We’re back at the Independence (from Fedra) Day party at the manor, where the mood is generally festive but Emanuel is sitting with Vicky and crying about all the awful stuff his mother has done. She even lied about who his father is. Vicky wipes off the tears and tells him that no matter how he got here, Emiliano is and always will be his father. She even gives Emil way more credit than he probably deserves for being a caring and attentive father when as far as we can tell he’s oblivious and negligent, but Emanuel wants to believe he has at least one good parent so he doesn’t argue. He cheers up a bit and MV says she’s happy about that because it hurts her to see him sad. “Why? Because you care about me? Love me, love me, say that you love me!” He’s desperate to hear her say it, and MV is now crying too and seems on the verge of granting his wish, but then their own personal little anti-Cupid aka Jorrible swoops in. They ignore him.
Out on the steps, Paula reads the letter saying that Gretel is their daughter. She graciously tells Max she’ll pray for God to forgive Carlota, but she’ll never ever forgive her. Bad enough she was such a snob she kept the two of them from marrying because Paula was a lowly servant (we still do not find out why Max was such a doormat), but stealing their daughter?! Too much. Max seems to think she should just forget the past, because now that he’s finally decided to marry her everything is swell. Paula looks into the house, where Gretel is hugging Emiliano. She decides they’re such a happy daddy-daughter duo that the two of them can’t ruin it by telling Gretel they are her parents. Max objects, but Paula cries a lot and makes no sense, so of course he has to give in.
Over at the pensión, Chema tells Netty that Fedra Curiel can’t possibly be all those nasty things! Swindler?! Murderer?! No way! But maybe it isn’t the same person as the woman he knew by that name, he says. “I hope not, because I really can’t imagine you with someone so crass and evil,” Netty says.
Max and Paula wander back into the house. Gretel and Emiliano eager wonder whether she accepted the marriage proposal. Paula says nothing, but reaches out to hug Gretel. Gretel hugs her back but looks confused. Max stands there being a waste of space as usual.
Tejeda lets Bernardo into Fedra’s cell, telling him to make it quick because he’s detained and will be going back to his own cell soon. “What’s he talking about, Bernardo?” Fedra hisses.
The big happy family and various hangers-on have all gathered with champagne. They toast to the absent Marianela and her efforts to reunite them. ¡Salud! Ilitia walks in and remarkably doesn’t say anything nasty about that. She just toasts to Gretel, so happy to see her back, and also, what the heck, a toast to la gordita. ¡Salud! Kristel is just appalled by this hypocrisy. Benigno interrupts with his own cute toast: When Fedra goes out the door, love comes in the window. ¡Salud! Emiliano tries to get Kristel to be nice…look! Gretel’s back! Don’t you want to give your sister a hug? Kristel just snarls at Gretel that she should have been the one whose life is a wreck, not Kristel. The brat stomps off and refuses to join them for dinner; what a shame. Gretel mentions missing Netty, whom she loves like a mother. This makes Paula jealous, of course, so Gretel says she loves her like a mother as well. ¡Salud! Then everyone hopes Emiliano and Netty will finally have their happily ever after, as well. ¡Salud! They’re all going to be sloshed before dinner if they’re going to rehash the whole plot.
Emanuel’s phone rings and he slips away. Ilitia starts to propose a toast to reconciliations and marriage-saving…right, Baby? Baby isn’t there. ¡Salud!, anyway.
Bernardo tells Fedra he’s taking the blame for the receipt forgery. Freedom means nothing without her, so he may as well be in jail. And guess who’s back? Their old Capitán, who so moved her heart. “And other things,” Fedra saucily sasses. Bernie glares at her.
Yikes. Who is the protagonista in this story? Marianela’s dress is hideously unflattering in full view and looks super-cheap, besides. Gretel, on the other hand, looks fabulous. Mari tells Gretel that she doesn’t know how long a sentence Fedra will get for the fraud, so soon they need to play all their cards and bring up all the other evidence against her. Gretel is really worried about the possibility of Fedra getting out, but she isn’t sure they have enough evidence. Brandon was never able to find the helicopter mechanic who had the evidence about the wreck in which Eva died. Mari says they’ve got Luis Felipe’s evidence, plus the poison chocolate analysis. But their biggest weapon is Gretel herself, because she was the only witness to Luis Felipe’s death. She’s got to be tough.
Emiliano and Oliver interrupt and ask what they’re talking about and they claim Gretel was just saying goodnight. {WHY don’t they all just discuss what they know? Why are the people who know they’re on the same side keeping secrets from each other?!?!?!} Emiliano of course thinks Gretel should stay there since Fedra’s gone and Bernie’s fired and it’s all totally safe now. Gretel just says maybe sometime soon she’ll be back. Ilitia minces in and demands to know where her Baby is. She peers at each of them suspiciously as if they might be hiding him under their clothes or something.
“Chema was HERE! …and as good as ever!” Fedra taunts. “Are you telling me…” Bernie starts. “Yep, right here in the bed in this cell! Like we’d never been apart! Whew!” Bernardo is furious. “Fedra, you will never change! Still the same two-bit whore you were in Veracruz” “Chema is my man! Always has been, always will be! I only married someone else because I thought he was dead.” Bernardo for some reason tries to convince her she should be loyal to Emiliano, the father of her children, like he hasn’t enabled her affairs and flings all these years. “Who are you to tell me what to do?” “You arribista (social climber).” “You bitter jealous servant.” “Damn you.” “Igualmente.”
At Mauricio’s domicile of dastardliness, Garduño wonders who the heck that new guy at the pensión was. Dandy says he’s never seen him before, but he sure defended the little reporter like they are old buddies. Maybe he’s El Lirio de Plata! And he’s in cahoots with Manolo, who is submitting stories under El Lirio’s name! The real Lirio walks in and takes down Dandy and points his gun gangsta-style at Garduño. Garduño whips out his own and points right back.
Delicia remakes the bed in the master bedroom for Mari, and they marvel at how much happier the house is without Fedra. Delicia offers to sleep in here with Mari, since it will probably be creepy in Fedra’s old room, but Mari sends her away and crawls into bed, still in her evening gown and makeup. She’s just finished thought-bubbling a little petition to her parents up in heaven to protect her when Malicio creeps up and grabs her. He’s come to collect what she owes him.
Over at Mau’s house, El Lirio wants the briefcase full of money back. Garduño tries to reason with him…he’s not a murderer; he won’t really shoot, right? So why doesn’t he just go away? El Lirio advises him not to test whether he’ll really shoot. Garduño tries another tactic: how about they team up? With their resources and skills combined, they could make oodles of money. No deal. El Lirio says he will dedicate his entire life to taking down Garduño and his ilk and leaving them in ruins. He easily kicks the gun out of Garduño’s hand and traps him, pistol pointed at his schnozz. The briefcase, please. Garduño sweats and says he’ll give up the location to spare his life.
Malicio forces kisses on Marianela. She begs him to stop and be reasonable. He’s just more turned on by begging. She manages to push him off and run, but doesn’t get far before he catches her and drags her back. He isn’t leaving until he gets what he wants. Ugly scene. {Also, I’m no fan of screaming in general, but if there was ever a time…go for it, Marianela.}
After the break, ugh, we’re back, and Mari and Mau are taking the time to argue. He doesn’t want her excuses. “I wasn’t just going to have a fling with you! I wanted to marry you! I respected you!” he yells at her, while pinning her down on the bed and threatening worse. Mari gives him a kick that sends him flying off the bed. I guess those workouts did come in handy. “If it’s true that you care about me, then don’t hurt me!” Now Mau has pulled out a knife. “That feeling is gone. Now I just want to have my way with you!” “Stop! I’ll yell!” {What are you waiting for, Mari?} Malicio strokes her face with the knife and says if she yells, he’ll send one of his goons to kill her fat friend.
Gretel flounces into her and Oliver’s bedroom and starts packing a suitcase. Oliver asks what she’s doing. She says now that Fedra’s in jail, she can go home. Oliver says he’s going with her, then. Gretel tells him he should just go live with Lorena, the better to cheat on her. “Cheat on you? I could never be unfaithful to you, not even in my imagination!” “What about the kisses? Did you need mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?” “She forced herself on me! My arm hurt too much to push her away!” “I told you to stay away from me, and you showed up for dinner!” “Well, I was invited to the guateque (party). I’m your partner! We belong together!” “That was before you took up with that tramp! Looked like you were about to drop your clothes right there!” “As if! Why don’t you just claim I gave her three kids and a house with a dog and everything?” “You take your slut and your house and your three kids and your dog and do whatever you want with them!” Gretel grabs her suitcase and tries to run, but Oliver blocks the door. “You aren’t leaving here unless you leave me flat on the floor without teeth!” “I’d love to!”
Malicio forcibly escorts MV down the stairs. He mutters that if she makes any noise, he’ll stab her with his navaja (knife). Down in the foyer they run into Nereida. Mau hides the knife and acts like they’re just really cozy. “My my, didn’t know you two were such an item,” Ner remarks. “Shut up and mind your own business, Minimum Wage,” Mau snarls. She’s willing, but Emiliano walks up behind them. “Qué the heck?! Victoria, what is that loser doing with you in this house?!”
Gretel tells Oliver that while he was busy leering and liplocking with leechy Lorena, she was attacked by Dandy and defended herself just fine, thankyouverymuch. So she doesn’t need him to protect her! She’ll just be going, then. “You are leaving this room over my dead body!” “You move away from the door, Oliver Rosales, or I will embed (empotrar) you in it!” She grabs him by the lapels and gets right up in his face, but holds off on the pounding long enough for him to give an impassioned speech, telling her she is the only one he will ever be in love with, mustache or no mustache, and he’d do anything for her and she won’t be rid of him so easily. “Just try to get me to let go of this door!” Well, she does…with one heck of a big smooch.
Emiliano’s too furious to notice that MV is super-nervous and looks like she might vomit. She tries to stutter out an explanation but can’t pull anything together. Malicio smooth-talks that he’s selling his shares in the agency to Vicky, and they’re just going to do the paperwork. Emil says they can do that right here in the house. Mau has lame excuses for leaving and Emil is certainly glad to have him out of the business, so whatever. He’s about to escape with his prey once more, but then a shrieking harpy comes flying down the stairs. Yes, Kristel, irate that this pelafustán (loser) would dare show his face here. Emiliano holds her back. He tells her she’s lucky to have been spared marriage to that scuzzbucket. Kristel is zero interested in his commentary, big shock. She lets Mau and Vicky know exactly what she thinks of them. While Emil is trying to settle her down, the wolf escapes with his foolish lamb.
Mau drags MV into his own lair, telling her that after this, she’ll never want to be with another man, he’ll make her go so crazy. Well, that is quite possibly true. She tries to fight him off. He…continues in his usual rapey snake mode, no need for more details, MV yells…and, yep, here he is, El Lirio de Plata. Mau holds the knife to MV’s throat and says if El Lirio comes closer, she’ll die.
Fedra lounges theatrically in her cell, kvetching about it all. She threatens revenge on everyone who’s taking away what she worked so hard for. The jailer brings her dinner and puts it on the floor. “You filth! On the floor, like I’m a dog?! (no comment) I’m used to finer things! Fancy dishes and crystal glasses! Don’t you know who I am? This is disgusting!” “Yes, ma’am,” the jail guard agrees, leaving her to her chow. Fedra kicks the tray, sending the food flying. Then she has to get down on the floor and stretch way out through the bars to pick up the roll off the grimy corridor floor. She starts shoveling it down, still crawling on the floor. Netty strolls in to mock her. Fedra says she’s going to get out and get even. No way, says Netty. Better hope a rat comes along to be your friend, because you’re never leaving. They threaten each other. Fedra chokes Netty.
El Lirio orders Mau to let go. “I don’t feel like it! We had a deal, and I’m collecting!” “Gross! I would never have anything to do with a jerk like you! Let go!” Mari squeals. “You heard the lady. Let go.” Mau hollers for help from Garduño and Dandy. MV tells El Lirio to leave before those goons come and kill him. “Don’t worry, they’re too busy to help Mr. Rapey Snake.” “What did you do to them?” Mauron asks. “The same thing I’m going to do to you if you don’t let her go.”
Fedra still has Netty by the neck. “Sure, go ahead and kill me! They’ll know you did it, and you’ll rot in here forever for SURE!” Fedra lets go. She won’t give Netty the pleasure. Netty says Fedra is too much of a coward to do any of her own dirty work. Fedra pretends she isn’t threatened. She tells Netty she’s too insignificant to outdo her. “It isn’t just me. Almost everyone is on my side. Plus, I’ve met a man who knew another Fedra Curiel. Someone who wasn’t you. Isn’t that interesting?” Netty leaves so Fedra can get back to the trough.
Back at the mansion, Jorge and Delicia are frantic. They tell Emil and Kristel that Vicky would never have willingly gone anywhere with that sleazeball; he must have threatened her. Where could they have gone? They’ve got to go save her. “Oh, please, they’re probably in some hotel, en pleno mochi mochi!” Kristel sneers. “Shut up!” Emil yells. Jorge demands that Emil call the police. Emil finally realizes that Vicky had a really strange look and something was wrong. He dials.
Fedra continues to rant and rave. Amid flashbacks of the mostly ugly things people said to her, she mutters to herself that she’s going to get out of here and prove to everyone who she is, including Chema! Who cares if he’s the love of her life; she won’t let him stir up the past. Juana Felipa is long gone! “YO SOY FEDRA CURIEL.”
Gretel and Oliver are in the sack making up for lost time (a few hours of fighting) and murmuring sweet nothings. Oliver’s phone rings and he has trouble getting it with one bad arm, knocking everything over. {I’m not sure how much of that was intentional, because Gretel seems to be really cracking up.} It’s Tejeda. Summoned for an operativo.
Lowrenzo feeds the kids dinner in the hotel suite. Well, Cristián is eating. Manzanita is sulking and complaining that she doesn’t want to be there and she wants to go back to Muñeca. I don’t know what else Low says but Cristián is cute.
Kristel and Ilitia are working themselves into a lather. Ilitia’s furious because now her Baby will probably be out trying to rescue that awful Victoria. Kristel is just sick thinking of that witch getting it on with her puchunguito. That slut has been planning this since Day One! “Don’t you remember how she was dancing sexy with mi baby at your wedding?” “Yes! And also with MI Baby! She wants all of them!” “Right! That slut doesn’t leave anyone out! Emanuel, Mauricio, that poli Brandon, even that bonbon husband of the gorda!...Whew! yes, he is a hottie!” Ilitia and Kristel both take a moment for Art Appreciation and then to fan themselves. Then Ilitia says seriously that Kristel should be throwing a party to celebrate being saved from marriage to Mau. Kristel says she was an idiot to be his loyal novia, but that is over. From now on, she’s going to be with any man who strikes her fancy, starting with Jorge. She’s going to make him fall in love with her. Take that, Marianela. Then maybe that poli, Gretel’s novio. Ha. And after that, why not the other naco poli? Ooh, what a bod. That’ll be a pleasure. ¿Qué? No way. Ilitia FORBIDS Kristel to get involved with Brandon. Kristel just smiles.
Mau still has MV at knifepoint. The police surround the house. Jorge stands by Brandon and watches. He looks like a pirate, still wearing his cummerbund but not the jacket or tie, and with his shirt unbuttoned halfway. Where’s Kristel to take a look? Why is she wasting time? Brandon bellows through the loudspeaker for Mau to let Victoria go. Jorge gets on to assure Vicky that everything will be okay. “Well, you’ve got most of your men lined up out there. Only missing Emanuel,” Mau tells MV. El Lirio takes him down and MV gets loose, but Mau pops back up and starts slashing at El Lirio with his knife. MV begs El Lirio to leave and save himself. Why don’t they both leave? They’re closer to the door than Mau is, and he’s armed with a knife.
Emiliano’s in the home office with Paula, berating himself for letting Mauricio get away with Victoria, and rightly so. Paula tries to stick to happier thoughts—Gretel came back! Emil says he missed her so much, and he doesn’t want to lose her again. Paula promises him that he won’t. Delicia comes in to tell Emil that a guy is here who says he needs to speak to the man of the house and it’s urgent. Chema joins Emil in the office.
El Lirio is assuring MV that he can take care of this clown. My recording cuts off there.
Arribista – social climber
Navaja -- knife
Guateque – party
Chiguagüeño – dog. I can’t tell whether it’s the same thing as a Chihuahua or another variety, but it’s something like that.
Empotrar – to build into; to embed
Pelafustán – good-for-nothing
En pleno mochi mochi – in flagrante delicto
Rifa – raffle
Muñecote – big doll, dummy…aka Oliver, Gretel’s big Life Raffle prize
Zangolotear –to shake, to lounge around
Labels: llena
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