The door opened and Alessandra entered, practically terrified.“Man, why didn’t you answer my message?!” she complained, closing the door behind her. “At least I know you saw it!”“Yes, I saw the message, but I needed time to reply to it,” Karl proffered as an excuse.“Well then, now that isn’t even necessary anymore.” Alessandra pulled up another chair and sat down, looking at João Pedro. “I know you. You’re a photographer.”“I was in Praia Grande.” João Pedro gave a weak smile.“Ah, I see. We had quite a bit of fun at that photoshoot, huh?” Alessandra smiled, acting like a model.Karl snapped his fingers, impatient. “Everyone, let’s focus here, please. Alessandra, how did this conversation really happen yesterday?”“It was horrendous.” Alessandra’s smile vanished, her voice trembling in panic. “I-I w-was talking to Bud at the Gibraltar Club. Elaine Prates suddenly appeared, coming straight for my table, asking to talk privately. Bud left, and she suddenly started making accusations.

Thursday.Matthew appeared at the Andrade Clinic, greeting the family of friends. Jacqueline gave him a tight hug.“Matt, I’m so glad you came for my wedding! I thought you were going to miss it!” Jacqueline almost cried.“I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world, friend.” Matthew patted her head. “How are you feeling?”“Very nervous.” Jacqueline broke the hug. “The honeymoon location is booked.”Charles felt a weight in his chest again, thinking about the night his little princess would stop being a little girl and become a woman.Emmanuelle, on the contrary, couldn’t wait for Jacqueline to go through this important stage so the two could confer later, swapping intimacy tips since she is the more experienced one.Matthew didn’t catch the drift and nodded. “That’s good. May you and Zach be very happy. And forget a bit about the drama here.”Jacqueline’s bright smile faded. “I wish. It seems one of my college professors is a relative of the De Paula family. She has the same last na

“No, I don’t really believe in coincidences in this case.” Nathan shook his head. “This was definitely commissioned by someone.”Elaine smiled maliciously. “I believe it was Patricia herself. She must have mentioned something to Karl. Karl has always been an enthusiast of Matthew kicking me to the curb and going back to Patricia.”Nathan raised a hypothesis. “Don’t you think it could be Matthew who plotted the whole plan? After all, he ‘suddenly’ appeared in Praia Grande on the same weekend that Ronaldo, Patricia, Jackson, and Cindy were there for that photoshoot, remember?”Elaine shook her head vehemently. “Matt, back then, was firm about remaining my husband even with Karl already planting seeds of doubt in his ears.”“Don’t trust him blindly, honey.” Nathan furrowed his brow.“It’s not about blind trust,” Elaine asserted. “Matt had several opportunities to divorce me openly, without schemes, but he didn’t want to. Why would he engineer something so diabolical, setting up his own c

“Phew, I hope she wasn’t upset,” Emmanuelle wished fervently.“Thanks, Mom, for not going into details,” Jacqueline commented, worried. “Actually, I was quite firm with Bella.”“Well, at least Linda heard us give our opinion on Gustavo’s guilt.” Emmanuelle crossed her arms. “There is no way that bald guy was innocent.”“Mom, were you saying that Bella might be an accomplice because of the partying and rebellious life she led?”“That could be a clue as to why she defends her drug-dealing brother so much,” Emmanuelle smiled wickedly.******Matthew frowned and narrowed his eyes, wondering if he had heard correctly.“What... What did you say, Elaine?”“You’re still young; you have perfect hearing,” Elaine mocked without consideration. “That is exactly what you heard. The baby isn’t yours. Your father would have loved to hear that, huh?”Matthew clenched his fists, anger coursing through his body. “Who is the father?”“HA! That I will NEVER tell you!” Elaine wagged her index finger. “Do y

At Urbano Magazine, Cindy tried to make sure Nathan was covering all his bases.“Nathan, I still need to ask one little thing. Suppose Matt accepts the possibility that Elaine’s baby isn’t his. You are aware that he is going to demand a DNA test when the baby is born, right?”“Yes, correct.” Nathan nodded confidently.“And if the test concludes that the baby really is Matthew’s?” Cindy felt a lump in her throat. “Not only would Matthew be furious: he would definitely snatch the baby from Elaine’s hands, and she would never hear from him again, of that you can be sure!”“If that turns out to be true, then I will accept the truth and convince Elaine to have our own children,” Nathan replied naturally.Cindy gave a forced smile. “That is the difference. You are willing to accept reality and move on with your life. Elaine, unfortunately, isn’t one of those people.”“Elaine won’t cause trouble over this. Not when she has another man supporting her,” Nathan said confidently.“But this man w