HERNAN AND GABRIELA BOOK 1

CHAPTER 18

Meanwhile,

Hector calls Clara, who is at the hospital, to check on Ramon's condition.

Elsewhere,

Antonio comes down and immediately knows that there is something. He serves his glass of fruit juice and gets ready for whatever drama one of the girls is about to cause. Helena says there is something she has to discuss with him and Adrianna. Antonio looks at Adrianna who looks sheepishly at the ground. Helena asks why they didn't tell her Aranza spent the weekend with Aurelio. Aranza rolls her eyes at her mother. Antonio says he did not think it was such a big deal. He tells her, never was he worried about Aranza's safety because he trusts Aurelio to treat Aranza well.

Antonio says Aurelio is a good kid. He further adds that eventually, Aranza was going to start getting interested in more than cameras, trees, and pranks and begin being interested in boys. He further adds that Aranza is pretty, and she was bound to start attracting suitors. Helena says that is true, but Aurelio does not deserve her daughter. Helena says her daughter, is a multimillionaire heiress, and he is just a townie who came to the capital on a scholarship. Helena says she shall not let her daughter, be misled by a fortune hunter.

Antonio is irritated. Helena is being dramatic as usual. Antonio tells her Aranza and Aurelio are still children, and that at their age, they are starting to explore and are not necessarily serious. He also adds that they should all stay out of it, advise Aranza but let Aranza and Aurelio, figure it out. Adrianna says that Aranza being as she is, controlling her, and forcing her to do things can only lead to crazy acts of rebellion. Helena says that both their judgments are clouded because they think they are in love, Antonio with Gina and Adrianna with Hector.

Both Antonio and Adrianna look at her. She says she knows everything. Aranza wakes, up and says they are getting late. She then stands near Adrianna and asks her what she meant when she said, the way she (Aranza) is. Adrianna smiles rubs Aranza's head and says how adorable she looks when she makes her pouty face. She then adds what she meant was that she(Aranza) was strong-willed and could defend herself. Antonio, Adrianna, and Aranza wake up and leave. Helena frowns and then says the conversation isn't over.

Meanwhile,

Anna Patricia boards a bus going to the city. She needed to see her father in the hospital. Her brother Armando and his wife Luisa bid her goodbye and she leaves. They had tried and failed to convince her to stay as she insisted she wanted a break from the monotony of her life.

Meanwhile,

Gina, Hector, Aurelio, Martin, and Emma are sitting down for breakfast, in the Ortiz house. Soon Adrianna, Antonio, and Aranza arrive. Adrianna, Gina, and Emma remain in the house to have some girlie time while Martin, Antonio, and Aurelio, are just around the neighborhood.

Shortly after, Hector and Aranza leave.

Hector, as always is amazed, at how good Aranza is. He tells her she is good, and that she is much better than he was at her age. Aranza smiles, and hugs him, then starts crying. He gets concerned and asks her what is wrong. She says to him that he feels like the older brother, she never had the chance to know. She says she feels like her life would have been better had she grown up with her father and siblings. She adds that she would have been loved. She says that life robbed her of her family and that she just can't get over it.

He puts his arms around her and says that life can sometimes be unfair, but her family is watching her, always looking out for her, and she grew up with Adrianna and Antonio who he can tell love her very much, and her mother and Carlos. Aranza scoffs at the mention of Carlos and her mother. He asks her why she scoffed, and she says she is sure neither loves her. She says she knows Carlos hates her because she is a constant reminder of her father, and she is an heiress to the Montes De Alba fortune, and her mother didn't want children but had to have her to entrench her place as a Montes De Alba, and to secure her future.

Hector feels even guiltier, after Aranza's words. He is afraid of how he will hurt Aranza and Adrianna when they eventually find out the truth, especially the longer this lie goes on. He asks her if her mother has ever made her feel unloved. Aranza thinks about it, and then she says she has never made her feel unloved, but it was more like a nuisance that someone tolerates. He asks her about Carlos and how he has treated her. Aranza says he treats her coolly, and she mostly keeps her distance, unless it is necessary. Hector asks her if she is afraid of either Carlos or her mother and Aranza adds that she is not afraid because Antonio will defend her and she knows how to stand up for herself.

Hector looks down a bit and says to himself that it should be him looking out for his little sister's welfare. He should be the one she idolizes as her hero. If it wasn't for Helena and Carlos he would have grown up with her. Aranza looks at him and asks him if he is okay. He says he is. Aranza says she has no idea why but she feels so comfortable around him. He says he sees her like a younger sister and rubs her head. Aranza smiles and tells him about Adrianna petting her head earlier. Aranza says she can see he really loves her cousin. Hector smiles and she tells him not to worry too much about Alejandro and he is jealous because Adrianna loves him (Hector).

Before he can respond, Aranza adds that it's no big deal because many people have crazy exes somewhere in their pasts much like Adrianna has Alejandro, Antonio has Isabella and Gina has Horacio. Hector looks at her. Aranza smiles so sweetly, one would be forgiven for thinking she was naive and not meddlesome. Hector tells her, she is very smart and knows too much for her age. He asks her if she too has crazy exes somewhere. Aranza says, no because, at 17, she's not really dated seriously. Aranza adds that she is a good girl. Hector makes a sound as if he disagrees with that and Aranza rolls her eyes. Later, they go back to the rest of the group, so that they can get ready to go and visit Ramon.