Marimar Capitulo 18

Marimar is a poor, innocent girl who lives with her grandparents in a hut on the beach at San Martin de la Costa, in Ixtapa Zihuatanejo. She falls in love with Sergio, the son of Renato Santibáñez, a wealthy ranch owner. Sergio takes an interest in Marimar due to her humble, sweet demeanor and decides to marry her to spite his father and young stepmother, Angélica. Angélica despises Marimar because of her naivete, her illiteracy, and her ignorance of societal norms, deciding to embark on a campaign to disparage and humiliate her. Angered by his stepmother's behavior, Sergio decides to leave on a short business trip to earn enough money to allow him to take Marimar somewhere where she will be safe from Angélica's abuse. However, Sergio's departure leaves Marimar alone with no defense between her and Angélica's malice. First, Angélica turns the family and all the household staff against her. She then devises a plan to rid Marimar from the hacienda by staging a theft: she shows Marimar a bracelet lying in a puddle and tells her that she recognizes it as something that once belonged to Sergio's biological mother. She encourages Marimar to retrieve it from the mud with her teeth, and after Marimar follows Angélica's instructions and retrieves the bracelet, Angélica reports to the police that Marimar has stolen it. With Marimar being sent to prison, Angélica sends one of her servants, Nicandro, to set fire to the home of Marimar's grandparents where both of them die in the blaze that ensues. Finally, Angelica forges a letter in Sergio's name in which he tells Marimar that he never loved her and that he will divorce her. Traumatized by Angélica's wickedness, her imprisonment, the death of her grandparents, and the apparent betrayal of Sergio, the formerly good-natured Marimar becomes a woman hell-bent on revenge. Once released from jail, Marimar decides to create an entirely new life for herself. Accompanied by Padre Porres, she moves to Mexico City, where she adopts a new identity as "Bella".