Theresa took the two children back home. Perhaps Dolores was tired because of the recent matters, so
she fell asleep in her room. Theresa woke her up because Matthew said that Armand would come over
later.
Dolores lazily opened her eyes, and she looked at Theresa with bleary eyes, who was standing by the
bed. Dolores got up and sat on the bed. She rubbed her eyes, “You guys have come back.”
Theresa replied, “Ya. We've bought you the radish you want to eat.”
Dolores had just woken up with her bleary eyes, and she seemed to be not completely awake yet.
Theresa poured her a glass of water, and Dolores reached out and took it and drank half a glass of
water. She became a little awake. Dolores put the glass on the bedside cupboard. She got out of bed
and put on her shoes, and she asked, “What did you guys eat outside?”
As Dolores spoke, she glanced at the time and then looked at Theresa, “It's so late?”
It had been more than three hours since Theresa took the children outside.
Dolores thought, ‘What did they eat that took so long?’
“We ate grilled paper-wrapping fish,” Theresa lied at random because the preparation of the grilled fish
took a long time. It was made with fresh fish and cooked for more than half an hour, at least. It could
take almost three hours for them to finish eating and shopping.
“I think you should be hungry now. We buy you something to eat,” Theresa and Dolores walked to the
living room together, where Andrew and Amanda were watching TV on the sofa.
When they were shopping with Matthew at the supermarket, they passed by the baking section. The
two children said Dolores liked the red bean pastry. It was made up of layers of red beans that were
soft inside with a crispy edge.
Dolores had bought it several times in the past, so Andrew and Amanda knew she liked it.
Matthew bought two boxes of red bean pastry after knowing that Dolores liked it. He also bought other
desserts since Dolores could not eat radish as a proper meal because it was insufficient in nutrients.
Theresa stretched, “I'm going to take a shower.”
She did not want to see Armand. She would not be soft-hearted or forgive him, even if Armand died in
front of her at the moment. Theresa was not to escape because she could not let go of the past. She
merely did not want to see Armand.
Armand's face always reminded her of many unpleasant and painful memories.
She could change her appearance and voice, but she could not erase her memories.
Dolores nodded and took a carton of pure milk out of the refrigerator. She poured a cup of milk and put
it on the table.
Andrew was very caring and brought over all the food Matthew bought and put them on the table,
“Mommy, we bought you red bean pastries and pineapple buns.”
“And this,” Amanda handed over the radish Dolores wanted to eat.
Dolores sat on the chair. She looked at the two children and smiled. She thought that her children had
grown up and knew how to be caring.
She rubbed Amanda's head, “Can you help mommy to wash it?”
“Sure.”
Amanda felt that it was something to be proud of to help Dolores, so she was happy about it.
Dolores reached out to take a piece of red bean pastry that Andrew opened the package for her and
took a bite. She thought, ‘It still tastes the same,’ Dolores talked something to Andrew, “What have you
ate today?”
“Steak,” Andrew replied.
How did Andrew know that Theresa said they ate grilled paper-wrapping fish to rationalize the time they
consumed with Matthew outside.
Dolores stopped her movement of carrying the milk cup and lifted her eyes to look at Andrew. Dolores
wondered, ‘Am I mishear?’
Theresa said they ate grilled paper-wrapping fish, while Andrew said they ate steak.
Dolores asked again, “What did you eat today?”
“Steak,” Andrew blinked, “Mommy, do you want to eat too?”
Dolores shook her head and subconsciously frowned. She pondered, ‘If Andrew and Amanda ate
steak, why Theresa said they ate grilled paper-wrapping fish? Plus, there is no western restaurant
around here.’
Why would Theresa lie?
Dolores smiled and asked as if she was chatting with Andrew as usual, “Which restaurant did you eat
at?”
“Bamboo Restaurant, the place where Oscar invited us to eat last time,” Andrew said honestly.
“Oh, I see,” Dolores gently lowered her eyes. It was a high-end western restaurant, and the minimum
spending was over a thousand and six hundred dollars. It was far from where they lived.
Dolores pondered, ‘How come Theresa take them to the restaurant? Why she lied to me?’
At this time, Amanda handed over the washed radish to Dolores, Mommy, here you go. I washed it
cleanly."
Dolores reached out and took it, but she lost her appetite. She looked at the two children and felt a bit
jittery.
Why would Theresa lie to her?
Or did she do something and purposely try to hide it from her?
Click.
The sudden rang of the doorbell interrupted Dolores's thoughts. She wanted to get up to open the door,
while Amanda said, “I'll go open it,”
She ran as fast as she could.
Dolores sat back in the chair and cast her eyes to the door. Nobody would come at this time, and even
Oscar would rarely come at night as well.
Soon the door opened, Armand stood at the door. Dolores was astonished when she saw Armand. She
seemed to hear a loud sound in her ears as if a sharp needle pricked her ears, and she felt bodily
numbness.
Dolores pondered, ‘How could Armand appear here?’
She was shocked, and her hands clenched. At the same time, she looked behind Armand with some
expectation.
“Armand,” Amanda greeted him with a smile and invited him to go into the house.
Since Amanda had just met Armand no long ago, Amanda was not surprised when she saw Armand.
Armand walked in and looked at Dolores, and he greeted her.
“H-h-how did you know I was here?” she tried to hold back and made her voice sounded calm.
“Matthew said he misses Andrew and Amanda, so he has been asking me to investigate your
whereabouts, and... I just found out the place where you live,” Armand explained the reason why he
would appear there at this time.
Dolores clenched her hands, and her hands were wet and streaming with a sticky layer of sweat. She
was trying to leave the two children with Matthew back then. He needed someone to accompany him at
that time, after all.
However, she found that she could not do it since she had never left Andrew and Amanda in the past.
Dolores felt pain when leaving Matthew. She was afraid that she could not hold on without the two
children by her side.
“Can I take Andrew and Amanda to City B for a few days?” Armand explained his intention.
Dolores slowly lifted her eyes and wanted to ask if Matthew was alright. However, she did not ask
about him but said in a low voice, “Sure.”
They were also his children.
Dolores stood up, “I'll go pack a few clothes for them. Come and sit on the sofa for a while.”
“Okay.”
Armand sat on the sofa.
“Do you want some drinks?” Dolores asked.
“I want a glass of water.”
“I'll get it for Armand,” Amanda was happy.
Dolores looked at Amanda, and she thought, ‘Amanda probably knows that she's going to visit
Matthew, and that's why she is so excited and happy.’
She turned around and went back to her room. The two children's clothes were in the closet in her
room.
When she opened the closet to get the clothes, the dream she had last time suddenly came to her
mind. She remembered quite clearly that Matthew said he missed her in a hoarse voice with a sweat-
wearing scent because the dream was so real.
She pondered, ‘Was it only a dream?’
‘Is Armand the only one coming here?’ Dolores wondered.
She began to hesitate, and an unerasable thought suddenly popped up in her mind. She was expecting
something and subconsciously walked over to the window as if her brain was not controlling her body.
She gently lifted the white gauze curtain and looked out through the window.
The quiet street had a car parked by the road. She had seen the car, but she could not remember if she
saw it in the hospital parking lot or in front of the restaurant where she was eating.
Soon she found a familiar figure.
Matthew leaned against the car door with his back facing the light of the street lamp. He was talking on
the phone with Abbott, who was reporting to him about the works. Matthew was working online since
he could not return to City B. Matthew felt that someone was watching him, and he raised his head to
look at the window.
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