We see the front desk receptionist informing Felipe and Lily that a certain Dahlia Chua wishes to speak with Lily. After hearing this, Felipe at once stands up and informs the receptionist that he will be the one to face the girl. For a second, Lily gets concerned about this and wonders why Felipe will be the one to go down to the lobby to talk to her and not herself. Felipe simply makes nothing of it. In the next sequence of the same scene, Felipe approaches Dahlia and reminds her that if she needs anything, she should approach him and not Lily. Clearly, Felipe is fully aware of Dahlia’s existence. He brings Dahlia farther away from the front desk as he orders the receptionist to take a break. Dahlia then informs Felipe that Belinda urgently needs help. Felipe sighs.

In the next scene, Aurora reprimands Redmond for seemingly not caring enough for Petersen, since it has been one whole day since he came to her house to check on the well-being of his own son. Redmond calms the nerves of Aurora by telling her he knows Petersen has been safe because he is with her. After a sermon on proper parenting, Redmond politely asks Aurora if he can visit Peterson.

We then see Redmond checking up on Peterson, who is once again lying down on the bed. It seems like the only thing Peterson has been doing is sleeping or getting himself into trouble. Unlike Peterson’s interactions with his mom, Lily, this one was calmer, less tense, and more loving with his father, Redmond. In Redmond’s own way, he could talk some sense into Peterson by saying that if he is so unhappy living with his mother Lily at their house, then he should do well in his studies and find a good job afterward so that he can move out and be on his own. This makes Peterson smile, and he tells his dad that he doesn’t have any problems with him, only with Lily.

Now, we go back to the office of Lily and Felipe to talk about Dahlia and how she should handle it. Lily reluctantly agrees to meet her half-sister, whom she herself refers to as “Ms. Chua.” The shy and nervous student comes into the office of Lily, and here they are finally getting to see each other and talk to each other one-on-one. Lily tells her to sit down, gets straight to the point, and asks Lily for help. She informs Lily that her mother is gravely ill and she needs their financial aid on the matter; Lily insists on seeing proof, and Lily seems to give her a chance, but both are standing by their firm principles on how their respective mothers raised them. Lily asks Dahlia how much she needs.Next scene, Julian and his father are having a father-son conversation about how much money she can get from Violet, and the father specifically mentions they plan on using Violet as a money source. Indeed, the one who has orchestrated their entire modus operandi here is the father of Julian, who wants him to run for mayor of his city despite not living there. A shady conversation ensues about this, with Violet hearing all their scheming. For sure, Violet has begun at this point to truly process what is happening around her and that Julian and her father-in-law are not acting on their real motives. This time around in the house of Aurora, Lily and Felipe are in her presence, and she is upset that Dahlia has approached them again, this time for financial help, despite Aurora admitting that they have already done everything they can for her, which includes her studies, and that they have already fulfilled their obligations. Lily tells Aurora that this time, Dahlia’s mother is gravely ill and confined to the hospital. This does not affect Aurora, and she storms off. Aurora then tells Lily that her father hurt her by having another illegitimate child with another woman, whom she seems to have trusted at one point. So, she doesn’t want to help the mother and daughter anymore because Dahlia’s mother betrayed her. Deep emotional scars sometimes do not heal, and maybe this is the case with Aurora and the illegitimate children of her late husband, Leopoldo.

Flashback time: we see a young Carmen and a young Leopoldo this time in the year 1984, and we see a modest business doing well, and clearly there is some financial stability. A young Felipe informs Carmen that she needs another assistant because they need the help, especially their daughter Lily, who also needs it. We then see a young Aurora approach them to introduce herself. The young Aurora was applying to be a household helper, and with her being capable of taking care of children, they accepted her to become their household helper.

At the end of her day, we see a young Carmen going through the receipts; she sees a receipt for a motel. Apparently, Leopoldo has been checking into a motel with another woman. All this happens at the worst of times with Carmen being pregnant once more, and again, Leopoldo has been caught with evidence of cheating. A huge fight happens between them, and a young Aurora is right outside the corner of their living room, hearing everything that happens. What a way to be introduced to a disruptive household! Poor Carmen, having to put up with Leopoldo’s womanizing ways.

At present, Lily, Aurora, and Felipe have come to terms with the fact that, despite what has happened in the past, they must still somehow help with Dahlia and her mom’s hospital bills. Lily gives Dahlia an ultimatum that she must work with them and that she will be an employee of Crestmont. Aurora vehemently disagrees with this decision to bring in the daughter of Belinda, who betrayed Carmen’s trust in Leopoldo. Aurora leaves. 

We then see Dahlia and Elvin discussing the matter, with Dahlia saying that she had no choice but to accept the job offer from Lily and the rest of the Chuas. Reality sets in quickly for them, and indeed, either she works for them or risks losing her stepmother, Belinda, forever.

Now, we go back to Violet and her two girlfriends, who are doing their usual shtick of asking questions they shouldn’t, which only irritates Violet even more. After all, despite the scrupulous political ambitions of her husband, Julian, that is her own business. Violet’s smartphone rings, which gives her a reason to leave her girlfriends.

Straight away, Felipe informs Violet that she has to report to the office at 3 p.m. since it is the birthday of her late father; reluctantly, Violet seems to agree. Soon after, we see Violet walk into the office with Lily, Felipe, and their lawyer with a letter of proposal offering her full ownership of Chocolatier, a subsidiary of their whole company, Crestmont, which has an estimated value of over 25 million pesos. It shocked Violet at the estimated value of the chocolateier since it exceeds 20 million pesos, an amount originally offered to Violet instead of the whole 40 million pesos. She finally realizes that this is a good offer with a huge upside of an additional 5 million pesos. Lily does some mudslinging at Violet and asks questions about her business skills, but Violet accepts the offer.

We then see Violet, Felipe, and the lawyer discussing what a brilliant strategic move Felipe pulled off in getting Violet to accept it and perhaps rid them of the problem that Violet brings, but only for Felipe to remind the lawyer that they have another problem that is perhaps worse than Violet: her politically driven husband, Julian. There is where the real problem arises when you have to deal with the puppeteer and not the puppet. Indeed, a bit of “mafia ideology” goes a long way in securing any business deal or closing out any business deal, and in the case of Violet, getting her to accept an alternative offer that has appeased her enough to quit for the time being trying to extort the 40 million pesos out of them. This scene proves Felipe is a lot smarter than he appears to be in the family dynamics of the Chuas. Felipe uses his cleverness instead of brawn or force of action. Lily is fortunate to have Felipe still around to mentor her more.

Switch back to the home of Aurora, and one of the staff members informs her that there is someone looking for her, and she has been waiting at the entrance of her gate. The guard is there to answer questions about the identity of this person. Here we see Iris Chua standing outside the gate, and she introduces herself as such but tells her she is Leopoldo Chua’s daughter. Interesting turn of events here, because unlike the quite hostile reception she has given the other half-sister, Dahlia, Aurora was more accommodating and welcoming of the other half-sister, Iris Chua.

In the next sequence in the same scene, we have Aurora chatting with Iris Chua inside the house, and things quickly turn erratic in her communication with Iris Chua, who shows a lack of care even in celebrating the birthday of her late father. What a dismayed look Aurora gave Iris Chua upon hearing her rebuttal. Iris Chua is almost a mirror image of Violet in their personality traits.

In the next scene, in the building’s lobby, we see Dahlia and Elvin strolling and talking about how she will be getting paid; unknowingly, they cross paths with Violet and Julian, and of all places, they all ride the same elevator going up. What a contrast in personalities, because on one side you have Violet and Julian, and on the other side you have Dahlia and Elvin. Two opposites in terms of values, upbringing, and ambitions in life.

We then see that there is a gathering of the Chuas and other relatives of the extensive Chua clan. Violet arrives and greets Lily the way only she can. and cites what an amazing family reunion this will be for them. Dahlia proceeds to the office of the Crestmont, only for the secretary to redirect Dahlia to the hall where the family reunion is taking place. Felipe approaches Dahlia and mentions her by name, which shocks Violet to know that she is Dahlia Chua, indeed. Then, from one explosive scenario to another, here comes Aurora with the newly arrived Iris Chua, and she makes the announcement to the other half-sisters present that she is Iris Chua. All I can say after this is that this is going to throw two big wrenches into the lives of the Chuas by having two more half-sisters enter their already complicated lives. What is next?

ReplyReply allForward