Episode 5

I entered the women's restroom. The space was large, luxurious, with marble everywhere, large mirrors, and soft lighting. I rested my hands on the sink and stared at my reflection. My eyes were firm, but there was a shadow of pain that not even makeup could hide.

I took the lipstick from my clutch and started retouching my lips when the door opened.

The sound of heels echoing on the cold floor made me stop instantly.

Margareth Xavier entered first, with that snobbish gait of someone who believes the world revolves around their last name. Right behind her, Eunice Albuquerque — tall, cold, with the venomous look of a woman accustomed to destroying with words.

"Look who's here," said Margareth, crossing her arms, with a cynical smile on her lips. "The little orphan lawyer. How elegant... too bad she still smells like an orphan."

I took a deep breath, slowly turning to face them. I wouldn't show weakness.

"Good evening, ladies," I replied, maintaining my composure.

"Do you really think you can circulate through these halls as if you were one of us?" Eunice snapped. "You're mistaken, my dear. You are and always will be an intruder. A social aberration."

"You were Hugo's whim," added Margareth, approaching with disdain in her eyes. "A dirty little toy he got tired of. Now he's back with the right woman, whom he's going to marry. Cibele is what any mother would want for a son. And you? You're orphanage trash posing as a successful woman."

"Madam, I think you're mistaken, I was the one who left your son, he didn't discard me."

"Seriously, do you really think your affair with Hugo would have gone anywhere if we hadn't intervened?"

"I don't think, I'm sure, but it was great that I saw what a coward Hugo was, because I hate cowardly men, daddy's boy."

"If it were up to me, you wouldn't have even set foot in this event," Eunice growled. "But of course, nowadays even the sewage seeps into the mansions."

The words hurt, but they didn't break me. I've heard worse in my life. I've survived greater pains. But what came next was unexpected.

Eunice approached, looked me closely in the face... and, in an impulse of arrogance, slapped me across the face.

"This is just to keep you alert, and to know that you can never get close to Hugo, because he and my daughter Cibele are engaged."

The sound echoed in the bathroom like a muffled gunshot. The impact made my face turn to the side, and for a second, everything inside me froze.

She hit me.

They laughed.

It was at that moment that something in me broke — or perhaps awakened.

I turned slowly, raised my face with dignity, and, without hesitation, returned the slap with the same force. My smack was dry, firm, accurate. Eunice staggered a step back, bringing her hand to her face in shock.

"Never dare touch me again," my voice came out firm, low, lethal. "Neither you nor this lady next to you."

Margareth widened her eyes, surprised by my reaction.

"You two may have money, important surnames, and children raised on convenience, but me? I have something you'll never have: courage. The courage to build everything alone. And believe me... that's worth more than any jewel you flaunt around your neck."

"You bitch!" Eunice growled, advancing again.

"Take one more step and I'll make you leave here with two teeth missing," I warned, without taking my eyes off her.

Margareth grabbed her arm.

"Let's get out of here before this aberration creates more scandals."

"Scandals?" I let out an ironic laugh. "The only shame here is seeing two supposedly high society ladies behaving like hyenas in heat."

They left in a hurry. And I... remained there for a moment, taking a deep breath, feeling the burning of the slap and the blood boiling under my skin.

But, for the first time in a long time, I didn't feel weak.

I felt alive.

And for the first time... I made a point of leaving the door open so the world could see what Helena Vasconcellos was made of.

Hugo.

I am surprised to see my mother and my future mother-in-law returning from the bathroom.

I didn't expect that. I didn't expect to see them return to the table like that. Eunice with a red and swollen face, trying to hide it, my mother seemed even more furious than usual, her gaze sweeping the room like a wild animal about to attack.

Cibele, realizing this, immediately got up from the table, her eyes fixed on her mother.

"What happened?" she asked, her tone of voice denoting surprise and a bit of concern.

My mother didn't take long to respond, and I knew what was coming.

"Hugo's friend, Helena Vasconcellos, was the one who did this," she snapped, with a tone of anger. "She slapped your mother in the bathroom. A savage."

Those words made my heart race immediately. I was paralyzed, not knowing what to do.

Cibele, now visibly furious, tried to move away to confront Helena, but I held her back.

"Cibele, no. Leave it alone," I said firmly.

She quickly turned to face me, her eyes full of frustration.

"You're kidding me, right? She hit my mother, Hugo! Or are you going to tell me that this isn't also the fault of the 'poor misunderstood orphan'?"

I didn't know what to answer. What my mother and Eunice had done to Helena that night was unjustifiable, but, for some reason, I knew that Helena wouldn't do that without a reason.

"If Helena reacted, it's because she was provoked. I know her. She would never do that without a reason," I said, trying to convince myself that I was right.

Margareth huffed, her anger overflowing from her face.

"So now you're on her side? After everything she's done?"

I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm.

"I'm not on anyone's side, Mom," I replied, more firmly. "I'm just not blind. You two must have crossed all the limits. The Helena I knew defends herself, but doesn't attack first."

And it was at that moment that Eunice, nervous, couldn't hold back her anger anymore.

"I slapped her. Yes. And I would do it again."

Silence fell over the table like a stone. I didn't know what to say. How could this be happening? Cibele was paralyzed for a few seconds, staring at her mother, before breaking the silence.

"You did what, Mom?"

Eunice looked at Cibele with a hard expression, but something in her expression showed that, at that moment, she knew there was no going back.

"She was provoking me," said Eunice, trying to justify the unjustifiable.

Cibele, instead of getting angry, did something that caught me by surprise. She laughed. Laughed without humor, with a sarcasm so deep that I felt a pain in my chest.

"Now everything makes sense," she said, with an ironic smile.

She looked directly at me, and, suddenly, everything I wanted to hide, everything I had tried to control, became clear.

"She means much more to you than you let on, doesn't she?"

I didn't know what to answer, so the silence dragged on for long seconds. I could feel the weight of the truth in her words. Something I was trying to deny even to myself.

Cibele sighed and, with a bitter lightness, added:

"So, I think I better follow your advice, Hugo. Leave it alone. Because it seems that, this time... Helena wasn't the one who lost."

She leaned back in the chair, taking a sip of wine, as if none of that was important.

Margareth and Eunice were furious, but what surprised me most was their quietness. As if something in me had broken, and they knew it.

I looked at Cibele, then at my mother and Eunice, trying to put the pieces of the conversation together.

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