Matthew leaned closer to Dolores, their faces almost touching. “If you ever disrespect me like that again in the future, I…” His gaze fell upon her lips, and he leaned in, biting them.
A sudden surge of pain jolted through her, and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth. Dolores winced, feeling the burning sensation. Matthew had bitten her.
“From now on, this will be my way of punishing you whenever you wrong me. Is that fair?” he asked, a hint of satisfaction in his voice.
Dolores felt disoriented as she stared at the man before her. She couldn’t fathom the reasoning behind his actions.
“Do you even understand what you’re doing right now?”
Speechless, Matthew struggled to answer her question. Everything that had happened since he met Dolores had been so unexpected that he had lost control of himself, transforming into a different person from who he used to be.
He realized Dolores wasn’t virtuous, that she lacked purity and self-respect.
Yet, the fact that he was drawn to such an immoral woman, experiencing genuine attraction-a man’s normal, physical reaction to a woman-confused him. He concealed his emotions well as he gazed down at Dolores.
With a faint smile, he asked, “And what about you? You rushed forward to protect me from the sword without considering your own life. Does that mean…”
Matthew’s face moved even closer to hers, matching her every step as she attempted to retreat. They were now in proximity, and the slight, soft, gentle smile on his face couldn’t be ignored.
“Have you fallen in love with me?”
Was that why she had risked her own safety, disregarding herself and her child when he was in danger?
Matthew recalled how shocked he had been when he turned around and saw her hurrying towards him.
Dolores turned away, refusing to meet his gaze. “Mr. Nelson, you certainly have a sense of humor. We’ve only known each other for a few days. How could I fall in love with you so quickly?”
If she hadn’t suspected him of being the father of her child, she wouldn’t have put herself in such a perilous situation. She cherished her own life as she needed to survive for the sake of her mother and child.
Matthew wasn’t angered. Instead, he turned away, reclining on the sofa and smiling. “Perhaps you fell in love with me at first sight? Love at first sight does happen, right?”
Though he appeared to be addressing Dolores, his words felt more like a rhetorical question.
Dolores tightly squeezed the hand resting on her leg, but she responded calmly. “I don’t believe in love at first sight.”
Unwilling to continue the conversation, she stood up to get some water for herself, intentionally avoiding the topic. They were strangers, bound by fate to live under the same roof. Now they were discussing the most enigmatic word in the world: ‘love.’ She couldn’t help but chuckle quietly to herself.
As she sipped her water, Dolores peered through the glass and gazed at the piano standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. A sense of melancholy overshadowed any trace of happiness she had felt.
The following day, Dolores visited the hospital to see Jessica. This time, Jessica was lucid and recognized Dolores instantly. She clutched Dolores’ hands, refusing to let go.
“Lola, I’m so glad you’ve come to see me. I’ve missed you terribly during my time here.” Jessica held Dolores’ hands tightly, as if afraid Dolores would vanish the moment, she released them.
Overjoyed to see Jessica more alert, Dolores exclaimed, “I won’t leave. Once you’re strong enough, we’ll leave this place together.”
After her arrangement with Matthew concluded, Dolores planned to purchase a small house where she could live with her mother and child.
“How come Dr. Herbert hasn’t visited me in the past few days? Are you angry with him?” Jessica asked, sensing Sampson’s thoughts to some extent.
Jessica had a great fondness for Sampson and admired his kind-hearted nature. Moreover, he was a doctor. If Dolores could break free from Matthew and marry Sampson, many of their problems would be solved. The main issue was Dolores being pregnant with a child whose father was unknown. Whenever Jessica thought about the child, she fell into deep despair.
“He has been called away on business and won’t be back for a while,” Dolores replied, her gaze downcast with sadness.
Sampson had promised to help her uncover the truth about that fateful night. He should be in A Country now.
“If you weren’t pregnant, wouldn’t it be wonderful to be with him? He’s a doctor, so you know he’s kind-”
“Mom,” Dolores quickly interrupted Jessica, helping her fasten a bracelet around her wrist. “Mom, do you recognize this?”
Jessica looked down and gasped. “Of course! It’s been years… How did you get this?”
“Randolph gave it to me…” Dolores trailed off, uncertain how to broach the main reason for her visit, apart from spending time with her mother. “Randolph is in a dire financial situation, and he came begging for help yesterday. I don’t know what I should do.”
Dolores despised Randolph to the core and wished he were dead. On the other hand, he was still her father, even if he was a wretched man. He had played a role in bringing her into this world.
Jessica’s gaze remained fixed on the bracelet. “I don’t want you to worry about this, Lola. Don’t dwell on the past. Don’t involve yourself with people from the past. Don’t seek revenge, but don’t forgive them either.”
Dolores understood her mother’s meaning. Regardless of Randolph’s current state, regardless of whether he was good or bad, she shouldn’t entangle herself with him.
“Okay.”
The two of them talked for a while longer, and it was only when visitor hours ended that Dolores left the room.
After leaving the room, Dolores headed to the nursing station to ask about her mom’s condition.
“She’s so aware of everything around her now; doesn’t that mean she’s recovered?”
“No, she randomly forgets some matters and while she does remember things in the short term, but not everything in the long term. We need to keep her under observation for a while still to see if we can figure out what may be wrong.”
Dolores struggled to hide her disappointment as she thought Jessica was recovering quickly. “Please take good care of her for me then.”
“We will. Dr. Herbert specifically told us about this, so please don’t worry.”
Dolores thanked the nurse and left the hospital.
Since Jessica recommended, she not do anything to Randolph, Dolores decided to let go of her former grudge against her father as well. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, Dolores called a cab back to her office.
In the cab, Dolores looked out the window, gazing at the city that was both so familiar and unfamiliar to her. She let herself get lost in her thoughts until the car passed by the building of the Flores Group and many people were gathered outside the entrance, holding banners with big letters saying, ‘Return my hard-earned money.’
“Stop here, please,” Dolores called as she rolled down the car window and stared at the protesting workers.
The driver looked at Dolores in the mirror and spoke up. “You heard about all this, right? This unscrupulous business executive uses inferior materials so the buildings he’s constructing collapse before they’re done. Those who already paid the company had terrible luck, who would dare to live in such a house? However, even if they don’t want it, the company won’t refund their money. People gather here every day to voice their anger, but nothing has come of it yet. Miss, have you also bought a house from this company?”
Dolores shook her head. “No. Thankfully, I haven’t”
“That’s good. Most people can’t afford to buy a house, so many people here have used all their savings to hire this company and their builders. Now that all these issues are coming to light, the customers are understandably frustrated. In short, the developer is too deceitful, and many people have been deceived by them.”
The more the driver spoke, the angrier he became. It sounded as if he was also a victim of the scam.
“Do you want to get off here?” The driver asked, not wanting to waste any more time sitting there when he could be getting more customers.
“No, let’s go,” Dolores said, turning away, not wanting to see any more of the demonstration.
It was none of her business.
As soon as the car stopped in front of WY Tower, Dolores paid and got out of the car. She was about to walk into the building when a man in a black suit ran over.
“Excuse me, are you Ms. Flores?”
Dolores turned her head and sized up the man. He was completely unfamiliar to her. She tried to recall him from her childhood, or maybe the news, but she was certain she had never seen him before.
Having been victimized last time, she was extremely alert and cautious. Instead of admitting who she was, she asked him a question. “Who are you? I don’t know you.”
The man was perfectly calm and answered with a smile and small bow. “I’m the driver of the woman I serve. She wants to speak with you.”
“Who is the woman you serve?”
Dolores frowned. She looked around and saw a luxurious black car parked on the roadside.
The person inside the car must’ve noticed Dolores looking their way as the window slowly rolled down
The driver glanced over at the car, and his smile widened as he spoke. “This is Mrs. Herbert.”