LizandraI noticed the exact moment Heitor arrived on the balcony; it was difficult to explain, but that feeling of anticipation and restlessness only engulfs me when I'm close to him. I tried to remain calm; surely, he would find another place to be. After all, Heitor can't stand me and believes I'm a schemer.But in a surprising turn of events, his next steps indicated that he was approaching where I was, and that made me breathless, something completely nonsensical. He shouldn't affect my body this way, especially when I know he has a girlfriend he plans to marry soon – Heloísa told me – and she could arrive at any moment, potentially catching us together and misunderstanding the situation entirely."Always thoughtful... contemplating the horizon," Heit
HeitorOnce again, I was losing control of my actions, completely surrendered to the ecstasy of the moment. Lizandra always makes me abandon my rational side, and that's not good at all. But her kisses drove me wild, and the passion of the moment was making it almost impossible for me to pull away from her soft lips and her delicious body beneath mine."We should stop..." Lizandra said breathlessly."Yes..." I agreed, now kissing her neck. "We should do that..."But we didn't stop. The kisses continued, intense and increasingly passionate, our tongues meeting, my teeth on her delicate lips while her mouth sucked mine. It was delightfully provocative and tempting, and I didn't want to stop.
LizandraFour people stared at me, waiting for an explanation about something I had never stopped to think about. Only now, with all of them looking at me expectantly, did I realize how dull my life in Gostoso was and how I never had real moments of leisure in my twenty years.Convincing people of that might not be so easy, I could tell from their expressions, so I decided not to try. I didn't feel capable of showing this sad side of my life."I was always too busy to go for a walk on the beach," I explained briefly. "To be honest, I don't even like these things."I always tried to convince myself of this, or I would be depressed for not doing something as simple as going to the beach with friends. Friends I didn't
HeitorThe conversation with Luciano and Afonso was boring. Once again, they tried to convince me to work with the agency they represented, and again, I assigned that responsibility to my marketing department."Where are Catarina and Bernardo?" Luciano suddenly asked, looking around the pool area. "I'm sure she can help us with this."I let out a contained laugh. Maybe they had a chance with Bernardo after all, as he also studied with us. Regarding Catarina, no chance. She would never get involved in something that is not part of her responsibilities at the company, but I wouldn't shatter my school friend's illusions, so I remained focused on my drink while Afonso and Luciano seemed to be looking for my girlfriend.
LizandraAfter a quick meal, I returned to the hammock on the balcony and once again tried to entertain myself with reading, even though my thoughts constantly drifted away, and I wasn't referring to the fantastic scenarios described in the book. The Bragança's house was huge, so I would never hear when everyone returned from the barbecue, but since it wasn't even two in the afternoon yet, I lay down peacefully until I heard a very loud crash.Did someone slam the door? That was the only thing I could think of. I quickly got up from the hammock and walked to the living room in time to see Heitor climbing the stairs two steps at a time. Yeah, he must be really upset to have slammed the door like that, I thought. I waited a few minutes for the others to enter, but no one appeared. Did Heitor come back alone? How strange.
HeitorDespite Lizandra's feigned shyness, our trip back to Rio was surprisingly pleasant. I confess that being with Catarina never brought me the same feeling as the company of the girl beside me, and even in the long silences between one topic and another, I felt quite comfortable just holding her hand.This time with Lizandra a certain detail about her aroused even more curiosity in me. I noticed that her hands were not thin and delicate like Heloísa's or Catarina's. They were thicker. I would even say somewhat calloused, as if she performed heavier work.Still, even if she was telling the truth about working for years as a housekeeper at her aunt's inn in São Miguel do Gostoso, that doesn't mean she's not the scam artist I believe she is. This may even be t
HeitorI left Lizandra in her room; she didn't want to see my grandfather before I talked to him about the big turn of events in Angra. So, after unpacking my luggage, I went in search of Grandpa, and unsurprisingly, I found him in the TV room with Jaime and Cristina watching some reality show."I see everything's fine around here.""Already back?" Grandpa asked, pretending to surprise but was attentive to the TV set. "I thought you'd only return tomorrow.""My boy, we missed you here," Cristina said, hugging me as if I had been away for a month, not just two days."I know you saw me arrive through the cameras, don't pretend to be surprised, Grandpa."
LizandraStaying in the room going over everything that had happened in the last few hours was making my nerves frayed. I couldn't stay still, just thinking about how surprising and wonderful everything was, while at the same time feeling guilty about the end of Catarina and Heitor's relationship.The fact that I tried to look at social media and saw a phrase that perfectly fit my current situation only made me feel even worse about everything that had happened. The phrase said something about "no one being happy by making someone else unhappy." It seemed like a sign that I was going down the wrong path and needed to distance myself from Heitor, the thought screamed in my mind.Before I could think about it, I decided it was better not to accept what Heitor was offering me.
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