.
âWhat do you plan to do?â Dolores sensed something wasnât right.
But she wasnât sure.
âThe only way to get him to give me up is for me to have another man,â Theresa came clean to Dolores.
Dolores frowned and looked at Theresa with an expression of disbelief, âHow can you do this to him? You should tell himâ¦â
âTell him Iâm defective?â Theresa stopped Dolores. If she could, she would.
She wouldnât have waited until now.
âOscar is single, and Iâm single. We could match. Doesnât sound bad.â
Dolores was speechless.
âAre you serious?â Dolores couldnât believe what sheâd heard.
Theresa nodded, âYes. Iâve wanted to do it for a long time, but I hadnât recovered yet, and Oscar wasnât here, soâ¦â
Dolores was caught off guard. She didnât know how to persuade Theresa.
She stood up, âI need a time-out.â
Then, Dolores left the room.
Theresa knew Dolores was worried about her. Theresa climbed up on the wall and closed off all possibilities between Armand and her.
But Theresa had made up her mind. No one could change her mind.
âDonât worry about me. Iâd rather live lightened than live burdened.â Theresa stopped Dolores.
An imperfect person like Theresa would always feel guilty about the person she loved. It was better to let go than to live in guilt.
Live alone or live with a person who didnât pressure her.
As long as she didnât live with the person she loved.
Dolores stopped. She didnât try to convince or stop Theresa. Theresa was a grown woman. She knew what she was doing. Dolores was in no position to interfere with her decision.
âYou still have time to think about this. You really will definitely be pushing Armand away if you do,â Dolores didnât say much. Theresa had to go her own way, and no one could decide for her what she should do. All Dolores could do was warn her.
âI know. Iâve thought it through,â Theresa had thought it through. She canât burden someone else with her flawed body, and she didnât want to go against her will either.
The best lifestyle for her was not to get emotionally involved with anyone.
âYou better.â
Dolores then left the room.
Jayden and Kevin came out with the children. There was silence in the villa. Dolores went upstairs and felt emotional.
Dolores thought Theresa had made an unwise decision, but she had to respect her choice. She understood the pain a woman felt if she could not have the child of her loved ones.
So Dolores could say nothing. Perhaps, Theresa and Armand were not meant to be.
It was meant to be a stormy night.
People started telling the dirty laundry on the internet from time to time. The topic kept heating up, and it was getting more interesting by the minute.
Mrs. Bailey awoke from unconsciousness in the hospital. She had seven children, and only two of them, Athena and Emma, remained by her side.
Breenda, Maisy and Eunice basically came to terms with the Bailey Family while Declan was in jail. Eunice had three children to care for and couldnât come to visit. Also, Euniceâs husband didnât want her to get involved with the Bailey Family. She couldnât do much, even if she wanted to help. She was a woman, and she couldnât offend her husband because of her children. If her husband was unhappy and divorced her, her children would have to live without a father. It would be a tragedy. So the best thing for Eunice was to stay away from the Bailey Family.
Just to keep her family together.
Emma was different from her sisters. She was raised abroad, but went to study abroad after reaching legal age. Her academic results were excellent, and she got a wonderful job after graduation. Emma was a vice president in a multinational company. She was an iron lady.
And Emma was emotionally attached to her parents.
Emma and Athena were busy visiting people, but those who visited them before did not receive them. Everyone gave various excuses for not seeing them.
They were all made up excuses. They were drawing lines because the Bailey Family was declining.
It was the reality. People loved to play into the hands of the powerful, but not many would attend when one was waning.
It was easy to see the truth in adversity. The Bailey Family used to be buttered up, but now everyone went out of their way to avoid any of the Bailey Family members.
As if they had seen a ghost.
Roger was locked away in a secret place. Emma and Athena did not manage to see him at all. They made a great effort to see Declan instead.
Declanâs head cleared up after a night in jail. He was very confused at first, but now he had thought things through.
His only enemy was Matthew.
The only thing he didnât understand was how Rogerâs hidden truth had been unearthed.
Declan told his sisters his guess. He told them that Matthew was involved, and that he might be the mastermind behind it all.
âDid you offend him?â asked Emma.
Declan replied nonchalantly, âWeâve had conflicts.â
âWhat conflicts?â Emma scoffed. She didnât buy Declanâs story. Matthew wouldnât have spent his time and done all this just to put the Bailey Family up against the wall if it was a minor matter.
âWhat have you done?â Emma raised her voice, âNo one can save you if you donât tell the truth.â
Declan had six sisters, and only Emma could scare Declan.
Declan looked down, âAt first it was a minor matter. I helped Jeffrey on a kidnapping case, but it turned into a car accident, and someone died. You knew her. It was Matthewâs stepmother. So you framed me. How could I take that? So I decided to fight back. I kidnapped your wifeâs friend, and I framed your friendâ¦â
âAre you stupid?â Emma couldnât help but scold Declan.
He got in trouble because of someone else? Wasnât that what a stupid person did?
âThe Bailey Family is going down because of you. Why did you make him your enemy? You kidnapped and framed his friends, and you expect him not to fight back? You thought he was a coward?â Emma wanted so badly to slap Declan.
âDidnât you know who he was, didnât you hear about how he dealt with things, did you think he was an easy target to bully?â Emma put her hand to her chest. Her face turned pale with anger.
Emma was furious.
Declan lowered his head and remained silent.
Declan regretted it, but he felt it was unacceptable at that moment.
âWho knew Dad did that when he was young? That landed him in jailâ¦â
Emma slapped Declan before he finished the sentence. She scolded Declan, âDidnât you see? Youâre the reason Matthew dug up what father did in the past.â
An officer approached to inform them that visiting hours were over.
Declan was spoiled. He tugged on his sisterâs sleeves, âAthena, Emma, you have to get me out of here. I canât stay here any longer. This is not the place for me.â
âWeâll get you out of here,â Athena choked back tears. Declan didnât know what it was like outside. He was always protected.
The police were investigating the case, and they formed a special team for the case. No one could interfere in the case now. It would be a waste of effort even if the brothers-in-law helped. They might even get in trouble for helping. The position of the police was clear. Severe punishment would be meted out to everyone involved in the case once the police had solid evidence.
After Emma and Athena left the police station, they immediately used their connection to find out Matthewâs contact number.
Emma immediately dialed the number, but a woman picked it up after the call connected. Athena took the phone from Emma and hung up the phone as she was about to speak.
âDo you think it would help to talk to him now â do you still think things would change?â.
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