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Tom drove Dolores home. When he entered the house, he noticed that Matthew had not yet returned. Both Samuel and Simona had bathed and were about to go to bed.
Simona rushed over to Dolores when she saw Dolores enter the house, and wrapped her arms around Doloresâ legs, âMommy, youâre back.â
Dolores picked Simona up and kissed her cheeks, âWhy arenât you in bed?â.
Simona thought for a moment and said, âI was waiting for you.â
âYou werenât waiting for anyone. Youâre just drinking milk,â Samuel bluntly exposed her.
Simona blinked a couple of times and glared at Samuel, âSamuel is so annoying!â.
Samuel was in his pajamas and set the cup of milk on the floor. He looked at Simona, âWas I annoying for telling the truth?â.
Simona buried herself in Doloresâ arms to comfort herself, âMommy, Samuel is bothering me.â
Dolores patted her back to comfort her, âNo, I wasnât talking about you.â Samuel thought Simona was childish, always acting like a spoiled child.
Samuel went back to his room to sleep.
Samuel slept alone while Simona slept with Victoria.
Simona could not sleep alone, and she was afraid to sleep alone.
Samuel wondered, âIs there anything to be afraid of?â.
Victoria washed the milk cups after Samuel and Simona finished their milk. She approached Dolores and asked, âAre you going back alone?â Victoria asked because she didnât see Matthew.
Dolores put Simona down and said, âGo play with Samuel for a while.â
Every chapter lives on g a lno vels ; comm âI want a hug from Mommy,â Simona still hung in her arms and didnât want to let go of Dolores.
Dolores coaxed her, âSimona is a good girl. Iâll take you and Samuel to play this weekend.â
âReally?â Simona was thrilled.
It was easy to cajole Simona by giving her good food and fun.
Dolores rubbed Simonaâs head and told her it was true, and only then did Simona get out of Doloresâ arms and turn to Samuel.
âDo you have something to tell me?â asked Victoria.
That was it, otherwise how would Dolores have fired Simona?
Dolores said, âLetâs talk in the bedroom.â
âThen go to my room to talk,â Victoria and Jayden had slept in separate rooms since she was taking care of Simona, so there was no one in her room now.
Dolores nodded.
Dolores closed the door after entering the room. Victoria beckoned to her and said, âCome and sit here.â
Dolores sat down on the side of the bed, and began to elaborate in her mind, âJeffery was in a car accident.â
âIs he seriously hurt?â asked Victoria.
Dolores shook her head, âI donât know. Matthew went to see him.â
Victoria sighed, âPeople can never know what will happen tomorrow.â
âIt wasnât an accident,â Dolores wanted to know if Victoria hated Jeffery.
Victoria opened her eyes wide. It seemed incredible to her that it wasnât an accident, which meant someone had done it.Who would dare do that?
âCharles White came to B-town, heâs Nathanâs adopted son. He was the one who did it to avenge Nathan.â
Victoria lowered her eyes and worried, âThings have been concluded so long ago, why bother?â
âThe pain has been there, even though itâs been so long. Donât you resent Jeffery?â asked Dolores to her mind.
Victoria got up and walked to the window. She looked out the window.
âHow to judge it was right or wrong? I promised Jolene back in the day, so I have to take the consequences. But the things that happened were unexpected. Iâve thought about it. Jeffery didnât do a lot of things wrong. People would only applaud him for doing it if I were the mistress who destroyed Jolaneâs marriage, wouldnât they?â
âBut youâre not the mistress,â Dolores looked at her.
âBut things happened because of me. Those things wouldnât have happened if I had refused Jolane at the time. Maybe it was a whim of fate, or it was destiny. Iâve long since moved on from the past.â
Victoria felt that she had reached the pinnacle of her life. She lived together with her family members, and they were harmonious and happy. She dared not think that she could live happily with them in the past.
Although Matthew did not speak to her, it was good to see him from time to time.
She was satisfied with her life.
âHelp me persuade Charles,â Victoria knew it wasnât easy to get back at Jeffery. She didnât want Charles to have an accident, since he was Nathanâs adopted son.
âIâm afraid no one will be able to persuade him,â Dolores understood that this time Charles was coming to get revenge on Jeffery.
Victoria sighed. The next generation should not get involved in the squabbles between the previous generation.
âWould you be happy if Charles got his revenge on Jeffery?â Dolores approached Victoria.
Victoria shook her head and said, âI wonât be happy. Jeffery has done something wrong, but he honestly treats Matthew like his family.â
She didnât want Matthew to know the truth because she feared he might not be able to accept it. He had always been respectful of Jeffery. Because Matthew was Jolaneâs son, Jeffery cared about Matthew as much as he cared about his sister.
Victoria saw how Jeffery treated Matthew.
She didnât want Matthew to get caught up in the past, which she couldnât tell if it was right or wrong.
She was content to see him now and then as he did. She hardly dared hope that she would hear Matthew call himself the mother in life.
âWhere is Charles now?â Victoria turned suddenly.
She couldnât watch Charles make trouble for himself. She had to persuade him for Nathanâs sake.
Dolores told her where Charles was staying.
Georgia had once been to the Harris family home, and she thought Victoriaâs approach was correct. They should not get entangled with the past as things had been hidden and had happened. It was more harm than good if they kept bringing up the past.
Matthew would be hurt the most. He had always been respectful of Jeffery, who was his enemy. Matthew had always despised his birth mother and even hated her. How could he accept such a big change?
How could he cope?
Victoria feared Charles would disturb the peace.
âGo and rest early.â
Dolores said yes and turned away, then left the room.
Dolores left the room as Matthew entered the house through the front door at the same time. It so happened that Matthew saw Dolores coming out of Victoriaâs room.
His eyes sparkled with the thought.
Dolores approached Matthew, took the coat in her hand, and asked, âIs Jefferyâs injury serious?â
âHe has a non-life threatening injury, just broken arms. He has to recover.â
Matthew went up to the second floor after talking. Dolores hung up her coat before following Matthew up to the second floor.
Dolores pushed open the bedroom door and saw an upright figure standing by the bed. Matthew was unbuttoning his shirt and had his back to Dolores, âWhat did you do in his room?â
Dolores closed the door after entering the room, âSimona was sleeping with her, so I went in to see Simona. Why, canât I go see my son?â.
Matthew didnât answer the question. He took off his shirt and threw it on the bed, then unbuckled his belt and went into the bathroom.
Soon the sound of water came from the bathroom.
Dolores knew there was still Dolores couldnât help but sigh, and felt stressed that she knew so much. What good if she didnât know anything about it?
Dolores could put herself in Matthewâs shoes and see all the problems that happened. She wouldnât have as much trouble.
Her head hurt when she thought about the Charles thing.
Dolores didnât know if she should tell Matthew. She was afraid Charles would do something else if she didnât tell Matthew.
Matthew was smart and would sense something to do with her.
Dolores was thoughtful and didnât know the sound of the water stopped in the bathroom.
âWhat are you thinking about?â
Dolores lifted her head and saw .
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