Buzzâ¦
Dolores Floresâ phone on the bedside table vibrated at dawn.
The lady looked tucked in and slept soundly in the manâs arms in the large double bed roughly in the semi-darkness. She slept on her side with her head resting on his arms. Her long, silky black hair fell across the pillow.
Matthew Nelson was sleeping lightly, he opened his eyes slowly. He glanced around the room and finally fixed his gaze on the cell phone vibrating on the bedside table.
Dolores was also awakened by the buzzing of the phone. She squirmed as she felt uncomfortable from the noise and her eyebrows furrowed firmly.
Matthew hit the answer button so as not to wake Dolores.
Matthew had no idea who the caller was because the number was not saved.
As the call went through, a male voice was heard through the phone.
âAre you still serious about taking me to lunch?â
Matthew pulled out his watch and looked at the time, it was now 5:10. Why was Charles White calling Dolores at such an early hour?
And why did he mention that he would invite him to lunch?
Shouldnât he check the time, even if he was so anxious to be invited?
âLooks like Mr. White is in the mood for lunch,â Matthew said in a serious tone.
Charles hadnât expected Matthew to be the one to answer the phone. He was taken aback for a minute and then smiled. âAfter some thought, I would like to enjoy breakfast with Miss Flores this morning. May I speak to Miss Flores?â
Dolores was awakened once in the night by Matthew. In fact, she couldnât sleep for a long time after seeing what happened to Lacey Ward, then she herself didnât know when she fell asleep. She thought she heard Matthew talking as she lay half awake with her head tucked in his arms. She felt the warmth of his body as she was still dozing, his voice was very deep, soft and a little husky, âWho is it at such an early hour?â
Matthew was about to say no.
Charles heard a faint gasp and his face twitched slightly. As he thought that Dolores and Matthew were nowhere near each other, who knew? They really were sleeping together like a normal couple.
Charles was a little annoyed.
âGood girl. Just called China Mobile customer service,â Matthew gently stroked her back.
Charles was speechless.
Since when is it China Mobile customer service?
âToot Tootâ¦â
As he was about to speak, the phone hung up.
Charles looked at the phone hanging in his hand. He wasnât able to answer for a long time. He couldnât believe that Matthew had actually hung up the phone.
He was such a narrow-minded man.
They were in the room.
Matthew put his arm around her and stroked her back.
Dolores was not awake as she had slept too late the night before and was now back in her dreams.
Matthew lowered his head and watched her gently sleep. Dolores had fallen asleep on the couch the night before, and he took her to the room where he slept, instead of the room where she slept with the two children.
Even though she was too tired and couldnât do anything last night, it was nice to be able to snuggle together.
She kissed his cheek.
He must have wanted to sleep with her if she was wide awake. He wanted Dolores to feel him vividly. He wanted her to feel his warmth, his sensations, his delight, his rapture of emotion.
Matthew put his arms around her and closed his eyes as he prepared to sleep a little longerâ¦.
Rat-a-tat â
A sharp thud was heard outside.
Matthew was speechless.
All he could do was hug his wife and sleep some more. Why could anyone come to disturb him?
âMom, Mom. Are you inside?â
Simona Flores woke up and checked that no one was in the room, so she went to knock on Matthewâs door.
âDad, dad, mom is nowhere to be found.â
âIs it Simona?â Dolores raised her head and opened her sleepy eyes. She looked at the door and discovered it was not the room she had slept in the night before. She was more lucid now and pushed the blankets aside to get up and open the door.
Matthew was speechless.
Did she notice him? Why did she get up immediately after waking up?
Dolores opened the door and found in front of her a little person dressed in pajamas slung over her shoulder. She clutched her favorite stuffed animal, ducked her head, and blinked, âMommy, why did you come to sleep here?â
She remembered Mommy sleeping with her in her arms last night, and when she woke up, she discovered Mommy was in Daddyâs room.
Dolores stroked her hair as she bent down and looked her daughter in the eyes and said, âLast night, last nightâ¦â
She had no idea how to explain it to her daughter.
Simona was puzzled and her little face scrunched up. Could it be that Mommy didnât sleep with her last night and it was just a dream?
âI want you to sleep with me, come on!â Simona pulled Dolores in.
Dolores was dragged away by her daughter before she could close the door.
At the same time, Armand Bernie came over and rubbed his eyes as he saw the door ajar behind Dolores. Wasnât that Matthewâs room?
Last night, the two children insisted on sleeping with Dolores and the bed was too small for all of them, so Matthew was kicked out of the room. But then, why did he leave his room?
Last night⦠His expression was as if he understood everything. He smiled politely, âGood morning, Miss Nelson.â
Dolores glanced at him and realized she had misunderstood. His greeting gave her goose bumps.
âGood morning, Armand,â Simona said cheerfully.
Armand reached over and reached out to stroke her adorable little cheeks, but Matthewâs enraged expression flashed into her memory and her hand shrank back for a moment. Instead, he stroked her head, âGood morning, Simona.â
No one else was allowed to touch Simonaâs face, according to Matthew.
He smiled at Dolores after greeting Simona.
Dolores pretended to be calm and ignored his expressive smile as she picked up her son and returned to her room.
Armand approached Matthewâs bedroom door, which was ajar, he didnât even have to push it. He leaned against the door frame and looked at the boy holding the blanket as he lay on the bed. Then he smiled and asked, âLast night, did you get away with it?â Did he get away with it?
Was it considered yes if he just hugged her?
âI just saw Miss Nelson leave this room.â
âDonât tell me youâre a gentleman,â Armand said.
Matthewâs eyes narrowed. Wait. Did he just refer to Dolores as Miss Nelson?
âHow did you refer to her?â He said as he sat up abruptly and looked at Armand, who was standing in the doorway and smiling.
âMiss Nelson.â
âLook at her, sheâs so youthful and looks like a college student, while youâre in your thirties, I have to call her Miss Nelson,â Armand said nonchalantly.
So, according to Armand, he was old, was he? Matthewâs eyebrows furrowed.
âFrom now on, please donât refer to her as such.â Matthew would never accept that he was getting old.
Dolores, on the other hand, did look youthful.
âOkay, eight years age difference isnât big. Itâs no more than when she was ten, youâve become an adult, and when she became an adult, you⦠youâre not that old eitherâ¦â Armand smacked his mouth twice.
For Matthew, he quickly changed âyouâre oldâ to âyouâre not that old either.â He was afraid of irritating him and having him lose his temper.
âIâm going to get something to eat.â She walked away like the wind fading from the door after she said.
Matthew, who couldnât sleep either, got up.
When he cleaned himself up, he looked in the mirror and looked at himself left and right. A question arose in his mind, was he old?
Would Dolores find him too old?
He couldnât help but feel annoyed and anxious.
âWhat are you looking at?â Dolores wondered what he had seen and at first wanted to ask him why he hadnât sent her to the two boysâ room the night before, which caused Simona to wake up so early and Armand to misunderstand her.
She hadnât expected to see Matthew standing in front of the mirror, looking at himself. It wasnât necessary to look closely at his own face to appreciate his handsomeness, was it?
Was that Matthew?
Matthew was speechless.
When had this woman entered the room?
How could she walk without making a sound?
âSorry to disturb you, you may continueâ¦â Dolores was about to turn around, but her wrist was grabbed. Then she turned and before she could say anything to question it, she slammed into a strong chest. He hugged her tightly. He felt every beat of her heart searing his skin. Her eyes burned. âDo I look old?â Dolores was speechless.
âYouâre not oldâ¦â Dolores forced herself to answer him. This man was crazy to get up so early in the morning and do such shocking things.
Her frown softened as she relieved a smile, and she ducked her head to gently bite his lips. He was so dominant and frantic. âYou can only belong to me, even if Iâm old.â
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