Woman”, a version by Lenny Kravitz, William is almost having a heart attack with the possibility of Caio spoiling Beto's secret.But Beto risks asking, “What are you talking about, Caio?”“You were almost going to include Little Theo as your son, weren't you?” Caio replies good-naturedly, “My mother made us think he was my half-brother.”Everyone laughs, but William and Beto heave a long sigh of relief.Beto tries to fix it, “Ehr... Ah, Caio, what a scare. I thought I was the father of another child out there without knowing it.”“Wow, were you that much in demand in your youth, dear?” Teresa teases him.“Hey, what do you mean by ‘youth’?” Beto jokes, kissing his wife's lips.Simeon rubs his hands together, “Well, let's set aside a table for the couple. Again, congratulations. Teodoro would be very happy with so many grandchildren. And we still have Vera plus Wallace.”As they sit down, Beto replies, “Yes, they are planning the engagem
At Crystal Blue, Daryl couldn't believe that Octavio wanted to fight again.He notes how fearful Jane is and says wryly, “You better not frighten your wife, Octavio. Remember, we're family now. Even though you want to stop us—”“Listen here,” Octavio explodes, “I just wanted to stop you, and maybe your wife would be sacrificed in the middle. The rest of the Montanha family was still invited!”Maggie interjects, “But do you think we would accept such nonsense? We would all boycott the wedding in protest! We are Veronica's cousins!”“You guys should have thought about that before messing with Josias Rocha, and spreading rumors.” Jane asserts.Maggie gets up from the stool, “As it turns out, we found out that Kate Rocha started this. She showed up at the penthouse and started the gossip.”“And your brother was like a little woman meddling where he had none of his business!” Octavio roars, “And now you are plotting against his wife! She's not crazy, you're the ones who drove her crazy!”T
Moments later, Josias and Katherine were properly dressed and joined with Melissa and Kelvin in one of J.J.'s chosen living rooms. Melissa didn't understand why the lady of the mansion was glaring at her.“Sorry we bothered you, Kate.” She begins, “But we want to know how yesterday's mess was resolved.”“Couldn't you guys have called?” Kate lashes out at the words.“Would you have answered?” Kelvin jokes, making Melissa giggle.Josias is embarrassed, “Sorry, guys. But can we stick to the subject? I think you want to know about the progress of the case.”Katherine haughtily cuts him off, “Honey, we don't have to explain to them. Come on, I'm hungry.”Kelvin takes offense, “Wait a minute, Kate! You accused an employee of mine of sexual harassment and an employee of my younger sister's company is seriously hospitalized. What do you mean, 'no need to explain'?”Katherine stands up, “I won't wear out anytime soon. Honey, hire someone from Damascene Lawyers to defend me. As seen, I’ll need
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