Building My Life

Chapter 50 - Triumphal Entrance

Josias and Teodoro froze. They hadn’t expected anyone to be eavesdropping on their private conversation. Josias’s blood boiled when he realized it was Jeremiah who had dared to laugh at his expense.

“What’s so funny?” Josias demanded, swallowing a half-chewed piece of bread and bolting upright from his chair.

“You!” Jeremiah doubled over, clutching his stomach as if in actual pain from the hilarity. “Saying you’re still a virgin!”

“Jeremiah, that’s enough!” Teodoro ordered, his voice echoing in the small kitchen. “The boy is eighteen. He’s young.”

Jeremiah fought back his laughter just long enough to sneer. “At eighteen, I already had plenty of experience. Josias is lagging behind! And then he has the nerve to talk about my father? Clearly, his own father didn’t teach him how to be a real man!”

Teodoro lunged forward to grab Josias’s arm, physically restraining him before he could leap across the table at Jeremiah. Josias glared at the older man with pure, unadulterated hatred. Jeremiah, sensing he had the upper hand, wore a wicked, victorious grin.

“Why so angry? Didn’t you just confirm it yourself?”

“Yes,” Josias spat, his voice trembling with rage. “But first: it’s none of your business. And second, you’ve already proven you’re not the ‘natural seducer’ you pretend to be. Can you even get a girl into your room without getting her drunk first?”

Jeremiah’s smile vanished instantly.

“Enough! I won’t have this in my house!” Teodoro stood firm, looking between the two of them. “If you keep fighting like this, I’ll throw you both out on the street! I don’t want to find a corpse in one of these rooms. Control yourselves, for God’s sake!”

The threat of expulsion hit Jeremiah hard. He knew his position was precarious, especially after the incident with the girl. Teodoro was used to seeing Josias as a son or a nephew; Jeremiah was just another tenant — and a troublesome one at that. He muttered a curse and retreated toward the bathroom.

Josias sat back down, taking a deep, shaky breath.

“I’m sorry, Seu Teodoro,” he muttered, his head hanging low. “I promise I won’t be the one to start the next one.”

“I’m not asking you to be best friends,” Teodoro sighed. “I just want peace.”

“Anyway, like I was saying... I’m the last person who would try to be indecent with Melissa. I need to explain this to her father, but since our date failed, I still don’t even know exactly where they live.”

“Does Uélton know?” Teodoro asked tentatively.

“I don’t think so. He didn’t seem to know her at the barbecue at Pamela’s house—”

Josias stopped mid-sentence. A realization dawned on him. The only person who could lead him to Melissa was the very person trying to keep them apart.

“At the barbecue, Melissa mentioned she lived on the same street,” Josias said, rubbing his brow and narrowing his eyes as he pieced the memory together. “She said I’d walked past her house without even knowing it. That means she lives somewhere before you get to Pamela’s.”

“If you go out there and start asking the neighbors...”

Josias grinned. “That’s it! Mr. Campos might have forbidden me from his house, but he hasn’t forbidden the neighbors from talking to me. Someone is bound to help!”

Teodoro smiled back and raised his coffee cup. The two clinked their mugs in a silent toast.

***

Meanwhile, Fabrício was parking his Gol on the corner of Melissa’s street, careful not to block the narrow road. He glanced around nervously, worried that a local gang might take an interest in his car. Once he was sure the doors were locked tight, he stepped into the alleyway.

Inside the Campos home, Dora was pulling a chicken lasagna from the oven. The steam rose in fragrant clouds, the scent of melted cheese filling every corner of the house. William wandered into the kitchen, still dressed only in his usual shorts.

“Mom, that smells incredible!” he praised.

Dora turned, her eyes widening at her son’s lack of attire. “Go put on something decent, son! We have a guest coming.”

“Oh, come on. It’s Sunday and it’s boiling out,” William complained.

Simeon walked past them, looking relatively sharp in a polo shirt and jeans. “Son, we like to be comfortable, but your mother is right this time. Go change.”

A knock sounded at the door. William offered to get it, but Dora felt a flicker of anxiety. What if it was more of Melissa’s friends?

To her relief — and Fabrício’s immediate annoyance — William answered the door. Fabrício had spent the drive imagining Melissa dressed up and sensual, but instead, the first thing he saw was yet another half-naked male!

“I don’t believe we’ve met,” Fabrício said, trying to hide his distaste.

“I’m Melissa’s younger brother. But I’m her protector all the same,” William said with a sarcastic glint in his eye, extending his hand.

Fabrício shook it, but winced inwardly. Melissa’s brother was squeezing far too hard. Bullying, Fabrício thought bitterly. I really need to join a gym.

Satisfied with his intimidation tactic, William headed to the bedroom to change. Melissa passed him in the hall, telling him to move it. When she reached the door and saw Fabrício, she felt nothing — no spark, no excitement.

Fabrício, however, was in heaven. Melissa looked stunning in new jeans and a striped sleeveless blouse.

“Good morning, Melissa,” he said, his eyes roaming over her in awe. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you. I know I am!”

The response didn’t come from Melissa. Everyone spun toward the door. It was Pamela, standing there in her provocative red dress, making her grand, triumphal entrance.