The sky on that autumn morning was cloudy, covering the entire sun. Antony looked through the bars above his head, where he could see the dark clouds. Last night, he had plenty of time to think about what had actually become of his life. He was aware of what would come after his arrest and the consequences he would have to face. Despite his wounded heart, he did not despair. He was innocent, and he would certainly prove it to the world.He still wore the same clothes as when he was arrested. Not only that, but he was dirty and hungry, and no one, except Xavier, had come to visit him. Certainly, Giovana would have visited him if he hadn’t stopped her. He remembered her, and his heart bled even more. For the first time, he hated having to disappoint her and imagined her sad eyes hearing that he no longer wanted to see her.Footsteps approaching broke his thoughts. When Antony turned around, he saw two guards staring at him sternly. He assumed they had come to take him to the prison, but
When Giovana arrived at the house surrounded by mountains and trees, she realized that Antony had put a lot of thought into where he would hide her from Irma’s malice. No one would find her there.As she stepped into the house, the caretaker’s wife greeted her. However, her words caused Giovana immense pain.“Welcome, Giovana,” the woman embraced her, acting as if she had known her for a long time. “We’ve prepared everything, as Mr. Antony requested, for your arrival.”What was this feeling that came with the pain? Giovana wondered, unable to distinguish what was actually happening.“When did you talk to Antony?”Giovana had no intention of being rude and not greeting the woman, thanking her for all the effort in welcoming her. However, her curiosity about her husband’s actions overwhelmed her.“Two days ago, ma’am,” she replied. “But Mr. Antony always dealt with that matter with my husband. I was only tasked with preparing the house for you.”Giovana looked at Tania, a bit confused.
Antony felt like he was living in hell on earth. They took his fingerprints and recorded a photo before he walked down those corridors and they threw him into an individual cell. The place stank, but it wasn’t as gloomy as the cell at the police station. The worn, unlined mattress revealed the hard days he would spend there. Now dressed like a prisoner, Antony looked at the yellowed, dirty walls and wondered at what point he would go mad for good. Time was slow to pass. When he went out to have his first meal with the other inmates, he realized how difficult his life would be from then on. He sat isolated from the others and tried not to make eye contact with any of them. Antony had no intention of making new friends in prison, and it was only when he arrived that he realized how quickly he needed to be cleared. Just as it was getting dark, the guards came for him and took him to the visiting room. Antony never imagined that he would be so happy to see Xavier and Ricardo. He gave
Two days had already passed, and it felt like an eternity for Antony. He spent most of his time in the cell, even avoiding outdoor activities. There was time to reflect on everything that had happened in his life, even to mourn Nicolau’s death.If he were alive, Antony would be his disappointment. Nicolau wouldn’t bear the idea of seeing his son in prison. Antony missed his father, and guilt almost consumed him. Nicolau died carrying the feeling that Antony hated him. In the last months of his life, their fights intensified. Antony couldn’t handle the idea of Nicolau controlling his life, even his relationships. He forced him to marry a woman he didn’t love, just to secure the inheritance Antony had coveted his whole life.Only now did he understand that Giovana had been the best gift Nicolau had given him. He wished he had realized it earlier. Antony felt it was too late to try to fix things between them, and even if he got out of prison the next day, he needed to stay away from her.
Giovana had her fingers intertwined as she walked back and forth in the room, waiting for Ricardo to give her news about Antony. She uncrossed her fingers, realizing that her hands were sweaty. She had to wipe them on her skirt and then grab her cellphone.There was nothing. No sign.Since the day Antony had been arrested, Giovana had been avoiding checking her social media, but curiosity got the better of her. A bombardment of messages flooded her notifications. When she scrolled through the feed, Antony’s face appeared, and the caption revealed what she so desperately wanted to know. Antony was free.She called him. Giovana remembered the promise she had made to herself not to talk to him anymore, but she ignored all her instincts and called Antony, feeling her hands getting sweatier with each passing moment.On the other side of town, Antony was still trying to understand why Andreas did those strange things. As soon as he stepped into the old house, his phone vibrated. His heart s
Giovana walked through the vast field, already several kilometers away from the house. Tania had a frightened look on her face, and as she looked back, noticing the house growing smaller, her face twisted with concern.“Don’t you think it’s better if we go back, ma’am?”However, Giovana completely ignored the woman’s words and kept walking.“This could even harm the baby,” she continued in vain, “and what if Mr. Antony calls? You’ll miss the chance to talk to him.”Giovana stopped immediately to look at Tania in disbelief that she would use such an argument to convince her.“Walking isn’t harmful to anyone, Tania,” she said with difficulty, as she tried to fill her lungs with air, “and Antony won’t call me. He abandoned me here and won’t come back for me.”“Ma’am,” Tania stopped when she realized Giovana would continue walking until she realized she had nowhere to go, “it’s risky to walk in an unfamiliar place like this. I think we should go back.”It was only then that Giovana stoppe
Antony was driving at high speed towards the company. He had almost caused an accident a few minutes ago, and risked being arrested again due to sheer negligence. He could hardly believe that it was happening.In no time, he was parking in front of the company. He knew Ricardo was coming right behind him to try to stop him from doing something reckless, but Antony was furious, though not out of control. He knew exactly what he was doing.When he reached the main floor, he encountered Valeria, who came running towards him with shining eyes. She had to restrain herself from hugging him, such was her joy at seeing him free.“Sir Antony,” she grinned, but Antony didn’t look at her.When the secretary noticed him walking towards his office, she positioned herself in front of him, clearly intending to stop him.“You can’t go in, sir.” Valeria’s lips trembled as Antony gave her a cold look. “Your office is a mess, and with your absence, Matteo didn’t even bother to straighten things up.”“Ar
Andreas’ muscles stiffened, and his breathing increased a thousand degrees. Although he had made the proposal, he hadn’t imagined that Antony would accept it so easily. He had to absorb the information before going any further.“Are you really serious?” The boy’s eyes flashed in his direction, and he smiled for the next second.“Yes. I’ve just created a position for you,” the serious tone in his voice made Andreas realize that Antony wouldn’t joke about something so serious, “I’ll pass on my shares to you for a fixed period.”A few minutes passed in silence as Andreas tried to absorb what was happening. After that, he rephrased the next step in the agreement with his brother.“You’ve made the right decision, brother,” he said, but Antony’s countenance turned sour every time Matteo reminded him that they were brothers, “I’m going to call my lawyer so that he can draw up the document for our agreement.”“I don’t trust your lawyer,” he paused, “or you, even though I’m putting my life in
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,