Unforgettable love

Chapter 4:

Although he had phrased it as a question, Matthew sounded more authoritative than anything else. Dolores nodded and, from the way he was looking at her, Matthew seemed to want to talk to her about something. And coincidentally, she wanted to talk to him, too.

Randolph gave Dolores a warning look. ‘Watch your boundaries.’ He didn’t want Dolores to offend Matthew before they were married.

Seeing Matthew’s apathetic look, it seemed to Randolph that Matthew was dissatisfied with Dolores. However, the arrangement was still good for the Flores Family. Marrying into such an influential family would help the family business. Randolph would do everything he could to keep her from spoiling the marriage.

Dolores pretended not to have noticed her father’s look of disdain and followed Matthew and Abbott outside. She knew full well what Randolph was planning. What gave him the confidence to assume that she was going to help him join the Nelson Family? Did he think she was going to stay in such a marriage just because she was his daughter? He hadn’t even spoken to her since he cheated on her mother. Did he suppose Dolores would forgive and forget the life he had condemned her family to for those eight years?

As he was lost in thought, he hit something hard. She snapped back to the present and looked up to see Matthew Nelson’s flawless face staring down at her. As she expected, Matthew had no trouble standing up, which meant he now had something on him. Dolores’ scalp went numb under Matthew’s gaze and she calmly met his eyes as she braced herself for his wrath.

“You’re pretending to be paralyzed, aren’t you.”

L∆tєѕt chαptєrs ιn g𝒶lnovєl𝑠.𝑐ᴏm

Matthew narrowed his eyes, his anger and discomfort evident on his face as he spoke in a low but fierce tone. “Why have you insisted on marrying me even though I’m a cripple, what do you want from me, money, to live the life of the rich and famous?”

Dolores had to force herself to ignore the surge of coldness that coursed through her veins as Matthew stared at her. It was as if her heart was being held by an invisible hand, which even made it difficult for her to breathe.

“The marriage was arranged by our mothers when I was two. Could I have known anything about money and the benefit of becoming a wealthy woman at that age? This is purely the wish of our mothers that I wish to keep.” Dolores paused to gather her thoughts and soften her tone. “When I was two, you were ten and eight years older than me. If anything, I should have despised you for being so much older than me, but I didn’t.”

Matthew scoffed. Dolores was not only a good talker, she had a silver tongue. She dared to call him old. There was electricity in the air between them. They stared into each other’s eyes and neither was willing to back down. Dolores’ hands, hanging at her sides, were clenched into fists. Her reason for marrying into the Nelson Family was only to have Randolph return her mother’s wedding gifts, not to make an enemy of the man before her.

Not to make matters worse, she swallowed her pride and softened her voice. “Mr. Nelson, I know you don’t want to marry me, and I understand that-”

She deliberately paused to look at Matthew’s expression. Although the fluctuation in his expression was minuscule, Dolores still managed to notice it.

“Mr. Nelson, let’s make a deal,” Dolores continued.

She didn’t want to join the Nelson Family, she just wanted to go home and reclaim her and her mother’s things.

Matthew scoffed, amused at the ridiculousness of Dolores’ offer. What kind of deal did she think she could make with him?

Dolores swallowed saliva and ignored the sweat soaking her back from nerves. Matthew was tall and she had to lift her chin to look at him.

“I know the reason you’re pretending to be paralyzed is to convince the Flores Family to call off the marriage. However, I too have my reservations toward the marriage.”

Dolores piqued Matthew’s interest and asked, “What do you want?” Since it was a deal, there had to be conditions.

“One month. After one month of marriage, I will divorce you and you can do whatever you want.”

One month was enough. After she recovered her mother’s dowry, she would divorce him.

Matthew frowned. “That’s the deal you want to make?”

“Yes. As was our mothers’ wish, we have to marry each other no matter what we think of each other. We must show respect for them, both in memory of your mother and in recognition of the sacrifices my mother made for me. However, it was only promised that we would marry each other, it was never said that we had to stay married. It is not counted as breaking the promise if we do not agree on personality as principles and divorce each other.

If you accept this deal, then you won’t have to spend your whole life with someone you don’t like.” Noticing that Matthew was mulling over her proposal, Dolores continued. “I guess you must have found someone you like and that’s why you’ve tried everything to get the Flores Family to break the promise.”

Matthew’s face tightened and his jaw clenched. “I didn’t expect you to be so smart…”

What Dolores was saying was true and he wanted to give Helen a better life. He was touched by her innocence and resilience when he was in dire need.

Matthew fixed his gaze on Dolores’ face, noting the anxiety behind her composure, and replied. “And what about you, what are you going to get out of this month of marriage?”. He knew she wasn’t just thinking of him.

Dolores’s heart plummeted. She couldn’t tell him the truth about wanting to get her mother’s wedding gifts, but she didn’t want to lie either. If she tried to make up a different reason, there was a chance he would catch on to her lie.

“My mother worries a lot about marriage and is in poor health, so I don’t want to disappoint her.”

Dolores avoided eye contact when speaking, she didn’t want to give away her lie. Her mother absolutely did not want her to marry Matthew Nelson.

Matthew snapped Dolores out of her thoughts and replied in a seemingly threatening voice, as if he had read her mind. “Oh, yeah?”

Dolores’s stomach churned. His eyes seemed to penetrate her mind. As she tried to keep her composure and think what to do, Matthew’s phone rang. Matthew looked at her and pulled out his phone. As he saw the name on the screen, his face softened and his eyes lit up. He turned away from Dolores to answer the call, but turned back as if remembering something.

“Since the marriage will only last a month, there is no need to arrange a wedding ceremony.” Dolores had no choice and nodded her head. “Sure.”

🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙 🍙

On August twelfth, Abbott arrived at the rental house to pick up Dolores.

There was no wedding ceremony or reception, just a marriage certificate. Dolores didn’t feel much of the whole ordeal because, to her, it was just a deal to satisfy her needs. If the marriage had not been arranged by their mothers when they were children, they probably would never have crossed paths.

The car stopped in front of a villa. The stone building that occupied a large expanse of land looked majestic in the sunlight.

“Please come in,” Abbott said, gesturing for Dolores to step forward.

He was neither enthusiastic nor kind to her. He behaved kindly enough, and Dolores supposed he must have known that the marriage between her and Matthew was only to fulfill the promise. She was not the real woman of the Nelson Family.

Although the villa was huge, there was only one Nelson Family servant. Abbott made no introduction to Dolores and left as soon as he was inside. It took Dolores a little while to adjust to the surroundings.

“This is Mr. Nelson’s residence. I am the maid who takes care of his daily life, you may call me Coral.” Coral led Dolores into a room and continued her explanation. “Let me know if there is anything you need.”

A month was not a long time and Dolores brought her daily toiletries.

Although she most likely didn’t need anything, Dolores nodded anyway.

Coral opened a bedroom door and stopped. She looked at Dolores and bit her lip as if contemplating saying something.noveldrama

Finally, Coral sighed. “It’s possible that Mr. Nelson won’t be back tonight because today is Miss White’s birthday.”

Even though there was no wedding, Dolores was still Matthew’s wife. No matter the reason, today was their first day of marriage, and instead he was staying with another woman.

Coral felt sorry for Dolores, knowing how the woman felt about being rejected by her husband when she had just joined the family. Would the future hold even worse situations for her?

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