.
âGuess what,â Boyce teased.
Armand smiled as he looked at him for a few moments âDo you have a girlfriend, did you bring her today?â
Boyceâs eyes narrowed. He didnât care that it had been someone else in the room, but this was Dolores, and one should never tease her.
âIâm not going to tease her anymore, whatâs wrong with that?â Armand blinked a couple of times.
âItâs Dolores,â Boyce said, shooting him a look.
Armand had tensed as well. Hearing Doloresâ name or seeing her reminded him of Theresa.
âWell, Iâll go then,â he replied, his eyes fixed on the ground.
Since Theresaâs departure, he had been preoccupied with Mrs. Leslieâs work and care. The last time he had seen Dolores was at the airport.
Dolores was very close to Theresa, so seeing her reminded him of her. âYou thought you were over it?â said Boyce, looking at him.
Why did he seem to hold a grudge against Dolores?
âNo, I justâ¦â
âItâs all right; weâve done what we could for you. Letâs go in and say hello to her.â Boyce entered the room, wrapping his arms around Armand.
With Armandâs interruption, he had forgotten to contact Matthew.
Dolores was the only one in the room. She was sitting on the couch, barefoot, sipping a glass of alcohol.
The men exchanged glances, but didnât look at her; they sat on one side of the table.
âHello Dolores,â Armand began the greeting.
Dolores looked up and realized they had entered the room. âDid Boyce invite you?â
âNo, we met at the door,â Armand said as he took a seat on one of the corners of the sofa.
Dolores nodded her head. She had no idea why they had met at the doorway.
Boyce had just excused himself to go to the bathroom and shouldnât have made it to the door, but Dolores was crestfallen and didnât understand what was going on.
Boyce glanced sideways at Armand, but remained mute.
Armand was also despondent; he had been tormented by regrets since Theresaâs departure. He had lost his son as a result of his doubts.
He poured alcohol into Doloresâ glass, and the sound of the drink falling into the glass sounded like someone crying.
Dolores looked at the glass full of liquor. Instead, she didnât take it, âTheresa is fine now, donât worry,â she said.
Armand lowered his head and muttered, âGlad to hear it,â in a hoarse tone.
Dolores didnât say much; given what had happened, she should have grown up.
âThis glass is in your honor.â Armand extended his glass to Dolores.
Dolores took the glass and clinked hers. The sound of the glasses clinking broke the silence of the room.
Armand filled the glass to the bottom.
Dolores didnât want to drink only half the glass, so she endured the burning sensation in her throat and finished it all.
Her brow furrowed as she felt a stinging sensation in her neck.
It wasnât until now that Armand understood that Dolores was not in a good mood.
âAre you sad, Dolores?â he said looking at her.
Dolores rested her chin on his arm and looked into the candlelight. Yes, she was in a bad mood. She was depressed to see Jessica incarcerated, getting thinner every day.
As a daughter, she had neglected Jessica for too long. Her attention was focused solely on the children and work, not Jessica.
She thought Jessica was still young, that she had recovered from her psychic illness and had put the past behind her.
But he was wrong. Her physical illness had healed, but the pain Randolph had caused her had not.
If she had spent more time worrying about her well-being, she would have noticed her unhappiness and steered her away from such an extreme path.
She was a terrible daughter.
âWas it because of Matthew?â Armand thought Dolores had quarreled with Matthew.
Boyce shot him a look, âNot everyone has a relationship as messed up as yours.â
Armand was disgusted, âWhy did it irritate him?â
Wasnât it sad enough that heâd lost his lover and his son?
âCan you forgive me?â Armand almost begged her.
This was what bothered him the most.
âIâm sorry, Iâll drink this,â Boyce replied after pouring himself a glass.
He emptied the glass in less than a second.
âBottoms up three glasses instead of one,â Armand said as he quickly refilled his glass.
Boyce was speechless, but could he refuse the offer?
âWeâll sever connections as friends if you refuse,â Armand threatened.
âThree drinks are nothing to me, bring it on,â Boyce said as he proceeded to remove his tie.
âAs your friend, Iâll drink with you,â Armand said as he filled his glass.
âCut the crap and drink!â Boyce drank from his glass.
Dolores sat off to the side, watching. They always acted like this, showing true friendship.
She stormed out of the room, covering her nose and mouth as she felt a sudden urge to vomit.
Boyce and Armand came to a complete stop.
âAre you feeling sick?â
Dolores didnât want to ruin her good time, so she shook her head and said, âBaby, Iâm going to the bathroom.â
Then she ran out the door.
She threw up in the sink and felt much better and refreshed.
She turned on the faucet, wiped her face and mouth.
She smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror. She convinced herself that she had to be strong because she had a long life ahead of her and that only a healthy physique would allow her to take care of Jessica and the children in the future.
She wiped her face and went back to the room, wanting to tell Boyce that she wanted to go home.
As she returned, a man wearing a cap that almost hid half of his face approached her.
âLola,â the guy said, his voice icy and icy.
When Dolores looked up, she noticed a familiar figure in the dim light.
They werenât far away, and the atmosphere seemed eerie.
âWho are you?â said Dolores, stepping back a few paces.
She couldnât see his face because it was partially covered by the cap.
âWho are you?â asked Dolores again, this time with a cold tone.
âHave you forgotten me?â the man asked, taking off his cap and revealing his face.
He had a cold, unpleasant expression on his face.
âAnd you?â Dolores was taken aback.
She looked at him suspiciously. Wasnât he supposed to be locked up? When was he released?
âYou wonder why Iâm here and not in jail?â he approached her slowly.
âDonât come near me!â Dolores became worried.
The guy smiledâ¦
A series of evil smiles emerged, which was disturbing.
.
.
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