In the schoolyard where Caio and Junior are located, Benjamim and João Paulo are also found. Benjamin is buying a pack of sweet popcorn in the cafeteria. When he walks away, two students bigger than him with tough faces follow him. One of them intimidates him.
"Hey, weakling! Give some of that popcorn there!"
Benjamin stops walking and looks at the two of them with a frown.
"Get out, don't you have any money? Go buy it!"
The second bully catches Benjamin by the shirt collar.
"Look how you address us, you little chicken!"
The first bully picks up the popcorn package, "Yeah, don't be a glutton! What does it cost to share with us?"
"Let me go, the popcorn is mine!" Benjamin struggles.
It seems like the other students don't give a damn, it's a typical bullying scene. A teacher or the principal never shows up at these times.
At least João Paulo appeared, "Hey, let the boy go!"
The second bully turns to Jo
William is shaking with fear and hugging himself, sitting on the couch listening to "One" by Metallica. He's still freaked out by the sudden harassment from fans because of the interview he gave to Maggiezine. The music is ominous to Melissa's delicate ears, as she approaches the living room in her pink robe.William notices his sister's presence, "Sorry, sis. Did Caroline wake up to that song?""No, rest assured. She's sleeping now.""Now she sleeps. It's at wee hours that she wakes up, wanting to be breastfed." William jokes, "If I can help with anything...""You already have to worry about Caio and your new job," Melissa assures him smiling.By coincidence, Josias enters the penthouse at this moment with a serious face."Will, we need to talk about your job." Josias takes a deep breath, and lets out a long sigh, "Romualdo doesn't want you at the construction site."William gets up from the couch as if propelled by springs, "What's
Pamela arrives with Caio and Rosemary at Teodoro's building. Moacyr and Cristina are kissing to the sound of "Don't Wanna Lose You" by Gloria Estefan. But when they sense the approach, they end the kiss as if they were teenagers caught in the act.Cristina turns to her daughter and grandchildren, "Hi, everyone! Hi, little ones, how was school?"Rosemary holds out a paper, "I drew the family!"Cristina takes the paper but purses her lips. In the drawing, she sees that Rosemary has included William."There are too many people in the drawing, don't you think, granddaughter?"Rosemary shrugs, not knowing how to respond.Pamela asks, "Mom, do you know anything about William being famous on a magazine cover?"Cristina looks up at her daughter, "You're not getting hot for him again, are you, daughter?"Pamela opens her eyes as if to say: 'not in front of the children!'Cristina points to the counter, "Yes, I bought the magazine
Cristina enters Pamela's apartment to talk. The daughter is listening to the song "The Best" by Tina Turner while she rests from lunch. Volume is not turned up."Where are the children?" Cristina asks."They're napping, that's why the radio isn't loud." Pamela straightens up on the couch, "Want to talk to me, mom?""Yes, I want." Cristina sits on the couch, "Is it just me, or were you very interested in the William Campos interview?"Pamela tries to hide it. The fact is, she wanted to climb into William's bed and make wild love to him just like William did to his female fans."I just got curious." That's all Pamela says."No need to hide it from me, daughter." Cristina says with a mocking smile, "I'm your mother. You're dying to ride that hot, muscular body until the next day, just like you do with Beto.""MOM!" Pamela blushes with embarrassment at having her lustful thoughts exposed.Cristina laughs. Her daughter remains the s
Pamela and Cristina continue to talk. The daughter gets up and turns off the radio, still shaken by her mother's question."Mom, stop saying those things. What if Beto listens to you?""If Beto listens to me, he's going to punch William." Cristina shrugs, "You still haven't denied that you're dying to mate William."Inside Pamela is licking her lips at the possibility of being possessed by William, but outside she shows scandal and indignation, "STOP! I won't allow this nasty conversation, not even from you who is my mother! Are you encouraging me to adultery?"Cristina stands up, "I've seen this in the soap. You're acting exactly like the character—"Pamela brusquely interrupts her mother, "Don't compare me to those idiots gals from those swine shows you watch! Only you and Carmen to have the patience for these TV shows that make people dumb!"Cristina is offended, "I don't get dumb! I just want to have fun watching a good soap opera.
The next day, Harold appears in the room in a good mood. He goes to the radio and turns it on. Secret Service & Agnetha Faltskog's song "The Way You Are" rocks the living room.Isabel comes in from the kitchen, walking in step with the music, smiling at having received her prize money. The couple holds hands and starts dancing."R$2,000, dear." Isabel comments, "When was the last time you saw that much money?""I think that's when I had this house built!" Harold responds between giggles."And now I'm getting paid while the chapters are published. It'll be ten months!""Until then, you'll write another book that they'll definitely want to publish. And don't mind Mr. Queiroz's opinion. He doesn't own it.""No, thank God." Isabel sighs and looks up at the ceiling, "Thank you, Lord!"The Freire couple continues to dance.***Meanwhile, in Uélton's apartment, the couple is not as happy as the first generation. Fl&a
The school principal is extremely shocked when he discovers through Vânia that students dared to annoy Josias Rocha's cousin. He tries to justify himself."How can I call you, ma'am?""Mrs. Teixeira." Vania answers."Mrs. Teixeira, it must be acknowledged that the students are not aware of this information. I did not know that the cousin of the most illustrious Josias Rocha studied here. It is a privilege."Vânia looks at him suspiciously, "Yes, I know... and is it a privilege for you to have bully students? My boy is in sixth grade and doesn't have the physical bearing to fight. In addition to bullies, they are cowards.""You can be sure it won't happen again." The principal is sweating."Of course not, because if my son comes home with a black eye and a bloody nose, I'll call the police!"Vânia turns and walks out of the school, leaving the principal worried.***Elza visits Vernon in his office. It s
At school, João Paulo and Benjamin meet at recess. They sit on one of the patio benches."Hey buddy, how did you get from yesterday to today?" João Paulo greets him."Somewhat embarrassed to admit to my father that I didn't know how to defend myself." Benjamin admits, "He promised to teach me some self-defense tricks.""That's right, self-defense: no doing what bullies do." João Paulo nods."Thanks again, man," Benjamin repeats.João Paulo takes advantage of the moment, "Ah, my brother wants to know if you are his cousin. His name is Josias Rocha."Benjamin smiles in assent, "Of course! My father is his mother-in-law's older brother. My eldest stepsister is married to his best friend, Uélton Freire. Well... I think they got married..."João Paulo extends his hand, "Then let's start an excellent friendship! I don't know, but I believe that in a way we are also related."Benjamin shakes J
Bruno approaches Adrian at his desk. All the other realtors are talking to clients in person or over the phone, but Adrian is the only one to stand still and stare at nothing."Adrian, Laerte told me of your latest outrage." He approaches amiably, "Isn't it time for you to relax before you die of cardiac arrest?"Adrian purses his lips, "Sometimes I think it will be better for everyone if I do die a painless death."Bruno pulls out a chair and sits down, "It'll be better for everyone, but not for you. I had an idea: let's meet today at that nightclub here in Downtown."Adrian forces his memory, "I think I already had problems with that nightclub. That's where I found Vera Reis. Since Josias took her from me, I've never gone back there."Bruno giggles with no intention of offending, "Let's go again and this time you choose a chick that has nothing to do with Josias Rocha."Adrian softens the gloomy expression. The idea is interesting to him.<
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