HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

                 

        

          

SO VERY, VERY SORRY folks for the long break in transmission; I’ve been very busy; being a
teacher is demanding work, and I’m currently working on another book; by the Grace of Allah,
it will be my first for older readers. From now on, I’ll do my best to publish my posts more often.
This month is special to me since this blog was created on the 10th of May, 2007; the first post
being AND THEN THERE WAS THREE .'MY FAVORITE THINGS' is a year old and I thank the Almighty God for keeping this blog on for so long; in the beginning when there had been no visitors, I’d considered deleting it but my love for writing prevailed. Many thanks to the visitors, most especially fellow blogger, Mrs Philomena Ojukutu and those who had left comments. I only pray this blog gets more interested readers before its second anniversary.

Now to business… where I stopped.

Tonio didn’t confide in Maura when she confronted him, reminding her that their relationship had
been more physical than loving. I don't see what he saw in the plump piggy to begin with. Raquel enters, and the women coolly exchange greetings. 

Tonio goes to Raquel's room, assuring her he won't force her to do anything she's against, and she'll get her divorce if she wants. But he found her beautiful and wanted to explore the good qualities she had. Taking her hand,  he gently pulls her to him. Raquel moves towards him despite herself. 

But the initial first kiss is cut short by Max, who tells him the family doctor, Oscar, was here to see him.  Outside, Tonio remarks about Max being so concerned about him all of a sudden that he would just barge into his wife's room to get him.  After he goes downstairs, Max grabs Raquel by the shoulders, demanding to know what they were about to do, and she defiantly told him it was none of his business. 

Tonio tells Oscar he doesn't remember Raquel or her family, not even the wedding itself. Oscar feels he is still suffering from the lingering effects of the accident. Pablo calls to tell him the investigators who checked the plane found signs of sabotage. Tonio feels Raquel was a con artist who decided to pass herself off as his widow, which was the reason for her strange behaviour.  Oscar disagreed with him. 

Raquel and Martha are introduced to Oscar. After Martha goes upstairs, Tonio offers Raquel the phone when she says she wanted to call her father, brushing off her concern that it was long distance.  However,  there's no answer. 

Tonio gets more frustrated when Raquel gives more vague answers to his questions, in particular, why she went back to Guadalajara without Martha and how Max convinced her to return. Max comes in to intervene, which, in my opinion, was just asking for trouble. Tonio angrily told him to piss off. 

Raquel stormed upstairs to her room to pack. Tonio follows her in, locks the French windows before locking her in, over her protests. Downstairs, Max listens as Tonio tells the guards over the phone that Raquel is not to be allowed to leave the estate. Max snidely asks why Tonio wanted to keep a woman who didn't love him. 

Vicky is astonished to find Raquel locked up and goes to find Tonio to demand why he's holding her against her will. Tonio replied that he was certain Raquel was not his wife and that he had never seen her before. He had checked his schedule; no trips to Guadalajara at all. Vicky is shocked when he also told her the crash was no accident. Vicky feels he was mistaken and urged him to reconsider, since all their friends believe Raquel is his wife. Tonio makes her promise not to tell anyone of his suspicions.

Martha is not happy at the idea of leaving the mansion when Max tells her to get ready, they were leaving by boat that night. 

Tono instructs  Vicky to order a new wardrobe for Raquel, and Martha gives her Raquel's dress and shoe size. He then apologises to Raquel, excusing his initial harshness and doubts about her due to his amnesia. He didn't feel anything, but he did know he wouldn't marry a woman if he didn't love her. As she's his wife, he wants her to help him remember. Raquel tearfully accepts his apology, feeling bad for him and filled with guilt. She tells him she would give up half her life to prevent what happened. Tonio asks what she meant by that, but she's unable to reply. 

Taking her hand, Tonio asks her out to dinner, but she's reluctant. Tonio assures her he won't fight her if she still wants a divorce, but they should at least part as friends, gently asking her to grant this special favour to him. Raquel nods, giving him a faint smile. 

 Their lunch is then brought in by a maid. 

Martha felt her sister was being a fool when Raquel was very reluctant to accept the array of new clothes. 

   

Tonio is told by Vicky about Raquel's hesitance to accept the clothes. She urges him to be nicer to his wife, who was obviously not a gold digger. 

That night, Tonio takes in the sight of Raquel in a white dress trimmed with pale blue and warmly compliments her.  Raquel shyly thanked him for the new dress and entire wardrobe. However, when he offered her a pearl necklace to go with it, she firmly refused. 

 Max is furious to hear from Martha that Tonio took Raquel out. He knew very well Raquel couldn't hold her liquor after one glass. Martha didn't dare let him know that she didn't tell Raquel they were to leave that night. 

At the fancy restaurant, Raquel gradually loosens up around Tonio, smiling and laughing for the first time, and they swap anecdotes about their personal preferences. 

Tonio spied Max hovering not far away and left Raquel to find out what was going on.  Max sullenly makes an excuse about meeting some friends and leaves, planning on taking Raquel and Martha away that night once she got back. On getting back home, Tonio offers Raquel the pearl necklace he’d offered her before, but again she refuses it. He moves in for the kill and kisses  her for the first time, but Raquel, though drunk, doesn’t allow it to go further. 

However, Martha had seen them go into the room together and mischievously told Max her sister was with Antonio. Max is furious as he had already rented the boat for their escape.

 Max tries to enter Raquel’s room, but it’s locked on both sides, and she is fast asleep.

The following morning, Tonio’s lazy brother-in-law, Claudio, sees Max furiously shaking Raquel by the shoulders beside the swimming pool. He suspects they must have already known each other before, especially by the way Max angrily brushes him off. He tells Camilla, who then tells Maura over the phone. 

Raquel again makes a phone call to Guadalajara but her father still doesn't answer. Camilla makes snide comments about the simple dress Raquel was wearing. Raquel coldly tell her the clothes she wears were obtained through honest work, which we viewers know that Camilla doesn't have a clue about. 

However, when Camilla goes  too far, Raquel slaps her! 

Tonio is more and more suspicious of Raquel. He abruptly takes Raquel to Guadalajara and gets acquainted with Don Daniel, who is nervous around him.

Is she or is'nt she???

Lie, Lie and Lie some more! 

Antonio goes upstairs, taking Raquel with him. Mummy Victoria is naturally confused at Raquel's odd reaction; why hadn't she hugged and kissed her husband, wasn't she glad to see him?

Evil Max's mind began working furiously,  considering the huge mess he's in.

Inside Antonio's room, Raquel is tongue-tied when he tentatively tries to have a conversation with her. Before she could speak, Max barges in to tell her that her sister was missing, a ruse to get her away BEFORE she could break down and tell his stepbrother anything. Raquel hurries out,  leaving Tonio very confused.

Tonio questions Ezequiel about Raquel's behaviour when she arrived.  Ezequiel told him how grief-stricken she was,  Vicky giving her a pill to sleep and how  Raquel had asked for a photograph of him. And also, that Max didn't attend the memorial service but got home very late. 

 In the garden, Max warned both girls about the consequences if they opened their mouths. He felt they were safe for now because of Tonio's amnesia. On the way indoors, Tonio meets Martha when Raquel introduces them, pointing out surely they had surely met already, hence no need to introduce her. Raquel manages to avoid having to sleep in Tonio's room when he said they should share the same room, pointing out that Vicky already gave them rooms. After they leave, Tonio looks at Max suspiciously, telling him not to go to the office without telling him first. 

 Back in her room, Raquel tells Martha that she dislikes Tonio already, as he seemed to be the type of man anxious to get her into his bed. Oh, how prim we are ... he didn't even lay a finger on you!  Martha thought Tonio was very attractive, besides being very rich.  The second part was more important. 

Tonio starts questioning if he had amnesia when Vicky admonished him for keeping his marriage a secret and not telling Raquel his true status. 

Raquel feels Tonio was aware he was being played. Martha feels Raquel should simply accept the situation, as everyone thinks she's Tonio's wife.  Max confabs with Luis on the failure of the plan. 

The next morning, Antonio sends a message to Raquel that he would like her to join him for breakfast in his room. Max slips into her room to coach her on what to say to Tonio, pleading with her to forgive him for his harshness and lies. Raquel coldly tells him she no longer has feelings for him. And folks... she meant it. 

Antonio received her in his room,  noticing how nervous and tense she was and served her tea. He asks her questions about their 'relationship'.  She tells him they had met at Guadalajara, where she's a salesgirl.  He had an apartment there, and he travelled often. They dated for 4 months and had a small civil wedding, with a promise to get married in church later. She denied being pregnant when he asked. 

Antonio questions why she is cold towards him and doesn't seem happy to see him alive. Raquel gave the vague reply of being shocked.  He caressed her cheek, asking her if she loved him. Raquel mumbled, ' I... I want you to divorce me.'

Amused, he asked her for the reason behind the sudden statement. She replies that they had married without really knowing each other, and it was best if they broke up now. Tonio asked what had changed between them; was he that bad in bed on their wedding night? Yikes... why go there, Tonio? 

Raquel said there was NO wedding night because he left not long after the wedding for a business trip, and they've never slept together, which astonished Tonio more. Not surprisingly, how many women would wait long to hit the sheets with yummy Tonio? 

Their argument is cut short when the room's extension rings, and he's told Pablo is downstairs waiting for him. In his study, Tonio tells Pablo to send him his schedule to see if he has made trips to Guadalajara. 

Later on, while answering Max's questions about what went on between her and Tonio, Raquel notices a woman going up to the house. Max tells her it's Maura, one of Tonio's numerous girlfriends, as a way of discouraging Raquel from having any romantic notions towards Tonio.

A Message From Danielle Steel

April 2008

Dear Friends,

The beginning of April has always been a huge challenge for me. Most of my children are terrible practical jokers and thoroughly love torturing me on April Fool's Day. They call to tell me every imaginable horror, and of course I fall for it every year. Each time, I swear that next time I won't answer the phone, but of course I do...and I fall for it again. I'm sure this year will be no different!

On a more serious note, Passover will come in April. It's an important holiday in the Jewish faith, celebrating the end of slavery and liberation of the Jewish people in biblical times. It's a wonderful time to gather friends and family around the dinner table and enjoy one another.

I hope that, whatever your faith or activity, April will be a happy, peaceful month for you. Just watch out for practical jokers like my kids on the first!

Love,

Danielle

P.S. You are always welcome to visit me at my home on the web:
http://info.randomhouse.com/cgi-bin21/DM/y/exxb0Mx6Ij0V50H860Ee

----------------------------------------------------------------------

My Wife?????????????

Max enters the room and finds Raquel asleep. He wakes her up and covers her mouth when she's about to cry out in disbelief. She hugs him and excitedly bombards him with questions. He asks her to follow him to the garden, where they can talk. He then tells her his real name and that Antonio is his stepbrother. Raquel is full of horror and anger at his lies and demands to know if he had anything to do with the plane crash, which he hotly denies, insisting that Antonio had a lot of enemies. But now that everyone believes her to be Mrs Lombardo-Antonio's widow, she is his heir. Afterwards, she can marry Max after her mourning. That's his 'great plan' folks, marry Raquel and have unlimited access to her money!

So finally... we learn the reason behind the lies to Raquel and the plane crash. What a grade-A bastard! 

Raquel angrily refused to have anything to do with the scheme, vowing she would march upstairs and tell Victoria the whole story. Max then turned nasty and silenced her with blackmail-should she open her mouth, he'll tell everyone the whole thing had been her and her family's idea, and it was her word against his. Raquel is stunned at the change in the man she loves. Martha is told and is torn between staying at the mansion and avoiding going to jail for something they didn't know about. Angry and confused, Raquel wonders what to do. Getting back to her room, Raquel finds Martha there and tells her what happened; she married Max, Victoria's son, who had passed himself off as his stepbrother and how he'd threatened her. Martha feels she should go ahead with the deception; they will now be rich. Raquel doesn't want to do so, especially deceiving Victoria, who has been good to us. Martha points there was nothing they could do. They had no money to hire a lawyer, and besides, if Raquel denounces Max to Victoria, she will say she's never met or laid eyes on Max and say Raquel was crazy. She and Daniel weren't going to jail because Raquel got involved with the wrong man. 

Unable to sleep, Raquel went downstairs to the pool area very early in the morning and saw the staff cleaning the pool. Ezequiel hurried over to see if  'Señora Raquel' needed anything and talked about how the household missed 'Señor Antonio' very much. Raquel asked Ezequiel what type of boss her 'husband' was, and to see a photo of Antonio, she misplaced hers.   Ezequiel is surprised but takes her to Antonio's study and rummages until he finds one. He left Raquel alone, staring at Antonio's smiling face.

Hmmm....

 

Meanwhile, Chucho's nephew manages to get help, and Antonio-from now on I'm calling him  'Tonio', is taken to the Red Cross for treatment. He asked the doctor to please call his house and alert his family.

Raquel is unable to forgive Max for his deceit and adamantly refuses to pass herself off as Tonio Lombardo's widow. Max tries to manipulate her, saying Tonio is a ruthless bastard who has enemies and doesn't respect women. Raquel pointed out, if that was true, then Max was no better, and she wasn't going to be his accomplice. She was going to tell Vicky. Unfortunately, she couldn't do that; her photo was all over the papers and Vicky, to cover for Tonio, had told everyone they'd known Raquel for a long time. Max asks why she was so upset. She now has wealth and power, and she'll have him as a husband eventually.

 Raquel roughly pushes him away from her, snapping that a man in love wouldn't do what he did. And there was no way she'd marry him. (The one they had is, of course, invalid.)  Max leaves the room, and Raquel starts packing her suitcase. While having breakfast with Martha, Max tells Martha to convince her sister to keep her trap shut. Martha is more concerned about the benefits than going to jail, which she doesn't want. Vicky joins them, asking where Raquel is. 

At the Red Cross, the doctor tells Tonio he had a broken rib but no serious damage to his head, according to the X-ray, though he may forget some details. 

Raquel packs her bag and catches a flight to Guadalajara, leaving a note for Martha. Max is furious to hear Raquel is gone and tells Martha not to tell anyone, she should say Raquel is lying down. He leaves the house to fetch her back. Ezequiel receives a call from the doctor treating Tonio, that he was ALIVE! Amazed, he gives the phone to Victoria, who is overjoyed. As Camilla and Maura discuss Tonio's secret marriage, Camilla gets the news from Victoria via the speaker phone, Victoria adding she had already sent Pablo to bring Tonio home. 

Victoria hurries to Raquel's room to tell her, but finds Martha, who is shocked by the news and tells her to wake Raquel; she needs to go and tell Max. Not knowing what to do, Martha grabs her purse and runs to the main gate, much to the surprise of the guards. The guard tells her that Max instructed him not to let her leave.  Victoria is surprised to find pillows under the blanket and Raquel gone. 

Evil Max gets to Raquel's apartment before she does, as he used the company's jet, while she had to change planes in Mexico City.

Pablo enthusiastically greets his boss and tells him how happy everyone would be to see him, especially his wife. Tonio stares at him in surprise. What???

'I'm not married, ' he tells Pablo. Pablo insists that he is; they found the wedding certificate with his signature, and they've all met Senora Raquel. 

'Raquel?' Tonio repeated in disbelief.

The doctor said as he had a severe concussion, maybe he had temporary amnesia. Pablo told Tonio about the plane ticket found in his study. Apparently, he got married in Guadalajara the day before the accident. Tonio, of course, is baffled. He would remember being married, even if he missed some details! 

Raquel arrives and is very angry to find Max already in her apartment; he had arrived first because she'd had to change planes on the way. He reminds her that there was nothing she could do and demands that she return with him. She refuses to return with him, preferring to go to jail and will hire a lawyer to charge him with fraud.  Max warned  Raquel she would have her father's fate on her conscience, as he had been helping his friend sell stolen goods, to Raquel's horror. Her timid father admitted it, the reason why Max was able to blackmail him. Daniel begged his daughter to forgive him. He did what he did because he felt bad about Raquel being the primary provider. Max insisted he had nothing to do with Tonio's death, and it was her word against his. A journalist tries to interview Raquel, but she leaves the room, and the reporter notices the framed photo of her and Tonio. Max makes excuses for Raquel, and the man leaves. Raquel, too, sees the doctored photo of her and Tonio, guessing it was Max's handiwork. 

Vicky is not pleased that Raquel left and that Martha kept it from her, surprised when Martha explained that Max told her not to tell anyone.

On the drive home, Tonio asks Pablo what Raquel's surname was. 

Martha calls Daniel, who tells her that Raquel and Max have already left. Daniel is horrified to hear the real Tonio is alive and on his way home. Vicky is now happy, eager to see how Raquel will react to Tonio's return. 

Camilla and Maura discuss the good news. Maura is quiet and abruptly walks away when Camilla asks her if she would confront 'her naughty boy' for jilting her. Victoria felt sure the reason Raquel left was out of grief for Tonio. Camilla makes a rude remark about her in-laws, and Vicky warns her not to disrespect Raquel. 

On the plane, Raquel coldly tells Max she now hates him. Max is confident she will come around. 

 Tonio comes in and warmly hugs his stepmother, who, of course, is very happy to see him. Pablo takes his leave. Vicky wastes no time telling him they all know about his secret wedding but support him. Tonio tells her he doesn't remember Raquel. Mummy Victoria immediately suggested he must have short-term amnesia. Tonio argued that even if he doesn't remember his wedding, how can he not remember what his wife looked like? And why would he marry in secret without at least telling Victoria? And where was Raquel? Vicky told him  Raquel had gone home, and Max went to fetch her, which baffles Tonio even more. Why would his wife leave? 

Victoria shows him a photo of Raquel in the papers, which he looks at thoughtfully. Well?

Tonio said no, she doesn't ring a bell. However...  'she's very pretty,' he admits.

Mummy Victoria is sure he'll remember once he sees her in person and tells him how she had to cover for him because people would find it very strange that he married in secret. Vicky added that while she saw Raquel was working class, she found her sweet and already liked her.

Camilla and Claudio come in to welcome him, his sister scolding him over the secret wedding.

 Playing along, Tonio grinned, explaining he wanted to surprise the family. Camilla again disses Raquel, and Vicky tells her to keep quiet and let her brother rest. The couple leaves, and Vicky goes to arrange a meal for him. 

 As Tonio helps himself to a glass of water,  Raquel comes in, heading towards the stairs. She spins around when Tonio calls her name. She stops, staring at him in shock.

Tonio takes in her beauty with narrowed eyes. 'Come closer,' he said. Zombie-like, she does so, and Tonio continues staring intensely at her. 

Mummy Victoria comes in, delighted that Raquel has seen her husband alive and well. Max comes in too, frozen in shock (as well as he might be), expressing his happiness at Tonio's miraculous return unconvincingly.  Vicky wondered why Raquel looked like she'd seen a ghost. 

Tonio moves close to Raquel and takes her hands, telling Vicky that Raquel was merely overwhelmed with emotion. Raquel was obviously filled with terror when Tonio calmly said it was late and he'd been waiting for her; now he wanted to go to bed. Taking her by the arm, he led her upstairs.

Kata kata don burst be that!

NO ONE BUT YOU: Snippet 2

Grief stricken,  Raquel catches a flight to Acapulco to attend Antonio's memorial service. She's accompanied by her sister, Martha  and find  the entrance to the mansion packed with reporters. She wonders if they were at the right house. Ezequiel is sent to the gate by Victoria to bring them inside, after one of the guards calls the house. 

 Raquel is very bewildered at the grand surroundings and wealth  Antonio never  mentioned he had, while Martha is thrilled. Victoria kindly welcomes her stepdaughter-in-law, showing her the marriage certificate for Raquel to verify. Raquel cannot understand why Antonio hid his wealth and family from her.  Camilla instantly takes a dislike to her brother's wife. Go fuck yourself freeloader.  

 Max of course keeps out of sight , under the pretence of carrying out thorough investigations about the crash. In Guadalajara, he tells Daniel the truth about himself and blackmails him.  Before he left, he removes a photo of Raquel and himself from the frame and replaces it with a doctored one of her and Tonio, in case journalists came over to interview Daniel. 

 Raquel and Martha are loaned mourning dresses by a very reluctant Camilla...what the hell is her problem?  Victoria comes in with purses for the two girls to use and finds Raquel sobbing in her pillow, poor thing.

Downstairs, Camilla is also crying for her brother. Claudio is bitter over Antonio's unexpected secret marriage , which entitled Raquel to be the heir of the vast estate instead of Camilla. All Camilla can think of was the idea of her brother marrying a low class woman instead of her good friend Maura, who is also angry about what he did. They all go to the memorial service.

Antonio staggers  until he reaches a road before passing out. A boy about 18 finds him and hurries to get his uncle Chucho. Chucho examines him but finds he's not dead. They carry him to their shack. The family returns and Victoria urges a subdued Raquel to go upstairs and rest. She asks a servant where Max was and is told he's not been home all day.

Antonio regains consciousness again and asks Chucho where he was. He checks the time but notices his gold Rolex was missing from his wrist and indignantly questions Chucho, who protests he only took it off to keep it for him (a likely story). Antonio asks him to find a way of contacting his family. Chucho replies that his nephew would do his best to get help when he goes to sell their wares.
Back in Acapulco, Max returns after everyone else had gone to bed. A servant tells him where Senora Raquel is sleeping. Max braces himself and goes upstairs...

Let's see how you intend on explaining yourself, Evil Max.