Lizandra
When Heloísa said that in the bathroom, I would find everything I needed, she wasn't kidding. The cabinets were full of towels and various hygiene products, all from unknown brands to me. I figured they must be "rich people" products, as the staff and I used to refer to the things of the guests at my aunt's inn.
I managed to take off the dress I was wearing with great difficulty, as using only one arm is not easy at all. Taking a shower and putting on a robe wasn't either, but I managed. Now the question remained about what clothes I would wear because the only things I owned, which had already been donated by Heloísa, were also stolen from me.
The only option was to stay in the robe, at least until I could wash the clothes I wore when leaving the hosp
LizandraLife in the Bragança house is very different from what I'm used to, especially because whenever I wasn't at school, I was helping Aunt Lucrécia at the inn, in one way or another. In the beginning, it was simpler tasks that didn't require physical effort, which later turned into a heavier cleaning service.As I always worked at the inn, I felt that I was somehow repaying everything Aunt Lucrécia did for me, quite different from the current moment, where I felt uncomfortable just resting while others attended to all my needs.I tried to offer help in some way when I went to the kitchen, but the employees there looked at me with genuine horror and firmly dismissed my offer, leaving me with little choice. I ended up returning to my room.A few minutes later, Heloísa entered the room with a playful smile."I imagine you're bored staying in the room all the time, aren't you?"I figured she already knew about my visit to the kitchen to offer help."I wouldn't say I'm bored," I tried
HeitorAfter three days without going to my own home, because I opposed the "stay" of my family's new guest, I concluded that I couldn't leave my home because of a scammer. The saying that those who are bothered should leave can also apply to the other party. I decided to go back home and bother sweet Lily a lot, not doing what I've done so far, leaving her free to deceive everyone by pretending to be someone she's not. On the contrary, I intend to make her stay at my house as difficult as possible, so that she gives up her sinister plans, leaves, and leaves us in peace. All those resolutions were strongly shaken when I entered the Bragança mansion, and the first person I saw was Lizandra coming down the stairs absentmindedly, unaware of my presence. I could then analyze her freely. She descended the steps slowly, her distraction being some paintings hanging on the wall beside her. And for some crazy reason, I got stuck watching that girl do something as simple as descending a stairc
LizandraI walked hurriedly towards the side balcony of the house, needing air because the atmosphere had become suffocating for me since I encountered Heitor when I was descending the stairs. He affects me in a very inconvenient way; I need to accept that fact. At the same time, I also detest him.I'm weaker than I thought. I couldn't even endure a dinner, even a simple one by the family's standards. How would I bear being on the streets? Crying all day long? Thinking about that comforts me about accepting the Bragança's help because being in that house is much better than being a person on the streets; that's quite clear. So, I need to be less fragile and get better as soon as possible so that I can somehow repay everything they are doing for me and show the insufferable Heitor that I am not a scammer, as he believes I am.
HeitorI must be crazy! I thought, understanding what had just happened on that balcony. I practically attacked Lizandra like a caveman, only missing throwing her over my shoulder and carrying her to my cave. Or, in other words, to my room."And you only remembered Catarina now?" I asked sarcastically.The words barely left my mouth, and I was irreversibly regretful. I felt guilty and ended up pouring my anger on Lizandra, something quite despicable on my part."Forget what I said," I quickly apologized, running my hands through my hair, and like Lizandra, I turned my back to her. "It was a stupid accusation.""We both messed up," she conceded. "But it won'
CatarinaI looked at the computer at that moment with the sole intention of checking the time. Noon. I counted mentally to ten, and even before reaching eight, the door of my office opened, allowing someone I didn't want to see at that moment to enter."Hello, my love," the "intruder" said cheerfully. "I brought our lunch."I sighed exasperated as he placed some bags on the corner table, already organizing the places at the table, as he had been doing for days."I've already asked you not to bring me lunch, Bernardo," I repeated what I had said before. "What do you think Heitor will think if he finds out we're having lunch together in my office?""That we are friends," Bernardo replied calmly. "Friends and work companions. It's normal to have lunch together in this case."I got up from my seat behind the desk - I couldn't resist the smell of Japanese food, my favorite - and went to Bernardo, resigned to sit in the chair in front of his."We are not friends.""Of course, we are friends
LizandraI could barely close my eyes all night, and I couldn't say I woke up. As a result of the terrible night of tossing and turning in bed, shedding rivers of tears, I was now feeling terrible. It's as if a tractor ran over my body, leaving me completely sore. Nothing gets resolved with tears, and I wish I wouldn't cry every time things get out of control. In other words, constantly. But it's impossible not to realize that I've become a big crybaby, weak, and now also a traitor.How could I have given in to Heitor's kisses when there are so many factors to consider? He doesn't like me; he made that clear. He doesn't trust me and believes I'm a big scammer, about to con his family. He's committed! A total absurdity on my part. But our morning encounter didn't help much, as even after spending the night blaming myself for everything, just being in the same environment as he shamefully affected me. During the years I dated Samuel, I never felt what Heitor evoked in me with just a gla
HeitorThe week was quite exhausting, and that dinner on a Friday night only contributed to making me mentally exhausted.I arrived home from dinner a little past nine and walked straight to the TV room, expecting to find everyone there, as had been happening in recent days. But I only found Grandpa and his good old friends watching their usual reality show."I thought Heloísa would be here," I commented, trying to sound uninterested."Heloísa went out with Catarina," Grandpa explained without even taking his eyes off the TV.I continued leaning against the doorway, waiting for more information, but my grandpa didn't even seem to notice my pre
HeitorThings were not as easy as I initially imagined, especially when destiny seemed to be conspiring against me all the time."I can't believe you hired that girl to be my secretary's assistant, Catarina!" I protested, genuinely indignant.For almost two weeks, I had been pursued by Lizandra everywhere I went, and I was even avoiding my own house once again, all to avoid falling into temptation, something that was becoming more difficult every day. The proof of that is the news my girlfriend has just given me."What's the problem, Heitor?" Catarina asked with irritation. "Lily is an excellent girl, hardworking, and she needs a job. She doesn't want to live solely on the charity of the Bragança, and that is
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
LizandraI was trying to explain to Heitor why I didn't involve him in that problem after Luciano's call. However, it is quite clear to everyone in that room how upset Heitor is with me for doing that. And it's going to get worse when he finds out what happened."When Lizandra told me about that coward's threat, I quickly contacted some acquaintances, and they solved the problem," Vicente explained."How so?" Heitor asked an expression of disbelief on his face."A hacker wiped out all of Luciano's files. Everything he had saved," Vicente spoke in a way that would have been funny because it was as if it were something simple to solve, "I didn't know, however, that there were more things for him to use against us."
HeitorI woke up the next morning to the phone ringing, still groggy with sleep. I answered without even checking who was calling me so early and had a big surprise when Grandpa summoned me to his suite as quickly as possible. Since Grandpa would never do something like that unless it was really serious, I put on the first clothes I found and hurried out to the hallway.The first thing I saw upon opening my room door was my sister coming out of the room next door, which didn't cause any immediate reaction from me as I was still not fully awake at that moment."Grandpa called you too?" I asked, rubbing my face.However, noticing the genuine horror on Heloísa's face left me curious and unable to understand the reason for her reaction, until Bernardo also came out of the room. Without realizing I was standing next to Heloísa—his attention was focused on closing the door—he commented to my sister."We need to hurry, Helô. Grandpa seemed worr..."Bernardo didn't finish his sentence because
LizandraI couldn't handle the whirlwind of emotions that engulfed me upon discovering that my mother had never truly abandoned me. I simply ran, and sprinted, until I was sure I was alone once again. The thought that my mother was taken away from me by people I trusted, Juliana and her mother, is too painful. So, my aunt, the woman who raised me and whom I had always been grateful to, never did anything out of pure kindness. She must have benefited from everything I could have enjoyed all those years. Most importantly, she kept me from receiving the love of my mother all that time.How many nights did I go to sleep crying because I didn't have a mother? How many nights did I lament the absence of someone who loved me, feeling extremely lonely? Lonely was the right word.I remembered the moment when Heitor called us to sit and talk. I even had difficulty walking to the chair reserved for me next to Heitor and Mr. Vicente, so nervous I was at that moment. But I knew I couldn't postpone
HeitorWhen I told Juliana's boyfriend to hold her and her mother, I believed he would do that. From what I could understand from his behavior at the table and based on what I read in his messages to Lizandra, I suspected that he was not at all pleased with the situation. Why he chose to remain by that girl's side is something I couldn't comprehend, and I didn't care at the moment."I think it's best if we all sit down," I pointed out, seeing that we had attracted the attention of everyone dining in the restaurant. "We have some things to clarify."The waiters had already cleared the used dishes, and there were only a few wine glasses on the table. I seriously considered downing the contents of one of them but restrained myself."Can someone explain w