In Talco City’s airport.
As soon as they left the gates of the airport, Germaine hurriedly stuffed her luggage over, looking panicked.
“Dory, Juelz told me not to tell you all about those matters. If he knows that I’ve deliberately come to Palm City to tell you everything, he will definitely make things difficult for me. He might not even give me money in the future. No, I have to avoid him!”
After that, Germaine turned around and ran away quickly in a red dress. She disappeared in an instant.
Dorothy failed to even have the chance to call out to her at all. She smiled in exasperation as she carried her fiery-red handbag. She was worried about how Germaine would be able to go back to the city without any money or her phone.
A subtle black car parked on the side of the road. Juelz got out of the car and stared at Dorothy with his burning gaze, his eyes reluctant to even blink.
He had not seen her for an entire month. Only God knew just how much he missed her until his heart ached.
He only felt at ease when he saw her, as if a sailing ship had returned to the peaceful harbor.
“Dory, this way, I’m over here.”
Juelz waved his arm and strode towards Dorothy and Belle with his long legs.
Hearing his familiar deep voice, Dorothy turned around and looked at the handsome man with a smile, “Juelz, you’re quick. You must have waited for a long time, haven’t you?”
Even though Juelz had arrived half an hour earlier, he lied. He inadvertently raised his eyebrows and said, “No, I just got here.”
Belle was ecstatic to see him. She pounced on his long legs. The look of happiness could be seen on her face as she exclaimed, “Daddy Juelz, I’ve missed you so much!”
“Belle, what a good girl you are! I’ve missed you too!”
Juelz took Belle into his arms and put his other arm on Dorothy’s slender shoulder. His spirits were high, “Dory, come with me. Let’s put your things back in the apartment first, then I’ll take you out for a seafood feast.”
Along the way, Belle talked with Juelz, and time flew by quickly.
Amidst Dorothy’s daze, Juelz had already reached her apartment and parked his car. He held Belle in one arm and carried her suitcase in another. He followed Dorothy’s footsteps easily and they entered the apartment one after another.
“You can watch television for a while first. I’ll bathe Belle.”
Dorothy took out a bottle from the refrigerator and handed the drink to Juelz. After that, she brought Belle to the bathroom.
As Juelz listened to the sound of running water, he looked out at the lights from houses that belonged to other families. Juelz’s heart was thumped as he suddenly had an illusion of him and Dorothy living a happy life together.
She was Belle’s mother, and sooner or later, he would become Belle’s father. There was nothing wrong with that!
Dorothy had changed into a comfortable pair of casual light blue clothes and she walked into the living room with her long hair that was soaked. She had a bad feeling when she saw Juelz smiling like that.
However, she chose not to ask him any questions. Instead, she held Belle’s hands as she walked, joking, “Juelz, you said you were going to treat us to a big meal. I hope you’re planning on keeping your promise.”
“Of course I’ll fulfill my promise.”
Juelz came back to his senses and quickly retracted his wild train of thoughts. He stood up from the sofa and took several big strides to catch up to Dorothy.
After they left the apartment, Juelz drove Dorothy and Belle to a famous seafood restaurant.
The restaurant was pricey, but the quality of the food here was impeccable. The ingredients here were all completely fresh as they were all imported the same day they were caught, hence their original flavors were preserved.
Business was booming, and customers needed to make reservations in advance.
The restaurant had sixteen floors tall in total and the table that Juelz had booked happened to be on the top floor.
On the first floor, the two of them held Belle’s hands and waited for the elevator.
When the door of the elevators opened, Dorothy lowered her head and reminded Belle to watch her step. Juelz suddenly stopped in his tracks, and she raised her head up in curiosity.
When she saw the person walking out, her body stiffened, and she was thoroughly taken aback on the spot.
She recognized the couple who were walking out of the elevator.
Enemies were indeed bound to meet.
The man she loved and hated deeply was wearing a black suit with matching trousers. Credence’s eyes were cold, reserved, and arrogant. Even if he just stood there casually, his aura alone was enough to attract countless women.
Dorothy looked towards Credence, her eyes following him as she was reluctant to look away.
She had met him for the first time when she was sixteen, and he really had been charming then. Even after so many years, he was still so good-looking. The heavens really treated him well.
Credence sensed a burning gaze, and he looked over as well. He saw Dorothy and Juelz holding a little girl’s hands, looking like an ordinary, living couple. For some reason, he felt an indescribable sense of dejection in his heart and he wanted nothing more than to destroy the harmonious picture in front of him.
Although Credence always had complicated thoughts, he never showed them on his face at all, making him unfathomable.
His sharp facial features were colder than knives as he bore no expression. His eyes quickly swept over them and immediately looked away as if he just saw some strangers.
The moment they passed by each other, Dorothy noticed that Rosalie had her arm wrapped around Credence’s.
Rosalie noticed Dorothy studying her arm, so she put on a sweet smile and said, “What a coincidence! Are you guys here for a seafood feast too? I’ve just tried their fillet steak, it was delicious. Credence likes it too! Our tastes are very similar.”
“Yes, what a coincidence. It seems like everyone made a reservation at the same time.”
Dorothy showed Rosalie a big smile as well, her face calm and unruffled.
She only realized that Credence was even more cruel than Rosalie.
She had only taken advantage of him once, yet he already went on to decide to destroy Juelz, even going as far as to bankrupt his company. Wasn’t he going overboard?
At the end of the day, she was still the one who had suffered a loss. Why did he go against Juelz?
Her daughter had leukemia and was in need of a cord blood transfusion from a newborn child. However, he was out on a romantic dinner with a pretentious b*tch at the same time. Was he still a human?
Just as Dorothy felt an impulse to scold him in front of his cold face, Juelz gently pulled on her arm.
His tug pulled her back to her senses.
She continued to mutter to herself that she had to keep calm. Acting on impulse would bring nothing but trouble!
When she came to her senses, Dorothy pretended as if Credence did not exist.
“Credence, what’s your next big move? Come at me. With Dorothy’s love and support, I have nothing to be afraid of,” boasted Juelz.
Juelz smiled proudly as he tried to force Credence into a war.
Credence sneered and remained quiet. He allowed Rosalie to take his arm as he walked out of the hotel.
“Dory, let’s go upstairs for our big meal,” Juelz turned to Dorothy with a smile. “Fortunately, that hateful pair are leaving. Otherwise, you won’t have much appetite.”
Dorothy smiled faintly at him and followed him into the elevator, “He’s just a familiar stranger. I won’t feel sad because of him anymore.”
In truth, what could she do even if she felt sad?
She could not restore Credence’s memories nor could she stop Rosalie’s determination to marry him.
Therefore, secretly conceiving his child was the best way to save Belle’s illness. It was the best choice for everyone!
Dorothy chewed on the delicious food in the private room, but the excitement in her had fizzled out. Her appetite had disappeared.
However, Belle was elated. She had her mother’s approval to eat some food that she had never tried before.
After she ate, Belle snuggled up in Dorothy’s arms and slept soundly.
When Juelz noticed her behavior, he sighed inwardly. He knew that Dorothy still loved Credence, but what else could he do except remain silent?
Credence would always have a permanent spot in her heart, just like Dory in his. It was a knot that could not be untangled.
Lots of thoughts flashed in his mind. However, in the end, he could only sigh.
“Dory, you must be full. I still have urgent matters in the company to attend to, so I’ll send you back first.”
“Alright.”
…
At half-past ten in the evening, Juelz sent Dorothy and Belle back.
After seeing Juelz off, Dorothy accompanied Belle to sleep in the children’s room. Listening to her daughter’s slight snoring, she tossed and turned but could not fall asleep all night long. She only slowly fell asleep in a daze at dawn.
The alarm clock on her phone had been set to go off at half-past nine in the morning.
Woken up by her alarm blaring, Dorothy was so shocked that she jumped up from the bed. She quickly stretched her hand out and found her phone on the bedside table that was ringing nonstop. She checked the stock price of J&D Group.
The statistics were horrifying as there was a high possibility of another decline for Juelz.
If the price continued to fall, Juelz’s company would really shut down.
In the living room, Belle was being taken care of by Madam Wood as she kept giggling.
Her daughter’s joyful laughter failed to dissipate Dorothy’s resentment towards Credence at all.
She clenched her fists tightly and made a decision that she had no idea if it was the right choice or not.
She found a certain someone’s number and gave it a call.