Chapter 846:
Thinking of this, Dalores approached Julio, stopping at a cautious distance. âWhy did you follow me here?â she asked. âIf I hadnât come, how would I have known that you would abandon your own child just to be anotherâs stepmother?â
Julio responded, his voice dripping with scorn, âMaybe I refuse to cut ties with you because of the child.â
Daloresâ declaration reverberated between them, sharp and cutting. âYes, Iâm prepared to be a stepmother because I genuinely care about Kinsey. I even cared for you once, despite how you treated me. But Iâve changed. Iâm ready to embrace all that comes with my choicesâwhether itâs stepping into a maternal role for Kinseyâs child or making difficult decisions about my own future.â
Daloresâ words cut into Julioâs heart.
He extinguished his cigarette, closed the distance between them, pinned Dalores against the wall, and kissed her.
His kiss was laden with the scent of tobacco, leaving Daloresâ lips tingling with pain.
The eyes of passersby lingered too long, their whispers igniting a flush of shame in Dalores. In a desperate bid to escape Julioâs grasp, Dalores bit his lip hard.
âYouâre so stupid. Do you honestly think Kinsey genuinely cares about you? Maybe youâre the only one willing to be a stepmother to his child. If it were anyone elseâ¦â
His words sliced through the air with cruel sharpness, suggesting that Kinsey only loved his mistress. As for Dalores, she was just a legal nanny hired to care for his child. Once the child grew up, Kinsey would likely cast her aside.
âIâm a fool, but Iâm not shameless!â Dalores struggled, but she couldnât break free from Julioâs grip.
Find inspiring stories on gⱯlnÏνððsâ¤ðоm Julio sneered. âAre you saying that Iâm shameless? I learned it from you!â
Neither of them was willing to back down. They could see the storm of emotions in each otherâs eyes but were unable to understand one another.
Suddenly, the door to the resuscitation room burst open, snapping Julioâs grip loose. Dalores dashed towards the doctor, her mind solely focused on Emersonâs condition.
âThe childâs safe now; it was just a severe reaction to a high fever. You should be quicker to act in such situations from now on,â the doctor said, his disapproval of Dalores evident.
Dalores felt her heart ache but said nothing, her attention fixed on Emerson as he was gently pushed out of the room on a gurney. She turned to look for Julio, but he had vanished, leaving only the remnants of his cigarette smoldering in the ashtray, a thin trail of smoke rising from it.
âTake him to the ward. Keep him under observation for the next 24 hours,â the doctor instructed briskly.
Nodding, Dalores accompanied the nurses as they escorted Emerson to a VIP ward, her heart heavy with what might have happened had Julio lingered a moment longer. Seated by Emersonâs bed, her mind raced. If Julio had been more perceptive, the secrets she guarded about Emerson might have been exposed.
After taking a moment to calm down, Dalores took out her phone and hastily typed a message to Eileen, asking to fast-track her application to become an online teacher.
âOkay,â Eileen responded promptly.
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