Episode 45: Tasking The Thief to Safeguard Your Property

I ask for your forgiveness for not being around over the weekend to post friday's episode and our week 10 weekend review. Had to travel to Benin, (Mid-West or is it now South-South Nigeria), for a family function. I am back, safe and sound, I promise to make up for the ga..p this week. Love to all our "gardeners". I have a lot of very enlightened mails from several countries, including Nigeria, I hope to use next weekend to answer to the querries.
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Pedro showed us on Friday that there is a very thin line that divides virulent obsession and insanity. That episode also showed us that the telenovela of the gardener's daughter is all about a protracted battle between the "Manipulators" and the "Manipulated"! That is the broad categories that the actors are divided. Once in a while, a sprinkle of people defected to either side but that has not changed the color of this TV soap opera.

Pedro has swung fully to the side of the manipulators, he hides the truth of the root cause of his depression. many wrongly thought that it was the death of Amelia. Pedro has asecret lover (Suzana) of 10 years. He was not that much of a saint concerning his matrimonial wows to Amelia. His real problem was his OBSESSION with loosing L.F. to Luis Alejandro. His avowed hatred for Carlos was not because he double-dated L.F. and Jenny at the same time. His mortal fear was that Carlos is related to L.A. his mortal enemy, therefore Carlos must have nothing to do with L.F period!

He has assigned the Psychiatrist- Alfredo, to keep Carlos out of the hospital and prevent him from coming near Luisa Fernanda , by every means possible. What an unusual candidate for an unusual assignment. Alfredo is after L.F and want to marry her. His only obstacle to that ambition is CARLOS EDUARDO! With this new assignment Pedro has only succeeded in adding petrol into fire. Love cannot be imprisoned, no artificial boundary can separate true love. Love cannot be banned nor banished! Love would conquer hatred and manipulation ultimately, if not at the begining.

Consuela succedded in manipulating her father to sign the new Will that names her as the heiress to the Don Alcantara fortune.

Carlos came back home to meet the mess of drunkeness that his mom and Jenny had sunk into. he never failed to tell Jenny to have a shred of dignity by stopping her latest attitude of introducing herself all over town as his girlfriend. He told her that the pregnancy lie was enough damage.

Marissa swore to leave L.A. penniless and she achieved that albeit temporarily. L.A. was humiliated at a boutique when all the new dress he bought could not be paid for with his 'bounced' credit cards. he was simply told that the primarycard holder has cancelled his credits......

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I hope to complete this later today....got to attend to some things first. thanks.

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Episode 44: Drinking With The Devil

Marissa is a spectacle and big lesson for me in this telenovela. 18 years of blindness was enough to learn to SEE well, but unfortunately she revelled in, and celebrated her dumbness, with her greatest enemy: Jennifer de la Cunning, as I love to call her. I hate weakness, even my own weakness too. I was so sad tonite seeing Marissa foolishly marketing her weakness to an eager buyer in Jenny. Much later in this telenovela Marissa is going to deeply regret her current cosy friendship with the devil,... I mean, with Jennifer de la Vega, the evil queen of this soap opera.

Andreina received her worst humiliation yet tonite in this episode. Marissa 'washed' her with the mire from the smelly location. And she crowned it with a hot bitter slap on Andreina's face. Calling her a shameless whore, which Andreina did not dispute. She told her that she ought to have backed down the moment she discovered that L.A. was her husband.

Jenny ran after her to explain her 'innocence' in the conspiratorial show. On getting home Marissa found that all L.A's clothes were about to be sent to him, she intercepted them, the beast in her, (and every angry human being) came out, and tore them to shreds with scissors. Ceasar took the clothes to L.A. and Marissa said she finally have a reason to celebrate, she went wild into a drinking orgy with Jennifer. In her stupor she opened her mouth wide and poured out her heart to her 'good friend' Jennifer. She told her how her life would be void without L.A. Jenny took a mental note of this revealed weakness for furture use.

Carlos challenged L.F. whom he accused of treating him like her enemy. He complained to her for treating him with indifference. He frankly told her that the reason why he was offering her the money for Pedro's treatment is because he desires to support her because he loves her. He said he is not bothered with L.F's fear of not wanting to be bound to him, saying: "...that's your problem, but I can't stop loving you". He ordered that Ordonez and Lupe should prepare a check to the tune of any amount that L.F. may need.

After the board meeting, Carlos told Ordonez of how Jennifer caused problem between him and L.F. and why he still loves L.F. Ordonez encouraged him not to give up and fight for his love. Ordonez also warned him of the impending danger, as L.A would scheme by legal manuovres and by "any means" to get a good part of Marissa's forutne as settlement in court during the divorce proceedings. He explained that it is only the holdings in the Bank Conglomerate that L.A. cannot touch because of the smart prohibitive clauses in the bank's statue. He however warned Carlos that Marissa has a lot of investment outside of the bank's statue in the last 18 years of Marriage to L.A. those are the vulnerable assets which L.A. may be plotting to win. He warned him not to let L.A catch him by surprise.

Alfredo joined the camp of schemers in this telenovela tonite by warning L.F to beware of Carlos because he had another girl-friend called Jennifer. That was stale news to L.F. and she told him so. After Alfredo thought he had done enough damage to the image of Carlos, he now posed the million-dollar question: "...do you love him?" He received his first jolt when L.F. nodded her acknowledgement that she loved, him but can never reconcile with him because she was hurting.

Leopoldo visited Andreina's apartment, only to meet L.A. there. There was a hot debate on who Andreina truly loves. L.A. told him the truth that Andreina would never love him (Leopoldo). He said that she was only "using" Leopoldo to make him(L.A) Jealous. He told him that he has packed out ( the coward did not say that he was booted out by Marissa), of Marissa's house to stay permanently with Andreina, saying: "...I've stopped loving her (Marissa), may years ago, I don't want to keep up public appearances of a happy couple with her anymore."

Consuela scored another bull's eye by painting Heriberto as untrustworthy because of his recent infidelity, to Don, and therefore she needed to be on the board of directors to have a voice and manage the family's interest in the steel factory. The old man concurred with her. She surreptitiously passed the New Will to him, lying to him that those were the papers to empower her as a new member of the board of directors which was prepared by L.A. the new legal advisor to the Company. In tomrrow's episode, would the old man sign away his fortune? Let's wait and watch.

Ceasar came with the luggage of L.A. to Andreina's apartment, after tipping Ceasar, he opened his box, alas! he shouted, "... my London suit! my Italian ties! torn to shreds, this woman must is crazy! it can't be, it can't be!!!" Andreina watched with fear and dread at the capacity for havoc exhibited by Marissa's action. she had earlier frown at what she called "... a twisted family tradition" referring to how Marissa slapped her after the fashion of a similar slap by L.A. some few weeks earlier.

Carlos visited the Mental hospital, and it was time for the scheming cynic Alfredo to ask him another question, saying "... how many girlfriends do you have?"

Vanessa showed up and went home with L.F. While asking L.F when she would resume at the university, she replied that: "... College can wait, but my father's health cannot wait." She told her how she is plannin to look for a job to earn some money to take care of her father. At that point Vanessa remembered Don and Rigo's needs. So she offered her if she would like to be a paid companinon for someone- her step-grand father who needs exactly that service. The stage is set for destiny encounter between Luisa Fernanda and her grand father!