THE THORN BIRDS: THE WRONG HUSBAND

Images shot from DVD 

Meggie married Luke O' Neill but the marriage is an unhappy one right from day one. Luke was a miserly oppoturnist who'd only married her for her money; he regarded women in general as sex objects and prefered to hang out with men more often. They go to Queensland and he gets her a live-in job with a couple, Luddie and Anne Mueller who treat her very kindly. He finds himself a job as a cane cutter in a sugar cane plantation. Before he left, he arranges for Meggie's wages to be paid direcly to him and he keeps her bank book which has all her savings. He claimed he was saving to buy a homestead for both of them, but he had no intention of spending any money or give up the toil of sugar cane cutting as it is very competitive. He hardly visited Meggie and in her despair, she gets pregnant on purpose, in order to force Luke to settle down but it does'nt work, he's angry at having another mouth to feed. Most of the time, Meggie thinks about Ralph and longs to go back home, but is far too proud to tell her brothers Luke treated her badly. One of her brothers, Bob, wrote to her that Ralph visited them unexpectedly and had been upset she was'nt there & furious that they had'nt told him she'd married, and how he moped around as if she would suddenly appear. But her brothers still didn't suspect anything,they just felt Ralph missed her since they've always had a deep bond. Ralph, now an archbishop, is very sad at Meggie's absence & marriage and very worried about her. Luke did'nt sound like a nice person to him. Cardinal Vittorio, his mentor, found out the reason why Ralph had been harbouring so much sadness in his eyes for a long time when the rose Meggie had given him fell out of his missal. Ralph confessed it spoke of a love as pure as he bore God and it was for the church he'd forsaken her. Vittorio tried to cheer him up and vowed to always pray for Meggie- 'The Rose' as he called her.

Much to Luke's anger, Meggie had written to Ralph for a loan in the hope Luke would have more than enough money to buy a house instead of saving so hard, not realising he was hoarding Meggie's money with no intention of spending at all, he was merely making excuses. Ralph received her  letter in Sydney, the letter forwarded from Greece.

Meggie's due date comes and she has a very difficult labour. She bravely resists the pain but kept on yelling for Ralph. Ralph suddenly appears, much to Anne and Luddie's amazement(they had'nt expected the Ralph Meggie kept calling to be an archbishop) and immediately realise that the two were in love. Ralph asked the doctor to save Meggie if he had to chose between her and the baby- but fortunately both survive.
Meggie gives birth to a baby girl, whom she named Justine. But she wished that the child was Ralph's and accused him of ruining her life by saying he loved her but chose to remain in the church instead of marrying her and treated her as if she was still a child. Ralph is very sad at Meggie's state but leaves. Luke still does'nt come over the months to see Meggie or Justine. Meggie is yet to recover from childbirth so Anne and Luddie send her to a private resort called Matlock Island for 2 months to get her strength back. Ralph comes to see Meggie on his way to Rome and is told by Anne where Meggie was. He gets there, merely to visit Meggie and mend fences but Meggie, angry that he'd showed up to hurt her again tries to run away from him but he ran after her and caught her, kissing her passionately. A short while later the couple at long last consummated their love...

THE THORN BIRDS:THE BEGINNING OF AN UNLIKELY LOVE

Images shot from DVD 

This is the title of a very touching story(also adapted into a mini-series) by Colleen McCullough that I’ve read several times and I decided to share it with my visitors so I can get honest opinions. The Thorn Birds is a romantic saga of three generations and it all begins with a little girl called Meghann Cleary, commonly called ‘Meggie’ by friends and family. She is the only girl in a family of several boys, headed by a very hardworking Irish man called Paddy and his overworked wife, Fiona, commonly called ‘Fee.’ She had been handed over to Paddy years back after she had ‘disgraced’ her aristocratic family and did her utmost best to be a good wife and mother but most times she was quiet and remote and mostly favoured her eldest boy, Frank, who never got on well with Paddy. This family lived in New Zealand.
In Australia lived Mary Carson, Paddy’s older sister who had married a rich man and owned several properties; the most well known is her sheep station called ‘Drogheda’. She was a widow with no children and as such decided to send for Paddy and his family to help out in the estate but will become her heirs after she died. When they arrive, the priest of the parish is sent to pick them up from the train station. The 28 year old, stunningly handsome priest, Father Ralph de Bricassart, goes to the station to meet the Cleary family and is immediately captivated by the 10 year old Meggie, whom he regarded as the sweetest, most adorable little girl he’d ever seen and the daughter he’ll never have. Meggie in turn makes Father Ralph the centre of her world as the family, except her oldest brother Frank, hardly had time for her. Ralph and Meggie from then on formed an unbreakable bond. This made Mary Carson angry and jealous; she harboured a deeply passionate obsession for Ralph and hoped in time she’ll be able to entice him into breaking his vows by using her money as bait. He needed money in order to liberate him from his present exile (he was there because he’d been rude to a bishop) and hoped Mary would give him a hefty sum for the Catholic Church, so that he’ll rise up and one day be Cardinal.
Frank’s rocky relationship with Paddy hits the rocks permanently one fateful evening. During a quarrel witnessed by Ralph and Meggie, Paddy unintentionally blurts out the truth; he’s not Frank’s father. Fee’s ‘disgrace’ had been sleeping with a married politician, at the age of 17 and gotten pregnant with Frank. After her grandmother (the only one who’d supported her) died, her rich father had handed her over to Paddy, who’d been one pf the workers on the estate and was forever banished from the family. As Frank was the fruit of that lost love, Fee loved him far more than anyone in the family. Devastated, Frank left home to join a boxing troupe but was later imprisoned for assault. Unhappy at what she’d witnessed and the death of her baby brother afterwards, Meggie clung to Ralph more than ever over the years; he did his best to console her and spent most of his free time with her, infuriating Mary all the more. Everyone else merely saw their relationship as that of brother and sister, but not her. She decided that though she’ll never have Ralph, she’d see to it Meggie never had him instead and would always be dependent on him.
Mary’s 72nd birthday party changed the course of Ralph & Meggie’s lives forever. Meggie showed up at the party looking very beautiful in an ashes of roses (rose-pink) dress, shyly looking at Ralph. It was then Ralph’s feelings evolved- Meggie was now 18, and no longer little Meggie, he was now IN LOVE with her. Two guests noticed the way he gazed at her and stroked her hair, which made him restrain himself and avoided her for the rest of the evening. Later on in the garden, he explained to Meggie that some people might feel their relationship wasn’t platonic if he’d been more attentive towards her. Meggie in turn realised her own feelings towards Ralph. Mary died in her sleep that night and it’s discovered she’d made a new will which forced Ralph to choose between Meggie and his ambition to become Cardinal one day. Drogheda and 13 million pounds is to go to the Catholic Church. The Clearys were to remain in Drogheda as administrators and residents as long as a Cleary descendant was alive- Ralph was to be the executor and pay them hefty salaries. Paddy refused to contest the will, much to Ralph’s anger, he KNEW why Mary had done what she did and he hated her for it. Paddy and the family weren’t greedy, they felt living in Drogheda for the rest of their lives and earning large salaries was more than enough- besides the sum of 13 million pounds frightened Paddy. Ralph and Meggie exchange a very painful goodbye. They confessed their love but Ralph begged her to marry and be happy with someone else. They exchanged their first kiss before he abruptly left her for Sydney. Meggie was unhappy but was confident Ralph would somehow leave the church and marry her.
Some time later, one of the fields in Drogheda is struck by lightning and catches fire. Paddy is burnt to death and one of his sons, Stuart who went to look for him is gored to death by a wild boar. Ralph comes to Drogheda and is told the sad news. He finds Meggie alone and consoles her, which led to them to exchange passionate kisses again, but Ralph forces himself not to let it go further. Ralph conducted the funerals and before he left, Meggie gave him a rose to remember her by. He placed it in his missal and kept it there from then on.
Three years later, a new worker at the ranch, Luke O’ Neill courts Meggie and in an effort to forget Ralph, she encourages it.

-TO BE CONTINUED...

HANG ON PLEASE...

Thank you for coming to my defence Nkechi, I'm as sorry as everyone about this unexpected development; as we speak, I'm doing my best to find another source of material. As for Sister Joy, I DO make an effort for telenovela posts; I found material for my LA USURPADORA posts to the FINALE plus its sequel MAS ALLA USURPADORA after a very long search. Besides, Mrs. Philo is a professional and has been blogging long before me; i'm just a humble writer yet to make money from this blog & recieve royalites from my 2 children's books released in 2006. My aim is keeping my readers satisfied and I'll never stop doing that. Anyone who has additional material for La Mujer de Lorenzo is free to contribute. Meanwhile click on the links above to read on LA USURPADORA ,its short sequel as well as gist about the star of the show, Gabriella Spanic. And rememeber, there'll be more posts on TU O NADIE(No one but you). Seasons Greetings!

BREAK IN TRANSMISSION

VERY BAD NEWS folks; my main source of material, MBI, announced its temporary closure of operations in THE PUNCH and as such, unless I find another source, there would be no LA MUJER DE LORENZO posts for a while. I'm very pissed off about all this, especially since it seems the telenovela is about to come to an end. But don't despair, there'll still be posts on the other telenovela, TU O NADIE (No one but you) and I promise, it's eqaually interesting. Pls, continue to log in on my blog, I won't disappiont you.

P.S click on CUANDO SEAS MIA FINAL EPISODE (contd.) & see the additional pics I added to the post.

2 BIG LOSSES: Makemba and Crichton

I'm sure many of us have heard about the recent death of 'MAMA AFRICA', Miriam Makeba in

Italy, when she collapased on stage during a concert. But while Africa is in mourning, so is America, for they've just lost one of their most talented writers, who was also a medical doctor, producer and director. I'm talking about Michael Crichton, author of JURASSIC PARK,

THE LOST WORLD, RISING SUN, DISCLOSURE, & other novels, including being the creator of the T.V series ER. Mama died of a heartattack(on stage) at age 76, which Crichton died at 66 after losing his battle with cancer. Both will be greatly missed and I know the legacy they left behind will go on for a long, long time. May they both rest in peace.

THE NEW FIRST FAMILY: The Obamas

The euphoria of President-elect Obama's victory is yet to fade away; I heard in the news today that new mothers in Kenya have been naming their new born sons 'Barack' & daughters 'Michelle' after the new First Lady. Already President Bush has welcomed his successor & his family to the White House & commented that his victory ''a triumph of the American story.'' The swearing in is to take place on January 20th 2009; I'm sure a lot of Nigerians would be glued to their T.V sets on that second historical day. Personally I plan on taping it if NTA shows it live.

We should all pray for President-elect Obama , that his administration would be fruitful peaceful and he'll more than justify his voters'confidence in him.
As for the soon to be First Lady, Michelle Obama and their two little girls Malia Ann & Natasha- no doubt living at the White House would be overwhelming at first but gradually they'll have to adjust and also play their own roles during the new president's tenure. I JUST CAN'T STOP praising God for this unforgetable triumph in history.

'THIS IS THE LORD'S WORK!' - Elizabeth the 1st

PRAISE BE TO GOD, FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS & MIRACLES FLOW!!! When I got up this morning, (i stayed up till 2 watching the polls) I immediately switched on the T.V and STV News reported that Senator Barack Obama emerged the winner of the 2008 U.S.A presidential elections! AT LONG, LONG LAST- Dr. King's dream finally realised, our prayers answered - a free and fair election resulted in an african-american the new president of the U.S.A. This is truly a historical and very,very happy day for the black race and I can't stop praising God for making this happen; I never never doubted for a minute He had something huge in store for the so long downtrodden african-amercians, never doubted it for a minute. Already several world leaders have congratulated the new president-elect on his victoryand a mass celebration is still going on in his late father's country-Kenya, their president has even declared tommorow a national holiday to commemorate this happy day.

What I like best about this is that a lot of people, BOTH black & white, voted for Obama, showing interracial unity, equality and friendship- one of the main things Dr. King wanted so much & for that I praise and thank God to infinity. And wherever Dr. King, Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers & Malcom X are now, I sincerely believe they are weeping & singing with joy at what God has brought to America, A GREAT CHANGE.

CONGRATULATIONS BARACK OBAMA!

SOLDIERS OF CHANGE

"One day, there’ll come a time when we’ll be judged not by the colour of our skin but by the content of our characters…

Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring—when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children—black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics—will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

– Martin Luther King (1929- 68)


And by ‘SOLDIERS OF CHANGE’ I’m referring to the Americans who supported the Civil Rights Movement back in the 60’s as well as the Americans today supporting & voting for Senator Barak Obama-the first African-American presidential candidate after the bitter years of slavery, complete inequality & racism & oppression. Ever since I watched HEAD OF STATE, I prayed and prayed & never doubted that ONE DAY, Martin Luther King’s DREAM would one day be a reality. In many ways it actually has, but this historical day would make him sing in heaven! And I’d like to say Colin Powell is a living example of a gentleman- he’s a former Secretary of State and a Republican, yet he’s publicly declared he will vote for Obama!
I heard in Yahoo News that Obama is leading in the polls as well as the sad news of his beloved grandmother’s death (Allah rest her soul). I just hope whatever the outcome there won’t be any horrible riots out there; so far the election is quite peaceful, which is something this country is yet to practise as well as good sportsmanship in politics. There’s widespread praying here & in other parts of Africa, especially in his father’s country- Kenya- for the outcome to be the pride of Africa end up becoming the new President of U.S.A. Obama isn’t just representing the democratic party, he’s representing the entire black race- and God knows when U.S would ever have another African- American presidential candidate again.
On the other hand, McCain would be making history too, being the oldest man to run for first term , just as John F. Kennedy was the youngest man to be sworn in as President. But be as it may, it’s time for a great change & for the Presidency to be back in the hands of the Democrats; Senator Obama has already promised his first act would be ordering the troops to leave Iraq & negotiate for peace once & for all. The soldiers of change should pray and pray and leave it in our Master’s hands ; He alone knows who the winner is going to be…

LAURA VS E.I ROUND 4- IT'S ON!!!

Sylvia is very tearful & at the last minute doesn't allow Lorenzo to kiss her( i remember their first kiss; he practically devoured her). She believes what they were doing was wrong; Alex didn't deserve as he was a changed man. Lorenzo pleads with her not to marry Alex, it would hurt them both since they were in love with each other. Sylvia replied marrying Alex was a decision she was still working on & tearfully asked him to leave her alone. Laura begged her father to persuade Isabella to come to her motel room, she wanted to convince her to drop the charges. Jose is sceptic that it was the actual reason but he agrees. After he leaves, she brings out a gun...

E.I watches the news, which is all about Laura's escape. She gets a call from Laura but Laura is silent over the phone. After she hangs up, she calls the police.

Alex returns to find Sylvia looking depressed. He asked her why she didn't come to the park & they realise it had been a trick to get her alone with Lorenzo. She told Alex what she'd told Lorenzo & promised to give Alex an answer soon & talk to her cousins as well. Alex is annoyed at the way the family is still treating him. Nattie bitterly recollects the night Orlando had asked her to marry him . Sylvia comes in and scolds her for asking Lorenzo to see her & tells her to leave her alone to handle her life HER WAY, she loved Alex & won't be fixing things with Lorenzo as Alex won't let her downh again. Alex attempts to beat Conan up for his trick but Lysette stops him. He threatened to rearrange his face if he did it again and Sylvia will marry him whether they liked it or not. Lorenzo thinks over what Sylvia had told him. Tony asks Conan not to be at the wedding-he's very insecure around him.Conan reluctantly agreed, to keep the peace between them. Giacormo tells Lorenzo over the phone about what the news was saying about Laura but Lorenzo can't be bothered, since she more than deserved it. Alex barges into Lorenzo's house & attempts to punch him out but Lorenzo, being stronger, overpowered him instead. Alex warns him to leave Sylvia alone. Lorenzo is really disgusted at his audacity; he had cheated on Sylvia & ruined his marriage, he was only pretending to be a changed man & once Sylvia realised that, she'll leave him & he, Lorenzo would be waiting for her- he was the one she really loved. He ordered the idiot to get out of his house. E.P suspected Jose knew where Luara was as he acted nervous at the mention of her name. E.I shows up at the office the next morning , much better & told Lorenzo about the scary phone call, telling him she only felt safe around him. But Lorenzo clearly did'nt feel flattered at that statement, his mind was filled with thoughts about Sylvia. (who I feel is being more childish than foolish).

WILL SYLVIA SAY 'YES'?

Giacormo visited Lorenzo & when Lorenzo told him he was going to divorce Laura, he pointed out Laura seemed to be mentally unstable & needed him for moral support. But Lorenzo is unsympathetic this time- she was an adulteress & a murderer, he’d finally had enough. José advises Mimi to marry for love, she insisted she loved Tony. Surprisingly, Sylvia visited E.I at her suite & is asked if there was anything between her and Lorenzo now that he was a free man. She replied she was going out with Alex & therefore unavailable since Alex was a changed man & was thinking of marrying him. E.I advised her not to make a move on Lorenzo unless she wanted to end up like Laura. Sylvia is not frightened of her; Lorenzo wasn’t part of her life but she was sure he wouldn’t end up with E.I either. With that she left. A policeman enters Laura’s room but finds it empty; she’s ESCAPED!
Outside, Laura, disguised as a nurse, boards a taxi. Horsy finds Alex in Sylvia’s office, reading the paper. She has some cheques for Sylvia so he collects them for her. They flirt with each other despite Alex telling her he was in love with Sylvia. Conan caught them red handed but he acts impassive as he signed for the checks. Horsy assured him she & Alex were friends but he had more to offer than Conan ever will. Mimi wanted Tony to see a movie with her but he’s very busy at the boutique. E.P asked Sylvia if Alex had proposed to her, Sylvia however hadn’t said yes yet & is uncomfortable at E.P’s over affectionate manner towards her. She still can’t forget Alex’s affair with Laura, so she had a lot of thinking to do. Lorenzo is astonished to see E.I had been discharged & tells her Laura had escaped, which frightened her. She had to be very, very careful. E.I can’t understand how Laura could have escaped with a guard outside her door. Lorenzo warned her to keep her door locked & not answer the phone, if Laura calls her, she should call the police.
Conan gives a false message to Alex from Sylvia, to meet him at the park. Mimi hopes Sylvia will say yes to her brother but Conan is angry at the very idea- he’ll never never accept Alex as a member of the family, something that offends Mimi and they quarrel- Conan leaves in a huff. Isabella receives a package & asked Horsy to open it, apprehensive that it from Laura, remembering her threat. But it’s only a get-well present, a crystal bottle, from the hotel staff. E.I shed tears of relief. Jose meets with Laura (who had manipulated him into helping her) & gives her a change of clothes. Lorenzo & Sylvia are alone at the gym; he wants them to get back together in spite of her protests. He insisted her happiness was very important to him; they were apart because he’d thought he was the father of Laura’s baby, now that things were different, they could be together again. He loved her very much. Sylvia just stared at him blankly. (I never thought I’d say this, but Lorenzo is a tad too SOFT…)

DOUBLE KNOCKOUT!

Alex complained to E.P about how Lorenzo was giving Sylvia a lot of loving looks, indicating he was still in love with her. E.P suggested he asked Sylvia to marry him before Lorenzo did. Alex is all for the idea but he needed some money from her, in order to impress Sylvia. Of course his miserly mum didn’t want to give him anything, protesting she didn’t have a cent but Alex insisted; he needed to cement his relationship with Sylvia before she could think of going back to Lorenzo. Reluctantly, she handed him a pittance, which caused him to call her a ‘stingy woman’ & left in a huff.
Lorenzo went to see a very weak E.I, whose stomach had been pumped the moment she arrived. He asked her who tried to poison her & is told it was Laura. Isabella informed him his wife had gone too far this time; she was going to report her to the police, even if he begged her not to. Lorenzo didn’t bother to defend Laura, he’s long realised he’d married a monster & suspected Laura was now unstable. Isabella felt that after this episode, people will realise she wasn’t a terrible person; all she’d been trying to do was to prevent him from being hurt. (yeah right, what about what you did to him & Sylvia- WICKED WOMAN!)
A doctor came in & told him Laura had been brought in by an ambulance, he hurried out to see her.
A journalist calls Sylvia to get her comment about Laura’s sudden illness, but Sylvia hung up the phone. She tells José about it & he’s immediately worried; Laura was still his daughter despite her treatment towards him. Sylvia is certain Lorenzo would soon call to inform them what was wrong with Laura. Laura is in bed when Lorenzo entered her room; she begged him to ignore what had happened between them for the sake of the unborn innocent child. However Lorenzo gave her the bad news- the doctor had informed him that her illness was actually a MISCARRIAGE!
Laura at first refuses to accept it, but there was nothing anyone could do to alter it, she’d lost the baby. She then told Lorenzo that E.I had kicked her hard in the stomach & denied poisoning her when Lorenzo asked her about it. But her question, ‘is Isabella still alive?’ gave her away. Lorenzo told her she was now in very serious trouble & left the room despite her pleas to let her explain why she did it. She swore to wipe E.I off the face of the earth. José is very worried about Laura but Sylvia urged him to wait for word from Lorenzo to confirm it. The phone rings but it’s that idiot Alex, who asked her to meet him at a certain place as he had something very important to tell her. Tony & Mimi talk enthusiastically about the venue of their wedding. Alex prepares for his meeting with Sylvia, he had sold some of Laura’s jewellery he’d blackmailed from her & got additional money. Laura can’t understand how E.I was able to survive. E.I (looking softer without that ghastly eye shadow) enters the room in a wheelchair pushed by a nurse. When they are alone, she mockingly offers her ‘condolences’ on the loss of Orlando’s child. Laura replied that she’d made a huge mistake by not dying; as she didn’t have anything to lose now, she’ll spend the rest of her life plotting to destroy her. E.I had better look out now because she could be hit by a car, find poison in her food or receive a letter with a bomb in it when she least expected it- she’ll HOUND her until the day she died. E.I showed no fear, she planned on going to the police immediately & have her charged for attempted murder, and the only thing Laura had to lose now was her freedom. But even the talk of prison didn’t subdue Laura; she vowed to get even with her at all costs. E.I called the nurse to take her back to her room.
Conan is surprised to hear from his sister that Laura was on admission again. Nattie said José was worried about both Laura & the unborn child & that Sylvia had promised to provide him with several grandchildren. Conan hoped the father wouldn’t be Alex; he had seen Alex flirting with Horsy the other day. Nattie plans to find a way to prove Alex & Horsy were more than just friends, to enable Sylvia leave him once & for all. Giacormo suddenly enters, with a bouquet of flowers for Nattie- to ‘cheer her up’. But she’s not fooled, she bluntly reminded him what she’d told him over the phone; she doesn’t want to date him & is reluctant to accept the flowers from him. He however insisted he hadn’t come to court her; he just wanted to cheer her up. She took the flowers & apologised for her rudeness. She said her feelings for him were platonic, she couldn’t accept him as a lover, still sore at his earlier deceit. Giacormo assured her he really loved her as a woman now but she’s firm, she could only be his friend now. (famous last words!)
Laura rebuffs her father when he comes to sympathise with her, she called him a stupid old man & would rather be an orphan than have him as a father. Horsy visits E.I at the hospital; E.I is intent on sorting Laura out while she’s vulnerable as well as preferring to rest in her hotel suite. Nattie goes to see Lorenzo about Sylvia. She’s very worried about her cousin, she doesn’t want her to make the same mistake she did with Orlando as he and Alex were as alike as 2 peas in a pod. Lorenzo replied he could do nothing as it seemed Sylvia no longer loved him. Nattie insisted that Sylvia DID love him, he had to fight for her before they both lost out.
Sylvia got to the place & Alex showed her a set of keys. It is to the house behind him, he’d just paid the deposit & it’s where they’ll live with their children. While Sylvia is still trying to get his meaning, he brings out a ring & formally asked her to marry him.

ANTONIO MAKES A DECISION...

While you're all reading posts on LORENZO'S WIFE, please remember that this blog also has posts of NO ONE BUT YOU. For those yet to read the posts I published months back, pls click on the label. It happens to be my favorite telenovela to date & it's very , very interesting. By the way, for the uninitiated, the actor who played the main character, Antonio Lombardo in this 1985 telenovela , is Andres Garcia- who played Don Pedro Jose Donoso in the recently concluded El Cuerpo del Deseo  

To continue...

Evil Max got the worse of the fight (serves him right); and Mummy Victoria did her best to treat his bleeeing  lip. She asked him over and over what started the fight , but Max made it  it look like Tonio started it.  He him crazy and demented, which was why Raquel was afraid and wanted to get away with him. He kept painting her and himself as Tonio's victims; implying Tonio hit him because he was trying to help Raquel.

He went on with his rant, that Tonio blames him for the crash, which shocks Vicky, since she was told the police found a defect that caused the accident. Max snarled he was just trying to help 'the poor girl', must they allow Tonio to keep hurting and humiliating like he was doing. Tonio hates him and would love to see him dead. Victoria is more confused and upset. She  still  feels it was best if Max went on his cancelled trip but Max wasn't about to leave Raquel alone with his stepbrother. He snaps that they will discuss it in the morning, for now, she should let him sleep. 

. 

The next morning, Claudio warns Camilla not to repeat what Victoria had told them the night before to anyone. But after he leaves the room, she picks up the phone to call Maura. Chucho has breakfast with some of the kitchen staff. Ramon is clearly not happy by his presence, while a maid tells him a little bit about the family members. Raquel joined Martha at the breakfast table, her sister asking her why she had such a long face. Raquel asked her if she’d heard of the fight. Thinking her and Tonio had a quarrel, Martha asked what happened. Raquel tells her she was now very much in love with Tonio. Congratulating her sarcastically,  Martha asked if Max knew about it, hence the fight.  Raquel shyly admitted she and Tonio ended up 'getting busy' in her room, causing Martha to gasp in delight and ask how the sex was.

Raquel refused to talk about her first sexual experience  but soberly said now it has caused a huge fight between him and Max. Mummy Victoria talks to Tonio on his way to work, about what decision he's made about the problem at hand. She's worried that the accident has made him delusional & she's very scared as she loves him like a second son and doesn't want anything to happen to him; if only his father was still alive. Tonio replied he had serious decisions to make & asked her what Max had told her the night before. She replied Max had told her of his accusations and she's sad at the way they attack each other theses days, especially since they've never gotten along. He kissed her goodbye and left.

 Martha is certain Max won't accuse Raquel of complicity, now that she & Tonio were closer, besides she had told him the whole story. Raquel is not so confident, Max was very cruel & she didn't know what Tonio had in mind because he refused to discuss it  & it worried her very much; she's afraid Tonio might think she was complicit and she'll rather go to jail than him thinking she lied to him. Ramon arrives to ask what Raquel would like for breakfast. Raquel replied she wanted to wait for her husband to join her.  She's very hurt when she hears from Ramon that Tonio had breakfast in his room & has already left for the office.

Smoking a cigarette  to relieve her obvious stress,  Vicky agreed to lend Claudio some money when he asks for it,  but warns him to be more careful as Tonio isn't patient with he and Camilla's gambling these days. Claudio assures her that the gambling is simply 'social entertainment' & they do not bid too much money. Claudio then asked her why Tonio doubted Raquel was his wife at first. Vicky told him he didn't remember anything about her or her family, which was surprising since he knew them immediately. She also told him about the previous night's fight- how the two young men were punching each other & would have killed each other if Ramon hadn't called her. Claudio looked puzzled when she added it happened in Raquel's room. He asked, 'what was Max doing in Raquel's bedroom?'

It suddenly occurred to Vicky as well, what was Max doing in Raquel's room in the first place?

Tonio meets with the family doctor, Oscar in a bar; Vicky had told him about the fight over the phone. Tonio told him he's fully convinced Max tried to murder him. Oscar asked about Raquel's role in the situation but Tonio is sure his wife is innocent. Oscar asks him if he's fallen in love with her. Tonio admits  it &  defiantly said she loved him too. Oscar is skeptical as not long ago , Raquel was in love with Max, which was why she had 'married' him. Or... was not in love with him but married him anyway, for another reason. Tonio coldly asked him if he was trying to make him have doubts about Raquel. Oscar replied he just didn't want him to rush into anything. Tonio's late father had made him head of the family because he knew Tonio would prioritise the  family's interests first. Tonio didn't like the idea of allowing Max to live in the mansion after what he tried to do. Oscar asked if he had proof. Tonio said he had the word of Raquel & her family and he could call the manager of the apartment building in Guadalajara, where Max stayed, to confront Max face-to-face; but the judge who had officiated the ceremony has disappeared, along with his secretary. Oscar asked him if he thought about Vicky & Raquel- how the scandal will affect them.

 Tonio said he had, which was why he hasn't told Vicky because he doesn't want her to think ill of Raquel, who is a good woman & his wife, not just  because of any piece of paper but because he's decided she's the one he wants for the rest of his life. Seeing Oscar's skeptical face, he asked if he thought he was crazy, just like Vicky thought. Oscar said he was his father's oldest friend & he has to prevent him from making a huge mistake. He advised him not to cause Vicky any pain, he should send Raquel away & be certain Max is guilty before confronting him. He reminds Tonio that he loves Victoria, they both do. 

Raquel informs Vicky she was on her way to see Tonio at his office & needed a chauffeur to take her there. But to her amazement, the guard at the gate respectfully tells  her Tonio  left instructions she wasn't to go out. Max bangs at the gate when it refuses to open for him, and  told he's not to be allowed in. He notices Raquel standing next to the guard & offers to give her a lift, but the guard doesn't allow her to go past the gate. As he leaves, he taunts Raquel, asking if this was the type of life she wanted.  Vicky asks Ramon what started the fight in the first place. Ramon told her Max was banging on Tonio's door & kicking it but he stopped and left when he saw Ramon. He also told her how Max forcibly dragged Raquel into his room the other day and how Raquel had resisted.

Oscar arrived at the house &  spoke to Raquel , trying to convince her to force Tonio divorce her by saying she didn't love him- her presence could cause a tragedy between two brothers- offering to pay her. Offended, she got up &  walked out on him. Oscar told Vicky he was a bit rough on Raquel but he asked her to leave. Vicky knows very well Tonio would never allow it , he loved her very much. Oscar is more concerned about Vicky's welfare, which was why he made that suggestion in the first place. 

Camilla meets with Maura, full of fresh gist about Raquel. Tonio hands a photo & the apartment's address to his personal assistant Pablo, to show the manager of the building for identification, in case he is needed to testify against Max. Max angrily comes in, demanding to know why he was being locked out of the house & what he planned on telling Vicky. Tonio replied he could easily tell her the truth. Max sneered that he had no proof & if he wanted him to leave... fine, but he had to hand over Raquel to him. Tonio coldly replied that Raquel was his wife; she'll never be handed over to him.

Raquel narrated what had happened the night before & Oscar's suggestion to her father. After she goes back into the house, Daniel runs into Chucho and they introduce themselves.

Later, Raquel is sitting in the living room when Tonio returns- he moves to sit next to her, smiling. She asked him why she was not allowed to leave the house, he replied it was so she wouldn't leave and  for her own protection.  She is very worried about the consequences of  locking Max out of the house, Victoria will end up hating her.  He calms her down. The fight was inevitable since Max realised what they were doing in her room. All he wanted was peace in the house & Max must now live somewhere else. Raquel felt she couldn't live in a house with people who distrusted her, like he probably still did.

Tonio was more interested to know  if she loved him and she confirms it with a yes, she loved him very much. That was all Tonio wanted to know and kisses her, making her smile. They then get up to go upstairs for... you know (wink, wink)


But Vicky stops them on the way, demanding to know why her son was locked out. She angrily accused Raquel of being the cause but Tonio firmly said it had nothing to do with her, it was time Vicky knew the truth.

'Are you going to tell her?' asked Raquel nervously.

He nodded. It was time Vicky knew the WHOLE truth.

A LUCKY ESCAPE

Thank you all for leaving your messages & comments; I TRULY appreciate it. Like one of my guests observed, MBI have been skipping a few episodes, VITAL episodes(God knows why) but let's just hope the end is soon drawing near because I'm sick of Isabella's over painted face already and eager to cheer at Lorenzo & Sylvia's long awaited wedding(once that idiot Alex is gotten rid of).
Well, thanks to a few searches here and there, I was able to find what happened next. Lorenzo, Sylvia & Horsy were at the restaurant waiting for Isabella to show up for the meeting. Horsy wondered why she was late, but the other two barely paid attention to her; Sylvia was far too busy blushing under the hot looks Lorenzo was giving her- after all, he was now free to chase her all over again. Unfortunately, Alex, who had followed her, saw the whole thing, and he was FURIOUS. Isabella managed to phone for help(from Horsy) and was immediately rushed to the hospital. But, surprisingly enough, Laura  took ill  after being pushed by Isabella and was taken to the hospital as well in an ambulance. Lorenzo was notified about Isabella while trying to persuade(a VERY SILLY) Sylvia to resume their relationship Isabella had ruined and he left for the hospital immediately.
I'll bring in the rest soon, folks... stay around.

Ladies, I have a question & please leave your answers... what would you do if your boyfriend suddenly told you he was GAY?