Heitor
When I turned my back on Catarina and entered my office, my only intention was to grab my briefcase. I needed to leave that office, and the fact that I had a scheduled meeting was quite providential at that moment. Besides not being able to accomplish anything throughout the morning, I was now also very angry with Catarina after realizing, through the monitor of the cameras installed in my office, that she was simply eavesdropping on my conversation with Heloísa.
How can she be so vile like that? I took my time leaving the room because I didn't feel capable of acting in a civilized manner, so I let Heloísa leave first. Only when I felt calmer did I join the two, who were already having a heated discussion.
With my briefcase in hand, I nearly bumped into Catarina, who
LizandraI came home early that Friday. I was a bit disheartened after days of looking for a job without even getting a promise of a callback. I intended to go straight to my room and stay there until dinner. If Heitor wasn't home, I would join Mr. Vicente and Heloísa at the table. Otherwise, I would again have my meal in my room.My plans were thwarted when I found Heloísa coming down the stairs, ready for an afternoon by the pool. She simply didn't allow me to refuse her invitation to join her. To make everything more challenging, Mr. Vicente soon appeared, and even Cristina joined in to help convince me."You're pressuring me, and that's not cool," I said, attempting to escape the proposal."It's not cool for you
HeitorThe fact that Lizandra accepted the job as my secretary's assistant didn't make my life easier. Quite the opposite. She continued to completely ignore me, and her attitude was extremely professional, always treating me with courtesy and respect, proving to be an excellent employee, as Joana made a point of repeating for the thousandth time that week."I've already understood that Lizandra is a good girl and that she's been a great help to you, Joana," I said with annoyance. "Can we go over my schedule for today now?"I'm fed up with hearing Lizandra's name. Isn't it enough that my brain repeats it in my head? Or all the dreams I have about her at night? Maybe the fact that I wake up hard and think about her every morning.
HeloisaThe first thing that caught my attention when I saw my brother enter the restaurant was his unfriendly expression and a strange aura of a warrior ready for battle. Initially, I considered going off on him for the way he was behaving because it's clear to me that Heitor came to meet us and that he's insanely jealous of Lily, which is ridiculous, as we were just having lunch.However, my perspective completely changed when Lily alerted me about the return of our friend Leon, who had gone to the bathroom and was now coming back to join us. I looked again at Heitor's scowling expression, and with great difficulty, I managed to hold back the laughter that was about to burst from my mouth at that moment. He knows about Leon, I thought with amusement. Someone told Heitor that we had gone out for lunch with Leon. That's why Heitor seems on the verge of losing control."Leon, you took so long," I said to the handsome man approaching the table. "Lily was about to go wait for you at the
LizandraWhen Heloísa wished me good vibes, I didn't imagine she was foreseeing what would happen that afternoon, and her words came to my mind when Heitor called me to his office. Joana had a setback in a medical appointment and couldn't return to work after lunch, leaving me as her substitute, something entirely normal.What is not normal is the way my heart is beating wildly in my chest as I glance at him sneakily, quite foolish on my part, as Heitor doesn't take his eyes off me for a moment. Every time I tried to look in his direction, he was staring at me. This only contributed to making me tense and... sensitive.After going through some important information as requested by Joana, Heitor stood up and walked around the desk, stopping by my side. If I was already feeling tense before his approach, now I felt stretched like a violin string and immediately stood up as well."Well, that's it, I'll go back to my desk," I said hastily, I even think I stuttered at this moment.But I co
HeitorThe door closed gently behind Lizandra, but for me, it was like a crash. Did she do that? I couldn't believe it. But instead of boiling with anger, as would be the normal reaction of a guy who was deceived by a girl who until recently was completely inexperienced, I ended up bursting into laughter.Lizandra never fooled me. She has a strong temper and is far from naive. She's not a scam artist, I concluded that a few days ago, but that strong personality managed to confuse me, and now it proved completely true what I saw in her from the moment she mistreated me on the beach."This will come back to you, Miss Lily. Just wait!"I looked at my messy desk, and the memory of what we just did in that room reminded me of the hot moments but also left me unsatisfied again. So, Lizandra made good use of the moments and left me hanging, because the first thing I did when I got under the shower in my home bathroom was to relieve the frustration I've been feeling for days and that became u
BernardoI've been around Heitor for many years; we were just children when our friendship began, and I know him well enough to understand that he was as sharp as I am, which helped us in various moments of our lives. But my relationship with Catarina and the way everything happened between us, and even worse, the way Heitor found out about everything, caused a significant strain on our friendship, and I understand that it will never be the same.However, this was affecting Heitor's judgment, and the biggest proof of that is that even though I insisted that I had something important to say and that it was in his interest - I know Lizandra is important to Heitor, even if he may not have fully grasped that yet - still, he refused to listen to me. Now, facing Dann Heeren and his wife Lourdes once again, I confirmed how much she and Liza
HeitorWith each new piece of information, I felt more confused about everything. While I believed that all of this wasn't a coincidence and that this woman could only be Lizandra's mother, I couldn't connect the same person they were talking about to the girl I knew. It couldn't all be an act; I couldn't continue to believe in that possibility after spending daily life with Lizandra. I couldn't persist in the idea that she was a scammer because it made no sense!A scammer wouldn't end everything just because I didn't disclose the real reason for my breakup with Catarina. A scammer wouldn't reject all the things I found out that Lizandra refused from my grandfather. My conversation with Luciano Monteiro also brought me some new information about Lizandra and new blackmail from him, which I was trying to handle on my own but would probably need to
HeitorSeeing Lizandra hurriedly walking towards the restaurant exit with Heloísa and the jerk who had dinner with them, I almost believed I wouldn't be able to get Lizandra and Lourdes Heeren face to face. Fortunately, I still found them waiting for the valet to bring their car, and I smiled satisfied as I invited my clients to meet some special people.As I expected, Dann and his wife promptly accepted my invitation, and now Lizandra and Lourdes were face to face. However, now there's no more doubt, and they seem not to know each other, I thought with disappointment. It's not possible that both were pretending so convincingly, as it also made no sense. At least, that's what I thought when I introduced Lourdes and Dann Heeren to Lizandra. Everything changed when the opposite happened."Lo
LizandraThe journey to Amsterdam was something magical and special. Besides having the opportunity to be by my mother's side and learn more about her life and stories, which I had been deprived of for many years, I was also with Heitor, experiencing even more glorious days. We had various family outings, but we also had our alone moments, with romantic dinners and nights filled with love and, of course, intimacy. I also got to know Heitor better now that it was just the two of us in a place completely different from what we're used to. I learned a lot about Dutch culture and was surprised by Heitor's knowledge of some of the local customs.Unlike me, Heitor had already taken several international trips and wasn't easily surprised, which, at times, became quite amusing and entertained us.O
LizandraThe return to Rio de Janeiro felt like coming home. Despite spending my entire life in Gostoso, it never felt like a true home to me, unlike the Bragança mansion, which became home in the short time I've been living with them. It's all quite strange, considering it's not a house but a huge luxurious mansion, and the Braganças are very rich. Given my simple life, I shouldn't have adapted so quickly to all of this.But feelings can't be controlled, and despite all the differences among us, I genuinely like them all. Even Heitor had managed to carve a spot in my heart, even after being a jerk for some time. And that became the topic of the first family dinner after returning home."I need to thank all of you for welcoming my Lizandra and providing a home and so much love for h
HeitorThe days in Gostoso had passed quickly, and on Ash Wednesday, we were packed and ready to return to Rio, excited after those wonderful days. At least, that's what I thought until I went to Lizandra's room and realized she was still packing, and she even seemed a bit sad."Everyone is ready. We'll be leaving soon," I commented, offering to help her with the task. "Need help packing your bags?""In fact, I..." Lizandra didn't finish what she intended to say, and I felt my heart tighten. A strange mix of warmth and cold took over my body.Seeing her hesitancy to continue speaking, I quickly remembered the night when I felt she was hiding something from me.
HeitorTo everyone's joy, Lourdes Heeren was discharged from the hospital the next day, but with several medical recommendations to follow. Faced with this condition, Lizandra fully agreed with her stepfather to withhold from Lourdes the news that Lucrécia had been arrested for involvement in an international human trafficking ring, to prevent her from ending up back in the hospital.We decided to stay in Gostoso until after the Carnival holiday so that Lizandra could have more time with her mother and they could take the opportunity to get to know each other better.However, to avoid any contact between Lizandra Juliana, and Samuel, something I suspect must not be easy given the lies that the cousin lived for years, I suggested to Dann Heeren that they stay at the same hotel where
LizandraI looked at the woman lying on the hospital bed, not knowing what to do or say when they left us alone. Despite appearing quite debilitated among the white sheets, she remained extremely beautiful, and her smile added a different sparkle to her face."My dear daughter," Lourdes said, breaking the silence. "I'm so happy you came to see me.""I... I'm sorry," was the most I could say.Despite my awkwardness, Lourdes continued to smile and extended her arms in a silent request for a hug, which I accepted, even though I wasn't prepared for it. However, as I felt my mother's arms around me for the first time in so many years, emotion took over my entire being, and I felt that it would overflow through my eyes, as tears were about to roll down my face.
HeitorThe distance between São Miguel do Gostoso and Natal is only a hundred and fifteen kilometers, but the time we spent getting to the state capital was extremely distressing for Lizandra, and it was noticeable to all of us in the car with her.We left Gostoso at seven in the morning because Lizandra wanted to get to where her mother was as quickly as possible. If it were up to her, she would have done it the night before, as soon as she received the news from Bernardo. However, Dann Heeren informed her that the hospital did not allow visits outside normal hours and that it would be pointless to hit the road at night just to be in Natal.Despite my grandfather's insistence, Heloísa managed to convince him to stay at the hotel with Cristina and Leonardo, while my sister and Berna
LizandraFaced with the veiled threat made by Heitor, Juliana widened her eyes with genuine horror, and at that moment, she broke into compulsive sobbing, pleading with me repeatedly to forgive her. Meanwhile, Samuel hugged her protectively, his gaze also seeming to plead the same from me. It became clear to me at that moment that he truly cared for Juliana, but it didn't bother me, and I concluded that I didn't feel anything for Samuel anymore."Please don't send me to prison, please... please..." Juliana repeated in tears, hands clasped together. "I'm pregnant!"I had no intention of filing any kind of lawsuit against my aunt and Juliana. However, I didn't try to calm her down because she needed to feel at least a little fear to understand how serious what she did was. Now, however, upon hearing her revelation, I felt obligated to soften things."Calm down, Juliana," I said empathetically. "I don't intend to send anyone to prison."Juliana visibly sighed in relief, but her crying to
HeitorWhen Bernardo and Heloísa returned to Grandpa's suite, we all decided to go down for breakfast. It was already past nine in the morning, and there was no point in continuing to talk about Luciano's deceit, now that Lizandra seemed to be calmer."How about a dune buggy ride?" I suggested with enthusiasm. "Since we're here, we might as well enjoy the beauty of the place.""I love the idea!" Heloísa exclaimed."I'm not young enough for these adventures," Grandpa remarked. "I'll wait for my old friends right here at the hotel. But you should enjoy our little vacation.""I have a commitment, so I can't join you either," Bernardo explained. He didn't need to specify who the commitment was with; we all knew it was related to the formalities of the contract with the Heerens. I was pleased that he didn't mention the couple's name, as it's still a delicate topic for Lizandra, precisely when I'm trying to help her forget these issues for a few hours."And you, Lily?" I asked, noticing she
HeloísaWhen Bernardo looked up from his phone and stared at me with an expression of disbelief, I concluded that he still knew nothing about my crush. Catarina didn't tell him, and he found out at this exact moment, precisely when we were together in Grandpa's suite. I was even more surprised when he called me for a conversation, something I have no desire to do at the moment."Can we go to the suite?" Bernardo asked already in the hallway.I didn't want to talk to Bernardo right now, but as I couldn't avoid it, nothing more sensible than doing it in the privacy of my hotel suite, which is right next to Grandpa's room."I had no idea, Heloísa," was the first thing Bernardo said when we entered my suite. "We've always been