Episode 20

Adam: We arrived at the mansion and Sara seems calmer now.

Sara, could we have a moment to talk in my office?

Sara: I enter Adam's office and he seats me on the sofa. I hear his heavy breathing and I'm concerned by how restless he appears to be. I can hear him pacing back and forth.

Is everything okay?

Adam: Sara, I am handing you our marriage contract, you are free.

I barely manage to utter this sentence, after years of struggling not to feel anything, suffering in silence and ignoring the pain, I let my guard down for an angel, whose wings I had broken myself. I don’t blame you for not feeling anything for me, all I did was bring pain to the only light I allowed into my life.

Sara: Adam...

Adam: I know you keep your word, but I am releasing you, Sara. Lize will come to pick you up, I've sent her a message.

Sara: Adam leaves the office and with each step he takes towards the exit, I feel fear and desperation. I curl up on the sofa waiting for Lize, completely devastated. Adam had promised that when he was done with me, I would wish for death; he kept his final promise. Just the thought of living in the same house as Melissa makes my chest hurt.

Adam: Josiane, pack all of Sara's belongings, Lize will come pick her up.

Josiane: Mr. Adam, where are you going in such a hurry?

Adam grabs his helmet and departs, his eyes brimming with tears and his voice choked up. I've never seen him so shattered. I go upstairs and can't find Sara, so I pack her things while crying. I was so sure they had become involved.

Katy: Why are you packing Sara's things, Josi?

Josiane: She's leaving.

Katy: But, but Adam...

Josiane: He left here shattered. Maybe she asked to go, Katy.

Lize: I enter Adam's house and go straight to the office. I see Sara curled up hugging the marriage contract and crying, and my heart aches.

Sara, do you care for him?

Sara: What does it matter, Lize? He could never love me. I am a burden to everyone!

Lize: Never say that, Sara. You're the kindest person I've ever met. Did the devil Adam tell you that?

Sara: No, he said I was free. If I'm free, then why do I feel so miserable?

Lize: Because you've fallen in love.

Sara: No, I couldn't have, Lize, not after everything. You were right.

Lize: I was right about who he was, not about who he's becoming because of you. Letting you go is the proof that he’s changed, Sara. The Adam I spoke of would never break a contract or give up on revenge. Now everything makes sense, I hadn't understood why he was sleeping with you that way, he even allowed me to see you and who would have thought Adam would be describing the sky to someone? I saw the way he looked at you!

Sara: Then his love is cowardly, Lize. He let me go.

Lize: Given his childhood, this is all new to him, perhaps it's difficult for him too, as I see it is for you.

Sara: You are mistaken, Lize.

Josiane: Sorry, we overheard unintentionally. She misunderstood, Sara. Adam is different around you. He left here on the verge of despair because I'm sure he couldn't stand to see you leave.

Katy: We had noticed the changes in him, Sara, and also the loving way he looked at you.

Sara: My God! I'm so confused. I view things very differently.

Lize: Don't think, Sara. Passions are so overwhelming they sometimes arise from a glance or a simple touch.

Sara: Has he already gone?

Josiane: He's left, Sarinha.

Sara: I sit and wipe away my tears. If all this is true, if it’s not pity, and if he’s fallen in love, why let go of me? Let's go, Lize. I hope to still see both of you. Thank you for everything you've done for me.

Lize: Are you sure?

Sara confirms and we say our goodbyes, a sorrowful farewell. We leave Adam’s mansion, and I'm certain part of Sara was left behind. Arriving home, I see how sad Sara is. My mother comes to greet us; perhaps she can help cheer up Sara.

Mom, Sara’s back!

Mileide: Daughter, your father needs you. Let me take Sara to her room, I've missed my girl.

Lize: I'll be up soon with Dad, Sara.

Sara: I feel a shiver run through my body as Mileide grips my arm tightly; she drags me to the top of the stairs.

Mileide: It would be so easy just to throw you down from here; you’d probably break your neck, everyone would think the useless blind girl had a terrible accident, and that would be it. But then, Sarinha, I'd lose my favorite toy. And what fun would life be without it? Know that I've missed you and it's great to have you back home.

Sara: Mileide throws me forcefully onto the floor of my room and leaves. I proceed to the bathroom and lock the door, unable to tolerate this anymore.

At the beach...

Otavio: Adam calls me, and I go to him. I find him sitting on the beach, literally in tears; I’m momentarily paralyzed with shock.

Adam…

Adam: She's gone!

Otavio: Sara?

Adam: Josiane confirmed it; she's left.

Otavio: Do you love her?

Adam: I've done everything in my power to avoid any feelings. I remember going to bed without dinner so many times, waiting for my parents. I even fell asleep at the table, my feet not even touching the ground. They promised and never showed, so I decided not to wait any longer. It was good because then I wasn't disappointed and didn't suffer, but it was empty. I didn’t realize that emptiness until Sara came along; she showed me a different side of life. She was sweet when I was cruel and kind when I didn't deserve it. She made my heart beat fast and fierce for the first time when I didn’t even know I had a heart, Otavio, and now I have to annul our marriage.

Otavio: Is that what you really want? To annul the best thing that ever happened to you?

Adam: She went to the hospital with a concussion because I had forbidden all the staff at the mansion from helping her. I've done terrible things to her, Otavio. Annuling this marriage is the hardest thing I'll ever do in my life, but I can't lock Sara into it with me; I don’t deserve her.

Otavio: You were cruel, Adam, that was who you were. There was no humanity in you, and it was hard even to be your friend. But I knew all that facade was a way of protecting you. And if you want my opinion, you don't have to protect yourself anymore, you don’t need to. You're not that Adam anymore, and Sara is special. She will show you that you deserve to be loved. Don’t abandon her, Adam, she needs you too, needs someone to love her and care for her. You sent her back to a place without even knowing if she’s safe.

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