He saw the dim light through the white curtain, but didnât notice her eyes looking at him. He pursed his lips tightly and wondered if it was nothing more than a momentary illusion.
At this moment, he supposed that Dolores should be shocked by Armandâs presence.
Dolores leaned against the wall by the window and shuddered. Her hands were on her chest. It felt as if a rock had fallen on her chest, making it impossible for her to breathe.
She had to breathe hard to keep from suffocating. And she couldnât stop the complicated emotions from overwhelming her.
The moment she saw him, she felt happy and worried.
She closed her eyes. It took her a long time to steady her trembling body.
He was not in front of her eyes, so she thought he was still dealing with Jefferyâs business.
She opened her eyes and reached out to lift the curtain to see him again, but stopped her movement for some reason.
Her hand stopped in mid-air and she couldnât bring it back down.
She didnât know what she was struggling with or what she was afraid of. She feared she would not be able to keep her mind clear.
Discover endless adventures on g alno vels ; con So he slowly lowered his hand.
She took a deep breath, pulled herself together and went to the closet to pack her two childrenâs clothes.
Summer clothes didnât take up much room in the closet. She hadnât taken her children on a trip since arriving in C-Town, so she didnât have a suitcase at home. Therefore, she stuffed the clothes into a duffel bag.
When she finished packing and went outside, Armand was talking to her two sons.
When Armand saw her leave, he got up.
Dolores handed him the bag.
âIâll bring them back in a few days.â said Armand. Since Matthew was going to White City to see Jayden, he had to take the two children right away.
Matthew asked Armand to tell him that the children would only be with him for a few days.
Because Matthew knew that Dolores needed those two children around him more than he did. Before she knew who the childrenâs father was, she preferred to be a single mother and insisted on giving birth to the children, which was enough to show how much she loved them. Moreover, after giving birth to her children, she never separated from them.
Therefore, she was more attached to her children than he was.
âIâm fine with them staying with him more days. And they must miss him too.â
Dolores smiled, âAre they in a hurry to leave today?â
Armand nodded, âYes.â
He looked at the two children, âCome here.â
âMommy.â The two children jumped into her arms and clung to her legs on the left and right respectively.
Dolores stroked their heads, âDidnât they say they missed Daddy? Now they can go see him, are they happy?â
âYes.â Amanda nodded her head repeatedly.
âBut I donât want to leave Mom either.â Andrew rubbed his face against her.
When Armand saw that the children didnât want to leave Dolores, he reassured them, âIâll take them back in a few days. Weâll go first today, because their father would really like to see you.â
âMomâ¦â Andrew was reluctant to leave his mother. If he wasnât going to see Grandpa, he wouldnât leave Mom and leave her home alone.
âAll right, they should be going now. And itâs not like theyâre not coming back, right?â
Dolores handed the children to Armand, âPlease take care of them.â
âI will.â Armand took Amandaâs hand and looked at Dolores, âDolores, we should go now.â
âMmm,â Dolores said. As they headed for the door, Dolores thought of Theresa, who had gone to her room, and called out to him, âArmand.â
âHmm?â Armand turned around.
Dolores quickly shook her head again, âNothing. Please drive carefully on the road.â
She wanted to talk to Armand about Theresa, but it seemed inappropriate to do so.
Armand said, âOkay.â She hesitated for a few seconds and thought she should tell him, âJeffery turned himself inâ¦â
âI donât want anything to do with him.â Before Armand could finish those words, Dolores interrupted him.
She just wanted to live quietly and do what she wanted to do here.
She had chosen to leave because she didnât want to get involved in anything.
How were the others? She didnât care who lived or died.
People might think she was cold-blooded and heartless, but she didnât really have deep feelings for the relatives she didnât spend time with.
I didnât want to carry too many burdens, and I couldnât carry them either. She was tired, so she just wanted to live a simple life.
Armand pursed his lips and said nothing more. He mentioned it to tell her that Jefferyâs sentence had been passed. Whatever the outcome of his sentence was, it had nothing to do with Matthew, for Jeffery had turned himself in.
This was the one good thing Jeffery did, wasnât it?
And what Jeffery did, brought about that Matthewâs relationship with Dolores was not irretrievable.
Although Jeffery indirectly killed Victoria, he also redeemed himself by turning himself in.
Since Armand knew she didnât want to hear what he had to say, he didnât continue.
Then he took the two children to leave the house.
âMom, weâll be back soon.â The two children turned and waved at her.
She didnât come out to see them off. She stayed in the foyer and waved to them, âOkay, Iâll wait for you.â
Soon the elevator opened, and Armand led the two children into the elevator.
âWeâre leaving now.â said Armand.
Dolores kept a smile on her face and said, âOkay.â Then she watched them get on the elevator. She didnât take her eyes off the elevator until the doors closed.
She stared at the decreasing numbers on the elevator screen.
Six, five, four, three, two, one.
He counted the time. He tried to calculate when they would exit the elevator, get away from the neighborhood and meet his father.
He turned around slowly and headed for the living room. She could have looked out onto the balcony and seen the entrance to the neighborhood, but she didnât go.
Since she had not been separated from her children, she feared she would be bitter about letting them go. And she feared he would see her.
She went over to the dining room table, where she still had the carrots her daughter had washed and the red bean pastes her son had brought for her. However, she could not eat anything at that moment.
She felt her heart was heavy.
She sat in silence.
The clock on the wall kept chiming. And little by little, time was passing.
Theresa came out of the bedroom and saw Dolores sitting there. Then she said nothing. She opened the refrigerator, took out a bottle of water, pulled out a chair and sat down.
Even if Theresa didnât say anything, given Armandâs presence, Dolores could have figured out that Matthew knew where she was staying.
âDo you feel bad that the two boys left?â asked Theresa.
âA little, because I havenât been separated from them. But itâs okay. After all, theyâre your children, too. And it was selfish of me to take them away.â
She hadnât even let him have his children when he needed someone to be with the most.
âAnd theyâll be back soon. Besides, youâre not alone now.â Theresa looked down at her belly.
Dolores tilted her head and forced a smile, âYes, Iâm not alone. I got it.â
Since Dolores had something on her mind, she didnât want to talk to her anymore. So she went back to the bedroom, sat on the edge of the bed and looked out the window.
Matthew knew this place, so what had happened to him that night was probably real rather than a dream.
She looked at the messy bed again and leaned over to lie down, but she couldnât sleep anyway.
When it got dark, she was overwhelmed by a sense of loneliness she had never felt before.
Since her children were not with her, she devoted herself fully to her work. And she received many orders for watered gauze. The original factory was already overwhelmed by the great demand, so she expanded production with Oscarâs help.
At noon, Theresa returned from home and brought Dolores an urgent delivery.
She was designing a Chinese wedding dress for a client, but had left the drawing at home. When she went to pick it up at her house, the doorman told her she had a delivery. He looked and saw that it was Doloresâ package, so he brought it for Dolores.
âI havenât bought anything lately. Who would send her a package?
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