Karl had to lean back to avoid being hit by the jet of wine Luana spat out, like the tail of a rocket taking off.The perfectly clean, white fine linen tablecloth was stained with red drops.Luana coughed exaggeratedly while Karl grimaced at his clumsy girlfriend.“Can’t you do things more calmly?” Karl asked, not caring about Luana’s supposed choking.It was Luana who had to put her hand to her back, patting herself. “PHEW! Honey, why didn’t you get up to dislodge my throat?”“What got stuck in your throat? You spat out the whole sip of wine, and almost in my face!”Luana looked at her ‘artwork’, reacting with consternation. “OH, no! My tablecloth! Will the laundry be able to remove these stains?”“They’re paid for that.” Karl crossed his arms, losing his appetite. “Honey, why did you react that way?”“I’m the one who wants to know: why do you care about the feelings of Celia the Promiscuous?” Luana leaned forward.“I don’t know. I guess it’s just to provoke you.”“That’s not funny a

“Oh, it’s Luana. Did she guess?” Briana picked up her phone.“I texted Karl,” Mark informed her.“Then we’ll know how she—” Briana was interrupted as soon as she answered Luana.“BRIE! You need to help me! Karl left the apartment after we fought because of Celia!”Briana pulled her head back so sharply that Mark moved closer to her, thinking she was going to fall out of her chair.Even with the phone on normal audio, Mark could still hear, albeit faintly, what Luana was cackling.“My God, darling, be careful! Are you okay?”“I’m fine. It seems Luana hasn’t received the good news yet.” Briana rubbed her eardrum, which hurt from the torrent of Luana’s unpleasant words.Then, she took a deep breath and put the phone back to her ear.“Hello? Brie, are you there?”“I heard more than enough, my friend!” Briana gently reprimanded her. “What happened there?”“The usual: I talk about Celia, and he keeps defending her!” Luana whinnied.“But why do you insist on talking about her?” Briana rolled

Another day dawned in Braspolis’s clear sky. Mark and Briana slept like angels, enjoying every possible hour of sleep before a baby boy or girl would deprive them of sleep for months to come.However, it wasn't their alarm clock that interrupted their serenity. It was Briana’s cell phone ringing and vibrating non-stop on her nightstand.Briana woke up with such fury that, upon grabbing her phone and seeing who it was, she made a point of answering the call via video.Positioning the phone to her face, the person on the other end could see Mark stirring in bed and rubbing his eyes, with the blanket loose on his body, revealing the absence of pajamas.And that person was Luana.Luana blushed at catching a glimpse of Mark’s backside and quickly cleared her throat unnecessarily, “AHEM... Brie, I thought you were already awake!”Briana smiled maliciously, still looking sleepy. “No, we were sleeping the sleep of the just. Any urgent problem, Luana? I don’t plan on going to the company today

Everyone was apprehensive about the prospect of Briana announcing her pregnancy. Part of the apprehension stemmed from Katrina’s promise to ruin everything.Sandro couldn’t allow such a thing to happen. “Listen here, niece: if this is the big occasion, you have no right to ruin it, do you understand?”Althea took a sip of her lemon balm tea. “Katrina, why can’t you be happy about the arrival of a nephew or niece?”“Because, to celebrate that, we’ll have to understand that Briana allowed herself to be violated by that slum dweller!” Katrina shrieked at the top of her lungs, scandalizing everyone.Nadir frowned. “Did it not occur to you that Briana and Mark made love with consent?”“I know how those men from the favela behave: all rude, crude, rustic, nothing gentle with a woman! To them, we are just sex dolls!”Sandro became even more irritated. “At no point did Mark give us that impression. You’re making all of this up.”“Oh, Brie would never admit it! She’s dumb, as always.” Katrina

Katrina ended the call and walked straight down the hallway, heading towards her room.However, Gilson saw his daughter pass by from the corner of his eye and quickly finished his potato bread with natural butter.“Excuse me, everyone, I need to hurry. Briana, once again, my congratulations.”“Thank you, Uncle!” Briana reacted genuinely surprised by the compliment.Gilson stood up and left.Althea gestured, and a maid approached to guide her. “Let’s watch that Korean drama.”The maid smiled. She not only helped Old Madam Vasconcelos move around; she had grown to enjoy watching the series and soap operas with her employer.Claudia made a sour face, being the only dissenting one left.Mark couldn’t hold back anymore after Althea left. “What’s wrong, Aunt Claudia? Are you wishing my wife would have an abortion so your daughter can be happy?”Claudia barked, “Isn’t it extremely insensitive of you two to come here and rub this achievement in my daughter’s face when she’s divorced and unhap