EPISODE 133

Two days later, on Wednesday,

Early in the morning, At Renata's house,

She is preparing to go to work as Thiago prepares to go to school. His school is near enough for him to go by himself. Renata tells Thiago that she will be late that day because she has to pass by his grandparent's house for a little while. Thiago stares at his mother. He then asks her if she is going to talk about adult things with his grandparents that he is not supposed to hear.

 

Renata smiles. What a smart boy her son is. She tells him not to worry. Thiago says that he will be fine. Renata tells him not to go anywhere near the gas. She adds that there is enough food and he can use the microwave to defrost whatever he wants to eat. Thiago frowns. He says that he is old enough to look after himself. Renata looks at her son and smiles.

 

Elsewhere, at Montes De Alba Inc.,

Gabriela is at her desk. It is early and she is among the first people to arrive. People are arriving and are out and about. Ever since she and her brother's true identities came out people have been treating them very differently. They keep on looking at her as they pass. Gabriela ignores them. She opens her WhatsApp to see if she has any important messages. Gabriela says that the messages aren't that urgent and she will read them later.

 

She then checks the status updates. Seeing some from her brother, she is curious and opens them. There are two pictures. One is of him and Adrianna and another is of their father and Gisela Paulina. Gabriela frowns. She says to herself that it is exactly the kind of stunt she would expect her brother to pull. She adds that he is such an attention hog. She says that he wants his daughter to be their father's favorite grandchild.

 

Elsewhere,

At Martin's house

Marianna is in the dining room. She had tried to read a book to keep herself busy but her efforts were futile. She couldn't concentrate. She couldn't say it was all because of finding out about her father and the rest of his family. For the past two days, the kiss with Martin has been on her mind. Every second of it was ingrained in every bit of her fiber. Martin had barely acknowledged it happened. They had not discussed it. She takes a deep breath and says that the kiss was a complication she doesn't need. She adds that coming to Martin's house was a bad idea from the beginning.

 

As this was going on,

At Montes De Alba Inc.,

Martin was in one of the washrooms. He runs a hand through his hair. He thinks about kissing Marianna two days earlier. He doesn't regret helping Marianna bond with her daughter or keeping them away from Alejandro. However, can he protect Marianna from himself? It is getting harder to deny that he is getting more and more attracted to Marianna. Martin says to himself that he has to do the right thing and that is to help Marianna and her daughter.

 

He adds that given everything that has happened, he and Marianna shouldn't get involved with each other. He also says that there is Dianna to consider and he doesn't want to confuse her or get her involved in a messy situation because he loves her too much. He adds that if he has to feign aloofness and pretend that Marianna makes him feel nothing, then he will have to make that sacrifice.

 

Sometime later,

Gabriela is on her way to one of the offices to talk to someone when she runs into Hernan. She frowns at him and starts to walk past him. He is surprised at her reaction. What was wrong with his sister and why was she so frosty with him that day? Hernan turns and calls Gabriela. She ignores him. Hernan walks upto his sister and takes hold of her arm. Gabriela turns and glares at her brother but she doesn't struggle. Hernan takes one look at his sister and realizes it.

 

He says to himself that she is on full-on bratty beast mode and wants to overreact about something or pick a quarrel with him. He asks Gabriela to follow him. Gabriela says she is busy and tries to leave. Hernan moves and stands in front of her. She asks him what he wants. Hernan says that he wants them to move aside and talk. Gabriela rolls her eyes and refuses. Hernan asks her if she wants to cause a scandal. Gabriela knows he will pull her aside if she doesn't agree to follow him.

 

She frowns but follows her brother. They move to a nearby corner. Hernan folds his hands and asks Gabriela why she is so angry at him. Gabriela says that she has no idea what he means. Hernan looks at his sister and says that he will refresh her memory. He says that when they talked in the morning over the phone, she was cold and distant and she still is. Gabriela says that she knows what he is trying to do. Hernan calls her Gaby and tells her that they may be twins but he cannot read her mind.

 

Elsewhere,

Gabriel is in the sitting room reading some magazines when he hears the bell. He goes and stands near the door. Ever cautious, he asks who it is. Anna Patricia says it is her. Gabriel relaxes and opens the door for her. He lets her in and locks the door. They go to the sitting room. Anna Patricia asks him if he is bothered that she came unannounced. Gabriel assures her that he isn't. He says that he is always happy to see her and she is always welcome wherever he is.

 

She smiles and says that she just wanted to see how he was. She says that being by himself for a couple of hours a day must be boring. Gabriel admits that it does get lonely because everybody is so busy so he has to keep himself entertained. He says he can't remember everything yet but he thinks he was active and all over the place just as Aranza is. He adds that of all his children she is the one who takes after him the most. Anna Patricia agrees.

 

She says that from what she knows of the twins if Rebecca had lived, the twins would have been more like her. Gabriel remains quiet. Anna Patricia asks him if he is bothered that she mentioned Rebecca. Gabriel assures her that it doesn't bother him. He says that he just realized that he hasn't gone to Rebecca's grave since he came back. Anna Patricia says that it would be good for him to go. Gabriel adds that he would love to go with his children sometime soon and make it a regular point to visit.

 

Back at Montes De Alba Inc.,

Gabriela frowns at her brother again then tells him that she knows that he is trying to make sure that his daughter is their father's favourite grandchild ahead of her son. Hernan shakes his head. What is she on about? Hernan asks Gabriela where she is coming from with what she is saying. Gabriela says that deciding that their father will stay with him without consulting her and constantly taking pictures of their father with Gisela proves that he is trying to upstage her. Hernan sighs. Gabriela is crazier than usual.

 

He says that he cannot believe that all the drama queen behavior was because she was jealous that he regularly posts WhatsApp statuses of their father with his daughter. Gabriela narrows her eyes at him. She says that they both know that it is not about the WhatsApp posts but about him trying to make sure his daughter outshines her son. Hernan frowns and shakes his head. He says that he knew she could get a little crazy when the jealousy bug bit her and she became obsessed with proving she was better, but this was way too much.

 

Hernan adds that she was their father's favourite child and she can't stand the fact that his daughter and their father have a very strong bond. Gabriela asks Hernan if he took their father to live with him for that reason. Hernan folds his hands. He tells Gabriela to grow up and stop being petty. He says that not only is he older than her but based on her current tantrum he is the more mature and responsible sibling and so their father should live with him. Gabriela says that she can take care of their father. Hernan shrugs. He says that both she and Antonio are volatile, hard-headed, and stubborn and their father isn't completely well and doesn't need that.

 

Back at Hernan and Adrianna's house,

Anna Patricia says that he should also go to some of the places he used to go to and it will make the transition easier and might trigger something. Gabriel loves the idea. He asks her if she had something else to do after she left here. Anna Patricia thinks about it then says that it’s not anything that can't wait. She adds that it's just a few minor errands. She asks why he was asking. Gabriel says that he wants to take her somewhere. Anna Patricia eyes him suspiciously. She asks him what he means. Gabriel tells her to relax. He adds that he was only going to ask her to accompany him to a restaurant for lunch.

 

Anna Patricia fiddles nervously and says that things are very complicated and, if they are seen in public together alone, that won't do him any good in his efforts to finally get free from Helena. Gabriel says that he does want to be free from Helena and continue living his life but he cannot stop going forward just because. He adds that he loves her and nothing anyone especially Helena and Carlos will do will change that. He also says that he wants to continue with his life and she is an important part of that. Anna Patricia says that he is very stubborn. Gabriel smiles. He says that he has been told that his daughters take after him in that area. He adds that he wants to enjoy her company and leave the house. Anna Patricia finally relents.

 

Back at Montes De Alba Inc.,

Gabriela frowns at Hernan. She says that the only reason he wants their father to live with him is to bother her and to make sure he loves Gisela more than Hannibal. Hernan frowns. He tells her that she is still obsessed with outshining him just as she has always been. He tells Gabriela that's why she always turned everything between them into a competition. Gabriela asks him why she would be jealous of him. Hernan folds his hands and says that he has always been the more popular and smarter one. Gabriela frowns. She reminds her brother that she used to help him with his chemistry and biology homework.

 

Hernan shrugs and says that he helped her with her Geography and language classes. He then sighs and says sorry, he made decisions concerning their father without her and that she feels that their father isn't getting enough time with her son. He adds that visits can be arranged but it is still better for their father if he stays with him (Hernan). Gabriela says that she still wants their father to stay with her. Hernan stands his ground and says that the matter is not up for negotiation because it is in their father's best interests as he recovers. Gabriela frowns but says nothing.

 

Later that night,

At Natalia and Damian's house,

Hernan and Adrianna have arrived. They are warmly welcomed. They are having the meeting over dinner. Shortly after, Hernan tells Santiago and his family that he knows that they are curious about why he and Adrianna are there. He adds that Antonio found out something about Diego when preparing to help his (Hernan) father. Adrianna continues and says that Diego had a daughter. The whole Holguain family is shocked. Diego had a daughter? Santiago clutches a hand to his chest.

 

He asks Adrianna how comes Diego never mentioned his child. Hernan says that Diego died without knowing he had a child. He continues and says that Diego had a brief relationship with a woman he met on a trip and the result of that was a daughter. Adrianna says that they didn't keep in touch and so he never knew about his child. Santiago asks where his granddaughter and her mother are. Adrianna says that the woman never loved her daughter and abandoned her when she was very young, about five years old.

 

She adds that his granddaughter suffered and made mistakes along the way but she is doing much better. Damian tells Adrianna that she is talking like she knows his niece. Hernan looks at Adrianna then says that they do know her. Natalia asks him how that is possible. Hernan says that's it's a long story. Santiago says that if it concerns his family, he has all the time.

 

At Martin's house,

Martin is coming from the kitchen when he runs into Marianna. They look at each other. Martin asks her if Dianna is sleeping. Marianna says that she is. He asks her if she is going to sleep as well. Marianna says not yet. She adds that she wanted to talk to him. Martin asks her what she wanted to talk to him about. Marianna says that there are many issues they are ignoring. Martin asks her what those issues are. Marianna says Dianna is one of them. She says that when Adrianna suggested that she brings Dianna over they never discussed for how long it would be and she thinks that for her daughter's sake they should.

 

Martin says that the same way they never discussed how long she would stay. Marianna says that's the other main issue. Martin shrugs. He says that he has no problem with her or her daughter staying with him and she can stay even during the time of the trial. Marianna is shocked. She tells Martin that will be going too far. She says that she doesn't want to cause any issues between him and his family. Martin says that it will be awkward but there won't be too much of a problem. He adds that he wants to help her and her daughter.

 

Marianna says that it would be selfish of her to expect him to drop or postpone his life to help her. Martin says that it won't be a problem and he isn't giving up anything to help her. He adds that she and Dianna have brought back joy and light to his life. At the mention of her daughter's name, Marianna softens. She tells Martin that Dianna loves him very much and it will disrupt and confuse her a lot when she finally leaves. Martin says that he has been thinking a lot about Dianna and he doesn't see why she has to leave.

 

At Natalia and Damian's house,

Hernan has just finished explaining to Santiago, Natalia, Damian, and Renata about his past with Marianna. Renata says to herself that Marianna's resemblance to her grandmother makes sense now. Santiago says what he has just said has helped them to understand Marianna better. He adds that despite her mistakes, she is still his granddaughter and he will love and accept her.

 

Adrianna says that they (Santiago and his family) can count on their (Hernan and Adrianna's) help. Damian looks at his daughter and asks her if she is fine. Renata says that she is. She says that she was just thinking about how much her cousin looks like a younger version of their grandmother. Natalia agrees that she does. Santiago says that he would like to meet her. Hernan assures him that can be arranged.