Chapter 199: Chapter 199



Armand and Theresa were sitting in the spot by the window. There were a few empty cups on the table and it looked like they had been sitting there for a long time.

Armand looked exhausted. When he saw them come in, he rushed over to them without thinking about their image at all, “They’re back at last. We’ve been waiting for them for half a day.” Boyce pushed him away in disgust, “They got lost, what took them so long?”

He said he had left some time ago and that, he should have been here sooner.

As he spoke, he looked at Theresa who was walking toward Dolores, “Why did he bring her here too?

What had this guy done to her?

Armand was angry, so he didn’t notice Boyce’s strange look. When he arrived, he was surprised by his grandmother and asked when he was going to get married, otherwise, she would not allow him to leave.

He lied, said he was getting married at the end of the year and only got to go out after he said so.

So he was delayed.

The main problem was that he still didn’t have a proper girlfriend.

“Don’t even mention it, it’s because of my grandmother.” Seeing Armand’s worried look, Boyce understood what the exact reason was.

Although the Bernie Family was not a great noble family, it was also considered a family of scholars. However, Armand’s parents died soon and he was left with only his grandmother. Now, Armand was also a man in his thirties, so it was only natural that his grandmother was anxious about his marriage.

“Is he urging you again?” Boyce used her shoulder to tap him.

“Yes.”

“Aren’t you a smart guy?” Boyce lifted his chin in front of him.

Not far away, Theresa was hugging Dolores and wouldn’t let go, “I can finally see you. I was so afraid when you disappeared. I was afraid you were in danger. You said our trip back here would be exciting and thrilling.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry, aren’t I fine?” Dolores patted his shoulder.

Armand looked at Theresa and twisted his lips, “This woman isn’t bad, but she’s hard to conquer.”

“You’re very good at being a Casanova, do you have to worry about not being able to woo this woman?” joked Boyce.

Armand glared at him, “I’m someone that bad?”

“Haha.” Boyce chuckled to himself. He thought he was trying to pretend to be a good man again. That he was the one who changed women every day like changing clothes.

However, Boyce knew he was just playing it off without being serious.

“By the way.” Boyce hitched his neck and leaned in close to the side to whisper, “I’ve been with Matthew and…”

“Dad, what are they talking about?” Simona, who was leaning on Matthew’s shoulder looked at the two people standing not far away and whispering by the window.

“Don’t worry about them.” Matthew carried her upstairs.

Dolores helped Theresa pull the suitcase, “You must be tired after having had a long trip. Go upstairs and rest.”

“All right.” Theresa didn’t let Dolores help her, “I can do it myself.” She reached out to stroke Samuel’s head, “Samuel.”

“Theresa, how come you’re hanging out with him?” Samuel looked at Armand and then looked at Theresa.

Dolores had originally intended to ask how they got together, too.

“He went to the store and told me he found you. I was anxious to see you so I came with him. When you weren’t in the store, the store wasn’t taking orders and there were very few customers.” Theresa was a little disappointed. She felt she was still not capable enough. Although the two customers she served were pleased with her design, they said there was nothing special and dazzling, so they ultimately didn’t place an order.

Now, Allison was minding the store so she came over.

Dolores patted her on the shoulder and comforted her, “It’s okay, everything will be fine.”

When she managed to hire the master who knew how to make watering gauze, the store was going to have a lot of orders.

Theresa told Dolores what had been going on in the store during this time. The two talked as they went upstairs.

Boyce had prepared a sumptuous dinner to welcome Armand and Theresa.

Simona was sleepy and insisted on wanting Matthew to carry her, “Daddy, hold me when I sleep.”

The little girl was very spoiled. She wrapped her arms around his neck and wouldn’t let go of his hand. She called sweetly, “Daddy.”

Matthew kissed his daughter’s cheeks. He couldn’t refuse at all when he saw her tender look.

Matthew whispered to Dolores, “I’ll take her up first.” Dolores nodded.

After Matthew left, Dolores used the chopsticks to place the food in her son’s bowl. Samuel took a bite, put down the chopsticks and slid off the chair, “I’m done eating too.”

He wanted to go back to the room by himself and was so understanding that he looked like an adult. Dolores was a little worried, “I’ll walk you upstairs.”

“No need, I’ll be fine as there are people following me.” He gestured to the two bodyguards behind him.

Sampson’s position was unfamiliar. Matthew was worried that he would do something to his children and Dolores, so he let the bodyguards follow them always.

“Dolores, you shouldn’t be like this. We’ve come from thousands of miles to come see you, are you going to leave us alone?” Armand looked at Dolores with an aggrieved look, “Let me drink a toast to you, since I have gone out of my way to bring you Miss Gordon…”.

At first he meant to say to drink to him, but he couldn’t bring himself to let her drink to him, as she was Matthew’s wife.

So he changed his words and said he would toast to her instead.

Dolores looked at Armand, then at Boyce and Theresa. She took the glass of wine Armand handed her and said as she smiled, “Here’s to you, thank you for taking care of the people around me during my absence.”

He drank it all. The spirit was strong, so the moment he drank it all, he felt his throat stinging and aching. He frowned, put down the glass and took a sip of water to ease his discomfort.

Armand blinked, “Dolores, you sure are a good drinker, I’ll drink too.”

Dolores had already drunk. She thought of the two children and said, “You two go ahead and have fun, I’ll go up first.”

Armand pulled her, “Dolores, Matthew is really inhuman, besides exploiting us, he doesn’t treat us like human beings at all. I feel aggrieved but I dare not say so.” Armand was ‘crying’ when he complained about Matthew.

Dolores was speechless.

What did this have to do with her?

“Is he really that inhuman?” Dolores asked as she looked at Armand who was teasing her like a ‘puppy’ and wouldn’t let go of her hand.

Armand twitched his lips and nodded vigorously. He even pointed at Boyce to prove it, “Ask him if you don’t believe me.”

Boyce knew he was deliberately teasing Dolores to drink with him. He pretended not to hear her words, turned to look at Theresa and asked with concern, “You must be tired from the trip, aren’t you?”

Theresa shook her head, “No, I’m not tired.”

“Did that guy bully you?” Boyce’s words meant something for sure.

Theresa lowered her head, pursed her lips and shook her head, “Mr. Bernie took good care of me.”

“See, see, am I the kind of man who intimidates women? Boyce, you have certainly underestimated me.” Armand stood up and pointed at Boyce, “They’ve run off and left all the trouble to me.”

Armand was not drunk at all. He pretended to be drunk on purpose and pulled Dolores along, with no intention of letting her go. He even complained to her about how much work she had done. But in reality, he was deliberately saying how anxious Matthew was when she disappeared: “You know, when you disappeared, I accompanied Matthew to look for you everywhere. When he later found out you were here, he came here with Boyce and left me alone in B-town to deal with the mess caused by Mary. But, you don’t have to worry, I’ve taken care of it, she won’t be able to go out and cause trouble again…” Armand approached Dolores, “She committed homicide, so she won’t be able to survive.”

Dolores looked at Armand with mixed feelings. Emotions surged in her mind. It was Maria who threatened and coerced her to leave using the safety of the two children. For the safety of her children, she fell into the trap set by Mary and was led away by Sampson.

It was already a surprise to her that Matthew managed to come and find her.

Unexpectedly, he too took steps to confront Mary.

Armand poured wine for Dolores and also filled his own glass, “Since I have helped you so much, shouldn’t you drink with me?”

Dolores knew he meant it. She took the wine glass, “You are very good friends.”

Armand was stunned. He purposely pretended not to understand.

Watching this out of the corner of her eye, Theresa was anxious. It was very obvious that Armand was deliberately making Dolores drink.

She wanted to persuade her, but Boyce deliberately stopped her, “Miss Gordon, it must have been an exhausting trip for you to bring Armand. Thank you for bringing my useless brother back safe and sound.”

As he spoke, he placed a glass of wine in Theresa’s hand.

Theresa was speechless.

This reason was too far-fetched, wasn’t it?

“But…”

“Thank you, Miss Gordon.” Boyce didn’t give Theresa a chance to refuse and thanked her first.

This forced her to drink.

Boyce and Armand’s closeness was all too obvious, so Dolores could easily tell. She did not refuse to speak up, “It’s like what you guys think. The relationship between Matthew and I, in fact, is not as good as it seems…”

Armand and Boyce looked at each other, did this woman really see through their intentions?

They both looked away silently and played dumb, “Dolores, what are you saying? You and Matthew are meant to be together and are a perfect match.”

Dolores smiled, “Well, we probably are meant to be together, but other than that, it’s hard to judge.”

The fact that they had been engaged since they were young proved that they were meant to be together.

Armand was cautious, “Are you still angry about the earlier matter of him divorcing you?” Suddenly, Armand changed the subject and rightly said, “If it were me, I’d be angry too. I would never forgive him for divorcing me for another woman.”

Soon, Armand’s tone became softer again, “For the sake of the two children, give him a chance…”.

Dolores took a sip of wine. They didn’t understand the twists and turns.

The reason she didn’t accept Matthew wholeheartedly wasn’t because of the divorce in the past. After all, at that time neither of them liked each other and they were only bound together by an agreement made by people of the previous generation.

She wasn’t sure if Matthew’s kindness to her was for the sake of the two children.

She wasn’t sure if she really liked him.

And how much she liked him.

She didn’t like others judging the affairs of their love relationship, “In the future, don’t act like that. I’m going to be angry if you try something like that next time.”

Boyce stared at Armand. He realized that the relationship between Matthew and Dolores was not as normal as it was shown, so he told Armand about this matter. And, he came up with this idea, saying that they could get Dolores drunk and then send her to Matthew’s bed. It would all work out later.

But, his intentions were discovered by her at a glance.

Armand smiled awkwardly and muttered under his breath, “A woman who is too smart is not attractive.”

“You guys don’t make Theresa drink so much. I’m going back to see Samuel and Simona.” Dolores’ words were very clear, so Armand could no longer bother her.

He could only watch as Dolores walked away.

In retrospect, Theresa realized that Armand was deliberately making Dolores drink, but as to why he was making her do it, she didn’t understand.

“It’s not convenient for you guys to do that.” Theresa looked at Armand, “Being a man, how can you deliberately make a woman drink. It’s a terrible thing to do. Fortunately, Lola is smart as she can see through your trick at a glance.”

Armand felt aggrieved. Wasn’t he helping his friend?

This little woman was surprisingly daring to accuse him.

He pulled the chair over and sat down next to Theresa, “What do you know, huh, dare you accuse me?”

He sat deliberately close to her and when he spoke, the alcoholic breath overwhelmed her. She frowned, “Go away!”.

“Go where? It’s just a small place.” Armand moved closer to her and his mouth was even closer to her face.

Boyce shook his head. It was obvious that Armand was flirting with her. She didn’t want to be nosy, so she quietly got up and left the place.

Seeing the others leaving, Theresa also had the intention of leaving, but Armand tugged at her.

“Don’t go, drink with me…”

“You’re crazy, let go of me…”

Boyce closed the door and thought Armand might actually get married at the end of the year.

Theresa was really looking good. She was young and looked ravishing.

When Dolores arrived upstairs, Simona and Samuel had already gone to bed. The sound of water coming from the bedroom. The frosted glass door was not closed all the way. The door opened after she pushed it gently.

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