.
Suddenly, Dolores called him. She wanted to ask how Armand was, but she didnât say. First she wanted to prepare the noodle soup for him. He must have been hungry since he hadnât eaten all day.
âExcuse me?â Matthew looked back at him.
âNothing. Go change.â Dolores curved her lips into a slight smile at him.
Matthew could tell she wanted to ask about something and understand what she wanted to ask. However, he didnât lay it out for her and wasnât in the mood to discuss it with her. He couldnât tell her anything without finding Theresa or Armand.
He went upstairs and Dolores went to the kitchen. Since she had returned with the children, in the afternoon, Coral had gone to the supermarket and bought a lot of ingredients. The fridge was already full. Opening it, she looked it up and down. Finally, she took out the meat, green peppers, some vegetables and tomatoes.
He washed all the ingredients. While chopping, he put a pot of water on to boil, which would save him some time.
He cut up the lean meat and marinated it with starch and eggs with seasoning. The cured meat would be especially soft and tender. During the marinating time, he chopped green peppers and tomatoes.
On the second floor, Matthew showered and changed into his pajamas. The texture of the silk was soft and smooth. Although he wore a long-sleeved shirt and slacks, he didnât feel warm at all. He put on a pair of white indoor slippers and headed to the childrenâs room to check on the two of them. At that moment, the two children were sleeping. The villa was very quiet and only a faint noise could be heard coming from the kitchen.
He approached and stood in the dining room, from where he could see the slender figure busy cooing. He did not move, merely gave her a silent glance. He enjoyed her very much, feeling the warmth from the bottom of his heart.
In fact, the life he longed for was simple enough, which was like this moment: his children and wife were with him together. When he finished work and returned home, someone was waiting for him at home.
He would ask for a lot, as long as she was willing to personally prepare noodle soup for him.
When Dolores was putting the noodles into the boiling water, she was hugged from behind. She turned her face away and the tip of her nose touched his cheek. He had just showered, so she felt the fresh scent of shower gel.
She gently nudged him with her elbow. âWait for me outside. Itâll be ready soon enough.â
Matthew wrapped his arms around her waist, covering her belly with his palm and gently touching it. He leaned his upper body and pressed his chin on her shoulder. âI want to see how you do it.â
Dolores gave him an angry look. âI feel annoyed if you keep hugging me like this.â
âI donât care.â He insisted on hugging her.
Dolores let out a sigh, feeling speechless. âIâm not as good at cooking as Coral. Make do as you can.â
âAs long as the dish is cooked by you, Iâd love to.â As he spoke, he gave her a peck on the cheek.
Dolores didnât have time to check. Before the noodles were fully cooked, she put the lettuce in and turned off the gas. Because Matthew had her like this, she couldnât move. She patiently said to him, âWould you stop being cute, please? Just come out and wait for your food.â
Matthew let go of her, but she didnât come out. Instead, he pushed her away. âIâll put it in the bowl.â
He opened the cupboard and pulled out a bowl of rice. As he was about to put the noodles in it, Dolores asked, âAre you sure youâre going to use this bowl?â
Matthew looked down and checked, but found nothing wrong.
âDonât we use this bowl for eating?â he wondered what was wrong.
Dolores let out a sigh, took the bowl from his hand and explained in passing, âThis is a rice bowl. You should put the noodle soup in a noodle bowl because it is big enough for soup. The rice bowl is too small. If you leave the noodles in the pot, they would clump together shortly. Therefore, you should use this one.â
She opened another cupboard, took out a bowl of white glazed noodles and handed it to Matthew.
Matthew looked at her and took the bowl with a smile. He filled the bowl with the noodle soup and Dolores carried the sautéed dishes to the dining room table: sautéed tomatoes with eggs and sautéed green peppers with sliced beef. She put the lettuces in the noodle soup.
He pulled out a chair and sat down. Matthew put the bowl of noodles on the table and sat across from her. âWould you like some?â
Dolores shook her head. Matthew was used to eating noodle soup with tomatoes sautéed with eggs like this. Dolores didnât need to tell him again, and already mixed the dish with the noodle soup.
âYou can probably cook the noodle soup with the sautéed tomatoes with eggs together.â He thought it would save a lot of time. It was too much of a hassle in the present form. Dolores had to sauté the tomato with eggs first before putting it in the noodle soup.
Dolores rested her chin and did not answer him. She said, âI will try your method of cooking it next time.â
She used the current method because the tomato juice would come out after being sautéed. It would not give you a good appearance, but it would also be with a strong flavor. If she cooked it all together with the noodle soup, the tomato might be overcooked and less flavorful.
Matthew picked up the sliced meat and took a bite. The meat was quite tender. After the marinade, the smell of the meat had completely disappeared. He looked up at her. âHave you learned to cook?â
Dolores nodded. âBefore, I only knew how to cook noodle soup with the sautéed tomatoes and eggs. After I gave birth, I made time to learn how to cook some simple dishes. If I had time, I would cook for them myself.â
After she had the children, she wanted to learn to cook. She felt it was a joy to prepare three meals for her children. However, she had to work, so she could only carve out some time to cook for them when she spent time with them.
Matthew looked down slightly. He had not participated for the past six years.
Listening to her talk about such things, he felt rather depressed.
He glanced at the clock on the wall and asked, âArenât you sleepy yet?â
Indeed, Dolores was sleepy. She didnât go back to napping after being awakened by Coral.
âYou should go upstairs and go to sleep.â Matthew realized how sleepy she was.
He didnât have the heart to let her wait here.
Dolores hesitated for a moment, got up and said, âOkay, Iâll go upstairs.
Put the dishes in the sink when youâre done.â
âIâve got it. Go ahead,â Matthew interrupted her.
Dolores went upstairs. She had already showered. After lying down on the bed, she soon fell asleep and didnât even know when Matthew came upstairs.
In her dream, she felt someone holding her from behind. Her subconscious told her who it was, so she slept soundly.
Boyce led the search team into the second half of the night, but still couldnât find them. The entrance to the cave through which Armand and Theresa had slipped was in a secret location and the cave was deep. Even if there were any sound overhead, they could not hear it at all, unless it was a huge noise.
After one night, Armandâs phone ran out of battery. They were in the cave, but did not talk at all during the whole night.
When the sun came up, it was light in the cave. Armand checked to see that Theresa was leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. He thought she had fallen asleep, so he didnât dare make a sound.
However, after a long while, Theresa still did not open her eyes. Armand tried to call out to her, âTheresa?â. She did not answer.
He called again, âTheresa?â
There was still no answer. He frowned and slowly approached her, reaching out to touch her. âTheresaâ¦â
As soon as he touched her body, Armand felt the burning heat. Hastily, he covered her foreheadâ¦it was quite warm. He didnât know when he had a fever. Without a thermometer, he was sure he had a high fever.
Her lips were dried with a layer of skin. Armand hugged her and patted her cheeks. He called her name, but she didnât respond at all. She was totally comatose. Armand was very anxious. He shouted at the entrance of the cave, hoping to attract peopleâs attention and rescue her.
He screamed until he was hoarse, but there was no response. Dizzy, Theresa heard Armandâs voice. She wanted to open her eyes, but she was too weak. She felt very thirsty and cold.
âWater⦠Waterâ¦â Her voice was as low as that of a mosquito. Armand did not hear her clearly. When his ear came close to her lips, he finally heard what she murmured.
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