At night, the Lafayette Mansion was lit up more than usual.Jacques Lafayette threw a party to bring Lagoon City society closer to him and his family.At the entrance and in the foyer, guests were in awe of the renovated mansion. The white and immaculate floor and the staircase divided in two that gave access to the second floor left some with their jaws dropping. Just above the stairs, the chandelier was so huge that Reuben wondered how anyone managed to hang it from the ceiling.Alan jokes, “Probably Mr. Lafayette asked some Nephilim.”Reuben is dumbfounded. Would it be possible?Maggie and Bernardo brought a team from Maggiezine to record the moment. Videographers and photographers spread out in strategic positions to work professionally.Jacques appeared in his black tuxedo with a bow tie, “Gentlemen, Mr. and Mrs. Marçal... What a pleasure to welcome you. Oh, I see you brought your team...”“As per our arrangement.” Bernardo winks at him.“Oh, what a beautiful son of yours.” Jacqu
Alan was stunned by the beauty of Sofia Vasquez.The girl, the same age as the heir to Rocha Constructions, had an Iberian appearance, but one could tell that she could still develop her beauty when she reached the age of majority.The party dress was rosy and graceful. Mr. Vasquez smiled and wrapped her in his protective arm.“Are you enjoying the party, my little girl?”“A lot, Dad. Thank you for inviting me.”“This is Alan Campos Rocha, the future heir to Rocha Constructions.”Sofia looks at Alan with respect and admiration. Her voice is kind and polite, “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Rocha.”“The pleasure is all mine, Miss Vasquez.” Alan shakes her mimosa hand.Reuben and Pedro look at the scene from afar and are amazed.“Wow, our friend Alan is talking to Lagoon City bigwigs!” Reuben lifts a glass of guarana, passing it as champagne, “Let’s toast!”Pedro takes another glass and toasts, “To our friend and partner Alan Campos Rocha!”Henrique arrives late, “Hey, wait for me, I want to t
The next day, Josias is having breakfast with his family in the dining room. Mary asks, “Mummy, when are we going home?” Melissa smiles patiently, “We’re not going back to Victoria. We’re going to live here now with Josias and Alan.” “What about Daddy?” “Dad will stay in Victoria, taking care of the restaurant.” “OK.” Mary smiles as she chooses pancakes with lots of caramel. “I like this house, Mr. Rocha,” Ignacio speaks respectfully. “You can call me Josias, Ignacio.” Josias comments kindly. “Ignacio’s nickname is ‘Nacho’, right?” Alan asks between giggles. Ignacio shrugs, not knowing how to respond. It’s a fact that many are calling him that. Josias turns to Alan, “Son, how was the party yesterday? Did you have fun?” Alan smiles wryly, “I think the question you want to ask is, have I behaved decently? Yes, Father, I managed to hold Reuben and Pedro.” Melissa winks, “The question was if YOU behaved, son. We aren’t talking about Pedro or Reuben.” Alan sighs, “Well... I met
At Lafayette Mansion, Ingrid has just left Nadia’s bedroom, wondering why she wasn’t there with Rodrigo. Did they go elsewhere?Ingrid then remembered that there were some guest rooms over to the corner of her residence. She smiles, thinking that Nadia is in one of them so far being loved and possessed by her boyfriend without mercy.Calm, she goes down to the dining room and finds her husband and son talking about the party.“We did it, son!” Jacques exclaims excitedly, “We managed to get close to the elite of Lagoon City. Now, our prestige in the city will increase. I want to thank you for that.”“What did I have to do with it?” A confused Thierry asks.Ingrid replies, sitting down at the table, “You appeared before everyone as a decent young man, without a beggar’s beard, without disheveled hair, and your tuxedo was clean. Your mother was proud. And I still want to see how the photographs turned out.”Thierry blushes to the roots of his hair, “You don’t need to see my pictures. The
At Rocha Mansion, Melissa is being guided by a female lawyer sent by Damascene Lawyers to handle the divorce proceedings between her and Kelvin.“Read all the documentation, Mrs. Rocha.” The lawyer advises her, “If you want to change any clause, I will be willing to comply with it.”Melissa reads carefully. According to the document, Melissa says she does not want a penny of child support for herself or the twins and agrees to collaborate so that Kelvin and the twins have a normal life together.“It’s all I need.” Melissa nods, “You represented me pretty well.”“OK. We’ll send the documentation by express mail to Mr. Mountain to sign. Thus, you carry out the process without much headache.”“Yes, I don’t want to demand anything or make things difficult. In fact, I recognize that I was the one who left home.” Melissa nods.Hector appears in the living room, “Mrs. Rocha, you have visitors. Mrs. Queiroz and Mrs. Motta.”“Oh, send them in, Hector.”The lawyer rises from the sofa, “I must g
At Café Montanha, Francisco decided to call his son at Isabel’s request. She was worried, but he knew where Rodrigo was...To the sound of Madonna’s song “American Life”, Francisco takes his cell phone and dials his son’s number.On the other side, in Rodrigo’s apartment, he was sprawled out on the bed, with only a sheet covering him from the waist down, and he could have slept until the next year if it weren’t for the cell phone ringing at the head of the bed.“Argh...” He mutters. After spending a sleepless night in amorous activity with Nadia, shouldn’t he rest now?But seeing that it was his father, Rodrigo decided to answer, “Hello?”“Son, I know you won’t be able to work today.” Francisco cuts to the chase, “I’m just calling to calm your stepmother’s heart.”“Tell Isabel I survived. And it’s good to set the wedding date before you become grandparents too soon.” Rodrigo speaks with a malicious smile.“She’s already been phoning the Green Park Church checking vacant dates.” Franci
A few days passed. Daryl continued to plot the best strategy to defeat William. In the Mountain Penthouse, Diane and Felipe noticed the thoughtful and mysterious owner of the home.“Father, why are you so distant?” Felipe asks suddenly, patting his adoptive father’s hand.Daryl definitely doesn’t want to involve his son in the intrigues, “Ehr... it’s no big deal, Felipe. Keep calm.”“I’m very involved in the activities of the restaurant.” Felipe says, “But I remain attentive to what happens in my family.”“I would rather you focus on the restaurant, son.” Daryl smiles.“OK. I need to go.” Felipe finishes eating his toast with honey and stands up, looking meaningfully at his adoptive mother.Diane catches his eye and takes advantage of being alone in the dining room, “Man, now you can tell your wife.”“I was thinking of asking Felipe to get his driver’s license.” Daryl smiles, “And get him a car for his 18th birthday.”“Oh, Daryl, this is awesome!” Diane exults, “So you want to surpris
Ivan drives Lorraine to work in his police car, to intimidate everyone against provoking his wife. Lorraine is very elegant in her beige suit and thanks his husband for the ride.“Honey, how did end that thing about Will Campos burying Daryl Mountain alive in the beach sand? I imagine the restaurant owner got a little tan in his head...” Lorraine holds back a laugh.Ivan frets, “Don’t laugh at such a thing, darling. The man could have died of sunstroke. What if Will Campos walked away, leaving the poor man behind, to be drowned by the tide as it came in?”“Wow, how much morbidity!” Lorraine smiles and kisses her husband on the cheek, “I don’t think my boss would be capable of that much. I think he really just wanted to scare Daryl Mountain.”“Because of Melissa Mountain’s nightmares. What a preposterous reason, folks!” Ivan punches the steering wheel of the car.“OK honey, I have work to do. Shall we talk more at dinner... or can we meet at Crystal Blue?”“We’re going to lunch at Crys
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