Amor Real

(inicially entitled Bodas de Odio of which it is a remake)

Mexico. Televisa. 6/8/03 - 10/17/03.

Colombia. RCN. 9/22/03 - 1/04

USA (Univision) Oct. 25, 2004 – Mar. 17, 2005

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NOVELA IN A NUTSHELL

A Concise “Cliffs Notes” Summary of Amor Real

Telenovela-World: Here's a Summary of the whole show Author: 2gether-mike (---) Date: 09-24-04 19:46 PDT

The story develops during the second part of the XIX century.

In 1862, Don Joaquin Guerra, the owner of San Cayetano and Santa Rita Estate, was dying. Inside the cold room, tension and curiosity grew amongst his employees and servants, while Father Urbano, the village’s priest, stood close to Don Joaquin trying to convince him to sign a document legally recognizing Manuel as his son. The people present in the room observed expectantly doubting that the powerful and despotic man would sign the papers. At last, when the pen touched the paper the heavy silence broke, Joaquin Fuentes Guerra had finally signed. Immediately after, Antonia, the young daughter of the man in charge of running the Estate, ran out to look for Manuel in the stables. Manuel did not care that Joaquin Fuentes Guerra was agonizing, he did not feel sorry for him, in fact he had many reasons to hate him. When Antonia told him the news that he had become Don Joaquin’s only heir, Manuel’s face showed no satisfaction.

Manuel was soon to become a thirty-year-old man, tall, attractive, hard working and totally devoted to his profession as a doctor. After many years of being away, he had come back to San Cayetano because of the news he received from his godfather, Father Urbano, telling him that his father was dying. Since very young, Manuel knew that Don Joaquin was his father; he had sexually abused his mother when she was a poor young woman working for him. Because of this she was obligated to leave the village. Don Joaquin was a tough man, he reflected this in the way he treated his servants. Manuel knew this because of his own experience; in numerous occasions Don Joaquin hit him, just like he hit his servants for no reason at all. As the years went by, the fear Manuel felt towards his father started turning into bitterness. The only thing that kept him going was his dream of having a better life. Overcoming the fatigue from the long work hours, he managed to escape to Father Urbano´s house to learn how to read and write. Father Urbano knew that Don Joaquin was never going to recognize Manuel as his own son, so he decided to send the young man to study medicine in the capital city.

Don Joaquin’s two sons and wife died during a cholera epidemic suffered in the village. After he became a widower, Don Joaquin did not go out of San Cayetano, he did not care about what happened outside his estate and he dedicated himself exclusively to making more money. In several occasions, Father Urbano tried to talk to Don Joaquin about Manuel, but Don Joaquin refused to listen.

Years later, in his deathbed, the proud man finally changed his mind and gave permission for Manuel to return to his Estate. Feeling that he had only a few more hours to live, he was persuaded by Father Urbano´s pledge to sign his will and leave all his possessions to his son Manuel. Praying that there would be a sign of affection between father and son, Father Urbano asked Manuel to come close to his father. Don Joaquin did not move or pronounce a word: with his eyes staring at the empty space, either he did not care or he did not understand what was going on. Few seconds went by and he died. After so many years of suffering, Manuel felt that the hate and bitterness from the past had disappeared; now he could only feel a great emptiness in his life.

Far away from San Cayetano, in a town called Trinidad City, life was very different. In a garden, far away from any indiscrete looks, a couple kissed passionately. The beautiful Matilde Peñalver and Beristain had met Adolfo Solis a few months ago. He was a handsome cavalry lieutenant. This was her first true love. For him she was the love of her life, even though he saw difficulties in her parents consenting to their marriage. Matilde was the daughter of general Hilario Peñalver and Beristain and doña Augusta Bustamante Curiel, one of the most prestigious and well-known families in town, while he was just a lieutenant, without a pompous family name.

Matilde insisted that Adolfo spoke to her father, but he was sure that when that day came, he would go to their house to ask for her hand and that would be the last time he ever saw her. And he was not willing to loose her.

The next few months went by fast for Manuel. He kept himself busy in the family business, while for Matilde the days seemed like years since Adolfo had been sent North on a military mission.

Mexico was in war. The French army had occupied the country and the fighting became worse. Mexico had tried to get support from de US, but they were too busy fighting their own Civil War, so they only recognized Benito Juarez government.

During those same days, Manuel had travelled to Trinidad for business related with his Santa Rita Estate, which he inherited from his father. On that trip was when he saw Matilde on the street and fell in love with her beauty.

For a long time the Peñalver family had been facing financial troubles. Hilario, Matilde and Humbertos father had dedicated himself entirely to his career allowing unscrupulous administrators to manage his portfolio, which little by little had been falling into the wrong hands. In the last years, he had to retire from his post as general because of his heart condition. The spending in hands of Humberto and his mother, Augusta, was tremendous. She paid off all his gambling debts, even though this was one of the reasons why the family was having such financial troubles. So the father was unaware of the real situation. Augusta instead was convinced that the best answer to all of their problems was simply for Matilde to marry a rich man, so she convinced her sister Prudencia to talk to her. The young woman firmly believed that she should marry for love and had her father’s full support.

Manuel’s arrival in Trinidad City caused a great stir in the town, since nobody knew that Don Joaquin Fuentes Guerra, in fact, had another son. Therefore, the rich families in town, seeing great chances for their daughters, hurried and invited him to their houses. They saw him as the perfect son in law. But Manuel was not a man who loved the social atmosphere, even though he knew how to behave in these stylish reunions, he disliked them, his living ways were still those of a humble person, simple and transparent.

Augusta, Matilde’s mother, immediately felt very interested in Manuel’s position, especially considering her own family’s situation. Knowing that he had inherited Don Joaquin’s fortune, she, with her son Humberto’s help, decided she would do anything to make the wedding between Manuel and her daughter a reality. With great cleverness she made Manuel believe that her daughter felt some kind of attraction for him, and after that she did not hesitate to mention the financial trouble they were going through. She even spoke to Manuel about her husband’s heart condition, the great love that Matilde felt for her father and at last she told him that she hoped Matilde’s husband would be a generous man, willing to help them with their money troubles.

Manuel realized instantly that Augusta was just a selfish and opportunistic woman. Nevertheless, what he felt for Matilde since the first moment he saw her made him ignore her egocentrism. He simply took Augusta’s words as the typical customs of rich people circle’s to arrange marriages. So he accepted to marry Matilde, in exchange he would help them financially. His only condition was that the girl did not find out about the deal. Deep inside he wanted her to accept him for who he was, not for his money or social position.

Meanwhile, Humberto found out about the romance his sister was having with Adolfo, who was back in town, and he ran to tell his mother. Augusta was desperate and seeing that neither her begging nor her threats worked to convince Matilde that Adolfo was not the right man for her, she decided to talk to a general in the army to see if he could help her. Under the table, Humberto gave money to a vedette so she would pretend to be Adolfos wife.

That same day Adolfo’s fake wife came to Matilde’s house and told her all the lies planned by Humberto and Augusta. Then Adolfo was arrested, under false accusations and was sent to prison.

Matilde looked for Adolfo, because she trusted him and she knew things could be straightened out. But she never heard from him again. With time all the evidences planted by her mother and brother made her believe that he indeed was guilty and that he never loved her. The pain, her broken heart and her sadness, together with her mother’s pressure and her brother’s persuasiveness, made her accept Manuel’s marriage proposal.

Meanwhile the French had won some territory and president Benito Juarez had to find refuge in San Luis Potosí.

The day of Manuel and Matilde’s wedding was getting closer. He was deeply in love and waited anxiously for the day in which she would become his wife. Meanwhile, she only had Adolfo and their failed love in her mind. The only hope she had in her heart was her future husband; at least he was a handsome, gentile and good-hearted man. Above all she believed, the sacrifice she was doing by marrying this man would at least solve many of her family’s problems. And she knew this because even though Augusta had promised Manuel she would never tell Matilde about their deal, Augusta had to in a desperate attempt of convincing her to marry this young man; and apparently it worked.

Few days before the wedding took place, Adolfo fled from prison with Delfinos help. Delfino was moved by Adolfo’s tragic love story and decided to help him. From that day on Delfino became Adolfo’s most loyal friend and his personal assistant. Adolfo was still obsessed with his feelings for Matilde, so he found his way back to Trinidad City. That same day the wedding was supposed to take place. Adolfo’s was in shock when he arrived in Matilde’s house and saw they were celebrating, and his heart broke into pieces when he saw her wearing a wedding dress. After blaming each other for what had happened, finally they understood that all their troubles had been planned and that the only way of finding happiness was to run away. Manuel’s friend, Sixto, was listening to their conversation, so he warned Manuel about what they were planning.

Manuel could not believe what Sixto had just told him and when he asked Matilde for explanations, she had to tell him the truth. She started crying and with lots of anger blames him for inventing the lies she was told about Adolfo, the fake wife, and even worse, she tells him that she only accepted him as a husband because she was deceived by Adolfo and wanted to save her family from being broke, but now that she knew the truth behind everything she was convinced that the only man she could ever love was Adolfo Solis.

Manuel is blinded by jealousy. He was very hurt by what Matilde had said and blames her for being as despicable as her family and tells her that if she is in love with another man that is not his problem. She is now his wife and that she has to abide her husband, since that was deal he made with her mother. After the discussion, he cancelled their honeymoon to Europe, and forcing her into the carriage he took her to San Cayetano. They spent their first night as husband and wife in a small lodge on the way to her new home, without any contemplation he made her carry out her duties as a wife. With tears and sobs she begged him not to.

That is how married life started for Matilde and each day that went by she could only hate this man that humiliated her. Manuel, on the other hand, was burning with the passion that grew inside of him.

For Matilde these were bitter days, suffering and humiliation plagued her life. She tried to run away many times, but Manuel was always watching every step she took. Besides that, Antonia the administrator’s daughter had fell in love with Manuel, so she took in her hands the mission of making Matilde’s life more miserable with the help of her friend Damiana.

Little after Matilde arrived in San Cayetano, Rosario Aranda, Manuel’s mother, came back into the village. She went to visit Father Urbano to talk to him about all her miseries and explain to him how she had to leave the town when Don Joaquin started threatening her, leaving her son behind. Now that the old man had died she was willing to recuperate her son, but maybe it was to late now that he was rich and was married to an aristocratic young woman. She did not even dare get close to him; she didn’t want to make him feel ashamed of his past. Father Urbano accepted her plea and decided to help her, he promised not to tell Manuel that she was his mother. So he recommended her as a good worker in order to start serving in San Cayetano. Matilde felt great sympathy for her since the day she met her, and intervened in her favour. Little time after, Rosario started working for them. Matilde’s affection for Rosario grew, even though she did not know she was her husband’s mother. Rosario on the other hand, kept her secret, but was loyally devoted to Matilde and especially to her son Manuel.

Everyday that went by Rosario was scared that Silvano, an old friend, would reveal her secret. So at the beginning she denied to be the same Rosario he knew from years ago. Seeing his insistence she could not lie any more and she told him the truth, but she begs him to keep her secret and so he does. He becomes her confidant and even defends her from Antonia and Damianas intrigues.

Meanwhile, Adolfo finds out where Matilde went. He goes with Delfino, his loyal servant, to San Cayetano. On their way there, they find the body of the new man in charge of running Manuel’s Estate, who had been murdered by some robbers. Adolfo took advantage of his good luck and stole the recommendation letters that Sixto had given to the dead man. Adolfo decided to present himself as Felipe Santamaria the new administrator of San Cayetano.

When Matilde saw Adolfo she almost died, she was stunned when Adolfo told her his only purpose there was to take her away with him. After the excitement of their first encounter, Matilde decided that it was impossible for her to maintain a relationship with Adolfo, her moral values did not allow her to be with two men at the same time, specially now that she was married and belonged to another man. So she tries to convince him to leave, forget about her and start a new life on his own far away from her, but it is useless. Adolfo insists they deserve another opportunity, they were tricked into believing a lie and for that reason they deserved to live happily together.

Meanwhile, Humberto and his friend Renato Piquet decide they needed to make money the easy way, they were both very interested in becoming rich without having to work hard. They found the perfect victim, Josefina de Icaza was a not so young naïve and very wealthy woman. They decided Humberto could marry her with the help of a fake judge and become the owner of all her wealth and then ran away to Europe. The plan failed when Josefinas brother, Jose Maria de Icaza, found out what Humberto and Renato were trying to do with his sister. Trying to run away from the consequences, both of them went to Matilde in San Cayetano to beg for her help. When they arrived, Humberto recognizes Adolfo and finds out he has changed his name and is working as the administrator of the Estate. So that is the perfect chance for Humberto to blackmail Matilde. If she does not get Manuel to help them, he threatens her to tell Manuel the truth about who the new administrator really is.

Matilde was already haunted by the fear she felt that her husband could find out about Adolfo. She is desperate with the situation, specially knowing that if Manuel finds out the truth, his incontrollable and jealous character could have fatal consequences. Adolfo is aware of Humberto’s plans and he decides to sell his properties and pay Humberto the money he is asking for, before causing Matilde any more problems. Adolfo threatens Humberto with killing him if he ever bothers Matilde again.

Manuel starts becoming closer to Adolfo. Manuel sees in Adolfo a determined and intelligent man. Even though they don’t agree in many things they do share the same ideals. They even enjoy the talks about the social and political situation in their country.

Adolfo’s feelings towards Manuel are mixed. On one hand he sees an adversary, the man who took away from him the love of his life. On the other, he recognizes that the man has his virtues. He is generous, noble and knows how to treat his people. These virtues have not been unattended by Matilde, whom little by little has been falling in love with Manuel.

Meanwhile, Jose Maria de Icaza, Josefina’s brother finds Humberto in San Cayetano and forces him to go back to Trinidad City and marry his sister, but in front of a real judge. Aware of the person Humberto was, Jose decided to make his sister to sign a power of attorney that would allow him and not her husband to manage her wealth. When Humberto finds out about this he becomes hysterical. Josefina’s life is a disgrace; her husband was an impotent gold digger. One day, with Renato’s help, Josefina decides she must change her physical appearance in order to attract her husband’s attention. Matilde and Manuel planned a party in their house to which Humberto and Josefina were invited. That day she impressed the rest of the guests with her beauty and even her husband starts appreciating not only her looks, but for the good woman she is. Thanks to the intervention of a specialist, Humberto overcomes his impotence.

Matilde is pregnant. She decides to tell Adolfo and asks him once again to get out of her life and forget about her. Adolfo was now convinced that he had lost her forever, so he decides to leave San Cayetano and allow her to live blissfully next to her husband.

At last Matilde and Manuel started enjoying their happiness, they felt more in love than ever and not even Antonia and Damiana’s intrigues could destroy them. The joy of having their first child contributed to the happiness felt in their home.

Prudencia and Matilde find out that what they had been suspecting a while ago was true; Rosario was Manuel’s mother. Rosario confesses her secret to them and explains how hard her life was, how she is ashamed of the things that happened in the past. She even specified why she did not want Manuel to find out the truth and they promise to keep the secret.

Envy made an ill-fated politician want to assassinate Manuel. For the job he hired Adolfo, but instead of killing Manuel, Adolfo saves his life. At the same time, he kills the bodyguard in charge of keeping on eye on him and seeing that the job was fulfilled. Manuel was so grateful to Adolfo that he helped him escape inside a carriage. The soldiers stopped them and so they had to hide him in a close by house that belonged to the Heredia family.

Catalina Heredia was the daughter of Manuel’s neighbours, a young sweet girl with great passion for life. She finds out while ears dropping on her parents’ conversation that she suffers from tuberculosis and that she is going to die. When she saw Adolfo in her house, she also saw a ray a hope in her life so she lets him hide in her bedroom. She even confesses to him that she fell in love with him the first time she saw him in Matilde and Manuel’s house. Catalina told Adolfo about her sickness and begged him to take her with him, without caring about what her parents thought. Finally he accepted and took her away. Matilde on the other side knew Adolfo and she refused to believe that he had kidnapped the girl, which was the story Catalina’s father was spreading around town.

Catalina looks for Doña Juana, her godmother, for help. Adolfo talks to Catalina’s godmother and was very honest to her telling her the story of what happened with Catalina. So Doña Juana is willing to settle a deal with him, if he accepts to marry her goddaughter and make her happy for the days she has left to live, she is willing to talk to his nephew, General Dominguez, who is an important general in the army. And so she did, Adolfo was named Captain in the army once again, rewarded for the unjust way he had been treated in the past. He also married Catalina in a religious ceremony where they both received Doña Juana’s blessing. During their first night as husband and wife, Adolfo prays to God and asks him to help him fall in love with Catalina and make her happy for the rest of her life.

The happiness that had erupted into Manuel and Matilde’s life ended drastically when Sixto told Manuel who Adolfo Solis really was, how he had made him believe he was the administrator Sixto had recommended in order to be close to Matilde. The explanations Matilde tried to give to Manuel were useless, he was not willing to listen, he did not even want to hear how much she loved him and he even doubted that the child she was having was his. Manuel was blinded by the idea that he had been set up and lied to, so he kicked Matilde out of the house with Prudencia and Rosario. He blamed all of them for covering up all her unfaithfulness.

Augusta blames Matilde for Manuel’s reaction and feels ashamed of her daughter’s behavior. Only Augusta and Humberto knew the real reasons why Matilde had come back home. The rest of the people, even her own father, were told that the climate in San Cayetano was not doing her or the baby any good. At some point Hilario was told that his daughter Matilde discovered her husband was having an affair, and that was the real reason why she left.

Manuel stays by himself in San Cayetano. Jealousy, hate and the feeling that he had been laughed haunted his soul. Father Urbano is not willing to believe that Matilde was unfaithful and tries to convince Manuel to go back to Trinidad City and look for her. Manuel was hurt and resentful, instead he prefers to look for Adolfo and make him pay for his miseries. Nobody seems to know where Adolfo went.

Time goes by and Antonia seduced Manuel. She becomes his lover and he even treats him as his new wife.

Meanwhile, Hilario, Matilde’s father is finding the situation a bit suspicious and he decides to go to San Cayetano and talk to Manuel himself, in order to see what is going on. Manuel was still very hurt and obviously he told Hilario his version of the story, full of hate and pain, blaming Matilde for being unfaithful and her family for covering her up. For the general the story was so strong that he had a heart attack and died. Manuel and Silvano felt sorry for what happened and they took his body to the family in Trinidad City. At his arrival with the news, Matilde blamed Manuel for her father’s death. Augusta insists that Matilde should reconcile with her husband and stop all the gossiping in town. Matilde does not care what people have to say, she just cares about loosing her father, that noble and honest man that always supported and loved her.

The financial situation of Matilde’s family was becoming worst every day, especially now that her father was dead. Rosario offered to start sewing clothes in order to help with some money. Prudencia did not agree at the beginning because she feared Augusta’s reaction. Nevertheless, it was a good idea and they needed the money. So they taught Rosario to read, write and improve her appearance so she could take care of the clients that visited her. Most of the clients were Pilar’s friends, some of the most distinguished and wealthy ladies in town. Pilar was Renato’s sister and one of Matilde’s best friends. She was married to Mr. Ramon Marquez an important politician in town. Pilar decides to help Matilde, but her husband cannot find out since he despises Manuel.

Augusta felt ashamed when she found out that her daughter was “making other people’s clothes”. She thought that was not a honourable job for her. So she kicks her out of the house, together with Prudencia and Rosario. They all go to live in the house Manuel had in the city. Manuel hears about all these troubles and he starts sending Matilde money every month, but her evil mother, Augusta, decides to keep the money and not tell Matilde anything about it.

Giving birth to a boy, fills Matilde’s life of happiness. Rosario, Prudencia and Josefina were also feeling the joy of the newborn. Back in San Cayetano, Antonia pays close attention to Damiana’s advice to avoid any reconciliation between Manuel and Matilde. One day Antonia shows up in Manuel’s house in the city, but she was very surprised to find a stronger Matilde, willing to fight for her rights, and that is what she did. She kicked Antonia out of her house.

Adolfo laments that the son Matilde just had is not theirs, and he blames fate for being too cruel with them. Catalina starts suspecting that Matilde is the woman that Adolfo loves, but he assures her that he is in love with her, and he confesses that long time ago Matilde was his girlfriend, but that was long forgotten.

Meanwhile, Amadeo and Lorenzo, two rebels that the authorities were looking for, hide in Manuel’s estate. Since he shares with them their political beliefs, he decides to help them and even sells them some cattle. This will complicate his life in the nearby future.

Manuel finally meets his son and he is moved when he sees Matilde around the baby. Their going back together lasts little since his insecurities and jealousy is stronger than anything. Rosario defends Matilde and goes against Antonia, who is willing to do anything to separate Manuel from his family. So Rosario kicks Antonia out of the house. Silvano feeling that Manuel is making a big mistake, induce by Antonia, tells Manuel the truth, that Rosario is his mother. Knowing all the truth and after the first moment’s shock he gives his mother the place she deserves around the house, demands Antonia to apologize to his mother and then breaks up with her. Rosario convinces Manuel that he is the father of Matilde’s son, so he decides to accept him as his son and gave the child his family name. Nevertheless, all the jealousy is stronger than his forgiveness and the reconciliation did not last long.

One day Manuel and Catalina meet on the street. She tells him about her marriage to Adolfo and that they are living in the same city. Manuel challenges Adolfo to duel. Matilde begs them no to do it. Catalina’s health weakens and Adolfo decides not to tell his wife anything about the duel. Doña Juana and Pilar warn Manuel that the authorities, sent by Ramon Marquez and Benitez, are watching him, because they suspect he has helped the rebels. The same day of the duel, Silvano was worried that Manuel’s life was in danger so he decides to anticipate the action and injures Adolfo. Adolfo does not die, but Manuel is arrested. Marquez intervenes in the case and asks General Dominguez to set him free. Marquez’s plan is to prove that Manuel has been helping the rebels; if he is found guilty he will be sentenced to death. Thanks to Adolfo’s testimony Manuel was saved. Manuel thought Adolfo had done this out of the love he felt for Matilde, but Adolfo explained that despite the differences they had, he was an honest man and was willing to cancel the duel for the sake of their families.

Marianne, Don Joaquin Fuentes’s niece, who pretends to be “Marie de la Roquette”, arrives in Trinidad City. She seems to be a nice and friendly person with Manuel in order to obtain all his support. But soon she becomes Lieutenant Yves Roquette ally in order to take away Manuel’s fortune. Ramon Marquez comes in the deal when Marie tries to seduce him in order to obtain his help. They will try to prove that Manuel is an impostor; changing the original will Don Joaquin left. At the same time, Renato steals the original paper and uses it for his own benefit. Marie will become Ramon’s lover in order to get his unconditional help in her plans.

Manuel and Matilde clarify all the misunderstandings that have been going on between them, they finally make up. They start planning their son’s baptism and since Augusta demands it, it will be a big celebration; even though that day only the closest friends arrived and their loyal servants. They were all surprised by Josefina’s total makeover.

Antonia and Damiana keep planning ways to break the harmony that Matilde and Manuel have finally reached in their relationship, causing confusions and misunderstandings between them. They pretend to make Manuel impatient till the point that some day he might abandon her.

Benitez and Marquez are still after Manuel and they arrest Amadeo and torture him so he confesses his relationship with Manuel. General Dominguez and Adolfo look for the way to avoid Matilde to be implied and Manuel from being harm until they prove if his guilty or not. Manuel is also worried for Matilde’s safety, but she promises her unconditional support. Amadeo denies knowing Manuel Fuentes Guerra or his wife. General Dominguez, Doña Juana, Adolfo, Father Urbano, Humberto, Renato and Pilar all try to help and intervene in Manuel’s favor. Yves willing to do anything in order to satisfy his own interests tries convincing Amadeo to commit suicide, since it is the only way out for him, and he handles him a knife. Instead Amadeo kills one of the guards and escapes with the help of Manuel, Renato and Lorenzo.

Catalina is weaker every day and Adolfo does not move a second from her side. Catalina asks Matilde to visit Adolfo when she dies and to console him, she asks for her parents’ forgiveness and thanks Doña Juana for all her love and support. Before dying in Adolfo’s arms she also thanks him for making her happy. Adolfo weeps.

Benitez and his people were given orders from Marquez to investigate Father Urbano and Rosario and what they knew about Manuel’s relationship to Don Joaquin. They found out that Rosario had been a prostitute. Their investigations led them to conclude that they had to kill Father Urbano; he was one of Manuel’s strongest witnesses. One of Benitez’s men takes him out of his parish and kills him. They force Rosario to appear in court to testify. She declares that Manuel is Don Joaquin’s son. To refute and discredit her testimony other witnesses declared to know her when she was a prostitute. Manuel is in shock when he heard the news about his mother past and decides to make a deal with Marquez. He is willing to give up all the wealth he inherited from his father as long as he does not arrest his mother and stops calling her a prostitute. Marie on the other hand is happy because seeing that Manuel cannot prove to be Don Joaquin’s son, she will inherit all the wealth the old man left.

Rosario feels ashamed of her past and decides to leave Manuel’s house, but Silvano convinces her no to. The judge does not know about the deal Manuel and Marquez made and orders the authorities to arrest Rosario. Pilar warn Manuel about what is about to happen and he runs away with his mother and Silvano; the soldiers follow them and hit Rosario. Manuel looses control of the carriage and they fall into the river and the authorities claim them to be dead. Matilde suffers a great pain when she finds out they are dead; she cannot accept it. Antonia blames Marie for Manuel’s death and plans to make her pay. Manuel, Rosario and Silvano were saved and they hide in the mountains. Rosario promises Manuel that he is Don Joaquin’s son. The rebels find them and take them to Amadeo’s settlement where they are warmly welcomed.

Augusta reads the letters Manuel sends Matilde, where he tells her that he survived. And she lets Matilde to believe that her Manuel, his mother and Silvano died. Instead Augusta writes a letter asking him to leave them alone, for his son own good.

Hanna, Renato’s friend arrives in Trinidad City. She was a woman’s rights activist and people in town were not used to her way of dressing or acting so they were very critical since her arrival. She moves in with Renato and accomplishes to bring out the good side in him.

General Dominguez and Adolfo had enlisted themselves in the army to fight up North, when they found out about Manuel’s “death”. Adolfo says good-bye to Matilde and offers her once again his unconditional support. He even defends her from Marie, who forces her to leave the house and tells her that neither her son nor her are legally entitled to have the Fuentes Guerra family name. Adolfo offers Matilde to give her and her child his last name.

Manuel and Silvano become part of the rebels and start fighting for the cause, in one of the combats against the army Manuel is terribly injured. Silvano and Rosario decide for him and they follow the rebels north. War continues when they got to the northern part of the country. A fatal confrontation between the rebels and General Dominguez battalion causes the general to die in combat. There were terrible losses on each side, and the battles keep spreading to different regions of the country.

Time goes by and Matilde celebrates her son’s fourth birthday. Matilde still remembers her husband and can’t stop thinking of him. Back in the mountains Manuel still has them on his mind. Matilde, Josefina and Hanna work as volunteer nurses taking care of the wounded soldiers from the war. When they bring Adolfo injured Matilde worried. He is still in love with her so he decided he is going to make her love him again. He even asked her to marry him. Now that Adolfo has a good social and economic position, Augusta approves the wedding and insists that Matilde should accept the proposal. Matilde still loves Manuel, but deep inside she knows Adolfo could be a good father for Manuelito. So she decides to tell Adolfo her feelings and despite the fact that she loves another man, he accepts to become her son’s father and her husband.

When the fighting gets close to Trinidad City, Manuel decides to look for his family. Augusta prohibits him to talk to Matilde now that she has started a new life and she is convinced that he is dead. Manuel was hysterical when he heard Matilde was going to marry Adolfo, so together with Amadeo they set out a plan to take her and his son away. Dressed up like soldiers, a group of rebels and Manuel go into Matilde’s house at night; the same night Adolfo and she were going to announce their engagement. Adolfo recognizes Manuel and tries to stop him, but it was useless, they kidnap Matilde and the governor and they escape. The soldiers hit Amadeo. For the first time in her life Augusta recognizes she is to blame for all the misfortunes in her daughter’s life.

The rebels free the governor. While trying to find refuge in a convent, Matilde was in shock to see Manuel, who was bitter and angry with her. She tries to explain to him that she was told that he was dead and she believed it the whole time, she never got his letters. Manuel was angry because she was going to marry Adolfo. From all the men in the world, she had to marry Adolfo. After arguing, they made love and they argued again, he was a very jealous man.

Adolfo goes out of town with a group of soldiers to rescue Matilde and arrest Manuel and the rebels that helped him. Silvano warn Manuel that the soldiers are close by, and they decide to tell the Superior Mother in the convent the truth about what was happening. Moved by the tragic love story, she accepts to hide Matilde. When Adolfo comes to the convent looking for her, he does not find her. Hours later, Manuel returns and feels very satisfied to see that Matilde was still there waiting for him.

Adolfo still looks for Matilde desperately, since he is convinced that she is staying with Manuel against her will. In his long hours searching the love of his life, Adolfo find Father Urbano, tied up in a shed. He finds out that three years ago, Marquez and Benitez ordered a man to kill him, but the man was not able to do it. So he decided to tie the Father up and give him food. Everybody was glad to see that Father Urbano was alive, except Marquez and Benitez, of course.

Adolfo finds out it was all a planned between Yves and Marquez, in order to make Father Urbano disappear and allow Marie to keep Manuel’s fortune. He even found out that Marie and Ramon became lovers and he realizes that they had stolen Manuel’s wealth; he was also still legally married to Matilde.

Manuel and Matilde have brief moments of happiness, but Manuel’s jealousy and insecurity prevent them from being happy.

During these days, Antonia and Sixto become very close friends. The attraction growing between them is undeniable and he asks her to marry him. She tells him to give her a little time to think about it.

Benitez and Marquez are now afraid that their fraud was going to be discovered. They go after Renato to take away from him the original will, they hit him abruptly but do not fulfil their purpose. Finally Hanna convinces Renato to give the original papers to Humberto. The judge revises the documents, the real one and the forged one. He listens to Father Urbano’s testimony; he reveals that in his death bed Don Joaquin recognized Manuel as his son, to inherit all of his wealth.

Silvano confesses to Manuel the love he feels for Rosario, his mother. He asks for Manuel’s permission to talk to her about his feelings and Manuel tells Silvano she is the one that must decide.

Matilde wants desperately to see her son, so she goes back to the city to find him without telling anything to Manuel. Manuel noticed that Matilde was missing, decides to go to Trinidad City and look for her. In town he meets Adolfo. Silvano knocks Manuel out so he does not go after Matilde and gets killed. Matilde begs Adolfo not to kill Manuel. Adolfo tells the soldiers to let him go, but one of the soldiers named Jesus had been paid by Benitez to kill Manuel. And so he follows him.

Matilde begs Adolfo to leave Manuel alone, because of all he has suffered in life. Adolfo starts kissing her and demands her to think about how much he has also suffered, he starts forcing her and tried to rape her. Delfino saves her and she runs away into the woods. Adolfo has to go back to town, but he asks Delfino to find her.

Silvano confesses Rosario his love and he asks her to marry him. When she is talking to Manuel about Silvano’s proposal she sees that a man is going to shoot her son. She hugs him and is accidentally wounded by the bullet that was supposed to kill Manuel. Amadeo shoots Jesus, the man that shot Rosario. Manuel tries to save her life and Silvano does not move away from her side. Jesus confesses that Adolfo had sent him to kill Manuel. Rosario is about to die, before closing her eyes for the last time; she thanks Silvano for all his love and begs Manuel to forgive Matilde. She dies.

Silvano fell into a big depression and furious because of Rosario’s death, risk his own life and freedom taking Jesus to Trinidad City. There he asks Adolfo for explanations. Adolfo confesses that he did not send him to kill Manuel or Rosario and they discover that Benitez’s hand was behind all of this. Ramon orders his men to kill Jesus so he does not reveal Benitez took part in the crime, this way the real brains behind the assassination remained free.

The Bishop finds out about Manuel’s story and he decides to pressure the governor so that the injustice does not remain silent. The governor is willing to intervene, but he is not willing to punish Ramon Marquez and Benitez. Mexico is at war and they need the men. Adolfo demands justice and challenges Marquez to a duel.

Delfino and the soldiers find Matilde, she escapes. Manuel finds her and protects her. Both the soldiers and Manuel encounter each other, Delfino talks to Manuel and promises that Adolfo had nothing to do with Rosario’s death. When Matilde hears that Rosario died, they both start crying, they promise each other that they will never allow anything or anybody to come between them again.

Hanna convinced Renato to talk to the governor and accuse Ramon for all his evil deeds regarding Don Joaquin’s will. The governor offers the Peñalver and Beristain families his apologies and declares that Manuel is entitled to his family name and wealth. Nevertheless, he has been fighting on the rebels’ side for some time and this makes him a traitor. The only way he can be forgiven is if he desists from pressing any charges against Ramon Marquez. They accept the deal.

Delfino informs Adolfo that they found Matilde with life and safe, but that she preferred staying with her husband. So Delfino asks him to forget about her.

The real Marie arrives in Trinidad City with another nun. Hanna and Antonia guess this Marie is Don Joaquin’s real niece, and that the other was just an impostor. Ramon finds out that “Marie” lied to him, and she confesses that her real name is Marianne and that Yves had planned it all.

Augusta’s maid takes Manuelito to the village fair where she gets distracted and looses the child. All the family and friends start looking for him. Adolfo orders the soldiers to find Manuelito. Marquez and Benitez find out that the kid disappeared and take advantage of the situation making Manuel believe that they kidnapped his son. If he does not turn himself in in three days, they will kill Manuelito. Manuel decides to turn himself in, in order to save his son’s life. When Matilde goes to Trinidad City, desperately looking for help she finds out that her son had been found by a lady in the town’s main square and was returned safely. She tries to warn Manuel, but it was too late, they already caught him and the next day they planned to execute him. The governor orders Adolfo to be the man in charge of the execution, but he refuses to accept. Matilde goes to prison with her son to say good-bye to Manuel, trying to save his life Matilde runs to Adolfo and promises to escape with him if he saves Manuel’s life. At that moment Adolfo finally understands that he has lost Matilde’s love forever and sees that her love for Manuel is so strong that she is willing to sacrifice herself, instead of seeing him die. Adolfo feels compassionate and frees Manuel, not caring about the consequences. The governor was filled with rage, condemns his actions and orders the soldiers to execute Adolfo.

The real Marie announces that Marianne was an impostor. Yves asks Marianne for his money, Ramon beats him up and Yves kills him. Marianne and Yves were arrested; they do not accept the blame, but keep accusing each other.

A squad escorts Adolfo to the execution wall; the rebels following Manuel’s orders try to rescue him. When they are about to do it, a soldier hits Adolfo, who dies into Manuel’s arms. Matilde blames herself for Adolfo’s death.

Matilde, Manuel and her son were reunited for a brief moment. Then Manuel has to fight again, Matilde and her son return to their home in San Cayetano. Matilde felt pain in her heart when she heard Manuel was wounded in the battlefield and had died. The war comes to an end.

Some days go by and Matilde sees a carriage coming close to the house. She cries of happiness when she sees her husband is inside, wounded, but alive. Manuel smiles and Matilde recognizes in that smile the firm and eternal promise that they will never be separated again. They make love. A joyous celebration takes place because the war has ended and Manuel is back home. Six years go by and Manuel and Matilde are still enjoying their true love.

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