“What are you doing here, Roberta?” The woman still had her arms wrapped around his neck, squeezing so tightly that Oliver felt short of breath.“I missed you so much, my love,” she kissed him passionately.But Antony wasn’t pleased with the situation. He held onto Roberta’s arms, preventing her from continuing with the entire scene. Finally, managing to push her away and look into her eyes, Roberta was crying uncontrollably. He seemed lost for words, his mouth hanging open for seconds.“I know I left suddenly, without saying goodbye,” she rushed her words while wiping her tears, “and you haven’t heard from me in years. But I couldn’t bear to see you married to that woman.”“And why did you come back?” Antony’s expression showed that he wasn’t happy to see her return.“Aren’t you happy to see me, Antony?” she stepped back, disappointment in her eyes.But Antony couldn’t respond. He had spent the entire day in that prison. He felt too tired and stressed for new emotions. Likewise, he l
“What are you doing here?” when she noticed Antony’s different gaze towards her. She hurried behind the door, intending to protect herself from him.Even Antony didn’t understand why he was there. He should have gone home to rest after the hard day he had because of Giovana. She didn’t deserve his consideration, let alone his respect. However, he found himself standing at the door of her house, not knowing what to say, just admiring how beautiful his ex-wife still was.“I think you’ve gained some weight,” he commented, leaving Giovana dumbfounded.“I can’t believe you came here just to tell me that,” she assessed her own body, but she believed Antony was exaggerating. “Since when do you pay attention to me?”“I didn’t pay attention,” he looked back into her eyes, “but I remember this nightgown perfectly and your body inside it. There’s something different about you.”Giovana looked into his eyes, finding the conversation strange and dangerous, considering the direction it was taking.
“I can’t believe you managed to do business with Irma to harm me,” Giovana’s voice almost faltered. Her gaze was lost as she began to pace around the kitchen with her hands on her head, as if trying to gather and rearrange her thoughts.“I didn’t do any business with Irma,” Antony continued to eat nonchalantly. He seemed completely indifferent, looking at Giovana’s distress.“How come? You just said you did.”“I refused, Giovana,” his voice raised. “I told her I wouldn’t help her put you in jail.”“Are you trying to convince me that she told you where I lived for nothing in return?”Antony put the plate aside, focusing on her. He hadn’t come there to argue with his ex-wife. He got up, ready to leave, and put an end to the discussion.“That’s exactly what happened,” he said, sitting on the sofa and putting on his shoes. “I didn’t make any deals with your mother. Do you really think I’d do all that?”Antony referred to what was happening at Giovana’s house. As he was still putting on hi
Giovanna’s heart skipped a beat as she watched Antony get into the car and disappear, leaving her with a big problem. Then she turned her gaze to Matteo, who seemed disappointed.“You could have let me know you were coming,” she murmured softly, showing how embarrassed she was.“It was to give Antony time to leave without me seeing him.” There was no resentment in Matteo’s voice, and Giovana noticed that. “Sorry, I have nothing to do with your personal life.”He lowered his head and relaxed his arms, letting the flowers fall.“Nothing happened between me and Antony,” she squatted down, picking up the fallen flowers, “he wanted to talk to me about the strange things that have been happening to me, and it was already late. You know this house used to be his, right?”Matteo’s eyebrows arched. He was quite confused.“What?” Matteo was curious upon hearing the information. “What strange things have been happening to you?”Giovana ran her hand over her face, unsure if she was willing to tel
When Antony entered the office, it was as if the world outside had disconnected. Ricardo followed closely behind him, talking about meetings and company matters that Antony had missed on the last day when he was absent. But Antony had a distant look, as if only his body was present, and his mind was wandering far away.He recalled the previous night when he was with Giovanna and the protective feeling he had towards her. However, when his thoughts turned to Matteo and his words about the dinner he would have with his ex-wife, the feeling inside him changed completely.“Antony,” Ricardo’s deep and loud voice brought him back to reality, “are you listening to what I’m saying?”Antony looked at him wide-eyed and opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.“What happened between you and Giovanna last night?” The question made him agitated. Antony stood up, showing impatience. “Don’t tell me you’re going to do what I told you and try to win her back?”“What are you talking abo
Antony saw Matteo rushing out of the company, and even though he had other things to attend to, he left before his usual time and drove towards his home at high speed. The employees at the mansion found it odd that he arrived so early, especially in such a hurry.He quickly took a shower and came downstairs, announcing that he wouldn’t be having dinner at home that day. His routine had always been like this, even when he was married to Giovanna. He used to come home late and rarely slept at home at all.When he parked his car in front of Roberta’s house, she was already waiting at the door, eager to see him. It was strange for Antony to look at that woman and feel absolutely nothing. He briefly remembered how deeply in love he had once been with her, so much so that he had even considered defying Nicolaus’s whims just to satisfy his heart’s desires. When Roberta disappeared, saying she couldn’t bear to see him with another woman, Antony thought he would die. From that day on, he hated
Giovana looked at Antony from a safe distance, wondering what his true intentions were to be there. She would not believe, even if he told a million times, that his presence was a coincidence of fate. He had done it on purpose, with what intentions she would never have known.“Have you chosen what you want for tonight, Giovana?” Matteo asked, just to make her look at it.The inconvenience completely took the environment between them. Giovana could not disguise what Antony’s presence caused in his body. He responded, like magnetic waves, with every look he threw at her.“Forgive me, Matteo,” he put his hand on his forehead, gently smoothing it, perhaps trying to disguise the wrinkles of worry that predominated, “I will want the same as you.”It was clear that she was not paying attention to anything that happened around her, except in the presence of Antony. If I did, I’d know that Matteo didn’t pick one particular dish. Matteo glanced at Antony, who looked at Giovana as if to devour h
His hot lips made her lose touch with reality. His tongue invaded hers, and Giovanna almost surrendered completely.Matteo, frozen in the middle of the room, watched the scene, feeling his blood boiling almost to the boiling point. He wanted to run to where they were and punch Antony in the face until he learned not to come between him and Giovanna. But as if Giovanna herself could read his thoughts, her body moved away, and she raised her hand to slap Antony’s face.The entire restaurant heard the sound the slap made. Antony blushed and glanced at Giovanna, showing a hint of regret, but not enough for her to seek forgiveness.“What do you think you’re doing?” Her eyes teared up quickly, not sure if it was from shame or the pain that kiss was causing her heart. “I’m no longer your wife, Antony, so you no longer have the right to touch me.”A mocking smile, mixed with desperation, formed on his handsome lips.“Thank goodness you’re no longer my wife,” he replied firmly, taking a few st
Nicolau got discharged a few weeks later. When Antony saw Giovana holding their son for the first time, he felt so many things that he couldn’t decipher the feeling that pulsed the strongest in his heart.As Giovana approached with a genuine smile on her face, she asked him if he wanted to hold their son for the first time. Nicolau was so small that Antony was afraid of hurting him. He looked at the baby, who was sleeping peacefully in his mother’s arms, and with an affectionate look, he replied yes.Holding his son for the first time made Antony understand the true meaning of love. Ricardo himself, took without him noticing, a photo who imagined that photograph hanging on their wall.On the other side of the room, Tania was packing things for Giovana’s departure, her eyes filled with tears.“I think I haven’t forgotten anything,” she quickly scanned the room, looking for anything that might have been left behind, but there was nothing.Tania soon realized it was time to tell Giovana
Antony got into the car next to Xavier and was driven to the company. When he found the memories of that place almost paralyzed him. He barely remembered the last time he had been there. He had aspired to own that empire even when Nicolau was alive. His eyes would sparkle at the thought of owning it all. Now, standing in front of everything he had achieved, none of it made sense anymore. In the end, the greatest wealth he had received was marrying Giovana.He entered the elevator alone. Xavier had left with the mission of buying the shares and returning them to Antony. And to think it was because of those shares that he married Giovana for the second time. Now his life revolved around her. A smile tugged at his lips as Antony came to this realization. At that moment, he found himself completely in love with his wife, despite his promise never to fall in love with another woman besides Roberta.When he stepped out of the elevator, the first face he saw was Valeria’s. The woman looked a
Antony had a fixed idea in his head and thought about it every time he looked at Giovana. He had spent that night by her side, holding her hand while she slept. She was eager to see Nicolau, but the doctors recommended that she wait for the anesthesia to wear off before getting up. The next day, when Antony woke up, she was sitting up, which startled him and made him rush to help her.“What are you doing?” He looked at her, scared that she might do something reckless.“I want to see our son,” she said, already putting on her sandals, indicating that no one would stop her.Antony threw his head back, closing his eyes tightly and sighing in disagreement, but when he looked at her and saw a deep sadness for not having met their son yet, he relented.“All right,” he said, taking her hands and helping her to walk, “let’s go meet Nicolau, and on the way, we’ll talk about something very important.”“What do you want to talk about?” She looked at him, furrowing her brow with concern.“I need
Antony stopped to think about what Andreas was saying. Things in his life were starting to calm down, and he needed to recognize that Andreas had made a considerable effort to help him. On the other hand, Andreas fell silent, embarrassed, as if he had made significant mistakes and was convinced that Antony would never forgive him. Only after a long period of silence, in an attempt to clear up the misunderstanding, did Andreas apologize.“I should have told you that I didn’t find Giovana when I arrived at the farm,” Andreas’ regretful tone was more than enough for Antony to understand that the boy was not at all happy with what had happened. “I promised you that I would take care of Giovana, and I didn’t want to fail again.”Antony laughed with disdain, as if he had heard a very tasteless joke.“Yes, you should have told me,” he replied calmly, looking away at the nursery in front of him, “but you need to stop always trying to please me. Why is my approval so important to you?”Andreas
Antony stared at Xavier with an apprehensive look. The lawyer was terrified until the call was ended. When he finally hung up the phone, he looked at Antony with a lump in his throat.“What happened?” Antony sweated, anxious to hear good news from Giovana.It was all he could think of. It was about Giovana’s safety, as if nothing else mattered. Before Xavier could think of opening his lips to tell him what was happening, his cell phone rang again. He looked confused at the phone number, realizing it was Andreas.He answered the call, hearing the boy asking to speak to Antony on the other end of the line.Xavier left, leaving Antony apprehensive behind. It took him a long time to make that decision. Would it be more appropriate to inform Antony about his freedom first than to let Andreas take up his time?He came back with the phone in his hands and handed it to Antony. He saw the man’s face slowly transform, and minutes later, he felt drawn to the most important news of his existence.
Irma slowly opened her eyes and heard voices coming from afar, as if in a dream. The trees seemed to be in constant motion, making her head spin faster. The same man she had seen in front of the farm was the one who came to her aid. Although dizzy and disoriented, Irma tried to get up and escape. Her efforts were in vain, as she was weak and injured. The man held her and called the police.When the police cars arrived, she mocked the officers. She laughed uncontrollably.“Do you not know that I am Giovana’s mother?” Her disoriented look frightened some. “I came to visit her. Don’t I have that right?”“She ran away when I called her,” the man accused. “She ran through the woods and fell, hitting her head. Forgive me, but Mr. Andreas asked me to watch over the farm and forbid this woman from approaching.”The police seemed confused by the situation. One of them approached Irma, touching her arm, which greatly irritated her.“You need to come with us.”The order did not sit well with her
Giovana could no longer stand the car shaking all the time. She closed her eyes tightly and believed that the pain in her abdomen was because of the long hours of travel. Tania remained by her side, never letting go of Giovana’s hand for a moment, and although she told the maid that she was okay, Tania could see from Giovana’s face how much she was suffering from the long delay.“We need to stop,” Tania said, noticing Giovana’s face changing color. “Giovana won’t be able to endure this much longer.”“We can’t stop now, Tania, it’s only a few more hours,” Maria declared.“You’ve been saying that for two days now,” she snapped, though she had no reason to.“Please, Tania, don’t argue with Maria because of me. I’ve already said that I’m fine.”Giovana held back from grimacing as the car went over a pothole, throwing her body forward. The pain was increasing as the minutes passed. Giovana remembered the moment when Antony was taken by the police and his words, begging Giovana to leave the
Antony was in a room, being watched by police officers. In front of him, Xavier kept talking only about subjects that wouldn’t raise any suspicion. The lawyer already knew about the evidence against Irma and was preparing to put his plan into action.“Ask Andreas to go to Giovana,” he said, looking at the mirrored wall, imagining the figure of the delegate looking at him behind the glass. “Keep her safe.”“Andreas has already gone to the farm,” he said, wiping the sweat from his face. “I’ll get him out of jail today, Antony. I propose we put an end to this injustice once and for all.”Xavier was in a hurry, although Antony insisted on knowing who had been responsible for discovering his location. Xavier had no idea who it had been. He left the interrogation room, demanding to speak to the delegate.The man was arrogant, thinking he deserved a prize for arresting a fugitive from the police, which Xavier certainly disagreed with. He placed the paid bail on his desk, which made the man j
Someone called Irma that morning and informed her that Antony had been found. The voice on the other end of the line asked her to turn on the TV as Giovana’s location would be revealed.She paced anxiously around the house, waiting for the moment to put her plan into action. Her soul would only find peace once Giovana was dead. When she entered the living room, the TV was broadcasting Antony’s arrest live. She stopped and looked at the small screen, seeing Giovana’s face. Her eyes sparkled with emotion. She had finally found her daughter Gina’s killer.A sudden sense of unease surged in her heart as she hurried to pack her bags and leave. She saw Gina pass by the hallway, sending a shiver down her spine. Gina's constant visions and appearances tormented Irma. Surely her mind’s delusions, but she believed Gina’s spirit would only find peace when Giovana finally paid with her life for the crime she had committed.“I will draw her blood and bring it to you,” she said to the empty walls,