Josias arrives at Rocha Mansion and is welcomed by his wife in the foyer. They hug and kiss romantically.“Where are the children?” Josias asks with a charming smile.“The twins are in the living room, Alan is chilling with Sofia on the garden porch, Caroline is chatting to Rosemary online, and Ruben is somewhere in the corner trying to get out of the tunnel.”Josias laughs. He wasn’t necessarily expecting information from Reuben, “Will he ever get out?”“The twins are counting on it.” Melissa breaks the hug, “And how are things?”“Now that we have an office in Belo Horizonte, things are more controlled. With Wallace in charge, I can breathe easier and focus on the projects I have close to me.”“And that means less travel, right?” Melissa walks with Josias to the master suite, “I’m still not over the accident you had in 1991.”“That’s many years ago, darling. Don’t be so morbid.” Josias kisses her cheek.Alan and Sofia find them as they go upstairs. Sofia looks better.“Dad, hello.” A
At Rocha Mansion, Alan closes the door of the most isolated guest room where Reuben is naked; covering himself with the tunnel he was trying to leave.“You appeared before my sister like that, and didn’t ask her to leave?”Reuben smiles mischievously, “Alan, I thought you understood that I’m going to marry your sister. Still, rest assured she didn’t see anything she shouldn’t have. I warned her, yet she still wanted to stay here and help me out.”“So you still can’t get out of this tunnel by yourself.” Alan scoffs, “You’d better give up your attempt, my friend.”Reuben narrows his eyes, “You’re only saying that for your sister, correct?”“I don’t want her to see you like this all the time and start to doubt the idea of marrying you! Is that how you intend to support her?”Caroline returns with a glass and pitcher of water, hearing her brother’s question, “Alan, what’s going on here?”Alan turns to her, “Carol, why are you getting involved with Reuben in this situation? If my Dad finds
The next day, Reuben was walking with Caroline through the halls of Rocha Constructions.Caroline was amazed to see Reuben wearing business clothes and a blue tie, as he’ll now work as her father’s secretary. The employees who came across them waved respectfully. Everyone imagined that Reuben was the luckiest young man in Lagoon City.“He is Boss’s secretary and dating his daughter, who would have thought!” They whispered among themselves.The truth is that Reuben and Caroline weren’t dating yet, but they behaved like that.At the moment, they were in one of those arguments that couples always have.“But, Carol, you need to understand that your father is not an idiot.” Reuben says, as always tactlessly, as he reaches the desk that belonged to Pollyanna, “He knows how to read minds and hearts.”“I think only God does that.” Caroline is confused.“What I mean is that your father knows who deserves and doesn’t deserve trust.” Reuben turns on the computer.Caroline remains in doubt, “Does
Alan talks to Caio in the college corridors.“Man, you overdid it.” Caio advises his cousin, “Why did you lie to your father?”“I didn’t lie!” Alan gets angry, “Reuben was naked, just covering himself with the Lycra tunnel from the waist down. If he decided to get out the tunnel and...?”“No, he would never do something like that.” Caio shakes his head.“Remember that he is the son of Uélton Freire.” Alan becomes suspicious, “As much as he is my father’s best friend, I know how he did things without thinking. Reuben follows in the same footsteps as his late father.”“Reuben won’t forget the gas cylinder open.” Caio raises his index finger, “And he won’t get your sister pregnant before her time. I was four years old when this happened. Reuben’s mother almost died during childbirth, having a high blood pressure at the same time.”“And that’s why they didn’t have any more children.” Alan nods.“Anyway, Alan, my problem is that you implied something happened to your father.” Caio continue
Caroline was caught with the question that doesn’t shut up: does she want to marry Reuben?With Flávia’s urgent look demanding an answer, Caroline decides to be pragmatic, “Mrs. Freire... Flávia. I like your son very much.”“But not enough to marry him,” Flávia assumes.“Well, it’s still early for me to think about marriage, and sometimes I think Reuben is just joking when he says we’re betrothed.”“This is not true!” Flávia exclaims desperately, “Carol, Reuben truly loves you. I know you’re still young to get married, but when the time comes... Don’t you prefer my son? Reuben is a pure boy with good feelings. He would never joke about something as serious as marriage.”Caroline is moved, “Wow, Flávia, you defend your son very well.”“It’s maternal instinct. You’ll understand when you’re in my shoes.” Flávia smiles slightly, “So, Caroline, I ask you: if being friends with Sofia means having the happiness of having my son as your husband in the future, wouldn’t such a sacrifice be wort
At Crystal Blue, Caroline is surprised to see Patrick replacing Felipe as maître d’.“Good morning, Miss Correia.” Patrick grins and checks the computer, “You’ve reserved a table for two. Okay, I’ll call the waiter.”“Pat, I’m still not used to seeing you in a tuxedo, I’m sorry.” She holds back a giggle.“Do you think I must live in Europe Garden to deserve the profession?” Patrick is uncomfortable.“No, it’s not that...” Caroline shakes her head, good-naturedly, “A little more, and you can dominate your own restaurant.”“The opportunity arrived, and I had to take advantage of it,” Patrick comments calmer when he sees that Caroline isn’t making fun of him.He gestures to the next waiter. Felipe appears and is embarrassed to meet Caroline.“Carol... I...”“Table 05, Felipe!” Patrick speaks rudely.Felipe glares at Patrick and focuses on Caroline, “I’m sorry.”“What are you sorry about?” Caroline is shocked.“I’m the one who should be at the counter as maître d’,” Felipe complains.“But
The next day, Sofia wakes up early thanks to her cell phone. She shifts in bed, uncomfortable with the fact that someone is calling before the alarm clock.“Urgh... can’t I sleep some more?” She complains.After rubbing her eyes, she checks her cell phone and is shocked to see Caroline’s number.“It’s the brat, my annoying future sister-in-law!” She listens, “HELLO?”On the other side, in Caroline’s room, she is awake, dressed casually, and with a vibrant tone of voice, “GOOD MORNING, Sofia! How are you? Did you sleep well?”Sofia was going to respond rudely that she was still sleeping, but she remembered that she could earn Alan’s respect if she treated her sister-in-law with courtesy, “Yes, Carol, I slept well. Thank you very much for asking. How can I be of service?”“Do you want to talk to me in an hour at Café Montanha?” Caroline invites her.Sofia swallows hard. One hour? “Yes, it will be wonderful. We’ll meet there.”“OK, do you want Hector to pick you up?”“No, it’s not necess
At Café Montanha, Caroline and Sofia meet. Rodrigo is surprised by the two acting like friends.They exchange kisses on each other’s cheeks and choose a table to sit at.Rodrigo approaches them, “What do you want?”“Now that Reuben is no longer here, what a shame, I’ll have some instant coffee.” Caroline asks, “And homemade bread and butter.”“I’ll order the same thing.” Sofia asks, “Is Reuben not here anymore? Did he get stuck in the tunnel for good?”“No, he left.” Caroline proudly reports, “Reuben is now my father’s secretary.”Sofia’s eyes widen, “Wow, how wonderful! My congratulations to him.”“Now he will have a salary to support me.” Caroline jokes.“HA, HA, HA!” Sofia laughs, “Caroline, if I know you well, you already have a job lined up somewhere.”“Actually, my aunt Maggie is expecting me to study Journalism to work at Maggiezine,” Caroline informs her.Rodrigo serves both of their orders, “Bon appétit!”Sofia takes the first sip, “Congratulations, Carol. Your future promise
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