Days pass during which Anna Patricia and Gabriel make their relationship public. Everyone in their inner circle is happy for them. Carlos and Helena hear the news as well, and for different reasons, are both pissed. Carlos is pissed because he is obsessed with Anna Patricia and Helena is jealous because both Gabriel and Carlos are into Anna Patricia.
Early on Thursday morning,
At Martin's house,
He is eating breakfast before he goes to work. He is in the sitting room with a glass of juice and some toast and eggs. Marianna comes out of her and Dianna's room and stops when she reaches near him. She greets him and he greets her back. Martin looks at her. Even dressed in a pajama with her hair slightly disheveled, she was still very attractive. Marianna didn't have to try very hard to be sexy, she just was. He was attracted to her combination of toughness and vulnerability.
He asks her if she is fine. Marianna says that she is. She adds that she wasn't sleepy. She adds that she will just get Dianna's things ready early and then wake her up for school when it is time. Marianna looks at Martin and says that he looks like he has something on his mind. Martin says that he has something that he would like to tell her in advance. Marianna asks him what it is. Martin tells her that he has a date. Marianna is very surprised. She hadn't seen that coming.
She, however, tries to wipe the look of surprise from her face. Martin asks her if she is okay. Marianna asks him why he thinks she wouldn't be. She then says that she is. Martin says that he is going the next day after work and will most likely get back late. Marianna remembers the time she saw Martin kissing some girl in a park. She then asks herself if it is her, he is going out with. She tries to tell herself that either way, she doesn't care. She says that who Martin decides to see is none of her business.
Elsewhere at the hospital,
Claudia listens out for human presence and sensing no one, she opens her eyes. She truly is alone. She says that she has to find a way of escaping otherwise she will put Gabriela and Ricardo in danger. She adds that as much as it might pain her to admit it or not, Carlos and Juan Patricio did a lot of bad things. She also adds that she wouldn't be surprised if what has been said, is just the surface of what they are accused of. She says that there has to be a way of finding out the truth about everything discreetly.
Back at Martin's house,
In the flash of a moment, Martin is by her side. He holds one of her arms with his hand. Marianna looks at him. She struggles free and increases the distance between them. Martin asks her if she will be fine when he goes. Marianna says that she and Dianna will be perfectly fine. She tells Martin that he shouldn't stop living his life on her account. Mariana stands and turns to leave. Martin follows her and holds her by the arm. She turns ready to give him a piece of her mind. She even starts to say something but stops when she is face to face with him. They are locked in a close intimate embrace.
Neither of them says or does anything for several seconds. All they do is stare into each other's eyes. This continues until Martin leans in and kisses her. Marianna kisses him back with as much passion as she gets. After a few minutes, Martin reluctantly pulls away from Marianna. Martin knows he wants her and badly. If he had continued what he shouldn't have started, he was going to end up taking Marianna to his room and said to hell with work that day. He runs one hand through his hair. He looks at Marianna as she goes and sits down on a chair and folds her arms. She says nothing and doesn't look at him.
Elsewhere at the Montes De Alba Mansion,
Carlos is dressing, ready for work. He remembers what happened on Monday, at the office, with Gabriel, pulling a fast one on all of them. He then comes back to the present and says that he won't cede an inch of Montes De Alba Inc. to him. He then adds that he won't let him have Anna Patricia either. He adds that no woman has ever said no to him and she won't be the first one. He adds that he will make sure the relationship doesn't last.
Back at Martin's house,
Martin doesn't move near Marianna. That is clearly a bad idea. He tells her that she shouldn't ever feel like she is a burden to him. He adds that he welcomed both her and her daughter with open arms. Marianna looks at him. She says that was then. She asks him, how he feels about that now. Martin says that nothing has changed, except for maybe him deciding that he wants to adopt Dianna. Marianna says that things change. She adds that for example, he is starting to date.
Martin smiles. He tells her to relax, and not take things too fast. Marianna frowns at him. She says that she and Dianna being in his house is an invasion of his privacy. She adds that he can't do things like bring his dates over. Martin folds his arms. He says that he has never been the type to bring people he barely knows into his house. He adds that he never brings casual dates over. Marianna says oh. She adds that it doesn't matter because she shouldn't be there.
She further adds that it was somehow acceptable for her to be there until she recovered, but since that happened some time ago, she should leave. There is the unspoken elephant in the room that neither of them wants to address-the growing attraction between them, especially the kiss they shared, just minutes, ago. Martin tells her to not be concerned about what anyone thinks and that she shouldn't feel like she bothers him. He adds that the only certain thing is that he loves Dianna. He insists that they will figure things out about their arrangement as time goes by. Marianna is still unsure.
Sometime later, at the office,
Adrianna is passing through a hallway on one of the floors of the company when she sees Antonio through one of the windows. She remembers something Gabriela said to her over the weekend. Gabriela had told her that she was worried about Antonio. Adrianna then asked her why she was worried. Gabriela had said that Antonio had been acting differently, over the last couple of days, like something was weighing heavily on his mind. Adrianna asks herself what could be happening that has gotten Antonio feeling so low. She says that whatever it is, she has to do something about it and find out what is going on with Antonio.
Elsewhere, in Carlos' Office,
He is sitting, busy on his computer, when, Helena comes in. He knows her well enough to know that she is in one of her moods. He asks her, what is bothering her this time. Helena says that they have to discuss Anna Patricia. Carlos stares at her irritated and says that they will not discuss Anna Patricia. Helena narrows her eyes and glares at him. She tells him that she doesn't understand how with everything going on, he has the time to pursue that silly woman. Carlos looks at her irritated. He tells her that he doesn't owe her any explanations.
He reminds her that he has always done what he pleases and that isn't about to stop anytime soon. Helena tells him that they should let Gabriel and Anna Patricia be and focus on retaining control of the company. Carlos looks at her and says that he can't believe that she is letting go of Gabriel and his millions, so easily. Helena tells him that she is being realistic. She says that after twenty-two years all she can do is stake her claim to the company. She says that she and Gabriel's marriage ended legally when everyone thought he was dead.
Sometime later,
Elsewhere at the company,
Antonio and Adrianna are at the cafeteria. He asks her if she is fine. Adrianna rolls her eyes and says that she is. She adds that she already told him that over the phone. Antonio smiles and says that she is his best friend and it is normal for him to be worried about her. He says that when she called him to ask if they could talk, he couldn't say no. Adrianna adds that he is the one who should answer that question. Antonio asks her what she means. Adrianna says that she is worried about him.
Antonio shakes his head. He says that he can tell that Gabriela filled her head with her crazy ideas. Antonio adds that he is fine. Adrianna gives him an, I don't believe you look. Antonio tells himself that he cannot tell either Gabriela or Adrianna the truth because he loves them too much and doesn't want to put them in danger. He adds that he doesn't understand the full picture himself and he doesn't want to traumatize Adrianna by giving her incorrect information about her parents' deaths. Adrianna asks Antonio what he is thinking about. Antonio insists that he is fine.
Meanwhile,
At the police station,
Two officers are in their office. They are investigating Gabriel's case. So far they have gotten nothing. There are a lot of inconsistencies and questions in the case, but no clear evidence against anyone. One of them says that they have talked to both sides in the case, Gabriel's doctor's, poured through all the necessary documents, but they are still not any closer to finding out the mystery surrounding Gabriel and whether the car accident was an accident or not. His colleague agrees. He adds that with the amount of time that has passed, there is very little, they can do. He says that in his career he hasn't seen any other case quite like that one, and nothing short of a miracle can help them.
The next day on Friday,
Antonio passes by to visit his grandmother before work. There was some medicine, she needed and he was going to take care of that. Antonio walks and knocks on her door. He hears no response. He knocks again but still, there is no response. He says to himself that she must be sleeping and opens the door. She is sleeping and has covered herself. Antonio walks forward to make his grandmother comfortable. He moves to lower her blanket so that she can get some air.
He is shocked by what he finds. For several moments, he does nothing but stares, in utter shock. He is not looking at his grandmother but at a mannequin. He asks himself what is going on. He starts to pace around. He remembers talking to his grandmother and then his grandfather's thinly veiled threats against Gabriela and Ricardo. Antonio asks himself if his grandfather could be twisted enough to want to hurt his grandmother. He runs his hand through his hair. He then leaves the room to go and get someone.
Elsewhere,
At Martin's house,
Marianna is trying to do some work on Martin's laptop. She has been trying to concentrate for some time but it hasn't been working. She takes a deep breath and gives up. She minimizes the tab she was on and looks at Martin's screen saver. It is a picture of him, his mother, and his grandfather. They are all smiling. She closes the laptop, leaves it on the table, and starts to pace around. No matter how much she wants to pretend that she isn't bothered that Martin is going out on a date, she can't.
Before she can stop herself she says that things would be easier if she hadn't fallen in love with Martin. Realizing what she had just admitted, Marianna stands frozen to the spot. She remembers every time they kissed and how much she was left wanting more and more every time. As much as it hurt her to admit it, his growing indifference towards her hurt her. She remembers looking at him confused when he pulled back and restrained himself from going any further.
She says out loud, that things are getting complicated and she can't handle much more of the situation. She adds that he hasn't said anything at all and has never acknowledged even one of their kisses and so, she too will show that they meant nothing and were mere mistakes. She remembers how much he loves Dianna and how much she loves him back and sighs. She says that she doesn't want to separate them but she can't continue staying there either.
Elsewhere, at Montes De Alba Inc.,
Martin is at his desk. As it often does, his mind drifts to Marianna. If only his plan to keep her at arm's length was working as well as he wanted it to. He remembers all the kisses that they shared. Despite his vow not to get involved with her, he couldn't help himself. He was in love with her. It was as simple as that. He says to himself that Dianna has been through so much at such a young age and he doesn't want to confuse her more. He adds that what the child needs is some stability.
He reminds himself that getting involved with Marianna is a complication he doesn't need. He runs his hand through his hair. He says that he has to stop thinking about Marianna and focus on dating again and hopefully getting a girlfriend, preferably one who isn't complicated and doesn't come with a complicated past. He tries to brush aside the fact that the idea of his date doesn't fill him with as much excitement as seeing Marianna and Dianna every day does. If things had not been as complicated as they were, he would not mind creating a family with the two of them.
Elsewhere at the company,
Gabriela is on her way into the lift when she runs into her father. She is shocked to see him there. She asks him if he is fine. Gabriel waves her away and smiles. He says that he is okay, but he is just bored. Gabriela asks him how he got there. Her father frowns and says that he came in a taxi. Gabriela looks around and sees no one.
She asks her father if they could talk. He says that she must be very busy. Gabriela says that she wasn't really that busy. She adds that her work will have to wait for a little while because he is her father and his health is one of her top priorities. Gabriel shakes his head and tells her not to be paranoid. He says that he is well enough to take care of himself. He then asks her, where they will talk. Gabriela tells her father to follow her.
Back at the hospital,
Antonio is back in his grandmother's room, with the hospital director and two other officials. He is circulating between fear, shock, and anger. He asks the director, how it is possible for a patient, especially someone who is elderly and still recovering from a car accident to just disappear like that. The director, calmly, but still full of fear, tells Antonio that the hospital is very sorry for the unfortunate incident and they will do everything they can to assist in finding his grandmother. Antonio places his hands together.
He repeats that his grandmother is old and in no condition to be God knows where. The director adds that they have already contacted the police, and they are on their way. He also adds that internally, they are checking their records, security footage, and questioning their staff to see what they could know. Antonio says that he wants to see the security footage. The director nods. Antonio remembers his grandmother casually telling him that she was exaggerating her condition. He asks himself just how much his grandmother told him about that. He also asks himself if she was capable of that, how craftier could she be.
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