Caroline visits Reuben. Pedro is already gone."Hi, my love! I ran into Pete in the hallway. He has been a great friend, hasn't he?"Caroline kisses Reuben. Reuben would have possessively held Caroline's head if it weren't for his condition."Yes, and I hope he continues to be a friend." Reuben hints.Caroline sits in the visitor's seat. "What do you mean?""Why do I have this strange feeling that Pete will be my rival?" Reuben frowns.Caroline, however, dismisses the hypothesis with a kind smile. "It's just your impression. You can't listen to Daniela's gossip.""Is Daniela his girlfriend, right?" Reuben frowns, "Why does she say these things about her boyfriend?""Because she's a bitch." Caroline responds as if it were something simple, "Anyway, can I talk about the entrance exam I took?"Reuben pushes his insecurities to the back of his mind and smiles lovingly. "You don't need to. You aced the whole exam and got a perfect score on the essay.""How do you know that?" Caroline laugh
At the Vasquez Mansion, the family finishes breakfast. Sofia is at home with A.J. in her arms, breastfeeding him."He still wants more, guys. I'll have to stay here.""I'll keep you company, dear." Alan offers lovingly."No, my love, you need to show up at Rocha Constructions." Sofia declines with a beautiful smile."My father said I can take as many days off as necessary." Alan caresses the head of his eldest son.Alan's phone rings and he answers, curious about who is calling."Hello, Uncle João Paulo? Yes, go ahead... Yes... OK, see you there. Tell the people at the entrance not to stop me. Bye."When Alan ends the call, Erasmo, Olivia, and Sofia are staring at him with curiosity."Uncle João Paulo wants to talk to me," Alan only says this."I wonder if he wants to do another interview," Olivia asks excitedly, thinking about publicity."He probably does. But we're already going to be in Maggiezine thanks to my sister."Sofia makes a face, continuing to breastfeed.Olivia gets up, "
Alan enters LCN and is welcomed by João Paulo in his office."Hey, don't make that suspicious face. Everything is going to be okay." João Paulo smiles like a spider, leading Alan to the visitor's seat."I'm still curious and spent the whole trip in my car trying to guess what you could want with me," Alan admits uncomfortably."Wow, am I that dangerous?" João Paulo forces a laugh that doesn't convince Alan.Alan looks at his uncle suspiciously. "I think I know what you really want. No, the loan wasn't authorized. In fact, it was denied. My father WANTED to lend."Seeing that they had decided to be frank and direct, João Paulo widened his mischievous smile even more and proceeded to take notes in his notepad. "Hmm... I see, and what did your father-in-law not agree to?""Is that really your business, uncle?" Alan furrows his brow."The public needs to know if Vaztrans will or will not be a subsidiary of Rocha Empire." João Paulo smiles maliciously."Rocha CONSTRUCTIONS, as the name sug
Reuben was discharged and went to Rocha Mansion to rest some more.He still had the cast on his leg. Now, Mary and Ignacio could leave their autographs.Lying on the bed in his room, he pointed at the cast. "Carol, leave your autograph too!"Caroline, smiling excitedly, approaches and leaves an 'autograph' with her lips on his."It's so good to see you back, darling.""Likewise. When are you going to autograph my cast?"Caroline strokes her clown fiancé's hair.Flávia sees Reuben behaving exactly like his father and misses him. William wraps his arm around her to comfort her."It's okay, sweetie.""Thank God, everything turned out well." Flávia turns to William, "We need to take care of certain matters."Dora enters the room holding a tray. "Snack has arrived!"Reuben was going to be thrilled with the food, but his leg won't let him. "Ouch! For a moment I forgot about my condition.""Careful, son." Flávia warns him, "Don't exert yourself, you need to be isolated for a while."Dora lea
At the Vasquez Mansion, Sofia watches the baby sleeping peacefully in the crib with a motherly smile.She takes the opportunity to lie down and rest a little. Early in the morning, A.J. cried a lot, disturbing their sleep.Sofia smiles in gratitude as she remembers how Alan has been patient and doesn't complain at all.The door opens and Luís enters, looking for his cousin, and finding her in bed.Luís is unsure whether to stay in the suite when he sees Sofia in a nightgown and robe. Her body shows that she gave birth not long ago and her breasts grew due to breastfeeding."Hi, Luís! Do you want to tell me something?""I came to check on you guys." Luís smiles awkwardly, but approaches them.He decides to face the baby. "Oh, how beautiful.""He finally fell asleep, only to wake us up when it was our turn." Sofia jokes, giggling."How hard. Are you sure you want more?" Luís asks in a low tone so as not to wake the newborn."Yes. I need at least a couple," Sofia responds decisively."Al
João Paulo and his assistant enter Vaztrans and go straight to Erasmo's office, which was left open.After all, why would Erasmo lock the door? There's nothing there to steal or spy on, right?João Paulo smiled widely at the stroke of luck. The assistant was quick to go behind the desk and sit down, strumming on the keyboard and clicking the mouse."Does it have a password?" João Paulo jokes, finding this implausible."No. This will only take a few seconds."The assistant took out something from the small folder he was carrying: a CD for recording files. He put it in the CPU drive and continued to root around for confidential information.Well, they should be confidential, but Erasmo didn't care much...João Paulo closes the door, not wanting to give bad luck a chance. "Erasmo is not careful, but we are.""I found it! All the files relating to finances." The helper vibrates."Pass everything to the CD. My brother needs to see this." João Paulo rubs his hands."Imagine the article you'
At Crystal Blue, Caroline is being attended to by a waiter with a graceful demeanor, typical of the Princess of Lagoon City."I'll have the traditional grilled salmon, please.""At your command, Miss Rocha." The waiter diligently takes her order."Please, don't overdo the sauce," Caroline requests, mindful not to cause trouble in the kitchen. She knows some chefs can be temperamental.The waiter nods, aware that the chef will strive to deliver the best dish.Felipe passes by the tables and finds his friend. Without hesitation, he sits at her table."Carol, I have to tell you some wonderful news!""Hello, Felipe. I'm going to have the legendary grilled salmon." Caroline smiles kindly."Thank you for patronizing my humble restaurant." Felipe smiles contentedly. "Anyway, did you hear that I moved out of the penthouse?"Caroline reacts with indescribable pleasure. "Really? Wow, congratulations, Felipe! I always knew you could do it. Who would have thought, huh? Maybe you should connect wi
Melissa handed the CD to Josias as soon as she saw him at Rocha Mansion.Josias had just come out of the shower after a day's work, still wrapped in a towel around his waist.As Melissa handed over the CD, she couldn't help but admire her husband's toned physique, maintained even in his forties."What's up, darling? Missing the '80s?" Josias winked playfully as he took the CD.Melissa played along, "What '80s? You've still got the same ripped abs and six-pack!""I do everything to please my wife." Josias kissed her like something out of a romantic comedy. "So, what's this CD all about?"Melissa frowned, dissatisfied with the interruption of the flirtatious mood. "Can we talk about that later, please? João Paulo wanted you to see it, but for now, let's talk about something more interesting.""Is Reuben ready to walk down the aisle with our daughter yet?" Josias placed the CD on the dresser and wrapped his arms around Melissa's waist."Not yet, but he insists everyone sign his cast. It'
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