Doloresâ purpose in asking this question was to find out from Victoriaâs answer whether Charles was lying or not.
Hearing Doloresâ words, Victoriaâs face, which had just regained its color, instantly turned pale again. She stared at Dolores and felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave, frozen from the tip of her head to the tip of her toes.
Did she really know Nathan?
âAre you uncomfortable talking about it?â Dolores sensed his hesitation.
She hastened to deny, âNo.â
Kevin had led her down a blind alley and she had no choice.
âHow did you find yourself in danger?â asked Victoria with concern.
âYou donât have to worry about this. Matthew has helped me and Iâm fine now. I want to hear from you, was it also a conspiracy that Kevin brought me here to learn the craft of making watered gauze?â
Dolores felt a huge conspiracy looming over her, but she couldnât peek into it.
Victoria closed her eyes and also made up her mind in this short period of time.
What was done was done, and there was nothing she could do to change it.
She feared, however, that it would cause Dolores great trouble. Her cold, uncontrollably trembling hand squeezed Doloresâ, âYouâre a good girl.â
Her eyes reddened slightly and her voice changed intonation. âI can tell you everything, but you have to promise me one thing.â
Since she was Matthewâs real mother, of course she wanted her son to be good. Now she had given birth to two sons for Matthew, so he had to like her too, or at least not hate her. Besides, she had given him the Forbis Family ancestral jade bracelet, so it definitely wouldnât hurt him.
Dolores nodded and said, âI promise, go ahead, what is it?â
âYou must keep everything I tell you a secret, and you canât say anything to anyone, not even Matthew.â
Doloresâs eyelids drooped slightly, as such a request was expected. If she wasnât afraid that Matthew would find out about this, how could she try to hide it in every possible way?
She didnât understand what kind of past there was that she couldnât even recognize her own son.
There were thousands of pains in this world, such as old age, sickness, death, love, hate and separation; however, the most heartbreaking and tragic one was that she could not recognize him despite having him in front of her eyes.
Dolores was tempted to ask him what exactly was more important than recognizing her son.
But when the words came to the tip of her tongue, she swallowed them again. If there was no hardship she couldnât mention, how would she feel about parting with her own children?
Dolores looked at her and replied gravely, âItâs all right, I promise.â
Victoria was not relieved; on the contrary, she felt increasingly grief-stricken. She had never intended to drag Dolores into the whirlwind of the past, but the current development exceeded her expectations.
Her involvement was bound to be detrimental to her.
Victoria pondered for a few seconds, but dared not open her mouth.
And Dolores was in no hurry and waited in silence.
A few minutes later, Victoria slowly opened her mouth, âMy last name is Forbis, and my full name is Victoria Forbis. But after I married Jayden, I didnât dare to use my real name and just said my name was Victoriaâ¦. I didnât even dare to admit that Matthew is my son because he can only have one identity, that is, he is the son of the Harris Familyâs daughter, Jolene Harris and Jayden. I was only his surrogate mother. Around that time, just after my twentieth birthday, my father passed away from a sudden heart attack and the factory my family ranâ¦â
In desperation, she turned to Nathan, her first love. Their families had met and a date had been set for their wedding.
She was desperate and wanted to ask her fiancé for help. However, she did not see Nathan when she arrived at the White Family, but only Nathanâs mother, Mrs. White.
âNathan has gone abroad on a business trip and wonât be back for a while.â Mrs. White was sitting in the living room, not as gentle and kind as usual, but showing a contemptuous expression toward Victoria at that moment.
âVictoria, you havenât married into the White Family yet â isnât it too much to want our money?â
Mrs. Whiteâs words caught Victoria off guard. In the past, Mrs. White had been very fond of her and treated her well. But since her father passed away and her family got into trouble, her attitude towards her changed and she was no longer the same Mrs. White who appreciated her and was kind.
âI only want Nathan to help me once, and Iâll pay him back in the future.â Victoria was standing in the courtyard.
It was mid-summer noon and the sun was beating down on her.
Victoriaâs face was sunburned and sweat was rolling down like rain, but Mrs. White did not let her into the villa and said mercilessly: âReturn the money? How can you return the money? As far as I know, your family has already compensated a large sum of money, and the amount is even more staggering this time. Without your father, what is left for your family? In fact, it is not impossible to help you, if you are willing to pass on your skill in making the watered gauze to me, I can also consider lending you that money.â
Victoria never expected that Mrs. White would want her familyâs fabric making technology.
At that moment, she realized that humans really did have two faces. They could change in an instant to catch you off guard, to make your heart ache as if they were cutting you with a knife, to show you how foolish you had turned out to be. You treated them like your family, but they only wanted to take away what belonged to you.
âWhat if I donât want to?â The Forbis Familyâs cloth-making technology had been passed down from ancestors and had never been passed on to outsiders. Only blood relatives of the Forbis Family were entitled to the true teachings.
How could he hand over his ancestorsâ belongings to others? Besides, if he handed over the technique of making watered gauze, would he still belong to the Forbis Family?
She could not let the technique of making watered gauze be ruined in her generation.
Mrs. White snorted, âI tried to do you a favor, but you gave me shit. Your commitment to Nathan will also be over. From now on, you have nothing to do with him, and there is no longer any relationship between the Whites and the Forbis!â
Mrs. Whiteâs cruelty let Victoria know that Mrs. White initially agreed to her being with Nathan only because she was interested in the Forbis Familyâs fabric making technique. Now, as she refused to give her up and the Forbis Family was facing a major crisis, she showed her true colors.
However, her feelings for Nathan were real.
âIf you want to break off the engagement, ask Nathan to talk to me in person.â Victoria did not cry, although her heart was dripping with blood at that moment. She stubbornly refused to shed a single tear in front of Mrs. White.
Mrs. White sneered, âGood, good, very good, now you do it the hard way!â. Soon, Victoria received a blow from the White Family toward her.
The White Family unilaterally announced the cancellation of the engagement with the Forbis Family. As a result, the Forbis Family, already on shaky ground, suffered an even more difficult situation. The buyers, who had previously promised to give them time to come up with money, immediately demanded money from the Forbis Family as soon as they learned that the White Family had put limits on their relationship. If they couldnât pay, those buyers would take their villa to auction and steal their fabric manufacturing technology.
Just as Victoria was on edge, a woman reached out to her.
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