Before that tall and long-legged man could open the door and walk into the lounge, Dorothy, who was behind him, shouted anxiously, “Credence Scott!”
The moment she called out his name, only she herself knew how riotous her heart was beating, as if it was sailing in the seas, flapping against the turbulent wind.
With his phone in one hand and his other hand tucked into the pocket of his trousers, Credence turned around and looked at the beautiful woman standing not far away, his expression placid.
She was wearing a baby blue evening gown, her black and shiny hair immaculately coiffed into a delicate bun, making her look as beautiful as a painting.
There was no expression on his handsome face. Out of courtesy, he lifted his eyelids and asked flatly, “What is it?”
His clear voice was leveled, devoid of any emotions, as if he was asking a stranger who he had never seen before.
After returning to Talco City, Dorothy had imagined herself meeting him over and over again. She had imagined him being angry at her, showing disdain towards her, and even ridiculing her and ignoring her, but she did not expect him to look at her as if he was looking at a stranger. He was expressionless throughout their entire conversation.
His calm attitude caught Dorothy off guard. She stared at him for a long time before she slowly ambled over to him in her high heels, “After all these years, h-how have you been?”
After saying that, Dorothy wanted nothing more but to bite her tongue. She felt that she had asked a stupid question which she should not have.
He had gotten engaged to Rosalie and was finally reunited with the woman he loved. Of course he was doing well!
Obviously, Credence was thinking the same thing. Not only did he think that the woman in front of him was off her rocker, he even thought that she was foolish enough to pretend that they were familiar with each other just so she could flirt with him.
He had seen a lot of women who, by relying on their good looks alone, pushed their luck to marry a rich and powerful man.
“You must have mistaken me for someone else!”
After finishing his calm speech, Credence paid no more attention to Dorothy. He whirled around, pushed open the door and walked in, slamming the door shut.
He had actually said that she had mistaken him for someone else!
He must have been pretending to not recognize her.
Dorothy’s eyes widened in astonishment. She had not expected Credence to be so apathetic and disregardful when facing her. The words that she had practiced a million times were all stuck in her throat, rendered useless.
Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself down!
Forget it. For Belle’s sake, she would not argue with him.
“Wait, Credence, open the door. Let’s make this clear. I’m Dorothy. I’m here to look for you. This is something that’s really important-”
Dorothy clenched her fists and thumped hard against the wooden door.
However, no matter how hard she knocked on the door, the man inside seemed to have disappeared. He did not hear her, nor did he ever show up again.
Just as she was gnashing her teeth, the sound of high heels clanking on the ground was heard on the smooth marble floor behind her.
Before she could turn around to see who it was, her arms tightened as she was yanked to the side. Her nose knocked into the wall, pain jolting within her until she almost shed tears.
Dorothy quickly raised her head up. Through her blurry field of sight, she saw a woman crossing her arms and looking at her coldly with a bone-chilling smile. The stinging pain in her nose quickly reignited that spur of anger that had flared within her upon being ignored by Credence. She raised her arm high and threw a hard slap at the woman’s face, “Rosalie, what do you want?”
“Don’t you know what I want?”
Rosalie had long made preparations. She backed away a few steps, easily dodging Dorothy’s fierce slaps. Her gentle voice was cold and smug as she said, “Dorothy, six years ago, you left prison with Juelz and gave birth to his child. Just stay with Juelz and his child. What are you doing here, looking for Credence? Itching for another man when you have already found one? How shameless you are.”
Dorothy was shocked. She looked up and was met with Rosalie’s sparkling eyes. She straightened her back, smiled faintly, and said, “Who is the shameless one between us? Rosalie, what’s wrong with me looking for Credence? Is it against the law to find our exes to walk down memory lane?”
“It’s been six years. I thought that with your abilities, you would have been able to marry Credence long ago. I didn’t expect you two to only be engaged.”
Rosalie said, “Shut up.”
Rosalie’s face suddenly got distorted into a fiendish expression. With both hands, she clutched at her black handbag and hissed in a subdued voice, “Dorothy, we might only be engaged right now, but he promised me he’ll marry me by the end of this year. I will be Mrs. Scott soon. Why have you come back to destroy my happiness? Why?!”
As she spoke, she took two steps forward and stood in front of Dorothy. She raised her head, her lips tugging upwards as she said, “Didn’t you see Credence just now? He was pretending to not know you, right? Do you know why?”
“It’s because he despises you, and he never wants to see you again!”
“So, Dorothy, why are you still degrading yourself and bringing shame upon yourself here?”
Dorothy’s feet seemed to have been nailed firmly on the spot, her brain foggy while her ears were ringing.
What did she just hear?
Credence despised her? Was that why he had pretended to not know her?!
She suddenly felt her body turn blood-curdling cold, a gloomy feeling building up in her chest.
Seeing her face gradually draining of color, Rosalie sidled up to her, a beatific smile on her face. She whispered, “Dorothy, you ran away with Juelz before you and Credence got divorced. You cheated on him, and still, you are brazen enough to come to him. Why, you never fail to surprise me, don’t you?”
“Also, Credence is now my legitimate fiance. If you dare to harass him like a wh*re behind my back, don’t blame me for being rude to you.”
Stupefied, Dorothy stared at Rosalie’s lips moving. After a long while, she finally found her voice and smiled bitterly, “You’re misunderstanding things. I never meant to hook up with Credence. I’m j-just looking for him for something serious.”
“And what could that be? Humor me. If you want to borrow money, there’s no need to go to him at all. I can give away tens of thousands of dollars right now.”
Rosalie raised her chin haughtily, an extremely smug smile on her face.
Dorothy replied, “No thanks, I don’t need your money.”
No longer bothered about the arrogant woman in front of her, Dorothy turned around and stalked away without hesitation.
Rosalie was wrong. Truth be told, Dorothy had no intention to rekindle the old flame between her and Credence anymore. She just wanted to have a good talk with him first. When he no longer ignored her, she would find a suitable opportunity to bring him to the hospital to check if his bone marrow was compatible with Belle’s.
Unfortunately, she had never expected him to treat her so coldly, so much so that he had even regarded her as a stranger who was hitting on him.
The door of the elevator opened, and Dorothy passed by a man with her head drooping. However, she did not look up but waited for the man to exit before she quickly pressed the button to the lobby on the first floor.
After the man exited the elevator, he noticed that Dorothy’s figure was extremely familiar. He suddenly stopped in his rapid footsteps and looked back thoughtfully, only to find that both doors of the elevator had completely closed. The elevator had gone down.
He shook his head and scoffed at himself. After that, he walked along the corridor towards the lounge.