Caray, Caray!

I was going to say “Stupid Lola” but I remember Juan raped & beat her earlier in the program.

Raquel will be a support for Lola as she tells Santiago about the pregnancy (no matter what Lola chooses to do with it).

Carolina would probably help Lola conceal it from Santiago.

I fell asleep on half of this episode so I missed all of the Nando/Laura mess.

Fede tells Luz that Danny isn’t his type but I think both Danny & Luz are Fede’s type.

#TeamBebo

 

Urban this was far from "just the facts". Every time I read one of your recaps, I am totally drawn in by every detail and nuance that you capture so well. Outstanding as always.

So many predators and heartless humans. Miriam continues to ascend to the top of this vile group.

"Alina said she would take care of the paperwork [Uno minuto; didn't she previously say she wasn't an expert on this?] and does he need anything else?" is disconcerting. Even though this might be out of Alina's realm, the fact that Rueda is her adversary might work to her advantage. No one is off limits and if anyone can manipulate him, I'm betting it's her. I would have to choose Miriam if the two were matched but she is the only one here who would stand a chance at vanquishing her.

My heart goes out to Lola. She seems to be the kindest of the "children" and although he is intuitive, I always see her as a wounded bird.

I'm assuming Juan is the father and her being pregnant by him would be unbearable. I think she has suffered fare too much already.

Did anyone else think Juan is a bit afraid of Bebo? He took a few steps back when Bebo turned and walked toward him. This makes me even more fearful Juan will kill Bebo.

I'm glad and not totally surprised that Lola confided in Raquel. She isn't alone...

Urban, thank you!

Diana
 

Of all the "children" in this tale Lola is the most sensible. That she went to work at Legato wasn't a good thing at the time and it's good she is now working for her father. I am mystified, though, at how she doesn't seem to have to look over her shoulder all the time at Andres and his vile accomplice, Miguel, whom I think admitted to having killed Patricia. Admitted to Andres, not to police or anyone else.

Lola should have an abortion. Continuing this pregnancy would tie her to Juan permanently and that would be disastrous for her. Obviously his mother is incapable of keeping him reined in. Sadly, if Lola even mentions this to her she will be the first to tell her she can't have an abortion. I think Santiago would be the second despite knowing that it wouldn't be in Lola's best interests.

Whichever way this goes I'm sure Miriam will use this against Santiago in the custody suit.

Another thing that is bothersome is that if Damian's money is an investment in Santiago's company I'm also sure that Miriam will find this out and try to take it back by suing Santiago for Damian's investment amount.
 

UA: I do NOT believe in abortion!
 

Thanks UA! I missed some minor details in this episode.

Lola did the right thing telling Raquel about her pregnancy. Raquel is trustworthy. Santiago may not react well to the news but I don’t think he’d mention abortion. Ultimately it’ll be Lola’s decision.

I might have to watch the scene with Azucena and Raquel. I don’t know if I fully understood Azucena’s reasoning for not telling Raquel about Damian and Carolina. What I think I got is Azucena was saying she thought it was a fling and that Damian wasn’t in love with Carolina.

I’d like to get into the mind of someone who is having an affair because I think it’s weird that Damian and Carolina are jealous of the others spouse. Both are trying to not raise suspicions and that’s why they are still acting like they’re happy in their respective marriages. As I’ve said a few times already, the thing I’m most looking forward to seeing play out is Carolina’s other pregnancy. I wonder if she made Damian believe it was his child.

I’m glad Santiago confronted Alina about her relationship with Nico. Although I have a feeling it won’t do any good. Alina will keep pursuing him and and Nico will keep going back.
 

Steve, we're not going to debate that here.

Not sure when the custody battle will be shown, but the case has the following elements vis a vis Screaming Mimi:

PRO
-- Benjamin has Damian's DNA (if Damian's came up as a match; I can't imagine Rueda forgetting that detail; results could still be faked)
-- Miriam is wealthy
-- She as Andres' support, which works in her favor only because he is a relative and has no (well-deserved) criminal record

CON
-- Miriam's age
-- Miriam tried to have Damian moved out of the hospital into her home, thereby over-riding Raquel's priority in rights as his wife
-- Miriam tried to "euthanize" Damian (which should at least guarantee that he can't be moved into her home at any future date)
-- Mia's "suicide attempt" took place in Miriam's house. That would look very bad.

I am predicting that the case will include slurs against Santiago and Carolina, accusing them of using Benjamin as a pawn to get money out of Damian. Miriam will also accuse Raquel of having been involved with Santiago prior to the "accident", which we all know to be false and which she cannot prove. However, she has Mia on her side. She will try to destroy Santiago's business by attempting to recover Damian's investment.
 

I don't believe in abortion as a form of birth control but I don't think that's the case here. Juan violated and beat Lola and since it's early the fetus isn't viable anyway. Whatever Lola chooses to do with the pregnancy is fine with me.

My fear is that Lola will end up being forced to marry Juan because she won't tell anyone about the abuse. But, if she told Santiago or Bebo about the abuse, either one of them will beat Juan to death and that will affect the custody of Benja.
 

TF, I'm not sure that Damian knew about the last pregnancy. The autopsy results indicated that it was only a couple of weeks, so Carolina may not have known yet. Or she was planning to tell him when they got to Miami.

Or not tell him at all so as not to rock the boat anymore because it was already close to capsizing.

Anon207, you raise a valid point. Lola needs to tell the authorities about this. She can't allow anyone to blackmail her about it anymore. What kind of a husband would he be? How would he treat a baby? He would make Lola's life a living hell. He's a sick creep who needs to be locked up in a padded room.

And yes, either Santiago or Bebo would beat the living daylights out of him, which would not help Santiago's custody case or Bebo's future.
 

"I’d like to get into the mind of someone who is having an affair because I think it’s weird that Damian and Carolina are jealous of the others spouse."

Entitlement, selfishness, cowardice, image management, greed & in need of constant stimulation. These are some of the things in the mind of someone who's having an affair:

Entitlement: They feel entitled to feel good regardless of anyone else's feelings. Damian didn't care how the affair would impact Raquel & the kids. He never gave it a thought. Carolina did, but she continued with the affair anyway because it made her feel good.

Selfishness: Their needs are first and foremost. Everyone else can have a seat. So what if Lola needs to talk? I have a hot sex date that's more important. Santiago is having a fit of self doubt? Oh well, riding Damian is more important. Mia having a meltdown? That's cool but Carolina is waiting. You're pregnant? Great, but this sexy model needs me.

Cowardice: People in affairs are too weak & cowardly to confront their partners about the state of their relationship & too cowardly to leave. It's easier to sneak around & lie than say to Raquel "You bore me." It's easier to sneak around & lie than to say to Santiago "You're a broke bum & I'm tired of not having any money." It's easier to sneak around & lie instead of saying "You're hard as nails & don't need me; rescuing damsels in distress turns me on."

Image Management: People in affairs know they are wrong but they don't want others to see them as the bad guy. So their partner has to be the bad guy: Raquel & Santiago MUST be having an affair themselves. Raquel spends more time with the foundation & kids than with me. Santiago won't let me work. Santiago is poor & can't buy me expensive shoes. Laura is a bitch. I HAD to have the affair, you see. Don't leave Raquel & the kids for me, I don't want to be seen as a homewrecker.

Greed: Instead of choosing, they decide to keep both partners. Raquel can provide me the image while Carolina provides me the sex. Damian can provide me the sex & thrills while Santiago puts a roof over my head and takes care of my kids.

In Need of Constant Stimulation: I don't like to be bored. Sneaking and lying gives me a thrill, fingering you while my wife sleeps in my lap gives me a thrill, having sex with you while our spouses are downstairs gives me a thrill, lying to your face & claiming I'm visiting my brother and/or his ex-wife gives me a thrill. Running off to Miami for sun, fun & sex gives us a thrill while we leave our spouses & children at home to deal with all the boring & tiresome details of life...

That's why affair relationships generally don't last because they have to deal with reality at some point and reality isn't much fun...
 

It was my understanding that Carolina was 8 weeks pregnant at the time of her death. Damian probably knew.
 

Thanks for the detailed explanation, Anon207. I agree with everything you said.
 

Anon207, I agree with your analysis.

Can we be entirely sure Damian knew? Nothing was said about it in the car leading up to the "accident".

We also aren't sure that Antonio didn't lie to Santiago about those DNA results. I don't recall him showing the document.
 

Urban--With or without dialog, this was as comprehensive and detailed as you can get. If this takes you less time to do, carry on in your "just the facts" mode. Thank you so much.

Anon207--What a trip through two tangled minds and four tangled up people. Brilliant analysis. I have nothing more to add.

I also thought Azucena tried to tell Raquel that she had worked for Dam's family for many years--i.e. Loyalty First. Then she tried to soften the accusation that Raq should have told her, by telling Raq there was a difference between "divine" love and whatever the other one was that she called it. I'm sure Raquel did not necessarily feel uplifted by Damian's divine love for her. She had been in love with him and he has spoiled all her memories.

She has a right, though not a reason, to wonder if it was something she did to make him stray. She's definitely not the boring wife--judging from the vigorous sex we saw them engage in. But maybe their interests and careers had started to diverge and that added to Dam's idea of being free and single. We still don't know if Caro was his first adulterous relationship. Andres certainly had the notion that he had strayed before.

For Damian, the chase gave him a sexual high. The harder Caro was to catch, the more he was stimulated. I think it has been mentioned here before, but we thought that sooner or later, Dam would get tired of Caro. They're already bickering and arguing. The big thing keeping them cemented together was "their" child. (Perhaps Damian at last felt guilty that he and Raq had never had another child--despite her miscarriage) That and Caro continued to respond to his "invitations" to make love.

Then there was another child on the way, which if Damian knew about, would also assume was his. (And yes, the autopsy determined she was 8 weeks pregnant, so she maybe would have missed two periods.) Since we haven't come to that portion of the timeline, could it be possible that Caro and Dam had stopped having relations, so if Damian knew about the pregnancy, he would know it was not his child. But going back to the last scene in the car before the accident, they were both still declaring eternal love to each other. So either the pregnancy hadn't been revealed to him or it was ok with him.

Not so with poor Lola. My heart just went out to her when she broke down when telling Raquel. Raquel is now the only mother-figure she has. Raq of course, loves all three of Santi's kids. In the present, she told that to Lola awhile back when she was telling her how she feels about Santi. I wonder if Raq will insist she file charges against Juan--if it was Juan and not some one-timer who raped her on her trip.
 

Urban--Your comment about Antonio not showing Santi the DNA results on Benji. I don't think he could have falsified it because it came through a judges order, so I don't think he could have lied about it successfully.

If anything, to save Santi from more heartache, he would have lied in the other direction, telling Santi that Benji was his if he could have.

What we don't know--and didn't see, is Rueda bribing the judge to change the results. He's not above bribing officials--remember he bribed Miriam's doctor not to report the attempted murder of Damian--mercy killing, juarever.

I hope they can find some way to use Mimi's "temporary" loss of control in Santi's favor at a custody hearing. Now THERE's a great opportunity to bribe a judge.
 

Either way, Lola needs to report both and file charges.

As to Damian, I think he would have gotten bored with Carolina eventually. He was excited by the chase but she is far less interesting than Raquel. She lacks Raquel's higher education and her managerial skill. I sometimes have also thought that Raquel was a little too forward in a way that doesn't seem upper crust and that is Miriam's excuse for her assertions that Raquel was beneath Damian, but we all now agree that no woman would have been good enough for him if Miriam had the last word on that.

As for whether Damian had cheated before that isn't important to this situation. If we only have Andres' speculations or suspicions all I have to say is that Andres would project his own actions and motives on him, as Andres is as much of a narcissist as Miriam.

Lola is as vulnerable now as Luz Maria was in Amor Bravio. Considering that Lola came to Raquel for help it would be remiss of the writers to not have Raquel advise her in some way. Considering how Lola would have gotten pregnant and that they are in DF she does have the option to abort before 12 weeks without question. I can't imagine the horror of being pregnant by a rapist, especially if said rapist tries to claim parental rights. That's happened here in the US and the thought of such things makes my blood boil.
 

Urban--I was also thinking of Luzma as I wrote about Lola and Raquel.
 

That and I heard that though things are changing now, some African countries made the victim marry the rapist so as not to shame the family.
 

Thanks, Urban. Sorry for your computer issues, but your recap is great.

At the same moment Miriam sneered at Raquel that she was the stupidest woman to think that Miriam would make this deal with her.

Got to agree with Miriam. Raq is smart but sometimes her heart gets in the way. No chance of that happening with Miriam.

Poor Lola. I don’t see how she can go to the police about Juan’s inappropriate sex with a minor and rape without Laura slamming this all over the news and making Santiago look bad. IIRC, the only eyewitness to Juan abusing Lola is his mom. Lola’s between a rock and a hard place. She likes children though. Would she want to have this baby, despite the fact Juan is the father?

Azucena was Damian’s employee and clearly she was loyal to him in everything. It wasn’t her place to tell the boss’s wife he was cheating. Even if she had, would Raq have believed her? She didn’t believe her swinger friend who told her.




 

Lola needs an abortion. Juan is a sicko, he feels like she belongs to him and just the thought of her giving her love an affection to anyone other than him is enough to set him off. If he thought Lola loved the baby more than she did him I think he'd harm the child and Lola.


 

Thanks Urban! Hopefully I can see this one tonight.

Do we know how far along Lola is? Hope for miscarriage? All she needs is one more beating from Juan and she will probably lose it anyway. Poor girl. After all she has been through she is still the most level headed girl.

Raq needs Azu as a partner to tell her what's going on at Legato. They need to pair up. Azu knows what she's in for if Miriam or Andres gets control. Azu needs Raq.
 

Thanks, Urban.

PrincessJuJu, ITA about an abortion for Lola as the best choice. If Juan is not “offed” soon by someone, Lola does not deserve to be punished her entire life and linked to him by having his child.
 

Right, Azucena's loyalty was not to Raquel, it was to Damian, who was signing her paychecks. It was not Azucena's place to inform Raquel what Damian was up to.

Because of outside agendas, we can't really be sure if the fetus was Santiago's or Benjamin is really Damian's.

Here's another case of Damian's selfishness & entitlement: He apparently set aside money for Benjamin in case of his demise. He clearly wasn't thinking or caring what Raquel would think, that he would leave money to one of Carolina's children but not the others. He clearly wasn't thinking or caring what Mia and Federico would think that they'd have to share their inheritance with one of Carolina's children (but not the others) and he clearly didn't care what Nico & Lola would think, with Damian giving Benjamin money but not them.

Or what Santiago would think, to learn that Damian left one of his children an inheritance, but not the others. Santiago would surely confront Carolina about and the truth of Benjamin's paternity and the affair would come out and Carolina would receive the fallout.

Why would he care about the wreckage he left behind? He's dead.
 

Jarifa: Juan's not done yet in upping the ante. I'm getting the sense he's likely to follow through on whacking Bebo & soon!

Anon207: Miriam loves the power & Buji-ism does she ? Taking little Benji away from Santiago & Co., like that ? That poor kid is going to be traumatized for life.

Niecie: Laura needs to just DIE! She's just instigating more deaths which will likely happen down the road.

 

Urban thank you for the more than just the facts recap.

Anita: the trip happened 3 years ago. She comes back from trip when Benji is born. The baby must be Juan's, and Lola was not raped by Juan but he did abuse her and has made her fearful, so I agree she cannot have this baby or let Juan know about it.

Anon 207: Great analysis about the mind of a cheater. I can add one more description and that is Lack of self control. Damian is a wreck, he can't control his desire to see Carolina and has gotten them almost caught many times. Carolina asks him to leave, to not come over, to not call but he does anyway. Carolina also suffers from lack of self control because as much as she does not want to hurt her family, she still goes to meet Damian.


 

Sandie--Thanks for the correction. The incorrect time would have stuck with me. I guess it hadn't been so long since she gave Juan his walking papers. It just seems that Bebo has been around for some time now.
 

Thank you Urban, good recap. I'd like
To know what else was in that file azucente brought to Raquel. Looks like it had more than one sheet of paper in
It. Wouldn't it be great if there was
Something in there that went "under no
Circumstances is my mother Miriam beck
er to have anything what so ever to do
With my son Benjiman Becker And if any
Thing should happen to his mother mrs
Carolina Alvarado, he is to stay with
Santiago Alvarado".Cuz he probably know that santi would love that little boy Like his own.You don't need DNA to love A child that don't have your DNA blood in Them. And that would be just too cruel For that hag to take that child from Santi.He already lost his wife to that Comatose jerk in the hospital. I hope He answers cinthia's dare and wake up.
Cuz Raquel is fixin to become moma to
Lola.Boy Mia will just love that. Not!

I thought bebo would turn around and
Beat the crap out of that bottomfeedin
Predator. Lola don't need no baby from
Him. NO woman does.
Is all the guys at lagato slimy.I dont
Know What that guy said to lola but I could tell It had slimyness in it. I can't stand men like that.

So, who dunit?
 

To set the record straight on what Azucena said to Raquel:
"He loved you profoundly. Love is divine, but he, after all, was human." I guess Azzie is of the old school that men will be men no matter what their marital status.

Also, just for a little amplification: When Nando goes to see Vic at his cabana, he tells him there are some things in his statement that don't jive, so why doesn't he just set the record straight.