Arrested Love

Of course, Emi-liar took advantage of the latest strained relationship between Sebastian and Catalina to crawl into the gap. She embraced Sebastian and assured him that she would always be there for him.

As Sebastian tries to pull away, telling her he still loved Catalina, Emilia closed in on him and kissed him. Catalina was confused, because she still did not know the reason for the latest and sudden depression and disaffection by Sebastian, nobody told her the reason.

Panchito came to advise Catalina not to give up on Sebastian, if she truly loved him. he told her to summon up courage and go out there to bring home her grieving husband. She obeyed and went to search Sebastian, but was amazed at the speed with which Emilia had crept into Sebastian's arms and life. Catalina found Sebastian and Emiliar passionately kissing each other.

She lost the remnant of her courage and was tempted to turn back at the perfidious sight, to give up Sebastian, and return alone to Mexico city to start life afresh, from the scratch. But she refused, and slugged it out with crafty Emilia, she even assured Emilia that in the event that Sebastian divorces her, he would never come to or marry Emilia.

Father Geronimo rebuked Carmelo for rejoicing about town claiming that he was Lupe's real son. Carmelo defended himself by assuring the priest that once that mystery letter by late Matilda is found, it would explain his strong feelings that Lupe was his unknown father. The priest told him that he should be grateful to Lupe for being so generously kind to him. He even warned him not to meddle with Antoniete because she was always fomenting trouble for Lupe. He concluded that if he finds the letter, he would rather give it to Lupe, Sebastian or Martina, because it was their mom's letter.

A growing affection and mutual respect is becoming noticeable between Gustavo and Petra. Petra decided to privily investigate the background of Catalina because she was disappointed in the evil schemes of Carmelo against her. So, she requested to go to Mexico city with Lupe and Luisa. They were happy to extend that courtesy to her, so she traveled with them to the Penthouse in Mexico city.

Petra was mollified by the outward appearance of riches. She was confused, wondering why this rich people wanted to marry off Catalina to Sebastian for money which they already have. Gustavo told her that all she saw were debts and not riches.

When Luisa reminded her father that Adela would be angry that they brought a poor Tamale woman to their penthouse. Gustavo got furious and told her that he was tired of taking orders from 'queen' Adela. He reminded Luisa how Petra rescued them and provided shelter and food for them when stranded in Hacienda, when nobody would touch them with a 10 feet pole.

Lupe was exceedingly worried, to the point of sickness when he learnt that Sebastian had traveled to Mexico to fight with Eduardo and defend his 'love' for Catalina. As Carmelo and Martina were leading Lupe to rest in his room, Emilia whispered to Carmelo to take advantage and go to meet Catalina who was alone at home, so he could woo her with money, in the absence of Sebastian. Carmelo took heed and rushed to Catalina's hut.

When Sebastian got to the city he went to the gym to threaten Eduardo to leave his wife alone, or he would 'get rid' of him. Eduardo mocked him and told him to divorce Catalina, but he replied by saying he would never divorce Catalina.

Sebastian's trip to the city ended up for him in prison custody. It took the desperate and loving efforts of Catalina's testimony to get him freed. She rushed down from the village to free him from the villains- Silvia and Eduardo. Much about this at the next episode....

Another Romantic Abortion!

In the warfare to separate Sebastian and Catalina, there are no permanent foes, but permanent interests. Strange bed-fellows are rapidly aligning. Who would have imagined that Eduardo and Vanity boy, Ricardo, would be allies? Now another strange couple have come together, Emilia y Adela, they began to earnestly plot a coup to abort the marriage of Catalina y Sebastian.

Sebastian bluntly refused to apologize to Carmelo as commanded by his father, Lupe. He said he was sure that Carmelo had inordinate romantic interest in his wife, Catalina.

When news filtered to Sebastian and Romero that Eduardo and Ricardo were at the hotel in town to date Catalina and Martina, the two jealous lovers (Sebastian and Romero), stormed the hotel to cause a row and fought with their romantic adversaries.

In order to win Lupe to her side, Adela decided to expose Carmelo's scheming to Lupe. She told him that Carmelo has gone round town to announce to all that Lupe has accepted him (Carmelo), as his true son. Lupe was surprised. Lupe thought that Antoniete was merely conspiring against Carmelo, but when he too went round town to ask every body, he was shocked to learn for the first time that truly, that was what Carmelo's favorite song in the village for years.

Emilia intensified her wars against Catalina, she reported to Sebastian that her espionage network reported that Catalina had gone to meet with Eduardo at the hotel. Sebastian thanked her and set forth, and he found it to be true. He however overheard from the doorway, how Catalina was lambasting Eduardo and telling him that Sebastian was the love of her life and even if he was a foreman , she has discovered Sebastian was her true love and would never love Eduardo again.

Sebastian was thrilled by this honest and fervent confession of love by Catalina, he withdrew quietly and went home to wait for her. As soon as Catalina came in, he told her not so say anything, because he already knew what happened, and saluted her courage and loyalty, joyfully telling her that she truly was the love of his own life too. They reconciled for the umpteenth time and began to 'celebrate' the renewal of their love with kisses, Catalina was filled with tearful joy of relief and, ...

He promised Catalina that he would never doubt her again, (unfortunately, he couldn't fulfill this promise because of his incredible naivety). He told her that there was a secret he wanted to reveal to her, but she should give him some few minutes to go and announce first, to Lupe that they have (finally?) reconciled, after which he would come home to celebrate their love, and he would announce the secret to her.

Thank God, Martina too reconciled with Romero, after the intervention of the priest, Father Geronimo.

The camp of love adversaries have scattered, Eduardo returned with shame to Silvia in Mexico city, having lost out in the battle of love. Adela and her 'AGVO team-mates' (remember, I christened them as Association of Greedy and Vain Opportunists), secretly re-grouped and plotted a counter attack. Emilia suggested they should turn the victory of Catalina to an ugly defeat and romantic humiliation.

They designed for vanity boy, Ricardo and his mom, Adela, to go to the church premises pretending to be gisting and boasting that they made Catalina to use Eduardo to successfully fool Sebastian by that 'arrangee' encounter at the hotel.

They also designed for Carmelo to lure Sebastian to the church, pretending to want to reconcile with him and asking him to come inside the church in the presence of 'God' to swear that they would no longer harbor grudges against each other again. Through that scheme, they hoped to sow the seed of doubt over the recent reconciliation, and thereby reverse the victory of Catalina over Emilia.

When Sebastian saw Lupe, he announced his reconciliation, and told Lupe that Catalina has passed the test of love. He said he wanted to reveal the truth to her that he (Sebastian) was the true son of Lupe who swapped places with the real foreman, Carmelo. Lupe told him not to rush into decision but give it some more days for the reconciliation to endure.

In the midst of their indecision, Marcelo, (Carmelo's best friend and accomplice) arrived and told Sebastine that Carmelo was waiting for him by the church, to also reconcile with him, in the presence of God. Naive Sebastian agreed to meet Carmelo to reconcile with him.

On getting there, as they were both 'reconciling' their differences, he overheard Adela and Ricard at a corner in the church, gisting away on how they succeeded to make Catalina to fool Sebastian with an arrangee love confessions. Sebastian charged at them and demanded to know if their claims were true!

Silvia got to know through Luis, Alicia and Patricia, her best friend, that Eduardo did not travel to Guadalajara (sounded more like our Gwagwalada in FCT Nigeria), as announced, but to Hacienda, to meet Catalina at the ranch. Silvia was depressed and refused the advice of Patricia to divorce Eduardo. She said she would rather go for surgical operation to remove her non-existing wrinkles, in order to stand beauty and wooing competition with Catalina.

Emilia visited Catalina to tell her that her victory would soon be short-lived. Ruffina also visited Catalina to warn her not to make her boy, Sebastian, sad anymore, after this reconciliation. Gustavo and Luisa also visited Catalina to tell her that they had to sell her engagement ring, in order to get money to transport themselves to the ranch to warn her that Adela, Ricardo and Emilia were secretly planning to harm her relationship with Sebastian. They gave her the receipt of the sale of her engagement ring. Catalina told them not to worry, because she has finally reconciled with her hubby, and nothing would (ever?) come between them again.

Sebastian suddenly concluded from that hearsay that Catalina had once again betrayed him, he went straight to the Cantina to get himself drunk. He broke down and wept profusely, Marcelo quickly went to congratulate Carmelo that the trick worked and that Sebastian was already weeping at the bar. Sebastian went home to accuse her of betrayal!

Lupe's Great Folly!

Ding, ding dong, ... ding, ding, ding, ding, ding dong,... Catalina y Sebastian is already going through its own telenovela 'see-saw'. The on-and-off repetitions of scenes have been going on for some time now.

Emilia succeeded in dragging a drunken Sebastian to her house to pass the night with her. Unfortunately however, Sebastian was too consumed with his own grieve and sorrow to be of any sexual use to Emilia. He slept like a log of wood throughout the night. But rumors went spread like wildfire round about the village that Sebastian slept with Emilia that night in her house.

Emilia later went to meet Catalina alone at home and boasted (of course, lying) that Sebastian had sex with her all-night in her house, and accused Catalina of starving Sebastian of affection, which she (Emilia), have begun to supply to him without limit. She then 'advised' Catalina to pack her luggage and leave, if she still had any pride left in her after 'losing' her matrimonial bed to another woman.

Sebastian returned to his shack in the morning and issued decrees that Catalina should never set eyes on Carmelo again, and that she should never be seen in the company of any man, even if it means she had to be indoors for the six months duration of the 'managed marriage'. Catalina agreed to these ridiculous 'decrees' as her sacrifice to prove to Sebastian that she truly loved him.

She begged him to give her another chance and that it was Emilia who brought the hat... He stopped her from mentioning or dragging Emilia's name into her affairs with Carmelo. He wondered aloud what would he find under the bed, next time, if he gave her another chance, as she requested? While the couple was eating, Lupe came to warn Catalina not to drag the name of his 'son' Carmelo into her immoral acts. Catalina broke down crying, Sebastian did not refute or defend her.

Carmelo too succeeded in manipulating the sympathetic feelings of Lupe, by pestering him by his frustrating search for his unknown father. He told him how his new role as his acting son had put him to ridicule in town as everyone calls him a bastard and an usurper.

Lupe comforted him and assured him that he would give him the love of a father and would shower him with affections and also announce to the whole village that he would henceforth be treating Carmelo as if he were his son.

This foolish decision of Lupe, thrilled Carmelo and he ran about town boasting to every hear that cared to listen to him that Lupe would soon announce to the whole village and publicly acknowledge him as his son! Lupe also dragged Sebastian to come and apologize to Carmelo for falsely accusing him of having an affair with Catalina.

The "Association of Greedy and Vain Opportunists" (A.G.V.O) led by their chairperson, Adela Negrete, took decision to invade the ranch for their selfish motives. Eduardo lied to Silvia that he was going to another city called Guadalajara, but drove Adela and Ricardo to the ranch in his sports car, hoping to woo Catalina, Ricardo hoping to woo Martina and Adela hoping to collect more money from Carmelo for Catalina's sake (LOL).

Antoniete's joy was cut short. She happily reminded Emilia of their secret pact to give her the baby of Sebastian so she could raise the boy to hate Lupe. Emilia confessed to her that nothing happened between Sebastian and her because he slept like a log of wood all night on her bed. Antoniete warned her that if she (Emilia) did not bring back any result, she would switch camp to Catalina.

Martina and Romero went to meet Father Geronimo in an attept to find solution to their strained relationship. on listening to how martina described her 'great' romantic feelings for Ricardo when he kissed her, Romero was nauseated and walked away for fresh and unpolluted air.

While there, Adela and her AGVO team-mates arrived in Eduardo's car. As Adela stepped into the mansion, Rufina chased her away, saying she would not have the courtesy she enjoyed the last time, because the owner Lupe, is around and hated her guts. Adela went straight to Sebastian's hovel to see Catalina, while Ricardo and Eduardo rented a room at the hotel in town.

JLo vs. Beyonce: Two of a kind

I was roving through the blogosphere (for a change, from telenovela overdose), and I got these two foremost female artists (Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce Knowles), being put to a comparative election on who wore her earrings better by Terry, on Kineda's Blog .

The voting is on, and you can dash there to cast your vote, but I am also conducting a poll for these two stellar sisters, on who is more beautiful.

Because of my Telenovela traffic before mid week, the poll would only be for 3 days, closing by Wednesday 8.a.m GMT. 1st August, 2007.

If you are undecided, you can choose the third option that rated them equal. These should serve to let off some telenovela steam before resumption.

Site Map: Catalina y Sebastian- Full Story (How To Read It)

It is my pleasure to present to you the complete snippets or full story of Catalina y Sebastian telenovela. This sitemap of the summaries would afford you the ease of navigation from episode to episode. I hope to constantly update it up to the grand finale- episode 120.
Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Love Quandary, Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12, Lonely, ..., Episode 13, Episode 14, Episode 15, Episode 16, Episode 17, Episode 18, Angelina Catalina, Episode 19, Episode 20, 21, 22, 23,...., Episode 29, Episode 30, Episode 31, Episode 32, Episode 33, Episode 34, Episode 35, Episode 36, Foolish Virgin, Kill and Carry, Honeymoon Lie, Lover or Viper?, Fortunate By Hatred, Catalina or Nothing, Katakata, Snippet 44, Snippet 45, Snippet 46, Snippet 47, Prelude 1 To Grand Finale, Prelude 2 To Grand Finale, ...

Set Back For Catalina

Even when Catalina told Sebastian that it was Emilia who brought the strange hat, Sebastian told her that the hat belonged to Carmelo, and how could it be Emilia's. When he got to the cantona, he told Panchito and Romero that Catalina was having an affair with Carmelo, that was why he chose to drown himself in alcoholic beverage.

By the time Catalina went to the Cantina to check on Sabastian, she was shocked to find him in the company of Emilia who was "consoling" him. Then, she realized that Emilia had played another of her unending evil tricks on her.

Later when Lupe saw him he reported Carmelo to Lupe, telling him that Carmelo was having a secret love affair with his wife, Catalina. Lupe disagreed and blindly defended Carmelo, saying, Carmelo was a good man and would never do such things.

Another drama occurred when Emilia went to the mansion and met Jessica with her grandfather, Don Chuco, the old attorney and friend of Don Lupe. In a jealous rage, Emilia challenged Jessica and accused her of always running after Sebastian. Jessica mocked and lambasted Emilia, saying that it was a pitiable state for Emilia because Sebastian would never give her a chance.

Because of the latest rejection of Antoniete by Lupe, she changed her plans, saying that Catalina might be her best bet to hit at Lupe, since Carmelo and Emilia are fast becoming community albatross on her neck.

The Hat of Trouble

I am afraid that Emilia's evil devices against Catalina would have no end. Her latest plot to scatter the marriage of Catalina and Sebastian involved Carmelo. She asked Carmelo to lend her his trademark hat, and assured him that he would soon witness the destruction of Catalina.

Antoniete was cowed by the threat of Petra, she had to quickly soft-pedaled and changed her tactics with Lupe, though her goal was still the same.

She approached Lupe and offered him her hands of fellowship and cooperation. She proposed to Lupe to marry her, so they could live together for the rest of their lives as a loving couple. As usual Lupe rejected her, for the same reason he had always spurned her over the years: that she was a woman of easy virtues with a hideous past, just like his late wife, Matilda. He reminded her of her past evil tricks when she conjured up a pregnancy lie against him in order to trap him into marrying her. He walked her out of his ranch.

A tensed and troubled meeting of the three old maids (Josefa, Rufina and Petra), took place to review and investigate the latest happenings. Petra, the custodian of secrets, briefed the meeting why she went to threaten Antoniete with exposure and revelation of her living son. The purpose was to make Antoniete leave Lupe alone. Petra refused to disclose the secret son of Antoniete to them.

Catalina plastered Sebastian with sweet and tender kisses. She declared her sincere and unadulterated love for him. He doubted her sincere love, telling her that her kisses were a lie. She begged him to let the two of them go far away to live their life, apart from the adversaries that encamp around them.

The two lovers, entangled, began again and with fervor, ... landed on the bed, and ..., this time, they were on the verge of love-making, for the first time, but were interrupted by Panchito who came to knock their door, telling Sebastian that Lupe needs his attention.

That conjugal encounter was not to be, despite the promise of a wonderful romantic reschedule. Catalina began in earnest to prepare for the wonderful night of romantic encounter, her first true night! She went to church to thank the Blessed Virgin for the reconciliation between Sebastian and herself.

As she came out of the Cathedral, she saw and overheard the three old maids, one of them was asking the other to disclose who the secret son of Antoniete was. She was shocked to learn that Antoniete had a secret son.

Emilia swung into action and went to meet Catalina at home, as Catalina proudly told her to leave her alone because she had (FINALLY?) settled and reconciled with her husband Sebastian. In a moment of careless joy, Catalina left the room to pick some things, before she returned, the serpent (Emilia) planted the hat of Carmelo in the "matrimonial garden" (under the bed).

By the time Sebastine returned in the night, very eager and excited. Catalina invited him to eat his dinner, but he romantically replied her that she would be his dinner. They began kissing and as they reached the bed, he stood up to reposition himself, only to see Carmelo's hat under the bed.

That was how their romance and reconciliation night was brought to a sorrowful and dramatic end. He demanded to know how Carmelo's hat got under his bed. Catalina was shocked and lost for words because she too did not know how the strange hat of trouble found its way to the under-bed. He stormed out of the house and went to get drunk at the Cantina.

Vanity boy, Ricardo, went to lobby Eduardo to carry him with his car to the ranch, while he was doing that Silvia arrived, and Eduardo in panic, requested Ricardo to hide in the store. Patricia, Silvia's friend however saw the tricks and challenged Eduardo for hiding his secret lover, (a blond? woman?), in the store.

The Confusionist Game

Antonieta was playing games with the life of Don Guadalupe. Petra came to warn her that, if she doesn't stop inciting Carmelo to search for a non-existent proof that he (Carmelo), was the son of Lupe, she threatened to expose her to the whole village that, she had a son and he is living.

By the time Martina and Lupe arrived back at the ranch, her attitude had changed towards her boyfriend- Romero. This sent Romero into a state of sorrow, and he went to the bar to get drunk. He already suspected that vanity boy, Ricardo, must have deceived Martina during her trip to the city.

Lupe also confessed to Sebastian that Catalina was specially kind and courteous with him while he was at the city.

Martina asked Sebastian to advice her on how to recognize when one is truly in love. Sebastian asked her to tell him why she was interested in such sensitive subject. She confessed to him that Ricardo kissed her when she was in Mexico city, and she had an irresistible feelings for him, but did not know if that was love. Sebastian warned her that Ricardo is the worst in the Negrete family and should not toy with him. He advised that Romero is a cool, affectionate and responsible guy. Notwithstanding all these counsels, Martina later called Romero and broke up with him. Romantic Romero was stunned!

Adela was disappointed to learn that Catalina had traveled to the ranch to meet Sebastian. She told Gustavo that she had sealed a deal with Carmelo, and Catalina has only spoiled the deal by returning to live with Sebastian in the Ranch. Ricardo however comforted her by telling her that rich ignorant girl, Martina, had fallen in love with him.

When Carmelo heard that Catalina had returned to the ranch, he rushed to the foreman's hut to charm her. He was more gentle and pretended that he only wanted to be her friend. He lied to her that Sebastian was a drunken brute and she would soon discover that he was a drunkard and would abuse her. Sebastian was furious to see Carmelo chatting happily with his wife. He indicted her that she could not do without the companionship of any man. If it is not Eduardo yesterday, it would be Carmelo today, and who next, tomorrow?

Having sown confusion and distrust, Carmelo left the couple to slug it out. Sebastian chose to sleep on the couch while he asked her to sleep on the bed. While he pretended to have slept, Catalina woke up and began to weep, saying that he should forgive him for her past mistake. She poured out her sorrows and frustrations, talking to herself, over her unreciprocated love for him. Later the next day, Sebastian went to warn and forbid Carmelo from coming to the shack or chatting with his wife.

Emilia was offended because Carmelo insulted her, and she responded that she was going to 'spoil' Carmelo's enjoyment by going straight to Catalina to tell her the truth that, Sebastian was the true son of Lupe and that she was only being tested. Would she carry out the threat? Next episode would determine that!

Revived from the Shadows of Death...

The virtues of Catalina as an industrious and caring lady with compassion and conscience has begun to emerge, even to the confusion and consternation of her skeptics. As Lupe fainted and collapse on the floor, Catalina took charge and began to roll out instructions for first-aids, to the two girls - Martina and Luisa.

Catalina succeeded in reviving the old man from the shadow of death. By the time the physician arrived and diagnosed Lupe. He announced to him that, he just suffered a bout of heart attack and would need total rest, until comprehensive medical attention is administered on him.

He protested, saying he does not want to spend the night in the house of those whom he did not trust (referring to Catalina and her family). All the courtesy extended to him by Catalina were rejected or reluctantly accepted by him. He and Martina wrongly believed that she was a phony 'actress', trying to be to be nice to them. He bluntly told her that the only thing that would make him better is if he she leaves Sebastian alone by divorce.

Catalina overheard Martina and Luisa hotly arguing in the living room. Martina accused Luisa that her sister (Catalina) of witchcraft for having done something to Sebastian, because Sebastian is still madly in love with Catalina, despite all what Lupe had done to separate them. This was sweet music and great news to the ears of Catalina, she began to make up her mind to travel to go and join her husband (for the third time), in the ranch.

Adela the leach was having great funfair at the ranch because of the exquisite reception given her by creepy and cruel Carmelo. When Sebastian arrived in the ranch, he was told by Romero that Adela was being given grand reception in the mansion by Carmelo. Sebastine stormed out of the Cantina to confront and order Adela the greedy parasite out.

Carmelo came to challenge Sebastian, telling him that in the absence of "his" father, Lupe, only him- the "son" Carmelo, is in charge, and Sebastian should not embarrass his guest (Adela) anymore. Sebastian had to 'step-down' to avoid uncovering the secret plans he had.

Ricardo performed some romantic city-magic (kisses and neckings), on Martina at the penthouse, and suddenly, Martina was swimming in cloud nine, she even told Lupe to relax and spend as much days as possible at the penthouse. Lupe was confused by the sudden change of attitude by Martina, who had been very antagonistic to the Negretes, but now friendly and relaxed.

Carmelo's confidence has grown so much that he even confronted Sebastian in the kitchen that he (Carmelo), is the real and true son of Lupe. Sebastian was mad with irritation but was caged by his own ridiculous identity change and six months test for Catalina.

Meanwhile, rumors began to fly around that Carmelo was keeping Antonete as his mistress because people see him going in and coming out of her house at odd midnight hours. The truth however was that Carmelo did not want his conspiracy with Antonete to be known by anybody, including Adela, that was why he night-crawls to have meetings with Antonete. By the time Adela left the ranch, Carmelo gave her loads of money to help him woo Catalina.

Sebastian became hungry and dared not go into the main house to eat, because he doesn't want Adela to know that he was the true son of Lupe. Suddenly the aroma of a sumptuous meal being cooked penetrated his nostrils and he followed the direction which eventually led him to Carmelo's former shack where he Sebastian, now lives. He was astonished when he entered to find Catalina in the kitchen cooking his food.

Before Sebastian began to challenge her for her surprise appearance, she told him that as his wife, her place is by his side and not at the city. she also explined the evil tricks of Emilia assuring him that the encounter at the restaurant was a trap set by Emilia for Eduardo and her.

Petra took courage and came to confront Antonete with the ugly secret she had ran away from for over 30 years. That her son is alive and not dead, and would soon show up!

(Remember Antonete had paid a handsome money to Petra, some 30 years ago to help her drown her newly born baby-boy in a remote river. Petra wisely took the money but disobeyed the evil agenda to kill that son. She raised the son, lying to all around her that the boy was her unknown sister's son. I wont be surprised if Carmelo was that bastard son).

Trapped!

When a friend described telenovelas as an escape from reality, I was offended because, I thought otherwise. Telenovelas hold so much lessons of life for many a gullible fellow amongst us.

Yesternite, Catalina fell so badly for the tricks of her mortal foe, Emilia. Even when vanity boy (Ricardo) warned her that Emilia would never be good enough to surrender Sebastian to her on a platter of gold. She despised Ricardo and was blinded by her emotions for Sebastian. She was beyond reasoning. She headed straight for the appointed 'meeting' with a 'defeated' Emilia at a restaurant.

My husband asked me why didn't Catalina meet her enemy on her own terms and at her own ground, and not at a venue dictated by her enemy? I answered that was why it was called telenovela. He laughed and said "tele-la-suspense"!

Having cunningly set up Eduardo, Catalina and Sebastian to meet at the restaurant, Emilia withdrew to Sebastian's apartment to await the uproar. While waiting there, Don Lupe and Martina arrived and found her there.

Emilia told them that Catalina had been cheating on Sebastian in Mexico city by secretly dating Eduardo. She told them that Sebastian had gone to the meeting place to catch them in the act. She convinced them she was only in Mexico to help Sebastian expose the slut Catalina.

As soon as Sebastian was well seated at the restaurant, Eduardo strolled in and Catalina also walked in, looking out for Emilia. In rage, Sebastian went to them saying he does not need any more proofs that they were cheating on him. He stormed out of the restaurant.

Eduardo tried unsuccessfully to convince Catalina to forget about Sebastian, but she confessed to him that her love for Sebastine: is irrevocable and irreversible!

Adela was able to travel to the ranch with the 1,000 Pesos alms given to her by Kiki. Carmelo who had been very cruel to all the workers in the ranch since Lupe handed over to him and traveled to Mexico. He was happy with the arrival of Adela, who told him to sack Sebastian because the 'foreman' was refusing to give Catalina a divorce so that she could come to marry Carmelo.

Emilia announced to Lupe and Martina that Sebastian has finally caught up with his cheating wife in the arms of Eduardo, and has been terribly disappointed. He and Martina decided they would go to the Penthouse to comfort Sebastian.

Catalina met Emilia, and before she could open her mouth, Catalina gave her a whopping slap on the face, hot enough to knock her to the floor like dead! Catalina told her that was for setting her up in a trap with Eduardo to provoke an uproar between Sebastian and her.

Emilia had to go straight to the gym to work on her physique because of the unbelievable strength of Catalina. Sh was hoping to retaliate and beat Catalina in the nearest future.

Catalina arrived at the penthouse and met Sebastian on his way out. He told her that he was on his way to the ranch for a few days, away from her betrayal, and warned her that if she dates Eduardo again behind him, he would testify against Gustavo in court for owing him too.

As Lupe knocked on the door of the Penthouse, Catalina opened it and was surprised to see Lupe and Martina there. Catalina told them that Sebastian just left for the Ranch. As Lupe, in anger, began to scold Catalina for making his 'foreman' unhappy with her unfaithful behavior, he crashed to the floor and fainted.

Angelina Catalina!

The drama of Catalina y Sebastian is now accentuated by the spasm of emotional force that binds the two lovers together despite the stirred hatred between them. Catalina loungs for affection and tender love. She strongly suspected that Sebastian possessed the reservoir to quench her passionate lounging for love and protection.

She sought him out, when she learnt that he was in the city. She appeared like an angel in his trobuled soul, and begged him to 'take' her. "... make me a woman", that was her desperate soul cry to Sebastian.

Sebastian was ready to do everything and anything but have sex with her! He had initially thought she was a slut and a cheat, because of the background of her wayward family, presided over by 'Queen' Adela. She however defended her virtue and morality, saying that no man has ever slept with her! This confident declaration about her unblemished virginity stirred up, and tormented Sebastian's emotional curiosity.

Time, (and not sex), is what Sebastian needed to really proof the virtues of Catalina. AndTime, is what all his enemies would not give him. The conspirators were determined to abort this 'made-from-heaven' relationship.

The telenovela script was slightly compromised yesterday, when Sebastian, a self-professed poor foreman bought off the Negrette penthouse in order to impress (punish?) his wife and her family. Unfortunately Catalina was not moved by such financial braggadocio. er angelic soul does not crave for material luxury, as Sebastine seems to have misunderstood her.

The desperation of Sebastian has blinded him to the inestimable moral wealth of angel Catalina, whom he still did not know well. It seems like he is now trying to get his bruised ego mollified. He has missed the point entirely. He is no longer pursuing love (because love forgives), it has become an ego battle, which he wants to win, at all financial cost. What do you think?

I have added more episodes in our journey to complete the full story of Catalina y Sebastian- Episode 13, Episode 14, Episode 15, Episode 16, Episode 17, Episode 18, ...

We won't tire out in the effort to complete the full story of Catalina y Sebastian. The best answer to our articulate and statistical skeptics is to churn out and pump up more of these telenovela episodes for the entertainment of our fans.

Happy Novela-tainment!

El Cuerpo del Deseo (Second Chance)

When an old, stupendously wealthy septuagenarian 'falls' in love with an ambitious and calculating girl, old enough to be his daughter, then it is as good for that man as falling into his sudden grave.

That is exactly what happened in the latest and current Telenovela which debuted in Nigeria last night on Galaxy Television. (Monday to Wednesday 8:30-9:30 p.m.)

This is to welcome "El Cuerpo del Deseo" telenovela, I wonder why they call it SECOND CHANCE (because that was not the English translation). It actually means- "The Body of Desire". For those mystics who believe in reincarnation, this soap opera produced by Telemundo, would be a salacious feast.

Led by Mexican telenovela icon, Andrés García, popular actor Mario Cimarro, actress Lorena Rojas and Martín Karpan.

The first episode showed Don Pedro Jose Donoso as he woke up from a recurring nightmare. Always seeing a young, muscular peasant (Salvador), hard-working on a farm, in his dreams.

His butler (Walter), woke him to remind him that today was his wedding to his former secretary (Isabel Arroyo). His spiritual and psychic consultant (Gayétana), stormed into his dressing room to warn him not to proceed with that wedding because he was about to be joined with a venomous serpent.

He disagreed with Gayétana, and broke off relationship with the spiritualist, paying her off. To almost everybody around, they knew this 'marriage' would be the worst mistake of Don Pedro.

Angela, his only daughter, described by many as wild, bitter, rebellious and, truly beautiful (like her late mother- Catalina), was speeding home from Europe, to stop or dissuade her father, Don Pedro, from marrying a gold-digging bitch. Pedro had written to Angela that he wanted the marriage to quench old-age loneliness. He saw Isabel as a young talented executive in his company. He described her a sincere and selfless, who want nothing but moral support from him. (Perfect deception!).

By the time Angela arrived, the wedding had been concluded, she met them at the reception. Angela declared an implacable war upon being introduced by her father to Isabel. She said that Isabel cannot replace her mother because she is phony, and cannot be her step-mother.

At the reception, some of the co-workers of Isabel, led by Liborio, acknowledged her extreme beauty and extreme cunning, saying she married the old man for his money. Andrés the secret plotter and lover of Isabel, was offended and lambasted them for their gossips. He was the general manager of the conglomerate and personal assistant (Right-hand man) of Don Pedro.

As argument became hotter between Pedro and Angela, she broke off all relationship with her father, saying: "... forget you ever had a daughter", and walked down the stairs. Pedro could not bear the renunciation by his daughter, he ran after her, calling her name, in the process, he suffered another round of heart-attack, and fell to the grave, ... sorry..., to the ground, and was rushed by an Ambulance to the hospital, where he recovered two days later.

While he was recuperating in the hospital, his new 'wife' was rampaging in an orgy of sexual escapades with her ambitious and equally ruthless lover, in the factory..., right on the table improvised as a bed, in the office of the general manager. What a way to manage honeymoon for for a convalescing boss and husband.

This telenovela promises to be a burster because it the latest, less than two years old. It is a 155 episode soapie. I can already see other popular faces like Ana Silvetti a.k.a Abigail the house-keeper. She played the role of the god-mother of Rebeca and Martin in "REBECA" telenovela and also the mother of Antonio Rodolfo in La Mujer de Mi Vida (The Woman of My Life).

For those of us who would want to read the full story el cuerpo del deseo (second chance), from here till the end, as I update them, please go to: my new, improved MEGA Telenovela Love Stories Blog.

Happy Novelatainment!

Lonely, Lounging and Loving

Catalina has surely been boxed into a corner. She is alone in this world, and nobody seems to understand her. She is currently in a state of "O-Y-O" (On-Your-Own). The reasons are not far-fetched.

Emotionally injured and humiliated by Sebastian, her husband, passionately hated by Emilia, her arch rival, sexually harassed by Carmelo, the greedy usurper, gravely misunderstood by Guadalupe, her rich father-in-law, constantly ridiculed by Martina, her incensed sister-in-law, happily manipulated by Adela, her mom and her family, selfishly betrayed by Gustavo, her weakling of a father, belligerently cursed by Silvia, wife of her former lover, massively maligned by the villagers and ranchers in Hacienda, regularly haunted, hunted and heckled by Eduardo, her former lover, studiously observed and gradually adored from the distance, by the workers and ranch servants. Carefully plotted against by Jessica, a spoilt and envious competing upstart.

This is the lot of actress Silvia Navarro, a.k.a "Catalina" in this telenovela. The only people who seem to empathize with her is the couple of Alicia and Luis, her best friend and romantic partner. The most important and 7 quick lessons (there are more, but these are my quick takes), I have learnt and would propagate about the life of this wonderful but innocent girl is that:

1. Never Submit the Rudder of Your Ship to your emotions;
2. Learn to be self-independent (Alicia did that successfully);
3. Never go to sleep on the false and borrowed bed of parental comfort;
4. Be humble enough to admit your errors, even if you were misled into them by others;
5. Be a reflective and discerning thinker (she would have uncovered and passed the test, if she had sat and thought through the sequence of events since she met Sabastian).
6. Once you identify an implacable deceiver, cut off association with such, otherwise, you risk smearing or losing your hard-won reputation.
7. True Love is a tender teacher, enroll and patiently learn from her school. Ensure you graduate from that school before going into any marriage.

I have posted more episodes after the first eight, which I published yesterday, check them out: Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12,

I am not as fast as I had projected though, but I am learning to gain momentum, which hopefully would and is improving with time, just let us tele-tag along.

Thanks to you all, for your positive commentaries and encouragement on this telenovela revival. I believe that we would attain and surpass our March 2007 peak, as we mark the first anniversary of this telenovela blog next month- August 2007! I blow you all a telenovela kiss!

Catalina In a Love Quandary

Torn between the devil and the deep blue sea. What a precarious and pitiable situation for a young 20-year old girl. That was the picture of telenovela actress, Silvia Navarro alias Catalina. Yesternite, episode 23 portrayed her as more confused than ever.

She could not choose whether to follow her hyena family back to Mexico or stay put with insolent Sebastian and fight to prove to him her true love for him. Her problem is so much that I personally felt she needed a heavy-duty caterpillar vehicle to cart them out of her way.

There have been much clamor for the FULL STORY of Catalina y Sebastian. That would take much editing and free occupation for the next ten days, at the rate of 10 snippets per day. That is possible and I am already working on it. Let's start today and see if I can post ten, i.e in the next 24 hours, PHCN not withstanding.

I tested the waters yesterday by posting Episode 7, which we have watched some two weeks ago. Let's proceed to episode 8, and see if we can attain up episode 17 by 12 noon tomorrow.

====================U P D A T E===================

These are the first eight episodes which I have posted so far:
Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8

Kiki To The Rescue!

Panchito came to the rescue of Gustavo as Petra insisted that Gustavo could not live with her being a single woman. She admitted that Gustavo was permitted during the last time because he came in company of his family. Panchito took him to rent a cheap hostel in town for his hibernation.

Adela received a surprised visit at Alicia's apartment from Kiki, who bluntly told her that she had found out that they were being hotly chased about by creditors. She said, for Adela's children's sake, her lawyer husband is willing to help and defend Gustavo in court from being imprisoned by the creditors.

Adela and her son, Ricardo, thanked Kiki and promised to bring back Gustavo from his hiding place. The two proceeded immediately to the ranch to fetch Gustavo. On getting to the ranch, they met a festive mood of the carnival dance in the village. Gustavo burst into samba dance at the good news of Kiki's offer to rescue him through her lawyer husband from jail.

Antonete hijacked Gustavo for a dance but Adela quickly snatched her husband back from her and called her an old and ugly woman.

Silvia and Eduardo too showed up at the village carnival. All hell broke loose when Sebastian saw them. He accused Catalina of having secretly invited Eduardo to the party. Emilia approached them and invited Sebastian for a dance. Catalina warned Eduardo that if he accepts to dance with that b*tch, she too would go to dance with Eduardo.

Carmelo dissolved the tension by inviting Catalina to dance with him. Emilia quickly took advantage of that vacuum to dance with Catalina. This was however short-lived when Sebastian saw Carmelo roughly and lustfully clinging to Catalina. He broke up Carmelo's amorous grip on his wife.

Silvia got jealous when Eduardo would not kiss her in the presence of Catalina, like Sebastian was doing to his own wife. She walked out in anger, and drove out of the village leaving him stranded. At that moment Catalina got tired and decided to walk home. A stranded Eduardo saw her and dragged her to a dark corner to chat with her.

By the time Sebastian appeared at the dark spot and saw them together, he went into his fit of anger, insulted Catalina by calling her an unfaithful and cheating slut. He was fighting Eduardo when Silvia returned to pick her hubby.

When they got home, fight broke up between Catalina and Sebastien and she ran away into the night. She eventually took refuge in Antonete's house.

Beginning of trauma

Romantic Catalina did not prepare for the consequence of he 'punishment' which she eagerly and voluntarily accepted. reality however banged her on the head when Sebastian practically turned her to a matrimonial slave, and made the 'marriage' a labor camp for her.

What more he taunted and stirred up her emotions in bed every night, only to abruptly 'switch off' for her to crash-land. This is nothing but pure torture! Her bad of roses was turned into a bed of torture!

To crown the indignity, "creepy Carmelo" (as my sister would call him), barged in on her and even attempted to forcefully seduce her, but her moral stake was too high for Carmelo to scale.

The news of the return of Catalina was like the story of 'Superman Returns' or the return of the Spiderman. It caused earthquakes in the ranch. Antoniete, Emilia, Guadalupe, Martina was all amazed by her courage to return into the 'stinking town', much less for the next six months!

Sebastian found out that Gustavo was the one who brought her and he wanted to hibernate in the ranch for a while until the hot chase after him by creditors cool down in the city. Sebastian mocked him for running away from his debts, and told him to find another tabernacle in the ranch, because he cannot accommodate his father-in-law.

Martina was happy to meet muscular Luis who brought Catalina she became friendly because she was impressed with his bulging muscles. Romero was on edge and demanded that Luis should leave town because city guys are a threat to the peace and tranquility of the village.

Sebastian and Catalina had another round of altercation and he got furious, walking out on her. He went to get himself drunk at the beer parlor (Cantina). Emilia found him and offered to spend the night with him but he rejected her. He slept out of his matrimonial home that night.

HUMBLED: Yes, I Surrender!

Carmelo swung into action and grabbed the second opportunity to become the acting son of Lupe. He even secretly vowed to his friend, Carmelo, that he would never give up this new position, never again!

Eduardo learned that Catalina and her family were stranded in the ranch, he volunteered to follow Luis to the ranch to bring back Catalina to the city. He was already dreaming of divorcing Silvia and taking away the gift of the gym. Then, he would go ahead and marry Catalina. (Great dreams).

A mild drama ensued at the ranch when Eduardo in company of Luis arrived to pick Catalina and family back to the city. Sebastian was so jealous and furious that he almost fought with Eduardo.

Adela the opportunist suddenly became friendly with Eduardo, thinking like a woman of easy virtue that she was, that Eduardo's new sports car was won through a lottery.

Martina in her folly, apologized to Emilia and now vowed that she would help her to woo, win and conquer her brother Sebastian, because Catalina was bad news for him. Emilia embraced and thank her for swinging to her side now.

On arrival in the city, (at Alicia's house), a sense of nostalgia overwhelmed Catalina. She missed Sebastian and could not bear being far way from him, despite the misunderstandings between them. She called her father and begged him to take her back to Sebastine's ranch because she was ready to fulfill the 'tall' conditions of 6-months service as Sebastian's wife.

As soon as Adela and her son, Richardo went to the penthouse, Gustavo begged Luis to take him and his daughter, Catalina back to the ranch.

Sebastian was brooding inside Carmelo's shack, wondering if he could cope without the presence of Catalina in his life when suddenly she appeared and announced that she has returned to accept to serve him as his wife for 6 months. It was like an accused annoucing that she accepted the sentence of the judge, in a court of law.

It was a secret mixture of joy and apprehension to see Catalina back so suddenly in his life. He sincerely asked her if she understood the terms of her return, which he clearly interpreted to her to also mean conjugal submission. She said Yes, she understood.

From gossips amongst the old maids, a thread was picked by one of them that Antonete had given Petra a large some of money, sometime in the distant past, to help her carry ourt a secret mission, which to this day, was unknown to both Rufina and even, Josepha- the old maid of Antonete.

Just Say "Amen!"

My dear telenovela friend, Nneka Obi, sent me this amongst many mails I received this Monday. It fits perfectly well with the spirit of the season. The fresh anointing for perfection. I love it and that is why I wish to share it with you.

It is a viral prayer letter being sent round the web by people all over the world from Dubai to U.K, to China, etc. It has a 'lifting' effect on my spirit, and could even be used as a daily prophecy you proclaim every day to motivate yourselves for optimum accomplishments as we enter the second-half 'match' in the game of 2007. Thanks Nneka for this, I love it...

All you have to do is personalize it by changing the 'you' into- I ... I ... I, then you would radiate robust confidence of a king or queen rising up from his or her throne, to issue decrees from the palace, and which every subject, in this case, (situations and circumstances) must comply with.

JUST SAY "AMEN!"
Because you will see the invisible , you will do
the impossible ...

Because you will touch the intangible you will
achieve the incredible....

Because you will hear the inaudible, you will
have the unimaginable ....

Because of you, your family will not know
poverty. You will go in and out of your house in
peace....

Violence and crying of sorrow shall not be heard in your camp...

Because you are God's Idea and God cannot fail, you shall not fail this year...

Favor shall overwhelm your endeavors
You shall not struggle to be recognized...

Your gift shall announce you...

You are entitled to daily fruitfulness...

Every darkness in your life shall give way to the light of God...

All your lack will give way to abundance...

The rejected shall become the selected...

People shall hear your testimonies and follow you to God...

In everything you do, you will succeed. ..

By the time this 2007 ends, you will look
back with joy; and ahead with great
expectations...

You will take charge of your life as you master
your time ...

You will discover how to maximize your time and add value to it ...

You will become the star of your family
and the hope of your generation...

Because you know where you are going,
the whole world will step aside and follow
you...

May you find favor with God and men...

May you grow in wisdom and stature ...

May you walk in dominion over every circumstance and situation...

For the remaining part of the year 2007, never forget to:
Act as if it were impossible to fail ..

Because for people like you and me,
the word failure does not exist...

Your success is non-negotiable ...

This will be the greatest year of your life and the beginning of unprecedented success in your life!

Those who laughed at you before shall come to laugh with you...

However bad it has been with you till this point, you shall from henceforth enter into the rest and;

God shall take you to the place of your
greatness and destiny.

You shall have visions that are clear ,
virtues that are right and victory that is
certain...

You are blessed beyond curse, raised above terror and established beyond oppression...

You shall not lack counsel and ideas...

You shall have eyes that see, ears that hear and a heart that understands...

In place of breakdown you shall have
breakthrough; In confusion, you shall be
enlightened; and in weakness, you shall be
strengthened...

There shall be for you beauty in place of ashes, the oil of gladness in place of spirit of
heaviness...

Every closed door against your goodness, greatness and destiny shall open of their own accord...

You shall be instructed and illuminated within by the Spirit of God...

You shall do the right thing at the right time...

You shall rise above every obstacle and be carried on the wings of eagle...

God will remember you for good...

You shall fulfill and not frustrate destiny...

GOD shall continually dwell in you...

AND MAY YOU FIND THE HEART TO SEND THIS PRAYER TO
THOSE YOU HOLD DEAR.....

"Serve Me For Six Months"

A big quarrel broke out the next day between Martina and Emilia on the one hand, and Catalina and Luisa on the other hand. Martina called them unprintable names for deceiving her brother(?). Catalina and sister were confused, wondering how the foreman be a brother to the daughter of Guadalupe.

Two strange women, Antonete and Emilia sealed their agreement with an understanding to get Sebastian to impregnate Emilia, now that Catalina has supposedly been taken out of the way.

The Negrete family were afraid to return to their debt-ridden penthouse in Mexico. Creditors were awaiting them, to put Gustavo into jail for multiple loan defaults. Alicia offered her flat as a refuge for them, Adela characteristically despised the offer, but in the absence of alternatives, she swallowed her pride and accepted to hide for a while in Alicia's until the atmosphere is cool.

Emilia started intense lobby and wooing of Sebastine. At last, Sebastian came out of his huge depression and addressed Catalina with the terms of divorce settlement: " ... SERVE ME FOR SIX MONTHS AS MY WIFE, FULFILLING YOUR OBLIGATIONS AND I WOULD GIVE YOU YOUR FREEDOM AND DIVORCE AFTERWARDS!"

Sebastian went round the town to warn everybody to cooperate with him by maintaining the lie that he was don Lupe's son.

Time of repentance has come and Catalina went to the prayer altar. When the priest questioned her about what was bugging her, she confessed that it was her parents who wanted Sebastian's money and she cooperated with their evil plan and lies. She however told the man of God that, she has genuinely fallen in love with Sebastian. She was afraid Sebastian would not believe her.

STRANDED!

Sebastian was grossly disappointed to realize that Catalina and her family deceived him. He angrily walked away from the wedding ceremony. As the Negrete family tried to leave the 'stinking village' there told by their foe, Emilia that she had sent the Limousine driver to leave without them, they were astonished to find out that they were stranded.

Emilia made sure, with the help of Carmelo, that no room the only hotel in town was made available for the Negretes. When they arrived there, the manager told them that all rooms were fully booked and no vacancy.

Catalina angrily walked out on her family and headed for the woods, Alicia followed in her footsteps. They got lost in the forest and stumbled on a grieving Sebastine. It was a bitter encounter as Catalina demanded for Divorce and Sebastian vowed to to give her a divorce easily. He left her in the forest and walked out. It was old Panchito who led her out of the forest and took her to the church where she got a refuge for the night.

Petra came to the rescue of the wandering, humiliated and stranded Negrete family. She took them to spend the night in her shack. Adela in her vanity despised the house of Petra, calling it below standard. Gustavo was humble and grateful enough for the refuge.

Sebastian apologized to Lupe for for not having believed in his 'wisdom' which ultimately exposed the Negrete family and Catalina as gold-diggers, but he clearly stated that he was not ready to end the affairs with Catalina, and he would make her to pay a high prize for her treachery and deception.

Enter Jessica! Old family lawyer and friend of Lupe. His name is Chucho, he is that grandfather of this girl called Jessica. She too, like Emilia was obsessed with Sebastian. She was counting on her grandpa's influence as the Mendoza family lawyer, to woo or even trap Sebastian into a love tango with her.

Meanwhile in Mexico city, Silvia and Eduardo were finding it difficult to co-habit. Eduardo too felt stranded with Silvia with the departure of Catalina for the Sebastine Mendoza ranch. Luis, his friend told him that he has a "second chance" because the marriage of Catalina and Sebastian did not take place after all, from the gists supplied by Alicia from Hacienda. Eduardo was happy and began to plan to divorce Silvia, so that he could marry Catalina.

Renewed & Refilled- Tripple 7 Dimension

It is a great mystery what happened to me in the last three months (April to June). Energy depleted, enthusiasm sipped away, I wandered in a mental quandary. I trudged on because of my love for all the fans of this telenovela blog. I knew my telenovela output was wanning, but I was seemingly powerless to reverse it.

Today is a unique and special day, we are a privileged generation. The 7th day of the 7th month of the 7th year of this millennium is indeed a special day, as the New York Times recognized it. This day provided the answer to the much-sought revival for my telenovela journey, which was going down (in fact, I was operating at 20% of my normal telenovela output). I was re-fired, re-vitalized and re-invigorated. Now I shall move forward, having broken free from the telenovela stagnation that held me spellbound for the last quarter.

Thanks to all of you out there who would not give up. Many anonymous, many- my friends, Big sister Sharon Babs (I call her sweet mama), Omodesola, Bola, Afusat, Shirley, Olichin2002, Chams, Nnenna, Abbas, Newking, Aishat bt, 5Alive, and others too numerous to mention. let it be known by all who care that a fresh 7-7-7 anointing has lifted me out of that of the mental prison and I am free to do exploits now.

The Gardener's Daughter, though over-flogged, also re-emerged during my 'go-slow' season, on a local Television- LTV. All About Camila (Todo Sobre Camila), took off on another local station MBI T.V. Also the popular "SECOND CHANCE" (El Cuerpo del Deseo) is also about to kick off on Galaxy Television. Meanwhile, I am resuming Catalina y Sebastine. That is my priority debt to you and must be paid off.

The D(Disappointment)-Day!

At last, the D-day is here. It was a day of disappointment for the Negrete family. The whole of their plans went up in a puff. Right from the house, where they were confronted with a writ of summon from the court by creditors, who threaten to put Gustavo in jail for defaulting to pay his monumental debts.

Emilia was able to obtain an invitation to the wedding ceremony in church, from her friend, Martina. Antoniete attached herself to Emilia for the grand occasion.

Carmelo overheard Antoniete as she was mocking Lupe that he is not sure and could not bet the paternity of his children- Sebastian and Martina. This information later became an arsenal in the hands of Carmelo.

Carmelo later went to negotiate with Antonete to help him prove that Sebastian was not the true son of Lupe, because he believed he (Carmelo) was the true heir. Nothing goes for nothing, Antoniete laid down conditions for helping Carmelo: "Trouble and torment Lupe and I will tell you your true paternity!" This was a hard one for him to swallow.

Adela chattered a Limousine to carry the bridal family to the hacienda ranch. On arrival they were ushered into the unkempt hovel of Carmelo where they had a change of clothes. This was the premeditated plot to humiliate them. They all protested the treatment, but played along knowing that after the wedding they would be taken to the big Mendoza mansion.

Carmelo was instantly stunned by the angelic beauty of Catalina, he secretly fell in love with her immediately. He also stuck to the humiliation plot, as he drove the whole family on a pick-up truck to the church.

On arrival at the church, they were welcomed by Sebastian and Catalina chose the opportunity to greet and tell Lupe that she was pleased to meet her father-in-law. Guadalupe launched his own part of the 'love test' by 'correcting' her, saying that he was not Sebastian's father. He 'claimed' that Sebastian was only his foreman, and he only loved him as if he were his own son.

Catalina lost her balance and composure on hearing this. Sebastian quickly told her that he hid the 'truth' from her because he was afraid of loosing her love. He too corroborated the lie that, he was a foreman, ... then, all hell broke loose as Adela and Ricardo vehemently and stridently protested the deception...

The Duel For Love

Eduardo rushed to Catalina's house to acknowledge the love message which she 'sent' through her 'friend' Emilia. Catalina was shocked and denied ever being friend of Emilia. She told him that the so-called love message was a delusion, contrived from Emilia's scheming mind. She declared that her love for him had died and would never have anything to do with him. She practically threw Eduardo away from her house.

Emilia returned to the village, armed with proofs that Catalina was a gold-digger. She went to Antoniete's house to brief her of her city adventures. sebastian stormed Antoniete's place to severely warn Emilia to steer clear of his affairs with Catalina and stop stirring up trouble.

Antonietta comforted Sebastian and pretended to be friendly with him, telling him how close she was to his late mother, who was her 'best friend'.

Silvia perfected the documents for ownership transfer of the gym to Eduardo's name, with the smuggled clause of stripping him of ownership at the instance of divorce or separion from Silvia. Eduardo eagerly and greedily signed them without reading through (a case of cunning man die, cunning woman buried him).

Only Lupe and Sebastian were blind and deaf to the gossips about and of the desperate ambition of Carmelo. Even when the rumours of Carmelo's ambition filtered to them, they dismised it and simply attribute it to the lounging of an orphan for parental comfort, and, nothing more.

After Catalina told Sebastian of the the scheme of Emilia and Eduardo, he went to the gym to warn Eduardo to steer clear of his wife Catalina. this led to a jealous scuffle between both, it took Luis to separate them from a big fight. Eduardo tried to cast doubt into Sebastian's mind telling him that Catalina was a slut who made love wildly and passionately with him.

Prelude to the Altar

It was battle royale when Silvia told Eduardo that the the new gym which she purchased to buy his love, would be in her name. She told him that she had to do that because she doesn't want him running amok with Catalina, whom, by the way, she had just 'paid off' with a huge sum of money to disappear from Mexico.

Eduardo told her that Catalina was too decent to collect bribe from Silvia, and he stormed out of the house in anger.

Emilia was not done, she got to know that Catalina's parents swindled Silvia. She also gave a cunning counsel to Silvia. She told her to put Eduardo's name as the owner of the gym but add a clause that would make Eduardo to be stripped of ownership of the gym anytime he divorce him for any other woman. Silvia was exceedingly glad.

Emilia further went to Eduardo, stirring up trouble by lying to him that Catalina confided in her that she was still in love with him. Eduardo was not surprised and did not know that Emilia was playing and preying on his feelings for Catalina. He promised himself to visit Catalina to re-address their relationship.

Patricia, warned her best friend, Silvia, to stop her heavy spendings on Eduardo so she would not go bankrupt.

As the wedding of the season approached, Catalina, Sebastian and Adela went shopping for the wedding accessories and dresses for Martina too.

Carmelo's dreams were shattered at the breakfast table next day when he impulsively asked Guadalupe how he would share his estate in his will. Lupe simply told him that it was obvious, half to Sebastian, half to Martina. Carmelo was crestfallen and crept back into his cowardly hole.

At last Romero summoned courage and rushed to propose to Martina to be his girlfriend. He was afraid that if he did not do it now, some wise and sharp city guys coming for the Sebastian and Catalina wedding in the ranch, may take advantage to woo Martina, she said YES! to this age-long expected proposition of Romero.

Catalina was shocked to learn from Alicia that her parents had gone to swindle Silvia of a huge some of money, in the hope of making her to forget about Eduardo. She confronted them, but they apologized, saying they needed that money to prepare for her wedding.