Raquel's new mission

Raquel's first line of action was to  clear her name before she went back to Guadalajara, which meant finding out who Roberto Aguirre was. At their hotel, Raquel gives Daniel and Martha money to get a meal, reminding them to be prudent at spending; refusing Martha's offer to buy her something. Back at the mansion, Tonio tells Ramon he didn't want dinner and no one should disturb him for anything. However, if Martha called, she should be put through. Ramon asked if Raquel called too, and after hesitating, Tonio said she should be put through as well. You're still in love with her, Tonio.  Ramon tells Meche Tonio couldn't see her. 

Martha is furious that she went to jail for an accident that didn't happen. Daniel (silly old man) made excuses for Meche and Gabriel. Martha phones Luis and tells him to meet her at the diner they are in. 

Raquel visits Gabriel at the hospital, who tells her  he told Tonio the truth, assuming she already knew about it. He's very sad and guilty when Raquel tells him she and her husband  fought over it and she left him. She  asks for Meche and is surprised to hear she went to see Tonio. 

Meche and Chucho  enter the room and the latter is overjoyed to see her, he'd assumed she and her family had already returned to Guadalajara. Meche said she waited ages for Tonio but was later  told he didn't want to be disturbed.  Raquel  needed their help to clear her name before heading back to Guadalajara for good, she needed to find Roberto. 

Martha and Daniel have lunch with Luis  and she tells him about Tonio and Raquel's falling out. Luis offered to help them out with some money he just came into. Hmmm. 

Raquel  asked them to describe 'Roberto Aguirre' and Meche's description fitted Max. Raquel strongly believed Max has been posing as Roberto Aguirre. Chucho agreed, which was probably why any time she was to meet with Roberto, only Gato showed up each time. 

Andres finds  Tonio lying on the empty bed (how come after Raquel moved out, you now choose to sleep there???) and pointed out that since Raquel didn't take his money or her designer  clothes, she was not the opportunist Tonio believed her to be, therefore he made a mistake, letting her go. Tonio did not know what to think. 

 Raquel isn’t pleased to find Martha talking to Luis at the hotel lobby on getting back. Luis salutes her but she gave him an icy reply. 

Upstairs in their room, Raquel scolded Martha for still hanging out with Max’s thug who’d gotten her into serious trouble; probably because what he could give her, ill gotten  money. Martha coldly told Raquel she had no control her life; she would see whoever and whenever and she wasn’t planning on going back to Guadalajara. She left the room, spitefully urging Raquel to eat the sandwich she’d brought for her, as she hadn’t eaten all day. Later Meche paid Raquel a visit and promised to help her; it was the least she could do. 

At the office, Tonio consulted his lawyer to start the proceedings and how to avoid paying a huge sum of alimony to Raquel.(I HATE you, Tonio)

Raquel called the house and Ramon answered it, very pleased to hear her voice. She asked for Max's address and before Ramon could reply, Evil Max walked into the lobby saying, 'I finally find you!' (Luis' handy work)

Stunned, she hung up...

Not knowing who you had until she's gone

Tonio came out, looking miserable. Mummy Vicky told him Raquel didn't take the tickets and she and Daniel left with Rod. Refusing to answer, Tonio instead went upstairs to the room he used to share with Raquel.  Andres tells Vicky the reason why Tonio and Raquel quarrelled. 

True enough, on opening the closets, all of Raquel's designer clothes, shoes and accessories were still there.  The realisation that his wife has really left him finally sank in and he buries his face in his hands, upset. Ramon entered and Tonio asked why all her clothes were still there, Ramon said the bags she took where the ones she and Martha had when they arrived. Tonio reminded him he told him over the phone Raquel took the money. Ramon said she did, but refused to to take the tickets. 

What's the point of asking him that... you FOUND the money on your desk, she took it but didn't LEAVE with it! 

Ramon also told him she had refused to allow any of the drivers to take them to the airport but instead went outside to wait for Martha. He had taken their bags to the gate for them. 

At Rod's place, over coffee (or tea whatever), Raquel refused Rod's offer to stay at his place. A furious Martha arrives with Claudio. 

Maura and Camilla are obviously very happy although they tried to hide it , while Alejandra and Andres looked sad.  Tonio asked Camilla if she saw Rod when he came, but she said she didn't. Vicky followed him to the study to ask what really happened and  his next line of action. Alejandra insists Raquel is innocent. Max arrives and immediately goes to see Vicky. Chucho and Meche are shocked to hear from Ramon that Raquel and her family have moved out. 

Meanwhile, Martha complained about the small hotel they check into, declaring it was even worse than their apartment in Guadalajara. Raquel, looking very tired, had more worries in her mind; finding a way to clear her name and managing until Humberto came back so that he could assist her  as she'd refused to take the money and tickets Tonio had left for her. Martha felt her sister was full of stupid pride. Raquel felt she was able to retain the last shred of her dignity. Yes o.

Max was still in the house and Vicky told him Tonio and Raquel were now separated... of course the bastard was happy about it, and started planning on how to find her and get her back to his side, (in your dreams, THUG!) Max made a phone call on his way out to Rod, asking where he dropped Raquel and her family, Tonio watching him from a corner. 

Rodrigo had deliberately not assisted Raquel financially as he'd decided on a new plan with Max, kill Tonio and frame Raquel for the crime, he wanted to keep her in Acapulco for the plan to work. He asked Claudio to be a part of it, as the reward would be great.  Claudio asked for time to think about it.

The beginning of the end

Tonio accused Camilla of helping to set Raquel up; Raquel had told him she hadn't noticed her earring was missing as she hardly wore the particular pair- which meant someone must have taken them from her jewelry box. Camilla was furious that he chose to believe his 'lying wife' over her. (BITCH!!!)

 Raquel at this point came downstairs, wondering what they were talking about, catching only half of the discussion. She got annoyed at Camilla's persistence and turned to Tonio for support, but he only glared at her, not helping at all. Later on, Camilla phones Max on their progress and Claudio warned her to stop with the intrigues, it won't get them anywhere but Camilla was determined to cause a divorce.

Raquel is told about the farce but Daniel and Chucho begged her not to tell Tonio. She however was not prepared  to lie to her husband again, especially since it would mean a reconciliation- so, despite impassioned begging from the two men, she phoned the office but was told Tonio had stepped out. Daniel pleaded on Meche and Gabriel's behalf. True, Tonio was tricked into paying for the operation but it was little compared to the wealth he possessed. Raquel was adamant, her husband WILL know of this, that way, their lives would be back to normal and they could start over, NO MORE LIES. Chucho and Daniel looked at each other in despair.

Tonio went to Meche's house but found a neighbour instead, sweeping. He introduced himself as a friend  and the neighbour praised him for helping Gabriel out- it was a terrible thing, being hit by a bus.

P.S: In the English dubbed  version, the neighbour said 'bus', in the original Spanish version, it was 'truck'. 

Moving on...

 Tonio was startled. How could it have been a bus?! A car had hit Gabriel.

No, said the neighbour, surprised. It was a bus, some months ago. Tonio's face turned into a mask of fury.

 Tonio later went to the hospital to confront a very frightened Gabriel, saying he was going to jail as soon as he was discharged, he now knew it wasn't Martha who caused his accident, but a bus. Who told him and his sister to lie? 

Trembling, Gabriel said it was a man called Roberto Aguirre. Tonio's face darkened further. Roberto  Aguirre again.  'Are you sure?' he asked. 

Gabriel said yes, that Aguirre paid Meche to make the report. 

How did Aguirre  know about Martha's accident? 

Gabriel said he didn't know, only Meche knew and he didn't know where she was, she stepped out. He pleaded with Tonio, their deception was out of necessity, Aguirre had assured Meche no one would get hurt. Tonio questioning him further, Gabriel said he's never met Aguirre and that Chucho and Daniel knew about the deception, Raquel too. Tonio is shocked, Raquel knew too? Did she also know that Aguirre was the one who paid them to lie and Gabriel said yes, Meche told him. The stupid idiot  (Meche) thought she now knew, because Daniel said he was going to tell her. 

Tonio, remembering Julia's call to Aguirre asking for the rest of her money, demanded to know who Julia was and if she's the one who came up  with the scheme. Gabriel said she was Meche's friend  but didn't know her part in the scheme, Tonio should talk to Meche. Tearfully, he swore he never wanted to be part of the whole thing.

Tonio coldly told him to inform Meche to come to the mansion and explain herself, then he will decide on both their fates. They must not even think about leaving town. 

At the mansion, Andres asks Alejandra, who is jamming to some music on her  headphones in the living room , if she's seen Martha that day. Alejandra teases him over his interest in her, which makes him smile. 

Eww Andres, you can do better than that materialistic skank. 

Alejandra reminds him that Camilla, Maura and Carla hate Raquel and Martha. Andres pointed out that those three bitches were capable of inventing lies and intrigue to hurt Raquel, which Alejandra agreed with. 

Andres is surprised that Alejandra agreed with him so swiftly, since she has been hanging out with them. Alejandra felt they were that way because they were envious of Raquel, they were always dissing her.  Speaking of which, did he know who Roberto Aguirre was? Carla kept asking her about him. 

Andres said it was someone who kept making prank calls to the house asking for Raquel. Alejandra told him he called the house recently, and hung up and Carla seemed very interested and curious about him. Andres felt his BF was in the middle of a very weird scenario but does not confide in Alejandra. Instead, the subject moves to Alejandra's questionable boyfriend and Alejandra gets angry; he was still a bone of contention between them. She loves the man but Andres, like her parents, know the truth about him. 

Martha meets with Luis at a restaurant. Fool. She tells him Tonio finally bounced Max out of the house and Vicky hasn't been well.

Max turned up at the house, accompanied by Alejandra's boyfriend, Raphael. She  flew at him joyfully while Max went upstairs, to Tonio and Raquel's room, where she's reading, or trying to read a book. 

She's  furious to see Max,  accusing  him of making Camilla tell lies about her and setting her up using her missing earring. As usual he denied it  and she left the room in disgust, when he refused to. 

 A big  mistake, because Max opened a drawer and slipped a check book into his pocket.

 

Downstairs, Alejandra begs Raquel to talk to Tonio and Andres on her behalf, concerning the young man she wants to marry. Watching Max leave in silence, Raquel  feels she's not qualified to give her opinion on the matter but Alejandra is certain she could influence Tonio and Andres all the same, her parents respected them both. Raphael assured her he and Alejandra will not force her to do anything she's  uncomfortable with. 

Andres suddenly enters and with harsh words, sends Raphael away. Alejandra flees in tears and Raquel is deeply distressed at the violent scene. Andres angrily tells Raquel what sort of man Raphael really was, he slept with rich women and he was only after Alejandra for her money. She should NOT take Alejandra's side. Raquel sadly felt her young friend's situation was almost like hers, but at least she had Raphael, she wished she still had Tonio's assurance. 

 Then she got  her own dose when her husband came in and called her the worst type of liar! 

Raquel and Andres looked at him, shocked at his harsh words. Raquel, of course, had no idea what he was talking about. Tonio accused her of knowing all along that Gabriel was not the victim of Martha's  accident after all and of Roberto Aguirre's involvement in the scam. 

Before Raquel could explain herself or ask him to explain his very weird statement,  Daniel walked in. Disgusted with Daniel for deliberately keeping quiet about Gabriel and Meche, Tonio is very rude to him, saying he thought he had some decency  in spite of his flaws.  

Raquel angrily turned on Tonio; he had no right to speak to her father in such a manner, no matter what he’d done. Timidly, Daniel points out that Tonio's anger  was justified, no thanks to what they kept from him about Meche and Gabriel. Tonio confronted Raquel, did she or didn't she know about their lie.  She said she did (not bothering to add she JUST found out), but that she had been waiting the whole time for him to come home so she could tell him. Alas, Tonio was tired of hearing 'I was going to tell you' from her. 

Turning to her father, Raquel demanded to know what the hell was going on, and how was Aguirre involved. A confused Andres listened as Daniel explained that Aguirre paid Meche to lie and Gabriel wasn't the actual accident victim. He kept it from Raquel because she would have told Tonio. Well duh!!! 

 Just what sort of father is this simple minded  old man? You put your friends before your own daughter and her husband.  He winced at the judgemental look on Andres' face. 

 The second round of the  fight was moved to the study- which turned out to be the couple’s WORST  fight ever. Tonio refused to listen to whatever Raquel had to say. Raquel maintained she was going to tell him the moment he got home and she didn't know about Aguirre's role in the matter. But Tonio sarcastically pointed out how she'd formed the habit of telling him things at the last moment.  Raquel said if  he loved her like he said he did the previous night, he would believe her. But it seemed he didn't love or trusted her. Well Raquel, it is sort of your fault. 

Very harsh, hurtful and bitter words came out; with Toino stating one can fall in love with the wrong person, like she did with Max. Very upset he would bring that up or compare her with Max, Raquel reminded him she stopped loving Max the moment he revealed his true colours that fateful night. Tonio in turn said that may be true but it didn't motivate her to tell him the whole truth until the night he forced her. That's unfair Tonio. 

Raquel  accused him of being so privileged (ouch), that he  couldn't understand the feelings of others or put himself in their shoes, plus acting like he did'nt have flaws of his own. Her father had flaws... but still. She  was tired of being treated like an erring mistress instead of a wife, tired of being in a house full of intrigues and people conspiring against her.  She's LEAVING HIM! 

To our distress, the only reply Tonio gave was, ‘I don’t care, just go away.’ Antonio, YOU FOOL!!!

Raquel left the study in tears, Andres and Daniel watch her run up the stairs. The old man retreats when Tonio comes out. Andres informed Tonio what Daniel told him, adding that he begged Raquel not to tell him but she had stood her ground. But Tonio refused to believe that, thanks to Gabriel's stupid mix up at the hospital, convinced that Daniel and  Raquel knew the whole time. 

Tonio asked Ramón to book three plane tickets to Guadalajara, one-way tickets, to Ramón's dismay. Andres asked why, Tonio said it was Raquel's decision to leave. Upstairs, Raquel packs her clothes, as well as Martha’s, crying her eyes out. At the restaurant, Martha talks about Gabriel with Luis, hoping he'll be better soon. 

Back at the mansion, Tonio silently counts out money from the safe for Raquel, while Andres puzzled over what could have happened to the real accident victim if Gabriel wasn't the victim. And why would Daniel allow Martha to remain in jail if he knew the truth the whole time, it made no sense. Tonio felt there were too many coincidences in the matter, in particular that Daniel and Chucho knew Meche. Ramon is summoned and Tonio hands over Raquel's money-  asshole- to him, he's to give it to her along with the plane tickets. Refusing to have dinner with Victoria, he left the house with Andres, not wanting to be present when Raquel left. Dressed to go, Raquel asked Ramon if he'd seen Martha, then remembered she went out. 

 Ramón sadly gave her the  the money Tonio had instructed him to give to her, explaining she was to also recieve tickets to Guadalajara and  she's visibly sad Tonio went out of his way to get her out of his life for good. Entering his  study, she sat at Tonio’s desk and began writing a letter. Later she told her very distressed father her marriage was over and they were leaving the mansion, they will wait for Martha outside the gates. Daniel asked if Tonio had kicked her out, Raquel said she was the one who made the decision to leave. Either way, it's your fault Daniel. 

Meche is horrified when Gabriel tells her about Tonio's visit and how he demanded she come to the mansion.  Raquel  placed a call to Oscar's son, Humberto but he's not home. 

Tonio calls the house and asked Ramon if Raquel was still there, and if she now has the money.  Raquel bitterly listens to Ramon's reply and after hanging up, refuses to take the plane tickets from him, instructing him to get her bag, Martha's too. She still had a little money of her own left.  Tono informs his BF that Raquel took the money, visibly angry. Andres guessed rightly that deep down Tonio hoped she wouldn't take it. Again, asshole. 

 Ramón escorts Raquel and Daniel to the gate as she refused to use any of the chauffeurs; he sadly says goodbye to Raquel, shaking hands with Daniel. 

Rodrigo pulls up at the gate, surprised to see them there. Daniel explained she and Tonio had a huge fight and they were leaving. He offered to take her to his house to wait for Martha. Martha was still out with Luis.  Tonio and Andres discuss what happens next, divorce. Since their marriage by proxy is legal, Raquel is entitled to half his assets. Tonio said he will consult his lawyer. Again, asshole! 

Andres said he could just declare  he and Raquel didn't have an actual wedding but  the lawyer would probably question why he  didn't report the marriage certificate to him to begin with. 

While Raquel and Daniel wait in the car, Rod tells Claudio what happened, and he was going to use it to his advantage. In the meantime, Claudio is to bring Martha to his house.  In Rod's car, Raquel angrily brushes off Daniel's admonition of not taking the tickets from Tonio. Shut up, you troublemaking  old man. Rod returns, telling them Claudio will bring Martha later. 

Victoria is informed by a very sad Ramon that Mrs. Raquel had moved out- she is amazed; feeling something very serious must have happened between them. No kidding.  

Going downstairs, she finds Alejandra and Claudio in the living room. Alejandra felt Tonio and Raquel fought because she asked for her help with Raphael. Vicky didn't think that would cause Raquel to leave Tonio. 

 She's more puzzled that Raquel refused to use any of the drivers or let him call a taxi, preferring to wait outside for Martha. Claudio checks with the guards at the gate and is informed Raquel and Daniel left with Rod. 

 Thinking maybe Raquel went to Max (eww!), she called his number. Evil Max is surprised at what his mother told him, including Raquel refusing the tickets and leaving with Rod. Meche arrives with Chucho and wait in the kitchen for Tonio's return. 

Tonio finally  returned with Andres in the evening  Wanting to be alone, Tonio doesn't answer Vicky's questions and  entered the study. He soon  saw that Raquel did not take the money after all. It was on his desk- on it an envelope. 

In the letter, Raquel had poured out her heart, telling him  he could keep the tickets, his money and the expensive outfits and jewellery he’d given her. She left with what she brought with her, except for one thing, which he took from her. She also said he greatly hurt her by his words and actions, she won't beg him to believe her but she regretted she let him go that far with her  and he ended up being just like Max; using her and lying that he loved her, he was the deceiver. If he loved her, he would have given her the benefit of the doubt but chose not to. She deeply loved him the whole time she was with him but it was definitely over between them now- and bade him goodbye. 

Tonio, usually so stoical, gives in to bottled emotions- a tear rolls down his cheek to our horror, his fingers crushing the damning letter.