Esmeralda 51-55: The Haunting Truth

The truth does not torment but it stubbornly haunts both the wicked and the ignorant. Lucio Malver sold all his properties in the village and headed for Mexico city. He used the money realized from the sale of his properties to pay for the plastic surgery of his disfigured face. He was ashamed to face Esmeralda with an ugly face.

Ironically, it was Jose Armando, being one of the best dermatologists in the hospital, who headed the plastic surgery team that operated on Lucio. After the successful surgery, Lucio went to visit Esmeralda demanding custody of his "son" and also asked her to marry him. Esmeralda tongue-lashed him and told him to leave her in peace and that she would never give up custody of her child to him.

Beautiful Georgina pleaded with Rodolfo to influence Jose Armando to marry her immediately, but Rodolfo was not persuaded, he had done enough harm to his daughter, Esmeralda, to further cause her more sorrow. He was characteristically blunt with Georgina, telling her that the only joy of Jose Armando would be to re-marry Esmeralda. She threatened that she would make her father to sack Esmeralda from the hospital, if Jose Armando would not marry her immediately.

Georgina knew this as a haunting truth because Jose Armando still lounged for, and loved Esmeralda, therefore she conspired with Lucio, telling him to kidnap 'his son' in order to force Esmeralda to marry him. Lucio confessed to Georgina that the boy was not his son, and that he had invented the lies about his paternity, hoping that his lies would separate Esmeralda from Jose Armando. He told Georgina that the boy was truly the biological son of her fiance, Jose Armando.

Georgina was shocked by this revelation, but insisted that Lucio must go on as planned by kidnapping the boy. Lucio carried out the dastardly act of kidnapping little José Rodolfo. This caused much anguish for Esmeralda, and nobody seems to know how to help her resolve the dilemma.

José Armando went to talk to his 'friend' and rival, Alvaro. He told Alvaro that he did not want Esmeralda to suffer any pain as a result of Lucio's wicked acts. He suggested that if he registered the little José Rodolfo as his son, and obtain a birth certificate for him, he could file a suit in court to strip Lucio of any custody of the little boy. Alvaro objected to José Armando's suggestion because he was insecured and afraid that, if Esmeralda knows about this suggestion, she would melt and become fond of José Armando again.

When Alvaro refused his offer, José Armando said he would go and threaten Lucio that he would make his life impossible, if he should cause sorrow for Esmeralda. Dr. Alvaro, just like Dr. Alfredo of the gardener's daughter telenovela, was in perpetual fear of losing Esmeralda, so, he hid all this offer of assistance and defense by José Armando, from the knowledge of his fiancee, Esmeralda.

In the middle of arguments between Lucio and José Armando, Malaver suffered a fresh round of cardiac arrest, and this time, he did not survive it. While on his death bed, this wicked man confessed to José Armando that, little José Rodolfo was truly his son and that he (Lucio), never sexually abused Esmeralda.

He recounted how he made Esmeralda to touch his scarred face, to show her what he had suffered for her sake, and how Esmeralda fainted as a consequence of the shock from that touch. He swore that he never touched her on that fateful night. He also revealed that it was his fiancee, Georgina, who inspired the kidnap of the little boy to clear the coast of her romantic territory, in order to marry José Armando.

On the score of this truth, José Armando broke up his engagement with Georgina. He tongue-lashed her for emotionally manipulating him and scheming to kidnap his son. He also went back to plead for forgiveness by Esmeralda.

In the similitude of stubbornness of Luisa Fernanda in the gardener's daughter soap opera, Esmeralda refused to forgive José Armando, no matter what he did to appease her, even though she still secretly harbored a great and undying love for him. She would not listen to Dominga's advise to forgive him. She banished him from coming to visit her. Having lost all hope of restoring relationship with Esmeralda, José Armando headed back for the village to spent the rest of his life in Casa Grande.