âMiss Flores, Miss Flores?â
Dazed, Dolores heard someone calling her. Slowly she opened her eyes, only to find Amelia standing next to her bed with her head outstretched. Seeing Dolores open her eyes, she said with a smile, âYouâre awake.â
Dolores stirred slightly and sat up in bed. She rubbed her eyes to clear them, and asked, âWhat time is it now?â
âItâs noon, twelve oâclock. Youâve been sleeping all morning. You should eat something.â Amelia was very respectful to her because the Young Master asked her to take good care of Dolores. She did not dare to mistreat Dolores.
âMay I have a glass of water, please?â Dolores was not hungry at all. Since she had just woken up, her throat felt dry.
âOkay.â Amelia rolled over and fetched her some water.
Seeing her figure disappear from the doorway, Dolores lifted the quilt and climbed out of bed. Her injured foot was wrapped with a bandage, and the twisted ankle was still red and swollen. She pressed it lightly with her fingers: it hurt like hell. Frowning, he realized that he would not be able to recover anytime soon.
She leaned on her other uninjured foot, trying to stand up.
âDo you want to be a cripple?â She heard the deep voice of the man in the doorway.
Dolores lifted her head and saw the man in the wheelchair.
gαâηÏνððsâ¤com offers tales worth telling She triggered the wheelchair to enter the room, âThe periosteum of your ankle is injured. If you keep straining to stand up, you wonât be able to recover in ten days or half a month. In case of aggravation, you would be left⦠like me.â
He raised his voice as he uttered the last line of his words with a self-mockery, âItâs not a happy thing to stay in the wheelchair.â
Dolores leaned back, âIâm just trying.â
âMiss Flores, hereâs your water.â Amelia returned with a glass of water.
Dolores took it and said, âThank you, Amelia.â
âMiss Flores, you are the Young Masterâs guest. Of course, I must serve you well.â Amelia smiled. As she spoke, she cast a glance at Charles.
Since Dolores was in his presence, she didnât dare to rave too much. He looked away after the one glance.
Dolores noticed, but pretended not to see it. She lifted the glass in her hand and drank some water to quench her thirst.
âMiss Flores, you must be hungry.â Amelia put a tray on top of the quilt, âYou have injured your foot and now you canât walk. Young Master asked me to bring the dishes here.â
Dolores looked at Charles and said, âThank you.â
Charles raised his eyebrows, âYou are welcome. Itâs a big world out there. We should be lucky enough to know each other. You stay here and get well. When you are well, I will send you back home. By the way, where are you from, Miss Flores?â
âB-town,â Dolores answered truthfully.
She was confused: he wouldnât allow her to make a phone call, but told her he would send her back home.
She wondered what he was thinking.
âCity B?â Charles repeated slowly. He looked back down at the jade bracelet on his wrist, self-absorbed.
âExcuse me, Mr. White, whatâs wrong?â
Charles came to his senses. He smiled faintly and said, âNothing. I just thought of something.â He looked at Doloresâ face, âAm I too old?â Dolores choked.
She was confused, wondering what he meant by his question.
âIâm only twenty-six years old. You called me Mr. White. I thought I was over thirty.â Before Dolores could respond, he said, âPlease call me Charles.â Dolores was silent.
It wasnât like her to call him Charles, was it? It seemed the manner was too intimate.
âWhy? I saved your life, but youâre not even willing to call me by my name. It only pleases you to give me such an ancient title, doesnât it?â His voice was serious, but there was no reproach in his eyes.
Dolores lowered her gaze, âIt just seemed too intimate to me to tutearte you.â
âIntimate? Not at all. Anyway, you canât call me Mr. White. Do you want to address me with âheyâ and âumâ?â
Dolores was amused.
âGo on, call me by my name,â Charles said with a smile.
He looked delighted and also somewhat expectant.
Dolores pursed her lips. Since he had saved her, she thought it would be nice to call him by his first name as a return to satisfy him. She tried calling, âCharles White?â
âNo last name, please.â
Dolores couldnât help but inwardly groan at him. He did indeed have a lot of demands, didnât he?
She gritted her teeth: âCharles.â
âI liked it.â
He smiled brightly.
Dolores wanted to answer him, wondering why he said it.
However, because he had saved her life, she kept silent.
When Amelia came in with the dishes, she heard Charlesâ laughter. She couldnât help but look at Dolores. Not only was the Young Master treating her so well, but he was laughing so merrily for that woman. Amelia wondered who that woman might be.
What was her relationship with the Young Master?
Confused, Amelia put the dishes on the tray table.
âI donât know what your favorite food is. Let me know if you want to eat something. Iâll ask the chef to cook for you,â Charles said.
Dolores, however, wasnât about to bother him too much. Sooner or later he would return the favor. She didnât want to owe him too much. Besides, she wasnât picky about food, so she didnât have anything she particularly hated to eat.
âIâm not picky. Iâm fine with anything.â Dolores smiled.
It was obvious she was distancing herself from him. Charles didnât get angry. He said, âThatâs fine. If you need anything, donât hesitate to tell me.â
âSure.â
After lunch, Dolores felt rather bored as she lay down on the bed. She looked out the window, wondering how she could get in touch with Samuel.
She wondered why Charles refused to lend her the phone.
What was his intention?
âThis way, please.â He heard Ameliaâs voice on the other side of the door. Then Amelia came in followed by two workers. They were carrying a fish tank.
Amelia told them, âPut it next to the bed.â
After setting it up, the workers left. Dolores asked, âWhat is it for?â
âThe Young Master said you canât get out of bed, so you must get pretty bored when you stay in the room. Heâs found those rare fish for you to kill time.â Amelia stood in front of her bed and said enviously, âYoung Master treats you so well.â
She had never seen Charles treat another person so well, and Dolores was a woman.
Dolores looked at the fish in the water. There were three in all, with bright colors and strange looks. She had never seen fish like that in the aquarium. They were absolutely rare and priceless.
However, she was not thrilled. No merit, no paycheck. He treated her very well and she felt quite uncomfortable.
âMiss Flores, arenât you happy?â Amelia asked as she noticed that Dolores was still expressionless, even without a trace of a smile.
âYes, I am.â Dolores forced a wry smile.
âMiss Flores, have you ever met the Young Master before?â Amelia asked the question that had bothered her so much.
She had been working for the White Family for a long time, but she had never heard of Dolores, and she had never met Dolores before either. If the Young Master treated Dolores so well after meeting her only once, it didnât make sense, did it?
Dolores shook her head, âWhy?â
âItâs just that I feel Young Master treats you too well. If he didnât know you, why would he treat you so well after saving you?â. This matter also confused Dolores.
She reached out and played with the fishâs tail, and it scurried away.
Dolores was quite curious about Charles, but it did not show on her face. She said in an indifferent tone, âDidnât you say your Young Master is a good man? He is helping me all the way.â
Amelia was not convinced for the reason that Young Master was a nice man. She believed there must be other reasons.
âOr what? Tell me. why did he do it?â Dolores looked at her slowly.
Amelia was speechless.
âForget it.â Amelia didnât get the answer and was annoyed. She turned and walked out.
Dolores pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the water off her hands. She lifted the quilt and climbed down. Leaning on the bedside table, she propped herself up on the foot that was not injured, moving slowly toward the door.
She could see that the house was quite large. She was staying on the second floor. Since Charles couldnât walk, he didnât think she would stay upstairs. Amelia was gone and there was no one in the large living room.
Dolores saw a landline phone on the corner table next to the sofa.
Her eyes lit up. It was a chance for her to contact Samuel. She looked around.
After making sure no one was there, she grabbed the wall and headed for the landline.
She entered the living room smoothly. With one hand resting on the couch, she reached out the other to pick up the phone.
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