LOGINChapter 104The car stopped in front of Luana’s simple house, in the quiet neighborhood of the city. The porch light was on. Robson turned off the engine and stayed gripping the steering wheel. The red mark on her face bothered him deeply.“We’re here…” Luana murmured.She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned her face toward him. Her eyes were bright and vulnerable.“Want to come in for a bit?” she invited, almost whispering. “I don’t want to be alone right now. Just… a coffee. Or water. Anything.”Robson hesitated. He knew it was dangerous. Her boyfriend could show up at any moment, especially after the fight at the bar. The man was violent and, from what he had seen, didn’t seem like the type who accepted humiliation easily. But the way Luana was looking at him… as if he were the only solid thing in the middle of the chaos… made something inside him give in.“Okay. Just for a little while.”They went inside. The silence was intense; the only sound was a dog barking distantly in the str
Chapter 103That same day, Luiz arrived home slamming the door hard. The silence of the empty house seemed to mock him.He went to the kitchen, opened the fridge… and there was nothing ready. Not a dish, not leftovers, not even the smell of food. Just emptiness."Shit!"He ran a hand over his face, irritated.The worst part? He didn’t know how to do anything. Not even boil water properly… let alone cook rice or pasta. There had always been someone doing it for him. There had always been her."Hell!" he cursed, kicking the cabinet door. "What kind of fucking life is this?!"He cursed a bit more, random, angry words, even hitting people who weren’t there to hear. Without thinking much, he grabbed the bottle of cachaça. If there was no food… there was drink.He went out to the backyard through the kitchen door, the high sun heating the dry ground. He looked around until his gaze landed on the cambuci tree. He stretched his arm and picked a fruit."This will do…"He went back inside, cut
Chapter 102Luiz felt the pain in his back throbbing from being shoved against the truck. More than pain… he felt fear. And that irritated him even more.Adalberto was ten years younger… and yet, he had always carried that presence that dominated everything around him.Luiz spat the words out, full of hatred:"She will never be yours."Adalberto shrugged, far too calm for the situation."Unfortunately, no. But…" he paused, looking at the road, "if she hadn’t found someone else, I would have confessed. I would have married her… and she would have been very happy."Luiz laughed, but it was a rotten laugh, filled with contempt."Happy…" he repeated with disgust. "No one makes anyone happy."Adalberto tilted his head, analyzing his brother as if he were looking at something that no longer had any value."Just being away from a bastard like you… is probably enough to make her happy."Silence. Then he continued, more direct and cruel:"You didn’t give her children. You didn’t give her affec
Chapter 101The engine of the pickup truck rumbled low as he started it. Luiz gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. His jaw was locked, his gaze lost in nothing, his mind boiling.He didn’t notice when another truck pulled up behind his.The door slammed as its occupant got out and walked toward him."Luiz."The deep voice made him close his eyes for a second, irritated.Slowly, he turned his head.Leaning against the side of the truck was his younger brother. Forty years old, with the strong build of a man who lived in the countryside, a shirt tight across broad shoulders, and a firm, piercing gaze. Handsome in a rough way. Something that had always stirred envy in Luiz.He crossed his arms, studying Luiz as if he already knew everything."What the hell are you doing here, just sitting around?"Luiz let out a dry laugh, looking forward again."Nothing that concerns you."His brother took two steps forward, opened the truck door, and rested his arm on the ro
Chapter 100Meanwhile, Luiz was sitting on the old couch in the living room, his elbows resting on his knees, staring fixedly at the cement floor."She didn’t come back…" he said in a low tone, letting out a humorless laugh. "She must be with that damn handsome cowboy. She wouldn’t spread her legs for me… but she sure did for him."His eyes turned red with rage."Bitch…"Luiz stood up abruptly and went to the kitchen. He opened the cabinet roughly and grabbed a bottle of cachaça.He took a deep breath and tilted the bottle, drinking straight from the neck, feeling the alcohol burn down his throat and into his stomach."You’ll regret it…" he muttered, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "You’ll regret trading me for some young guy with a six-pack."He tipped the bottle again and took an even bigger gulp. He placed his hands on the kitchen table, breathing heavily."I’m going to ruin that pretty boy’s life. Tomorrow I’m going to the police station."He laughed again, cold and ca
Chapter 99After the veterinarian left, the corral returned to its usual silence. Robson leaned his back against a tall bale, leaving his arms crossed behind his head and his hat tossed on the ground. The afternoon sweat clung to the open shirt on his chest, but he didn’t care. His body was tired from work, but his mind… his mind was worse.He felt lonely. In a way that wasn’t only physical. Even though he was the outgoing brother, the one who laughed loudly and teased Rafael just to see his expression tighten, Robson wasn’t the kind of man who spent every night in bars or went to brothels to drown what hurt. The drinking the day before had been an exception, Luana’s fault, always Luana’s. He still couldn’t swallow the fact that she had someone else now. Someone who took her out for drives in the city, who posted pictures with her smiling as if the world were perfect. Someone who wasn’t him.Robson closed his eyes and saw her in his thoughts. The last time he had seen her without that
Chapter 73Thomas Carter was now thirty-five years old. He ran the farm in his father’s place, since his father no longer worked due to age. His mother and father traveled frequently.Many times, Thomas spent entire days alone on the farm. Perhaps because of that, when he saw a serval being kept at
Chapter 71In the days that followed, everything seemed to fall back into place. Routine returned to normal, classes went on without new incidents, and on the farm life flowed with its usual calm. But not every silence was a sign of peace.On a night of heavy drinking and partying, Henrique was sur
Chapter 70Andréia arrived at the farm after going to her ultrasound appointment. She went into the gourmet area, where she found Dolores sitting and calmly sorting beans, as she did every day.Without saying anything at first, Andréia sat beside her and took another bowl, starting to help by separ
Chapter 69The days went by, and the meetings became more frequent. So did the kisses. Less and less shy, more and more full of feeling.Until one afternoon, Zacky saw his son in the stable.Thomas was tending to the horse he’d received when he was ten years old. He brushed its coat carefully, spea







