As Dorothy looked at Credence, his gaze fell on her as well. He pursed his thin lips into a tight line, and there were a lot of things that he wanted to tell her. However, he did not know what to say.
There were a lot of things he wanted to say, but all of it turned into a single sentence, “It’s late, why are you not asleep yet?”
Dorothy looked away from his eyes, and the pain in her heart increased.
She could not figure out why he could pretend as if nothing had happened even after he was done flirting with another woman in the office. He could even ask her so blatantly on why she was still awake at such a late hour.
The words she heard on the phone, especially the words from the woman named Melanie, pricked her heart like needles. How on earth could she sleep soundly?
However, Dorothy did not show it on her face, and she only said calmly, “It’s your birthday today. Belle insisted on staying up to wait for you to come back because it’s her first time celebrating with you.”
Her voice was as calm as water, but Credence was keenly aware of her hidden unhappiness. He knew that it must be because of the phone call which he had accidentally answered, and she fell into a bad mood after hearing what Melanie said and did.
He thought that the humiliation of his past would disappear with Melanie’s disappearance. However, he did not expect that more than a decade later, she’d appear in front of him again, alive and well. Her reappearance made his suppressed humiliation and betrayal reemerge.
Everything that happened in the past should stay in the past. He should treat every day as a new day and hope for the best in the future!
Therefore, he had never thought about telling Dorothy about his past which was filled with cruelty and bloodshed.
He was already a man in his thirties, and time and tide would wait for no man. He just wanted to live a happy life with Dorothy!
However, things didn’t always go according to plan. Nobody would have expected that Melanie, who’d been missing for more than a decade, would have made it out alive and even brought him an explosive piece of news!
Which was that Dorothy was very likely the daughter of one of Jenciga’s drug lords!
Having as an unscrupulous woman as Leilani was enough for Dorothy to feel ashamed and even get cyberbullied. If her biological father was really a drug lord, then it would really be a misfortune for Dorothy.
Not only would the public attack her maliciously, she would even be summoned by some government executives. If that were to happen, Credence wouldn’t be able to go against the entire government no matter how powerful he was.
Now that he thought about it, when Leilani suddenly appeared, he realized that she looked exactly the same as Dorothy. He even arranged for Jonathan to do a DNA test on them to confirm their relationship. After that, he arranged for a reunion party for Dorothy to cheer her up…
Yet, Melanie had planned and controlled everything.
However, as Dorothy’s man, he was her only reliance. He would do his best to prevent her from being involved in any terrible vortex of public opinions. He would guard her and protect her for the rest of her life.
Credence lowered his eyes and stared at her slightly angry face which was still dazzling under the light. His voice turned low and gentle. “The things that happened between Melanie and I happened back when we were in the army. I can’t explain it to you in a short time. Are you angry?”
Dorothy was silent for a while. Then, she raised her head and smiled at him faintly. “I didn’t have the chance to get to know you when you were in the army. What’s there to be angry about? I don’t care about what happened in the past, but now, you and I are married. I hope you can fulfill your duty as a husband.”
“You restricted me from having any interactions with Juelz, yet you secretly met with another woman in your office in the middle of the night. I just think that it isn’t fair. Is it possible for you not to have such double standards?”
Her tone was very calm, as if she was telling Belle a bedtime story. There was not a sign of displeasure in her tone.
However, Credence could hear the deeper meaning in her words. In reality, she was already angry with him.
On the bright side, it showed that she cared about him. That was why she was angry with his entanglements with another woman.
Credence’s heart skipped a beat. He felt as if a huge rock was weighing down on his chest, making him feel uncomfortable.
He walked over to Dorothy and gently lifted her chin up with a slender finger. He looked straight into her faintly red eyes and said in a hoarse voice, “Dorothy, believe me. Apart from you, I have never loved anyone!”
At his words, Dorothy felt a complex barrage of emotions. She didn’t know whether or not to believe him.
Amidst her anger, she could not help but blurt out, “Tell me what happened between you and Melanie. Otherwise, I won’t believe you!”
She wouldn’t care if she had never heard of Melanie’s name.
However, since she already knew that there had been such a woman who’d gotten involved with Credence, she couldn’t let it go. Her possessiveness acted up, and she didn’t want to let him easily sweep things under the rug.
Once a woman really fell in love, their love and jealousy would not be inferior to any man’s.
Melanie had sinister intentions, and Credence didn’t want anything to affect his relationship with Dorothy. After some contemplation, he looked at Dorothy and said honestly, “Nothing happened between us, aside from some handholding.”
Even the few times they’d held hands were because Melanie had caught him off guard when she’d dragged him to spar.
There was no romantic affection between them. It was just sparring among comrades.
He was telling the truth. However, Dorothy only smiled bitterly. She simply did not believe that things were so simple.
She heard everything clearly on the phone. From Melanie’s tone and context, it did not seem like nothing happened.
She only heard half of the conversation before Credence had ended the call. Only he and Melanie were privy to the remainder of the conversation.
This was especially true from the looks on his face. He seemed to be exhausted, and Dorothy felt even more suspicious of that.
There was a lounge in his office, and there was even a spacious bed there. It was really convenient for him to do anything he wanted.
It was close to midnight when he came back. Had he had sex with Melanie?
Dorothy took a deep breath and forced herself to not think that much.
The most important thing for her now was to take care of her daughter and the baby in her womb. After five months, she could do a test to see if the child’s blood was a match for Belle so that she could be free of leukemia’s torment as soon as possible.
She didn’t want to think or wish for anything else.
Credence’s legs and heart were his own. It was up to him who he wanted to be with, and it wasn’t something that Dorothy could control, whether it came to Rosalie or Melanie!
If he didn’t love her, she really couldn’t do anything about it. There was absolutely nothing she could do.
Dorothy felt tired, so tired that she didn’t even want to bother with Credence.
Since Dorothy didn’t speak, Credence didn’t either, because less is more.
They remained by Belle’s bedside in silence, one sitting and one standing. The atmosphere was awkward and heavy.
At this moment, Belle was dozing off on the bed. She abruptly opened her eyes when she heard her parents speaking, and she blinked and grinned at Credence. “Daddy, why are you only back now? Mommy and I waited so long for you to come back and cut the cake!”
Belle’s expectant smile brought some comfort to Credence, who was in a slightly unstable and chaotic mood.
He quickly glanced at Dorothy, who was sitting by the bed silently and calmly. She was probably still mad at him, so he decided to let her simmer for a while before trying to make things clear.
He nodded at Belle, picked her up from the bed and put her on the sofa next to him. After that, he took out ten colorful candles from a delicately packaged bag on the tea table and stuck them into the top layer of the cake. After that, he took out his lighter and lit them one by one.
The candlelight flickered, making the scene seem dreamlike. Belle applauded happily and said, “Mommy, come see! It’s so pretty! I think this is the prettiest cake and candles that I’ve ever seen.”
Dorothy had her back towards them, making the bed. She pretended not to hear Belle.
Belle was a clever girl. She poked Credence’s arm and murmured, “Daddy, it’s all your fault. You took too long to come back. Look, you made Mommy angry.”
Credence caressed her quirky little face and raised his voice. “Daddy had indeed made Mommy angry. What do you think Daddy should do, Belle?”
Belle looked up and smiled at Credence sweetly. “Mummy Germaine said that a man has to coax his own woman.”
Credence’s face fell.
Belle truly was his daughter, trying to cause more trouble at such a critical moment!
On the other hand, Dorothy was amused by Belle’s words, and her dampened mood lifted. She couldn’t help laughing.
At her laughter, Credence stiffened and turned to look at her. He narrowed his eyes, concealing the smile in his eyes.
They had succeeded in making her happy.
Looks like he had a chance!