Chapter 5 Ariella and Paulo's Conflict

The announcement of Carol's Death sends a wave of gasps through the crowd. "I would appreciate it if you would all take a minute of silence to mourn her" she continues.

It all boomerangs back to Madison and she just stands there, looking as if she really can't bear to hear this right now.

As Grandma has everyone bow their heads in respect for a moment, she turns to Madison, who avoids her gaze.

After the event ends, Madison hastily clears up a table, but when her intern tries to help her, she snaps "I'll do it!".

Maxwell comes rushing towards her, and she pushes him away too. Madison spits out that she knows everyone thinks she's crazy, but she's going to keep working like this; it's her only way to cope.

"I'll live as I always have, I'll work, I'll forget, and I'll accept it, I'll do more and work harder. This is how I forget things" she says, her voice rising; "I'm working and getting on with my life. I'll accept that she's not in this world anymore! So please, just watch over me. Do not give me strange looks and let me be, please! "

Maxwell turns to see everyone staring and instructs her intern to escort her inside.

Paulo calls for a meeting with his crew as they arrive back at Heart Airport.

"How did the deal go? Did he accept the deal?" he asks Miguel (Miguel is in charge of conducting cross state deals at Heart).

"He did. Although he did promise to double the price if we triple the shipment in less than two months" Miguel replies.

Paulo stands up from his chair and walks to the balcony "contact Theresa then. I guess we need more hands if we need more money".

Miguel pulls his phone out of his pocket to make a call when Maxwell turns to see a flight attendant walking into his office, "I didn't ask to see you," he says as she walks in.

He turns to Miguel "what about the other thing I asked for?"

"Apparently, she goes to see her boyfriend at the same time every Wednesday on her flight days to Mexico. Last week was a Tuesday. Right place, wrong time" Miguel reports.

"And the Intel on my daughter?" Paulo asks,

"no idea boss; but I think it was from the day you were found sitting with her at the airport lobby. Anyone could tell there was something more and it was crystal clear where she was headed when she boarded the plane" Miguel replies.

They walk out of the office and go their separate ways, and almost immediately, Paulo gets a call. He turns back to see that same flight attendant, but ignores her call, muttering that she's not too sharp.

The flight attendant gets frustrated and sends him a text instead, asking if she made some sort of mistake. He ignores that too, only to see that he has another text from Ariella saying she and Juanita had arrived and they're heading to his office.

His expression darkens and he whirls around, going back the way he came. Ariella and Juanita smile while holding hands as they walk to Paulo's office, though their smiles fade when Paulo comes into view.

He smiles pleasantly whenever a staff member passes by. In his office, he sits them down for a stern talk "what will you do and how will you plan your future?" he asks Juanita.

He turns to his wife "did you get proof of enrolment from her school? Ariella looks at him, confused.

"She can't transfer without a copy of..." he exhales frustratingly.

"Prepare to go back then. And don't ever call me at my place of work" he says calmly facing his wife, never forgetting to smile.

Juanita tries to lighten the mood, but her dad only gets more upset knowing they didn't even bring any kind of proof of enrollment from the international school.

Ariella is confused as she flashes back to when Paulo called her to bring Juanita home but he didn't say why. She didn't question him though. She has her daughter back and that is enough.

The three drive home, with Paulo still rambling about the school. Ariella calmly tries to convince him that it was best to get Juanita out of there since a close friend of hers died.

Paulo gets a little agitated and argues that Ariella shouldn't be so emotional in raising their daughter.L; "You bring her back when she's scared. You run to her when she calls. Did I send her abroad because we have a lot of money to spare?" "With your mother's incident and the New Zealand incident, we keep dealing with the same thing over and over, and that international school was the best option" he goes on and on.

Ariella calmly replies, "The girl she lives, eats, sleeps with, and considered a sister just died so just imagine how scared she would be. So before you get emotional and angry..."

"You are the one raising our kid with so much emotion. Malaysia was the best option. You keep frustrating all my effort," He cuts in.

From the backseat, Juanita cuts in, trying to ease the tension again. She smiles and says "I want to eat tacos right now dad. I smell it already in the air".

Her dad firmly tells her "go back to Malaysia", prompting Juanita to say in the exact same tone "I won't eat then. Forget it!". Ariella smiles warmly and shakes her head.

At home, Ariella suggests the three of them go out and have fun when all of their schedules are free, earning an incredulous look from her husband.

He tells her to start searching for new schools for Juanita and that he wants her out of his house after one week.

Ariella braces herself before saying quietly "what kind of a parent wants their child out of their house so young?"

Another fight ensues, with Ariella bringing up suggestions favorable for the three of them especially Juanita but wanting to take in Juanita's opinions more and Paulo wanting to consider her options when she's older.

Ariella doesn't hold back this time and insists that they need to work together to raise their child, but Paulo won't budge "face the reality; we're incapable of looking after her at the moment. We'll make the decisions for her until she's 15.

Why? Kids only listen until they turn 15. Then they go wild. Raise her based on her option and see how that goes" he says.

"You have never even tried to know her. Stop trying to send her away" Ariella says, raising her voice. He walks away from the fight, leaving Ariella holding her head and beating her chest in frustration.