CHAPTER 24

Regina closes the apartment door, beaming with joy. She could even jump for joy with the happiness filling her heart. Her plan was working. She could already envision herself strolling through Parque Ibirapuera once again. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice her son Marcelo's presence, who had just entered the room, adjusting his jacket.

"What are you up to, Dona Regina?" Marcelo asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, you scared me, boy!" Regina exclaims, turning toward her son. She looks at him, annoyed, as she says, "Is that how you talk to your mother?"

"Well, it's pretty obvious from your face that you're plotting something," Marcelo replies, pointing at his mother's face. "And that wicked smile confirms it's about Leandro and Helena. You know, Dona Regina, any normal mother, upon seeing her daughter left at the altar, wouldn't want to see the guy again, not even painted in gold. But you... you practically threw our daughter back into the arms of the guy who, in case yo