At the LCN office, João Paulo spoke calmly with Felipe.“Mr. Mountain...”“You can call me Felipe.”“OK... Felipe, I understand your exasperation.” João Paulo sat at his desk, “But I simply cannot write an article reporting on the indecent misadventures of Cláudio Guzman without proof. By the way, what would be the big surprise? All of Lagoon City knows the man is a sex addict.”“And that gives the right to bang my uncle’s girlfriend?” Felipe crosses his arms.João Paulo is embarrassed. “Huh... That’s troublesome.”Felipe sits down and leans over the desk, “Mr. Rocha, I ask you to please help me in this crusade. Cláudio Guzman doesn’t have the slightest moral condition to run something as chic and respectable as Crystal Blue. If I can get the restaurant back, the Mountain family will be avenged and vindicated.”“But it was my brother who passed the restaurant on to Mr. Guzman.” João Paulo reminds him.“Yes, but if he reads an article of yours showing how his ‘protégé’ is a hardened pe
João Paulo and Helen talk at Café Montanha, having an afternoon snack.“What’s up, darling? How sales are?” João Paulo takes a fried cheese ball and puts it in his wife’s mouth.Helen chews, enjoying the appetizer, and answers after swallowing, “Well, sales are great. Rosemary became a gold mine for Cardozo Perfumes. May Adelaide never lose sight of her.”“If this continues, Rosemary will reach greater heights.” João Paulo frowns, “I’m even worried if Thierry will want to fly along.”“Why’d you say that?” Helen takes her cup of coffee.“It’s because he opened a photography studio here in the city. If one day Rosemary has to work in Paris, how will they deal with the distance?”Helen nodded. That would be a problem.Caroline approached and declared in a loud voice, “Neilton, are you sure you don’t sell cachaça here?”Neilton’s eyes widened. “What the hell is this? Cachaça is not a drink fit for the Princess of Lagoon City!”“Oh, if you only knew...” Caroline lamented.João Paulo turns
Josias can hardly believe what is happening. He barely has time to process the information that Kelvin admitted he still has feelings for Melissa.He sat in the presidential chair and continued, “So I wasn’t paranoid. Kelvin never forgot your mother.”“Dad, did YOU forget Mom when you were married to Katherine?” Alan tries to reason with Josias, “Would you be able to forget my mother and have a relationship with Angela?”“No.” Josias smiled slightly.“My mother is a spectacular woman. I don’t blame Kelvin for still having affection for her.” Alan defends his stepfather, “But it’s clear that he never tried to disrupt your marriage or seduce my mother. I don’t know what motivated Kelvin to have this conversation. What really worries me is the other woman wanting to take advantage of this.”“Well, Mrs. Cardozo will have to deal with that troublesome employee. As for Kelvin...” Josias sighs, “If he needs me to cut off the blackmail, so be it. I’ll have to spare Kelvin so she can lose the
Karen arrived at the Adelaide office. The secretary was already wearing a despicable frown, but she decided not to make a fuss. After all, everyone has hated her since day 1.But Karen couldn’t let go of the fact that Melissa was inside Adelaide’s office, waiting for her too.“Huh... I’m sorry, Mrs. Cardozo. What is Mrs. Rocha doing here? I thought we were going to discuss a work topic.”“No. But unfortunately, you’re the one to blame for catching Mrs. Rocha’s attention.” Adelaide gets up.“What do I have to do with it?” Karen lifts her chin.“Maybe I need to refresh your memory!” Melissa, without warning, slapped Karen in such a way that the model staggered to the left, almost falling.“OUCH!” Karen exclaimed in horror. She felt like her cheek almost came off her head. “What does that mean? Who gave you the right—”Melissa interrupted Karen with authority, “Who gave YOU the right to conspire, threaten, and blackmail people over a matter involving my reputation? Who gave you the right
Karen was crying profusely as she gathered her clothes in the master suite of the Mountain Penthouse.Felipe appeared and smiled victoriously when he saw Kelvin’s lover’s defeat. “That’s what happens to bad girls. They’re punished, one way or another.”“SHUT UP!” Karen threw the hairdryer at Felipe.Felipe ducked and the hairdryer fell to the floor in the hallway, shattering. “What terrible aim you have. On top of that, you just lost a household appliance. You idiot, how are you going to dry your hair?”“With your tongue!” Karen screams in pure hatred.“My tongue would make your hair wetter!” Felipe can’t stand it and bursts into laughter, “Karen Britton, you forget that a human being uses his brain to reason and be above animals.”“And who said I don’t use my brain?” Karen shrugs.“No. You think with your vag—”“STOP BEING GROSS, DAMN IT!” Karen stomps like she’s a tantrum little girl.“Your emotional intelligence is that of a five-year-old child.” Felipe tsks with his tongue, “Altho
In Beto’s apartment, dinner was over.Rosemary began to collect the used plates. “Mom, the pasta with grated cheese and original tomato sauce was delicious. Could you teach me?”“Of course, my dear,” Teresa replied smiling.Beto, however, still hasn’t forgotten the hard gaze that Teresa gave him hours ago.Teresa then decided, “Honey, let me wash the dishes.”Pedro stood up, “Well, I’m going to watch TV. There must be some cool music videos playing!”“I’m coming with you, big bro!” Maycon also stood up.“Pete, be careful with the music videos airing at this time of night, huh!” Teresa warns him.As it gets later, the channel showing music videos tends to be more daring.“Yes, Mom,” Pedro remembered something, “Ah! Dad, remember I told you I met a beauty at Alan’s wedding? Can you believe that I met her again by pure coincidence today at Café Montanha?”Beto smiles excitedly. “That’s great, son! Who is she?”“Daniela. She didn’t tell me her last name, indicating that she wanted to be m
One fine day, in Neilton’s apartment...Benjamin this time was not up so early preparing breakfast. He was still sleeping peacefully after working night shifts at the hotel. But his cell phone rang like an alarm clock.After grunting and rubbing his eyes, he saw it was Jane’s number.“Hello?” He answered the call.“Hello, Ben.” It was Octavio’s voice, “I’m sorry for bothering you, but I need to let you know that Jane has gone into labor. My daughter is going to be born TODAY!”“Oh man, congratulations!” Benjamin leaned against the headboard of the bed.“So, as you’re now the general chef, would you be able to pass the message on to Lauro Medeiros?”“I would need to pass the message on to cousin Josias first, wouldn’t I?” Benjamin’s smile faded, “The bastard is going to usurp the management while your wife is on maternity leave.”“This is a danger. But Alan has already said something to prevent that.” Octavio scratches the back of his head.“Are you already at the hospital?” Benjamin y
David was so excited to hear from his father that he didn’t mind swallowing toothpaste to speak better. “FATHER! My dear daddy, how are you?”“I’m fine, son, take it easy.” Josias was already wearing a shirt and slacks, sitting on the bed. “I promised to call you, and now I’m doing it. Sorry for the delay.”“You don’t need to ask me for forgiveness. It’s me who must do this.” David asserts.“What are you talking about?”“Well, I’m a stranger, an intruder, who is forcing you to redo the plans you had for your family.” David sits on the couch, forcing drama.Josias swallows hard. “Ehr... Son, you may not be part of the immediate family, living here with us, but you have my last name, Rocha. That’s the most important. I want you to know that I won’t ignore you when it’s time for me to leave...”“Stop it, dad!” David bellowed, “You won’t die now. You still have many years to come!”“God and Everaldo hear you, son.” Josias smiled, “Anyway, I was wondering if you would be interested in work
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