HI! How is everyone doing? I hope all is well and everyone is safe! I know this isn't the chapter everyone has been waiting for... but I couldn't leave anything else, because I do intend of briefly covering some important remnants of the novela! Happy reading!
(I do not own this novela!)
Chapter 38
The uninvited guests consisted of the Rosales and other neighbors, all clamoring for their respects and protests regarding Juan's disappearance. Franco and Oscar didn't unacknowledged the Rosales, because it all seemed a bit odd that they above all others, despite the troubles their daughter had given them, were feigning their support.
Adding more to the unwanted company, the elderly Raquel Uribe arrived solely to convince Ruth to come home with her. Ruth stood her ground and much to Raquel's intolerant anguish, her husband, the withering Mr. Calixto Uribe called out from their car and cried for Eva once he saw her.
Franco and Oscar raised a brow when Raquel began to desperately pull her husband away from Eva's embrace, thus causing Calixto to collapse onto the paved ground. Ruth yelped helplessly and the brothers hurried over to help her weak adoptive father.
Franco, Oscar, and Eva watched the defeated Raquel Uribe and her old husband being driven away from their property. Unbeknownst to Ruth, the two brothers and Eva knew exactly why Raquel behaved the way she did once her husband cried out for Eva. Eva was Ruth's real mother and Franco could tell that it was slowly tearing Raquel apart knowing that Ruth is closer in knowing more of her true lineage.
Later that day, Franco and Oscar noticed that with Juan's absence, their employees were dismissing their work on the ranch. To solve this problem, the brothers permitted Olegario to step into Juan's position as manager.
They also noticed that Manolo and Miguel had been calling out more than usual.
Manolo explained that his mother, Mrs. Hortensia, has not been herself and is in dire need of a doctor. This alarmed Ruth, who managed to console Manolo, because she felt as though it was her fault for his mother's deteriorating mental health. Franco and Oscar tried to deter Ruth from worrying so much about the woman who had driven their sister to her death, but came to their senses when realizing how badly Manolo and Miguel were suffering. They, along with Ruth, setting aside the past, agreed to help Mrs. Hortensia as much as they can. Eva beamed at their selfless act of kindness.
This somewhat lifted their spirits up a little, despite Juan's lingering disappearance.
The next day came. Franco, Oscar, and Ruth joined Olegario in the fields. Olegario, as grateful as he was with his new position as manager, confessed that Juan's return would be greatly beneficial.
"You may think I am obsessed with saying this, but…" Olegario said, lifting one of the hay stacks to one of the horses, "I think that Juan wasn't kidnapped by ordinary criminals. I think that one of his enemies is trying to get even."
"Do you still think Ferdando Escandon is still responsible?" Oscar asked him.
Olegario chuckled as he began to place a saddle on one horse. Olegario hated Escandon with a passion, especially after the fight he had with that man which led him to be terminated from the Elizondo's estate.
"You may think I'm taking it out on him, but I don't trust him."
"We don't trust him either." said Franco, "But he's not involved. The police have already interrogated him and issued a report."
"If ordinary criminals had done this, they would've already called you and asked for a ransom." argued Olegario.
"Maybe they didn't have time." added Oscar. "We reported Juan as missing the minute he disappeared. Maybe they're planning to do it now, but they'll try not to risk themselves."
"This is all confusing." piped up Ruth, standing beside Olegario. "If at least we knew something, we would know what to expect, right?"
"I'm not afraid." mustered Oscar to Ruth. "Especially what could have happened to us, remember?"
Franco turned his head to look at Oscar and then at Ruth in question.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
Oscar let out an exasperated breath but still managed to answer Franco.
"Ruth and I managed to explore the Rosales' land near the mountains, and suddenly some guards came to us. They were very aggressive."
"They almost attacked us." Ruth added, and Franco threw her a wary look. "They even threatened us as if they were hiding treasure."
Franco took heed of her words, his mind rattling with this new information. However, given the Rosales' and the other neighboring visits, he didn't think anything of it.
"Perhaps Zacarias and the other ranchers are worried about what happened to Juan." Franco told her. "I'm sure they've hired guards to watch the isolated spots."
Ruth crossed her arms in defeat as she scowled at Franco.
"It's your fault for having trespassed." Franco added to her.
Just then, Miguel drove over to them on his motorcycle, informing them that Sarita and Norma had arrived.
At the mention of Sarita's name, Franco dismissed the disappointed glances from Ruth and Oscar and quickly jumped on his horse to meet with the two young women, particularly Sarita.
Ruth, as troubled and disappointed as she was, remained out in the fields with Olegario.
Franco and Oscar met with Sarita and Norma back at their house. Both of them didn't look like themselves. The two sisters had bags under their eyes from lack of sleep, especially Norma.
Franco swiftly embraces Sarita and takes a hold of her hand, signaling her to come with him so they could be alone to talk.
Franco sighs, his fingers slightly caressing hers once they make it to a nearby bench.
"Nobody has any news about Juan." he says to her as the two sat down on the bench. "We think that he was kidnapped for money but sometimes we think that some of his enemies have done it, but what possible enemy could Juan have?"
Sarita delicately furrows her brow and fiddles with her hand.
"The only two that hate him are your mother or Fernando Escandon." added Franco, earning a disgruntled look from Sarita.
"Don't think about Juan's enemies." she said to him. "Think about yours."
Franco gawked at her, his eyes blinking at her words.
"Mine?"
Sarita nodded, her face serious as she averted her gaze from his bewildered blue eyes.
"Yes." she muttered, looking back at him. "You have some enemies because of your relationship with Rosario Montes."
Franco tore his eyes from her at the mention of that scorned woman's name. If he hears that wretched name one more time, he swore he was going to spit fire.
"Franco, what if Armando Navarro kidnapped Juan to get revenge?" Sarita carried on.
"Don't say that, Sara." he told her, his gaze rather serious.
Noting Franco's discomfort, Sarita's eyes softened and bit her bottom lip rather adorably.
"I'm sorry." she uttered. "I don't mean to upset you but right now we have to consider every possibility. He's attacked you in the past and you're fine now by a miracle-"
"I know!" Franco interjected, startling Sarita as his anger slowly formed inside him. "But we can't prove anything! How can I blame him for what's happening to Juan?"
Sarita stayed quiet as Franco spoke. He felt the anger subsiding and began to feel bad for the tone he used on her. She was only trying to help the best way she could so he shouldn't be cross with her reasonable suggestions.
"Look, Sara…" he sighed, his heart nearly breaking at her sorrowful expression. "I don't want to tangle this even more, okay?"
She smiled weakly at him and brought a shaky hand to caress his face. He relaxed at her tender touch and brought her small hand to his lips to place a thankful kiss on it.
He appreciated Sarita's help. He truly did, but as soon as she mentioned Rosario and Armando Navarro, he couldn't stomach the sudden anger bubbling inside him. Sarita could be right, however, Navarro never took an interest in attacking Juan. His involvement in Juan's kidnapping was hopeless.
Moments after Franco calmed, with the help of Sarita, the two went back to Oscar and Norma to discuss more of Juan's sudden disappearance.
"I don't care who is responsible." Franco told them. "We just need news about Juan."
"No." argued Norma. "We need to find out what really happened. We had to shut some people up who like talking."
"Who are you talking about?" asked an interested Oscar to Norma.
"She's referring to Dinora Rosales." answered Sarita, her voice laced with disgust. "We ran into her and Norma had to put her in her place."
Franco and Oscar stared at Norma with astonished expressions. Who could imagine that a soft woman like Norma Elizondo could take down a wild woman like Dinora?
Seems like Dinora is more trouble than they thought.
"All that woman does is torment others," said Oscar.
Franco clenched his jaw, his suspicions of Dinora Rosales growing.
"If she hadn't proved that she wasn't involved with Juan's disappearance.." Franco seethed. "Then I think otherwise because Dinora Rosales is very dangerous."
Another day came and it was still the same. There was no news of their older brother and to make matters worse, Ruth was nowhere to be seen. Franco and Oscar asked everyone in the house about where she had been or to whom she had been seeing. The only one who seemed to know was Olegario. He told them that she had taken a horse out for a ride in the north and never came back.
This worried Franco and Oscar, so they went out to search for her on their horses throughout the open fields. They weren't alone for long. The Elizondo sisters drove over to where Franco and Oscar searched for Ruth and possibly Juan.
"Hey!" shouted Norma, hopping off Sarita's black jeep to meet with the two brothers. "Have you heard any news from Juan?"
"Nothing." answered a somber Oscar. "The worst thing is that we don't know where Ruth is."
"Why?" asked Jimena. "What's wrong with her?"
"She went out this morning and hasn't come home." answered Franco just as somber as Oscar.
"Oh my God!" exclaimed Sarita, wiping her hair out of her eyes. "What the hell is going on? She disappeared too?"
"We're looking for her," said Oscar. "But we can't seem to find her anywhere."
From then on, the five of them gathered themselves and began to search for both Ruth and Juan. All the while they were searching, Oscar told them that he suspects that Ruth had gone off to the Rosales' area in the east. They all headed there. Instead of recovering their search, they ended up finding a weary outhouse in flames.
Norma and even Franco thought the worst as they watched the fire engulf the decrepit outhouse. Juan and even Ruth could still be in there, and there was nothing they all could do to save them.
Norma was hysterically crying in Oscar's arms while Franco was being held back by Sarita and Jimena.
The five of them watch as the outhouse crumpled to the ground and the fire coming to an end. Both brothers desperately tried to pick up the burnt scraps in hopes of finding either Ruth or Juan, but instead, they found a rosary. It belonged to Juan.
They were all relieved that no dead bodies were caught in the deadly fire, but were strictly convinced that Juan and Ruth could still be alive somewhere. Norma, seeing this as a sign, desperately pleaded to stick around to find him.
It was no use.
Juan remained missing and Ruth was too.
Eva was completely devastated over Ruth's sudden disappearance. Both brothers had to calm her down, promising that her daughter will return to her. But she will not sit still and insisted that Franco and Oscar try their best to find Ruth and Juan, for she strongly believes they could be out there in the cold.
In Eva's support, Olegario, Manolo, Miguel, and the rest of the employees agreed to do a search party. This moved Franco and Oscar. So out into the night they all went. If Ruth and Juan couldn't be found, the two remaining brothers would lose hope and solely rely on the police.
Just then a miracle came. Juan and Ruth were finally found. Manolo and Miguel said they had found them in the blistering cold desert far into the fields. The two were practically out of it, both weak from the cold night air and lack of food and water. Franco and Oscar were overjoyed, for their troubles and anguish had finally ended. Their brother had returned and so did Ruth.
As soon as she heard the news, Norma raced to the Reyes estate and stayed by Juan's side as though she would lose him again. Franco was getting very irritated by his employees' questions on what had happened, but then his blood ran cold when Juan confessed that it was Dinora Rosales who had kidnapped and tortured him and Ruth before passing out.
Reports were made quickly and disappointingly Dinora had managed to escape. After confronting her family with the police, they stubbornly informed them that Dinora was on a vacation and much to Franco and Oscar's anger, Zacarias and Ursula denied all allegations against their beloved Dinora. From that moment on, the Reyes, Eva, and Ruth agreed to cut off ties with the Rosales. That family is delusional and problematic.
Now that Juan and Ruth have returned and are fully recovered, Franco and Oscar, with the help of Leandro Santos and his mother, decide to throw them a welcome back party.
Nearly everyone was happy and having a wonderful time, but Franco. He sees Juan dancing with Norma and crazy Oscar with Jimena. He even sees Leandro dancing along with his mother, Ruth, and Quintina. Franco smiles at them but sits quietly away from them, his hands cradling a small bronze statue. He was glad his brother and even Ruth were home safe and sound...but he could shake the emptiness eating at him.
Amongst the guests that celebrated Juan and Ruth's return, Sarita wasn't there. She should've been here with her sisters, his brothers, and with him. Especially with him.
He was craving her presence, but he knew that her stern mother could've been a great benefactor for not letting Sarita join her sisters. He always knew that Sarita, apart from her sisters, has the strongest bond with her mother, but did it have to interfere with her will to enjoy herself?
This all ties back when the two were on their first date. He would never forget how selfless Sara was when he asked her about how she was feeling. She in return responded in regards to her family but not about herself. All he wanted for her was to be happy with her own needs and to be able to finally stand up to mother for her freedom.
Franco's thoughts of Sarita were disrupted when Norma noticed Franco sitting by himself. She asked him to dance with her for a short while until Juan cut in between them. Franco simply chuckled to himself as he watched Juan wrap his big arms around the woman he loved.
As they all continued to celebrate, Franco wanted to be alone. He slipped out of the room to catch some fresh air, his mind and heart aching for the one person who should've been there with him and the rest of the guests.
He sighed sadly, silently praying that Sarita would finally make her appearance by his driveway. Instead, Eva startles Franco from behind as his brothers and the rest of the celebrators gathered into the kitchen to continue the festivities with the rest of the employees.
"Something wrong, Franco?" Eva asked.
Franco slowly turns to her, his eyes solemn and his shoulder slumped by the absence of his love.
"Why are you so distant?" Eva pried on. "It's like you don't want to share the joy with the rest of us."
"The truth is that I don't feel all right." Franco answered. "I really need Sara and I'm a little worried by how she's influenced by Mrs. Gabriela."
Eva smiled at him.
"Nothing bad will happen, don't worry." she assured him. "And come with me. You need a bit of a distraction."
She offered her hand out to him and Franco took it, finding comfort in her words that everything will be alright, despite Sarita's absence.
So... how many episodes was this? I lost count, but I think it could be three or four? Anywho... I hope you are all ready for the next chapter! It's about time! Let the lovemaking begin! On to lucky 39! Muah! (Warning: Descriptive and passionate lovemaking!)