UNFRIEND ME!The doctor left her feeling desolate. She now felt like a prisoner, and when Lipe came to visit her in the afternoon, arriving before Murilo and the others, she was sad and devastated."Hey, my dear," he greeted her with a kiss on the forehead, and she was indifferent. "Are you okay?" He sat down near her bed and held her hand."I want to leave, Lipe.""I know, and you will soon.""Could you bring my bag when you come to visit me again?" she asked, and it was the most she said. She spent the rest of the visiting hours silent and sad.Murilo, Lino, Clara, Megan, Dercy, Hanna, Cilmo, Dalia, and Linda also visited her, but no one could manage to bring even the slightest smile to her face.At night, she still experienced tremors, chills, and a headache. Her stomach was queasy, but she didn't ask for anything from the doctors. She was shivering at midnight when the night psychiatrist was called to see her by the nurse."Withdrawal is difficult, isn't it, Lara? I will prescribe
ONLY PROFESSIONAL HELP.And now one of the nurses from the team was always in the room when Lipe visited. They no longer trusted him. One of the nurses who visited Lara on that floor was Fael, accompanied by Cilmo. Lara remained silent, apathetic towards everyone, feeling frustrated and humiliated by being restrained in bed."Lara, I'm having an affair with Nurse Fael," Cilmo confessed to her, sounding like a teenager confiding in a friend. This was the only time that Lara looked at her, showing a spark of interest. The room was filled with bouquets of roses brought by friends who visited her all day. "Can you believe that a gorgeous guy like him, a fantastic guy like him, was still a virgin?" Cilmo had closed the door to share the details with her friend. "I went to his place, you know, and there I was, dirty and sweaty after a tiring day at work. He was all shy, not knowing what to say or where to put his hands, and I attacked him. Hehehe, it was amazing!"Lara stared at her lawyer
A COMPLETE MAKEOVER ON THE FORMER INMATE.Megan entered the house at that moment:"Is that the smell of coffee?" she shouted as she entered, and Clara felt a chill down her spine, fearing that her friend would say she had spoken to Jânio."Oh, but let's go to my room before you have coffee," Clara pushed her confused friend towards her room."What's going on, you crazy woman? I want coffee!""Keep your voice down! I just wanted to ask you not to mention Jânio's party in front of Otávio," she whispered, warning her friend."There's going to be a party?" Megan grinned. "When and where?""I don't know yet, but Jânio just came to tell me and said he would talk to you too. I told him I'll only go if you do!""Awesome, count me in! But wait. Why can't Otávio know, Clara? Aren't you two fucking dating? I thought that was already settled!""I know, Meg, but we've slept together and I know it upsets him when he finds out, you know.""When do you fuck? Ah, fuck him. It's none of his damn busine
LUAU SEXUAL.Priscila deserved it. She hadn't had fun in almost ten years, and she was so happy about the outing they were going to have that she was pumping up the group. Before going to sleep, Clara demanded that Otávio be removed from both the condominium and Vegas groups. She knew she was acting foolishly and that her friends didn't agree with it, but since they had made her the administrator of both groups, she quickly removed Otávio, and he didn't seem to notice or care. He didn't use social media and never responded to any questions, never interacted privately or in groups, so Clara endured the complaints from everyone in the groups, saying that she shouldn't have done that. Just the thought of him finding out that she was going to one of Jânio's parties made her heart race. She didn't want to hurt him."Clara, just think," Megan said to her the next morning when they were at Priscila's house getting ready early, even though they were only going out in the late afternoon. Prisc
STRANGE CONVERSATIONClara turned her eyes away from the TV and looked at him. Where did that come from now?“ I'd rather stay home today, Octavio?” She smiled at him, and even though he didn't look into her eyes, she knew he saw her.“ But you want to go, don't you?” He asked in a low voice.“ I would, but only if it didn't bother you.”And he remained silent for many minutes. She had turned off the TV and waited. She was more used to his silences, he was thinking or building up the courage to formulate something else, and the thing to do was to wait.“ It's not fair that I don't like to go out, go to parties, and you don't get to do that.”Boy, had it taken him a long time to say just that? She thought.“ Your mother who told you this?”“ No. I know it's not fair, you don't need anyone to tell me that. ““ Okay.”“ Don't stop going to the party because of me," he said.Clara took a long time to speak this time too.“ Octavio, it's a party that Janio invited us to.”“ I see.” “Jâni
A STUPENDOUS RESORT.Rupert was lively and quickly led them along the sandy path surrounded by coconut trees. The friends imagined how beautiful it must be there during the day and couldn't help but gaze at the waves of the beach crashing and kissing their feet. The foam reached them from the breaking waves, eliciting exclamations of awe. With excitement, the four friends followed Rupert to a large, charming house with a thatched roof and a spacious veranda."Oh my goodness, what a wonderful place!" Priscila exclaimed, mesmerised, as she squeezed everyone's hands. The stunning location facing the beach made her forget how long it had been since she last saw the sea. It had been so many years since she had seen people.About fifteen people were gathered in front of the house's entrance, sitting on the ground or on wicker beach chairs that perfectly suited the setting. A man in his fifties, who had been playing the guitar, stopped to greet them, standing up."Hi, good evening, folks! I'
BITTER BETRAYAL"Go ahead and be happy then, woman!" Clara said, finishing applying eyeliner."Well, it's not that simple. I don't even know if he wants me.""What? Why wouldn't he want you? Are you crazy?""He told me he didn't even want to stay for the party and only stayed because his friends insisted. He probably can't wait to leave.""No way, he's probably relieved and happy he stayed. Now come on, let's go and have a great time!" Clara slapped her friend's butt, and they left the room, heading downstairs to the lively atmosphere they could already hear. As they reached the corridor and looked down from the mezzanine, it was Luis's eyes that Pri saw. He was looking at her and came down to the first step to wait for her.Megan was fiddling with a sound system, and Anacleto was helping her set up the music. A table had been set up in the centre of the room, with many bottles of drinks and appetisers arranged for them to enjoy."I thought you were feeling down and had decided to res
NO AFFOITSThe kiss began without any pretence. It was more like a post-confession, a toast to the suffering lives they had endured. They were relaxing on the hammock at a beachfront party, under the stars, and his kiss came as a way to soothe, a balm for the wounds they both carried, a fusion. But his lips on hers sent a delightful shiver down her spine.Pri found his mouth on hers very welcome, more than welcome. His warm and initially dry lips were met with her response, slow and gentle. At first, he only brushed his lips against hers and left them there, but she timidly parted her lips, inviting him to venture further.Luís settled in beside her, taking advantage of the ample space the hammock provided for both of them, and their kiss intensified. Now their hesitant tongues touched, their lips moistening with each other's, intensifying and growing warmer.Luís placed a hand on her face and opened his eyes. Her eyes were closed, surrendering herself completely to the kiss, focused
TWO YEARS LATER"It may seem like many people say that, but I'm being completely sincere when I say you are the most beautiful pregnant woman I have ever seen!" Clara exclaimed as Megan entered her apartment."I hope she believes you, Clara, because I tell her the same thing every day and she doesn't believe me," Gregory said, entering behind his eight-month pregnant wife, who waddled with her pregnant swagger."I believe you, Greg, but when his godmother says it, I'm happy too," Megan said, sitting down with some effort and with Gregory's help. The two had been married for a year and seemed to be in a constant honeymoon phase. "Friend, I also never tire of saying that your apartment is the most beautiful I have ever seen.""I'm obliged to agree, and Dália helped me furnish it.""Dália has incredible taste, doesn't she?""Yes, look at this painting!" Clara pointed to the wall where a beautiful landscape canvas was hanging. It was exactly the painting of Paradise – she says it's for me
SO MUCH OLDER.When they left, Dália and Linda were buzzing with excitement, practically ready to take flight. Linda made calls to catering services, wanting everything to be perfect, and sent messages in the group, warning everyone and threatening anyone who thought about leaving tonight, as she wanted everyone present.Lara sent an audio message, saying she was heading to Márcia's house right now and promised to drag her along by her hair if she had to. Everyone responded with laughing and laughing emojis.Clara was practically dragged to the main house by Linda and Dália. Priscilla was already there with her boyfriend and their daughters, busy cleaning and organizing the house for the party later.Frank tried to help as much as he could, Jânio had left work to assist everyone, and Megan pulled Clara aside to tell her that this party would be good to get them out of the slump they were in. It was Clara's father's call that reminded her that she was supposed to be on her way to his h
RESCUEShe locked the living room door, trembling at the thought of him showing up, knowing she would hit him if he appeared there now. She paced around the room like a caged lioness. Hurt, devastated, and feeling dirty. She felt like the dirtiest woman on the face of the earth.Dália must have seen the lights on in her living room because minutes later she knocked on her door. And she only opened it because she recognized her friend's voice."Why was your door locked?" Dália asked as soon as she entered. "I couldn't sleep thinking about Jaqueline and Márcia, can you believe it? I'm going to make some coffee."Her friend didn't look at her and didn't notice how bad she was feeling. Clara thought it was better that way and shouted from the living room."Okay, I'll get ready and take a shower, and then I'll come to the kitchen."She really needed a shower and took a long one, hoping that the water would wash away some of her pain and anguish down the drain, and that her eyes wouldn't be
THERE ARE OTHER PLEASURES IN LIFE.And that's exactly how it went. Clara had a sleepless night. It was past midnight, and she was still stressed, thinking about how casually he had mentioned talking to her father, solving the problem, just like that. But by one in the morning, her feelings had changed, and she felt like a fool for getting upset and kicking him out of her house simply because he had said he would never have sex with her, ever! What kind of woman was she, getting rid of a man just because he said he would never sleep with her?But at two in the morning, she reconsidered. No, it wasn't about sex! The harsh reality of her situation with Otavio was that it was messy and strange. Perhaps deep down, she knew that it would have to come to an end someday. It wasn't about sex, it wasn't a relationship, it wasn't what they had. She knew that one day it would have to end, and now seemed just as good a time as any. A breaking point could come at any moment, even now.Reality final
I AM AT MY LIMITDália messaged her shortly after, and she thought it was Dália who was turning the doorknob."Hi, my dear. Is something wrong?""Was it you at my bedroom door?" she asked."No, I'm already in bed, but I was there about twenty minutes ago, and Otávio was mopping the living room. Is everything okay?""No. We had an argument, Dália.""I understand.""I don't want him in my house anymore. Please let him know that he needs to go back to his own house.""I will, don't worry."After a sleepless night, she left her room and saw that the living room was sterile clean, but he wasn't there. Thank goodness for that. But his mother was there because the smell of fresh coffee was coming from the kitchen."Good morning," she greeted her friend, who along with Linda, was sitting at the table having breakfast."Good morning. Are you feeling better?" Dália asked, concerned."Yes. I'm feeling better now.""Was it one of his quirks?" Linda asked."No, Linda. I got upset when I joked with
YOU DON'T SLEEP HERE ANYMORE!"I still can't believe it," she said, lying on his chest in the morning. "I don't even feel the urge to drink.""God, that's the best thing I've heard in centuries," Lipe said, his voice husky and smiling."I didn't sleep with Murilo, Lipe. I know I've said it already, but I want to emphasize it.""It's okay, love. I believe you, okay?""Especially because I could only think of you since I left the hospital, and my mind was filled with thoughts of you all the time.""Lara, I'm so happy, and it's so unbelievable to me that I feel like I might be dreaming, you here with me, telling me that you love me." He propped himself up on his elbows and looked at her with shining eyes."I don't understand why it's so hard to believe. I'd be crazy not to love you, love. I may be dependent, but I'm not insane. You're the most incredible guy who has come into my life, and it would be me not believing that you could love me. I just have to be grateful to the universe for
I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO SURE IN MY LIFE"Are you not going to visit her at the farmhouse?" Clara probed."I'm not that evolved," he replied, smiling to the side."I don't understand," she said."She stayed at my house the day she was discharged from the hospital, Clara, and left in the morning without saying goodbye, just leaving me a note on the fridge saying she would spend a few days at the farmhouse. I could have taken her there, but she called Murilo. They're together at the farmhouse now, and my concern is that he and she, well... they degrade themselves sexually. I'm sorry for telling you this, but you've gone out with her to Jânio's parties and you've seen how she uses sex to vent," he explained."Oh my God, Lipe. I'm so sorry," Clara wanted to cry upon hearing that, imagining how much the young man was suffering."I guess deep down, I worry that she will resort to old habits that will lead her to relapse, you know, and she has struggled so much to get clean," he confided."You a
LIGHTNING STORMMegan was thinking about Gregory even more now. She had stopped stalking him on social media a long time ago. It was too much suffering, why continue to do that, to hurt herself even more?Talking to Clara was always wonderful. It brought her relief and made her feel calm. But when she was alone, the thoughts assaulted her again. No matter how much she tried to convince herself that it might be her ego screaming, that her longing for him was because she couldn't have him, that it was the desire for the forbidden, deep down she knew it wasn't just that. It wasn't a matter of ego; it was love in its most painful and absurd form. It was the love for someone who was already committed, and if he were single, they would be together, end of story. She wouldn't be the mistress for quick encounters, the other woman who patiently or anxiously waits for the married and committed man. She had self-respect and wouldn't lower herself to be the lover who regrets being with the husban
YOU DID THE RIGHT THING!When his plump, warm lips touched hers, the sound of the door being opened concealed her moan. Finally, a woman who valued her bladder!"Let's go to my place," Gregory whispered in her ear, intertwining his finger with hers, and she followed him outside. The woman who entered didn't even notice them there, nor did she notice that there was a man present. Megan walked with him, their fingers still entwined. It was only when they were going down the escalator that it hit her. One: she was walking hand in hand with a married man in the middle of a shopping mall. Two: he said they were going to his house?But she didn't want to ask anything. She feared that if she asked any questions, the enchantment would break, he would change his mind, see reason, and by God, the self-proclaimed moralist feared that. She mentally kicked herself. Rolled her eyes internally at knowing that she was falling for it as well, and this time, fully aware! She was aware that she was acco