She believed she could remain calm. But when she heard Matthew’s reminder and saw Randolph standing before her, the memories, wounds, and pain buried deep within her heart resurfaced. She had thought she had moved on, but she hadn’t.
Randolph’s face contorted into a ghastly expression. He was now the one begging for help, having lost his own dignity. What use was there to preserve his pride?
With a thud, he knelt at Dolores’s feet. “Lola, the company is on the brink of collapse due to a project failure. Lives have been harmed, and there’s a conflict with the stakeholders. Dad has no solution left, please help me just this once.”
Initially, he was facing a lawsuit because of the project, but now it had escalated to a matter of life and death. Luckily, Dolores had given him the Repulse Bay contract, allowing him to sell it for some money. He used a substantial sum to compensate the families of those who had lost their lives, resolving the issue privately.
However, the relevant authorities were strict when it came to project failures. He would undoubtedly be held accountable.
The company couldn’t generate enough revenue to cover the significant investment made in this project, leading to a fractured capital chain and the imminent closure of the company.
Dolores stared at the man kneeling before her. Her hands clenched tightly, trembling. She didn’t want to acknowledge the father-daughter relationship, the hugs she had once shared with him, or the endearing term “dad” she had called him.
Yet, there he was, kneeling at this very moment.
To claim she felt nothing would be a lie. She wasn’t that heartless.
Dolores remained silent. Randolph thought she was refusing, so anger and resentment flickered in his eyes. “I did everything you asked last time. Beulah and I divorced, and she left without taking any money, as I didn’t give her anything.”
This was one of the reasons why Beulah had gone mad. Before marrying Randolph, she was a bartender with no money or power. After marrying him, she didn’t have to work but enjoyed the lifestyle of a noblewoman.
How could she survive the divorce without any financial support?
She had already mingled with the upper-class circle of noblewomen. She couldn’t bear to go back to a lowly job.
She had grown accustomed to the high-level lifestyle.
Furthermore, Randolph blamed her for the company’s troubles, claiming that their current crisis was a result of her provoking Matthew. Instead of making Matthew an ally, she had turned him into an enemy who now harmed them.
Randolph also revealed Dolores’s words, where she had promised to help him overcome the company’s difficulties if he divorced Beulah.
Thus, he forcibly dragged her to the Civil Affairs Bureau to divorce her.
Beulah blamed Matthew for everything. If he hadn’t feigned his lameness and deceived others, Randolph would never have brought Dolores and her mother back from abroad.
If he hadn’t pretended to be lame, she wouldn’t have let Dolores marry him.
And none of this would have happened. Beulah wouldn’t have lived in constant fear of Dolores seeking revenge. She wouldn’t have desperately tried to win Matthew’s affection for her daughter, only to end up with nothing and divorced without any financial support.
It was all Matthew’s fault.
If he hadn’t pretended to be lame, everything would be different now.
Dolores wanted to laugh, but it was impossible. She felt that this man was still as heartless as ever.
In the past, it was her and her mother. Now, it was Beulah.
“Lola, Dad feels remorseful, truly. I should never have abandoned you and your mother,” Randolph’s eyes turned red, and tears threatened to fall. “If it weren’t for Beulah getting pregnant last time, I wouldn’t have been so unforgiving. You know, you were just ten years old then, and your mother never got pregnant again. I’m a man, I needed a son…”
“Enough!” Dolores couldn’t bear to hear another word. A son? A son?
Her hatred was so intense that her nails almost pierced her palms, but she didn’t even notice.
Her entire body trembled.
Matthew, standing close by, noticed her agitation. He reached out his uninjured hand to hold hers, firmly wrapping his palm around it.
His hand was broad, strong, and warm.
Inexplicably, it brought solace to her troubled mind.
Gradually, Dolores regained her composure.
“You need to leave now.”
“Lola…”
“Stop talking! If you utter another word, I won’t even consider helping you!” Dolores yelled, her emotions spiraling out of control, easily triggering her agitation.
Perhaps it was because Randolph’s actions never failed to agitate her.
“Take a deep breath and calm down,” Matthew said, placing a firm hand on her shoulder.
Randolph tried to speak, but Matthew cut him off, “If you want help, leave now!”
Reluctantly, Randolph dared not linger any longer.
The living room fell into silence. Coral, standing on the side, didn’t dare say a word. She had initially thought it was a simple family reunion between a father and daughter, unaware of the deep-seated feud that existed between them.
Coral’s heart ached for Dolores.
In divorces, it was always the child who suffered the most.
Dolores wiped away her tears. “I’m sorry you had to witness all this.”
She lowered her head, her hair partially concealing her face.
Matthew pursed his lips, refraining from offering empty words of comfort.
Indeed, some matters couldn’t be forgotten easily with a few comforting words.
Especially matters like these.
Despite her strong resentment towards Randolph, seeing him in such a pitiful state didn’t bring her any satisfaction.
“What would you like to eat? I can prepare it for you,” Coral changed the subject, attempting to break the tension.
Dolores appreciated Coral’s gesture and replied, “I want something sweet.”
Since becoming pregnant, she had developed a preference for sweet food, avoiding anything sour or spicy.
“Great, I just bought fresh ribs today. I can make sweet and sour ribs and prepare a sweet dessert for you,” Coral said, turning towards the kitchen. As she reached the doorway, she glanced back at the two people on the sofa and smiled.
Once Coral left, the living room fell into silence once again.
“Are you accusing me of doing that?” Dolores asked, her tone filled with questioning uncertainty.
“What do you mean?” Matthew raised an eyebrow, meeting her gaze. People often said that businessmen were willing to resort to immoral means-was he like that too?
Engaging in deceitful tactics to achieve his goals?
Even at the expense of human lives?
“What I’m asking is, did you have a hand in that?” Dolores unintentionally voiced her suspicions.
“What are you implying?” Matthew’s anger flared up. Though he thought he was composed, his words lacked the calmness he desired. “Do you really believe I’m responsible for a case involving human lives?”
Silence engulfed the room for three seconds. “Isn’t it true?” Dolores’s words slipped out, filled with uncertainty.
Without warning, Matthew gripped her jaw tightly. “In your eyes, what kind of person do you think I am?”
He had indeed taken action to make the Flores Group crumble.
The Flores Group was like an old building teetering beside a tornado, ready to collapse at the slightest push. Was it plausible that he had invested so much effort, even resorting to actions that endangered lives?
She had thought it was him who had orchestrated it all.
Today, she had doubted him twice. First, she suspected him of causing harm to Annabelle during their visit to the Flores family.
And now, she questioned whether he had harmed lives to achieve his goals.
What did she take him for?
Confronting his furious gaze, Dolores realized she might say something wrong. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to doubt you.”
Matthew was breathing heavily, yet the pressure in his grip remained.
He was still furious because she had doubted him.
Her jaw throbbed, feeling as if it might dislocate under the force of his fingers. She didn’t utter a word or plead for mercy; she endured the pain in silence.
Witnessing her silent endurance, Matthew’s anger gradually dissipated.
His face drew closer to hers. “If you ever dare to indiscriminately doubt me again, I…”