The first thing Mrs. Leoz did as soon as she entered the room was to take off the dress she was wearing and throw her viciously to the floor.
Her whole body itched. She went to the bathroom to look at herself in the mirror and was so shocked that she stepped back a little.
She had grown a rash on her skin and even sporadic growths on her neck and cheeks, looking horrible under her frightened and dejected expression.
-Yolanda had the audacity to perfume me with something so disgusting.
Mrs. Leoz gritted her teeth and hit the sink with a fierce fury on her face.
She didn’t want to let Yolanda live well, nor did she want to let Yoli live well. Since she had made a fool of herself in front of everyone because of that shabby dress, she was going to make Yolanda pay for it.
The maid brought clean clothes. Mrs. Leoz changed, put on her sunglasses and mask, had the clothes picked up from the floor and sent them out to be tested. Then she quietly left through the back door.
She no longer had the face to stay at the party. Not only had she made a fool of herself in front of all the guests, but Olivia was there too. The thought of this made Mrs. Leoz even angrier.
*****
The news of Mrs. Leoz’s departure spread to the party. After what had just happened, the party could not continue and simply ended prematurely.
Olivia called Umberto to come pick them up and waited outside with Albina.
Albina and Olivia chatted about the Mrs. Chan affair.
Olivia sounded a bit dismissive:
-Yolanda is really bold, how dare she use this method to save costs. I don’t think this is going to end well.
I had always known that Yolanda was bold and ruthless. It was reasonable to assume that such people could do great things. But Yolanda was too stupid to do something like that, knowing that Yoli couldn’t afford it at the moment.
Albina nodded, quite agreeing with Olivia’s words.
On the day of the launch, Albina had a feeling that something was going to happen, but to her surprise, she found it right on the spot.
And if she remembered correctly, the clothes Mrs. Leoz had gotten were the first batch, and she had heard that Yoli had already started the second one. The quality was even worse than the first batch.
The clothes were very expensive but of very poor quality. Most of Yoli’s customers were from good families. If there was a problem with all the merchandise, Yoli would go bankrupt in no time.
Umberto arrived soon after. He saw the two chatting on the side of the road, approached them and wondered:
-How did the party end so quickly?
After getting into the car, Olivia talked to Umberto about what had happened at the party.
Although Mrs. Leoz was pretty miserable, Olivia, being his nemesis, couldn’t help but gloat.
After telling the story of what happened at the party, Olivia said:
-I’m afraid we won’t be seeing her at the party for a while. That’s a pity.
Albina and Umberto looked at each other, feeling helpless.
Olivia said she was sorry for her, but her smile was so obvious that everyone could see she was happy.
They took Olivia home first. As Umberto prepared to leave, Olivia looked at Albina reluctantly and said to Umberto:
-Why don’t you stay in the house tonight? There are plenty of rooms in the house. If Albina doesn’t like the guest rooms, you and Albina can sleep directly in your room. It’s cleaned every day, it’s very clean.
In Olivia’s mind, Albina and Umberto had been married and, although they had divorced, they had gotten back together. So they should have made love.
She didn’t know that Umberto hadn’t made love to her after Albina’s return. Even if they slept in the same bed, they only slept together.
Hearing these words, Albina looked at Umberto with some discomfort.
Umberto answered for her:
-Albina has business at night.
Olivia felt sorry to hear this, but she did not force them to stay and could only watch the car drive away.
Daniel had run out as soon as he heard the noise of the vehicle. As soon as he got out, he saw Olivia standing alone in front of the door. He groaned:
-You’re back at last.
Olivia heard his voice and smiled as she turned her head to meet his aggrieved eyes.
In the moonlight, her makeup was retro and elegant, and the dress set off her figure particularly beautifully.
Daniel gave a mental sigh of approval and said to Olivia:
-Tomorrow I will ask someone to order more dresses for you. You look especially pretty in them.
Olivia quite liked the dress after Albina. Hearing Daniel’s words, she smiled even more.
Olivia said about her conversation with Umberto outside her house, saying:
-Why doesn’t Umberto know how to seize the moment? I have created opportunities for him. They are about to get engaged and there is no problem for Albina to sleep at our house.
Daniel froze for a moment before thinking that there was something he had forgotten to tell her.
With a wary glance at Olivia, he said:
-Umberto and Albina have talked about delaying the engagement and choosing another time.
Olivia froze for a moment and exclaimed:
-What?
Daniel rushed to tell the affair about Miguel, and Olivia was reluctant, but could not say anything.
Umberto and Albina had to invite the Eagles to their engagement party, and Miguel was a sensitive man who would have noticed.
Olivia could only sigh and resign herself to that.
-I thought they would be married soon and give me a beautiful grandchild, a little granddaughter.”
Daniel saw her sigh and frown and said.
-I’ll find a better doctor tomorrow and send him to Aguilas. Miguel just can’t think straight, but when he does, he’ll be fine.
***
Umberto had no idea what his parents were thinking. When he arrived at Albina’s house, he parked the car and followed him back home. He moved very naturally, as if he were returning to his own home.
It was true that Umberto considered his home his own.
During those days, he found excuses to move his belongings one by one in his house, including office supplies and daily necessities.
Albina noticed his movements and was aware of his petty intentions, but did not stop him, apparently acquiescing to his actions.
Umberto was secretly happy. They were not yet engaged, but living together, they were no different from husband and wife.
Albina went to wash as soon as she got home. She had seen Mrs. Leoz’s rash at the party and felt itchy all over her body.
After a hot shower, Albina felt better.
When she came out of the bathroom, she saw Umberto sitting on the couch, frowning at his phone, and curiously approached him and asked:
-What’s wrong? You’ve got a bad look on your face.
-When Julio was caught by us before, he said he was going to testify against Yolanda for her drunk driving, do you remember?
Albina nodded her head:
-Yes.
She could still remember the hatred Julio had shown towards Yolanda and her mother.
He hated them so much that he had gone so far as to reveal the nasty things he had done in the past to make them suffer as well.
She had hoped that Julio would testify against Yolanda as soon as he entered prison, so that she would do the same. But days had passed since then and there had been no movement.
Albina asked:
-Didn’t he testify against Yolanda?
Umberto shook his head:
-Not only did he not testify, but he insisted that Yolanda did not have a DUI.
Albina scoffed:
-She has a quick change of heart. I don’t think it was because he loved Yolanda. Something must have happened in the meantime.
Julio was a very ruthless man, he wasn’t going to go soft on Yolanda just because she was his only daughter.
Umberto smiled:
-You guessed it. After Carballal’s house was trashed, Yolanda and her mother went to Julio and made a deal.
Umberto didn’t rush after Yolanda earlier because Julio said he would testify against her.
Yolanda was not directly responsible for Juan’s death, but her drunk driving caused serious injuries to Juan and Albina. If it had been proven that she was driving drunk, she would have been jailed for at least a long time.
If she had gone to jail, Yoli would have been out of the picture soon.
Julio’s sudden change of heart surprised Umberto and upset his plans.
Albina leaned over his shoulder, rubbed it and said:
-Yolanda will not have many days of good living. Last night Mrs. Leoz wore a “Yoli” dress that caused her severe allergies. I think she’s going to go for Yolanda tomorrow.
Umberto bowed his head and smiled.
Ms. Leoz wasn’t enough to bring Yoli down; he had to add fuel to the fire.