Chereads / HERNAN AND GABRIELA / Chapter 21 - CHAPTER 20

Chapter 21 - CHAPTER 20

Back at Hector and Gina's house,

Adrianna comes to drink a glass of water. She tells Hector she is done and goes to drink the water. She then comes and joins him on the couch. He is struck by how beautiful she is. Adrianna is wearing a blue spaghetti top and blue shorts, which show off her lovely figure. She is completely unaware of how magnetic she looks.

She asks him what he is thinking. He says he is counting his blessings and marveling at how lucky he is to have such a beautiful girlfriend. Adrianna blushes as he comes and lightly strokes her cheeks and begins to kiss her, as she kisses him back. Hector gently and with love leads her to his bedroom.

Meanwhile, Gina pulls away from Antonio and says they have to clean up the rest of the utensils. Antonio reluctantly agrees and says it's only because she is very stubborn. She pretends to be annoyed and glares at him.

Meanwhile back at the hospital, Clara is still there with Anna Patricia, until about 10 pm when they leave. Clara is dropped first, and then Anna is taken to Martin's house.

Back at Antonio's house,

After they are done cleaning, Antonio leads Gina to his bedroom, as they begin to undress.

It is Sunday morning. At the mental institution, John is having a mental breakdown. He insists, he wants to see his children and says the water is too deep and he is going to drown. He is injected and becomes sedated. The nurse and doctor exchange worried glances. The doctor says John has been here for around 17 years, and he still has amnesia and mental issues. He adds that there is a very low likelihood John will recover his memory or regain his sanity.

Back with Antonio and Gina

Antonio and Gina wake up early and as he promised he takes her to church. Hector and Adrianna also go to their nearby church.

Elsewhere, Alejandro's henchman who had been reporting to him tells him that Adrianna spent the whole night with Hector. Gina then later calls Clara, who assures her Ramon is fine, before scolding her for not relaxing, on a weekend. Gina then patiently listens as Clara lectures her and tells her to stop worrying. Nearly five minutes later, she finishes. Antonio smiles and says he has an idea, what an earful Clara gave her. Gina says her grandmother is just loud and speaks her mind, but she knows Clara loves her.

Antonio says she is lucky to have such a close-knit family. He says they might not share the same blood, but they are close and supportive of each other. He says the only people he feels that way about are Adrianna and Aranza. He says his father largely ignored him as a child and treated him as a nuisance, and Helena has always been cold to him. He also says that he doesn't know anything about his mother's relations and isn't close to his father's parents. He says he finds his grandfather dictatorial and archaic and his grandmother judgmental. Gina hugs him; it is all she can do.

Back with Adrianna and Hector,

Adrianna asks Hector if she should call Aranza to check up on her. She says she has to confirm she is okay. She says Aranza is her little cousin and she has to look out for her. He tells her to relax because Aranza is responsible and can take care of herself. He adds that Aurelio is a good responsible kid, and he is not saying that because he is his cousin but he really is and he will take care of her.

Later that evening, Aranza, Aurelio, Antonio, Gina, Emma, Martin, and Anna Patricia go to join Hector and Adrianna for supper. Clara is still in her hotel room having spent most of the day with her husband, or so they think. Just then, there is a knock on the door. Aurelio goes to open it and is shocked to see his grandmother. Clara enters gracefully and says while the hotel is nice, she would rather be here, than with strangers. After the initial shock from everyone, she is given a place to sit.

After dinner, Antonio leaves with Adrianna, Aranza, Martin, Emma, and Anna Patricia. He drops Emma home first, then Martin and his mother. Martin sees his mother, quiet and deep in her thoughts. He asks her if she is okay, and she says she is. She says she wants to make changes in her life; she has stagnated for years and wants something new. She says now that he, Gina, Aurelio, and Hector are grown up, she wants to move on with her life.

She asks him what he would think if she moved to the city. He is surprised, and it shows, but says she should do what makes her happy. He tells her that his grandmother will be unhappy, and will probably cause a fit. She says she is an adult and can deal with his grandmother. Martin sighs inwardly. He tells himself that there could be another round of their petty arguments.

The next day, on Monday, it is back to the office. Gina tries hard, as usual, to ignore how Isabella is towards her. If eyes could kill, Isabella would surely have killed her.

Meanwhile, Clara is still in her room, waiting to be picked. She picks up a newspaper and flips through it. She flips through the stories, a mixture of politics and society news. She sees one picture and gets deathly pale, and drops the newspaper. Clara then hears a knock on the door. She asks who it is. It is the driver, who Antonio and Adrianna hired to be taking her to the hospital.

She takes a deep breath and opens the door. When he sees her, he asks her if she is fine. She waves him away and says she is. Clara takes the newspaper, and puts it in her bag, then leaves with the driver. Anna Patricia heads to the hospital as well to visit her father.

Back at the office, Antonio sees a call. He makes a face, it is someone he cannot particularly stand, but has to tolerate, his grandfather Juan Patricio. His grandparents are coming to the city, from their rural home.

Sometime later,

Clara is in the hospital, washroom. She looks at the mirror and pulls out the newspaper from the hotel, and reads it. It is him. The beast who brutalized her. It might have been nearly forty-five years ago, but it felt like yesterday. She begged him for mercy, begged him to stop, but like a rabid dog, he went on.

Clara wipes away her tears, with pocket tissue. She goes to her husband's side. He is much better and is awake. When she comes near him, he notices she is a little down. He asks her if there is a problem and she says she is fine. Her daughter Anna Patricia, who had gone out for coffee, comes back and asks her the same, question, and still, Clara insists she is fine.

Back in the mental institution, John is sitting in a corner alone, lost in his own world. A nurse on duty watches him and sadly nods. He mostly keeps to himself and mumbles incoherently. She asks the doctor if John will be there forever. The doctor says it is highly likely because he has not recovered his memory and no one has ever come looking for anyone fitting his description.

The doctor adds that John seemed like he would recover, quickly, but became insane after being there for over a year, and has not improved much since. The nurse thinks that he looks like the late Mr. Gabriel Montes De Alba but keeps it to herself. She is afraid such talk could endanger John's life. She adds (to herself) that Mrs. Helena and Mr. Carlos look like bad people and there is no telling what they would do to him if they found him.

Meanwhile,

Emma is busy on her computer working when Martin walks upto her cubicle. He says he has brought the files she needed. She takes them and places them aside. Martin smiles at her looks around and asks her if she is busy that night. Emma shyly smiles and says she is not and asks him why he wants to know. He says he would like to take her out later. Emma asks her if his grandmother and mother, wouldn't mind given that his grandfather is still in the hospital. Martin says he knows them both and they would not mind.

He adds that in case of anything, everyone else will be there and they will be told. Emma says she will go out with him but he has to tell his grandmother. Martin says he will. Marianna rolls her eyes and tells them to quit being so pathetic. Emma stares at her and says it's a pity how someone so young is already so bitter, and shrewish. Martin smiles as Marianna glares and walks away. He says that that was brilliant and that someone has to put Marianna in her rightful place.

Back at the university:

Aurelio and Aranza are sitting on a bench having lunch. Some of Aranza's friends come and greet her but ignore Aurelio. He knows they are trying to provoke him and ignores them. They invite Aranza for a party over the weekend. Aurelio ignores them as well and looks sideways. Aranza looks at him and says she has plans. They tell her it's too bad and glare at Aurelio as they walk away. Aurelio asks Aranza what crazy plans she is upto. Aranza stares at him, smiles sweetly, and says she has no idea what he is talking about. Aurelio is unconvinced that Aranza isn't upto anything.

He has a feeling she is upto something. Aranza tells him to stop being so worried. She says she will spend the weekend with him, Gina, Hector, Adrianna, and Antonio, as usual. Aranza asks Aurelio if Gina likes her. Aurelio is surprised she asked him such a question. He says of course and asks her why she would think otherwise. Aranza says she has a feeling Gina dislikes her. Aurelio says it's not that. He tells her that Hector and Gina have always been together even before his parents took them in and are very close.

He also tells her that to him their bond feels like that of twins. Aurelio also adds that Gina might feel a little jealous because of how she (Aranza) and Hector have been bonding over their common love for photography but that she is not a bad person and doesn't hate her. Aurelio hugs her when he notices she is still unconvinced. Abruptly he pulls away. She asks him what's wrong. He says he would not want to cause her to be shunned by people from her social circle by being seen hanging out with him alone.

Aranza asks him why after they have known each other for a few months, is he starting to feel that way. Aurelio says that people have been assuming that they are a couple, and they have been treating him like trash that is way beneath her. Aranza tells him he should not give such people the chance to ruin his self-confidence or his future. She says she does not have such classist views, and she thinks he is a good person. She adds that she is more like Adrianna and less like her mother.

Later that day at night, Martin and Emma go out to a restaurant. Martin is nervous. Antonio set the bar high with Gina. Nevertheless, the night goes well and she agrees to be his girlfriend.