Matthew felt like the unhappiest man in the world. He held his wife tightly in his arms, but they couldn’t be intimate with each other.
He buried his face in her hair, catching a faint whiff of shampoo, as he softly kissed and nibbled on the back of her neck.
Dolores’s face was partially hidden in the pillow. She glanced at her sleeping son and daughter before reaching out to gently touch their cheeks.
As she looked at them, thoughts of the passionate moments she had shared with Matthew that night flooded her mind. But instead of feeling good, she felt a sense of melancholy.
“Matthew, how many women have you been with?” she asked suddenly.
She couldn’t quite explain why, but the thought of him being intimate with other women made her feel uneasy.
He was her first.
Even though she had tried to forget it, he had left a deep impression on her.
She had to agree with the saying that women were sentimental creatures.
There had always been a special place in her heart for the man who had taken her virginity.
Matthew paused his kisses, still savoring the lingering scent of her body in his nostrils. It was subtle, yet refreshing.
His voice sounded a bit husky, “Why are you asking this all of a sudden?”
Dolores buried her face deeper into the pillow, “I was just curious. I’m sleepy. Let’s go to sleep.”
But Matthew sensed that her question wasn’t just borne out of curiosity.
He held her shoulders firmly and pulled her closer. Dolores tried to resist and whispered, “Don’t touch me. I’m tired.”
Matthew paid no attention to her resistance and forcefully pulled her closer, looking directly into her eyes. “Tell me, what’s bothering you?”
Dolores pretended to be calm. “I’m just tired.”
Matthew cupped her chin and raised it, making her meet his gaze. “Are you jealous?”
“No,” she quickly denied.
But deep down, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of unfairness. She had given him her first and most precious experience, while she knew she wasn’t his first.
She stubbornly denied her jealousy.
“Then why are you upset?” His eyes lit up as his fingers caressed her soft, pink lips. He took pleasure in gently pressing his fingers against them.
“I’m not,” she insisted, unwilling to admit her feelings of resentment and jealousy.
He smiled. “Alright, if you’re not jealous…”
As he finished his sentence, he leaned closer to kiss her. But when Dolores tried to move away, he playfully threatened, “If you want the kids to witness me kissing you, then stay still.”
Concerned about their children, Dolores stopped moving. Her eyes welled up with tears, reflecting her sadness.
Matthew kissed her tenderly and whispered, “I’ve never been with any woman except you.”
In his heart, he only had love for this woman.
“What about Maria?” she asked, remembering how kindly he treated her.
He had even spent a night with her at the villa.
Dolores couldn’t bring herself to believe it when he claimed they hadn’t had sex.
Not only did Dolores doubt his words, but even Matthew himself didn’t believe it.
“I used to think there was something wrong with me.” It wasn’t that he lacked sexual desire for Maria or any other woman. It was just that he had no desire for any woman except Dolores.
He had been kind to Maria because she claimed to be the woman he had slept with that night.
He believed Maria had given him the most precious gift a woman could offer, and he felt responsible for her.
It wasn’t love or liking; it was simply a sense of responsibility.
“Um… Mommy…” Simona’s hands were moving restlessly as if she were having a nightmare.
Dolores gently patted her daughter’s back. “There, there. Mommy’s here.”
Simona’s little hand touched Dolores’s chest, as if seeking reassurance that it was her mother, before she settled down again.
Dolores wrapped her arms around her daughter and tucked Samuel in the blanket. Turning to the person behind her, she said, “It’s getting late. Let’s go to sleep.”
Matthew was speechless.
He moved closer and embraced her.
Matthew didn’t sleep well that night, finally dozing off after midnight.
Samuel had a peaceful, dreamless sleep and was the first to wake up in the morning. When he saw Matthew hugging Dolores, he furrowed his brow and sat up in bed, seemingly angry.
Unable to contain his anger any longer, he pulled Matthew’s arm away and placed himself between them, separating them.
Their movements woke both Matthew and Dolores, and Samuel quickly sought comfort in his mother’s arms. “Mommy, please hug me.”
It was a rare occurrence.
Dolores softened at the sight of his sudden action and embraced him, planting a kiss on his forehead.
Matthew was speechless.
He rolled over and silently stared at the ceiling.
All he wanted was to win back his wife. Why did even his son have to turn against him?
“Mommy, did you have a hard time before?”
Dolores couldn’t quite comprehend Samuel’s words and assumed he was speaking nonsense in the early morning.
She reached out to touch her son’s forehead, but Samuel moved his head away. “I don’t have a fever.”
“Then what… What did you mean just now?”
Samuel glanced at Matthew behind her. “When you were pregnant with us, there were people saying you were pregnant before you married him. You struggled through the difficulties of giving birth and raising us alone. So, you shouldn’t be kind-hearted toward those who have disappointed and abandoned you during your toughest times. Otherwise, he’ll think you’re easily swayed and won’t appreciate you. He might even hurt you again.”
Dolores finally understood her son’s behavior that early morning.
She reached out and pinched his cheeks. “Where did you learn all these ‘great principles’?”
“Mommy, promise me you won’t easily forgive people who hurt you.” Samuel wore a serious expression on his little face.
His earnestness pleased Dolores, yet also saddened her. She felt she couldn’t reject his request and nodded. “I understand.”
Matthew rolled over again and lay in bed. He knew Samuel had voiced those words for him to hear.
But he couldn’t argue against a single word.
As they say, “The consequences of our own actions are the hardest to bear.”
If he hadn’t trusted Maria so easily just because she had saved his life, he wouldn’t be in this situation.
There was no one else to blame.
The curtains, blocking the sunlight, cast a dark shadow in the room even though it was nearly seven o’clock. Dolores got up to find clothes for the children, dressing them and helping them freshen up.
Matthew buttoned his shirt and stood by the bathroom door. “Let’s go to the mall.”
Dolores didn’t have anything to wear.
Dolores nodded.
After washing up, she put on a dress. When she went to the door to change her shoes, Matthew pulled her towards him. “Just wear slippers and come to the mall.”
Her arch wound hadn’t completely healed, and wearing high heels would strain her ankle.
Dolores looked down at the hotel slippers on her feet and blinked. “Is it okay to go out like this?”
“I don’t mind how you look.” Matthew reassured her, putting his arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry. I’ll be with you.”
Dolores looked up at him, dressed in a suit, exuding an air of confidence and success. She lowered her head, realizing there was nothing to worry about if he didn’t mind her appearance.
After having breakfast downstairs, they all got into the car, and the three cars left the hotel one after another.
After about twenty minutes, they arrived at the largest shopping mall in White City.
The mall wasn’t overly large, with four floors and elevators traversing the hallways. There were entertainment facilities for children to enjoy. The first floor housed clothing stores, while the second floor was dedicated to jewelry. The top floor housed the cinema and restaurants.
Simona didn’t want to go upstairs with them when she saw the entertainment facilities downstairs.
“You two wait for me here. I’ll go upstairs and buy some clothes, then come back down.” Dolores knew her daughter well. If she wasn’t allowed to play, she would start causing trouble.
Dolores released her son and entrusted him with looking after his sister. “Take care of her for Mommy.”
Samuel nodded. “Okay, Mommy. Come back quickly.”
“Sure.”
Dolores went upstairs alone, accompanied by the bodyguard arranged by Boyce.
Dolores, a talented fashion designer with an eye for selecting the perfect attire, always prioritized comfort when choosing clothes. Since she wasn’t attending any important events, she opted for casual outfits.
As she perused the racks, her eyes landed on a familiar brand called MO. She had previously purchased items from this brand and had fallen in love with both the style and comfort they provided. Intrigued, she decided to step inside.
To her surprise, she discovered such a renowned brand in the small town of White City. It was a pleasant revelation for Dolores.
Dolores set her sights on a beige hoodie and approached the salesgirl, who seemed engrossed in her phone while seated on a sofa. “Excuse me, is this hoodie available in size S?”
Without even raising her head, the salesgirl replied nonchalantly, “The hoodie costs 4800 Yuan. Are you sure you want to try it on?”
Dolores was taken aback by the salesgirl’s indifferent attitude. In the past, she had always received excellent service whenever she entered a shop. This unexpected behavior left her truly surprised.
Taking a deep breath, Dolores replied, “Yes, I’m sure.”
Finally, the salesgirl reluctantly got up from the sofa and glanced dismissively at Dolores’s hotel slippers. Mockingly pursing her lips, she quipped, “Is it a new trend to wear disposable shoes outside now?”
Clearly, the salesgirl assumed that Dolores couldn’t afford such expensive clothes based on her attire.
Continuing her chatter, the salesgirl grabbed the hoodie and said, “All the clothes in our shop are branded and designed by foreign designers. If you try them on, you must buy them…”
Dolores interrupted, confused by the salesgirl’s assumption. “I never said I had to buy it after trying it on. Thank you, but I’ll pass.”
She couldn’t comprehend why the salesgirl felt the need to taunt her when all she wanted was to purchase a hoodie. What kind of arbitrary expectation was that?
This was the first time Dolores had encountered such a situation.
The salesgirl slammed the clothes back onto the rack, stood up, and stared at Dolores. “What do you mean? Did I ask you if you were sure you wanted to try it? You said you were sure, so I took it out for you. And now you’re telling me you don’t want it anymore? Are you trying to play games with me?”
“No…”
“What do you mean?” The salesgirl’s tone grew aggressive.
Dolores realized that she couldn’t reason with someone like this. She turned to leave, but the salesgirl grabbed her arm. “You can’t leave. I’ve already taken out the clothes. You have to buy them!”
“This doesn’t make any sense!” Dolores was genuinely shocked by the salesgirl’s bossy behavior. She had always assumed that clothing store staff were professionally trained and wouldn’t behave so unreasonably.
“If you can’t afford it, why are you wasting my time pretending to be a wealthy woman?” The salesgirl arrogantly pouted, as if she wouldn’t allow Dolores to leave without purchasing the hoodie. “If you ask me to take it out, you must buy it. I already told you the price: 4800 Yuan. Pay up.”
“Call your boss over here,” Dolores asserted, realizing that reasoning with the salesgirl was futile.
“The boss is not available, and you can deal with me. I’m the boss’s cousin, and I can make decisions on their behalf.”
Dolores finally understood that the salesgirl’s audacity stemmed from her connection to the boss.
“Miss, you shouldn’t treat your customers like this…”
“Enough with the nonsense. Pay up, take your clothes, and leave!” The salesgirl’s arrogance was evident, as if she believed she ran the shop due to her relationship with the boss.
“What if I refuse to pay?” Dolores responded with a cold expression.
“Oh, then I won’t let you leave the shop. Just so you know, my cousin knows Charles White. Do you know him? He’s my cousin’s friend and happens to own this mall. If you want to act like a wealthy woman, you’ve come to the wrong place.”
Dolores couldn’t help but notice that people from humble backgrounds often acted arrogantly when they had influential connections, just like this salesgirl.