Coral had never been married in her life. She knew what went on between couples, but she didnât know they got so crazy about it.
Everyone, including Matthew Nelson, looked her way, âAre you hurt, where are you hurt?â
Coral jumped ahead of Dolores Flores before she could say anything, âShe slipped while showering. Her waist was covered with bruises. I saw it when her sweater got rolled up while she was eating. If I didnât see it, Iâm sure he wouldnât say anything.â
âAre you okay, why donât we go to the hospital for a checkup?â asked a concerned Victoria Forbis.
âIâm fine. Iâm fine,â Dolores forced a normal voice to speak to Victoria.
At this point, she just wished the ground would swallow her up. She didnât want to face anyone.
Matthew thought, did she trip last night?
How come he didnât know?
âCome on. Itâs getting late,â Dolores helped Samuel Flores put on his clothes.
She deliberately changed the subject.
Matthewâs eyes rested on her waist. His eyelashes quivered as if he understood the reason.
Victoria was still worried. She went to his side and asked in a whisper, âAre you really all right?â
Dolores didnât dare raise her head. She answered as she helped her son put on his shoes, âIâm really fine.â
Victoria could see that Dolores didnât want to talk about this.
Only Coral could not see that Dolores was still avoiding the subject. She asked again, âIsnât the bathroom upstairs slip-resistant? If it isnât, it wonât do. It would be slippery.â
âThey are non-slip,â Victoria said. In fact, they used quality non-slip materials. So, she shouldnât trip. It could be an accident for Dolores to slip.
Victoria didnât think of other things.
Coral still didnât understand.How could she trip if it was already slip-resistant?
âAll right, letâs get out now,â Jayden Nelson shouted.
They all put on their coats and left the room one after the other. The wind was blowing outside. It crackled as they walked over the snow.
Even Simona Flores didnât want Dolores to hug her anymore. She lay obediently in Matthewâs arms.
Maybe the snow was illuminating everything. The sky was already dark, but it still looked bright.
Several cars drove out of the village one after another.
Tires rolled on the white road with crisscrossing marks.
The place was reserved by Jayden. It was a large private room with seating for 20 people. When Matthew wasnât coming home to celebrate New Yearâs, the house helpers and drivers would eat with them. The people who stayed with them at home were the same as his own family.
It also seemed livelier that way.
Jayden was extremely happy this year. He couldnât even remember how long it had been since he spent New Yearâs Eve with Matthew.
After the group of people sat down in their seats, the waiter came in to ask if they wanted to serve the food already.
Before Jayden could say anything, Simona beat him to it, âServe them. Iâm already hungry.â
The waiter smiled and asked Jayden for his opinion, she was a girl after all.
Jayden waved his hand, âWhatever my granddaughter says.â
The waiter said yes and left the private room. After a while, the waiters passed one after the other and filled the huge turntable with delicious food. Simona was already starting to drool, âWow, that smells good. I want to eat it.â She couldnât wait to try them already.
âBefore we start eating, I have a few things to say,â Jayden suddenly spoke up. He let Victoria bring out the things she had prepared.
âSix years ago, I couldnât take care of them since I didnât know I had a grandson and granddaughter. I am very sorry for that. Of course, I also have to thank Dolores, who gave birth to them and raised them.â
Jayden signaled the waiter to pour the wine. The waiter understood him. He walked to Doloresâ side with a decanter of wine in his hand and filled her glass.
âHereâs to you, to the first toast,â Jayden raised his glass.
Dolores was surprised. She stood up while holding the wine glass in both hands, âYouâre being too serious. I did all this of my own free will without complaint. I am not worthy of your toast. Iâm a junior, so I should be the one toasting you.â
Dolores drank first. She drank the entire glass of white wine in one gulp. It was so spicy that her throat burned like it was on fire.
She covered her mouth, âIâm not good at drinking.â
Matthew put the food on his plate, âTake a bite to ease it.â Jayden motioned for her to sit down.
Dolores put the food Matthew put on her plate into her mouth. Then she swallowed it after chewing it with difficulty.
Jayden was in a good mood. He was very pleased with his daughter-in-law. She was the one who made Matthew come home willingly and gave birth to two lovely children for the Nelson Family.
He took the two envelopes from Victoria, âThese are my shares in the company. I split them in two, one for Samuel and one for Simona.â
The company was being managed by Matthew. He still had shares, but now he was giving them to the two children.
Dolores stood up again, âThey are still too young. They canât take something as valuable as this.â
Jayden wouldnât let her turn him down, âIâm giving it to the two children. Iâve already signed the papers. You can keep it for them, since they are young now.â Jayden handed the folder to Dolores, but she didnât dare accept it, âThisâ¦â
âWhy, do you despise that itâs too little?â Jayden pretended to be angry. This was half of WY Groupâs shares, and yet it did not tempt him at all.
Deep down, Jayden was secretly nodding. The people around Matthew should be stable and be able to resist temptations. Seeing this, he was also completely relieved.
âNo, itâs because the two children are still too young. They donât need this. I can understand your gesture, and I also appreciate it. But this is too heavy for them. I really canât decide for them,â Dolores still couldnât bring herself to take it. That was half of the WY Group.
If she took it, the two children would own half of WY Group. Even though it was for the two children, they were only six years old. They probably didnât even know what the shares were. As their guardian, she was entitled to keep it for the two children.
However, she could not take it for that reason.
If she gave it to him after the two children were grown, she would not stop him. After all, they were part of the Nelson Family lineage.
Matthew took it for Dolores. The Nelson Family did not have many descendants. In Jaydenâs generation, there were two brothers. Jayden had one brother, but he died when he was a teenager. Tracing back, there were actually two brothers in Jaydenâs fatherâs generation. Jaydenâs father was the oldest, while Jaydenâs uncle was the second son, who was not good at business. They opened two branches of the company for him, but both closed due to bankruptcy.
Later, he, too, realized he was no good at it, so he quit. He did not work and limited himself to receiving money with the shares he had in the WY Group.
Later, he had a son. He was of the same generation as Jayden. According to the lineage, he could have half of the shares of WY Group.
However, he was sterile. He was born with necrospermia. He spent a lot of money trying to treat this disease everywhere. In the end, he was still not cured. He was a little younger than Jayden and was still alive now. However, due to his body condition, he was antisocial and never interacted with Jayden.
He still held 20% of the shares.
The rest was 50% with Jayden and 30% with Matthew.
The 20% that was scattered outside had almost no use. The only use was that he could receive 20% of the assets. The 20% of the companyâs annual profits would also be credited to his bank account.
Although he had no children, he did not spend his life in vain. He was quite carefree when he was young. Although he was no longer young, he was still having fun as usual, since he still had money.
Matthew put the food on Doloresâ plate, âDonât worry. Just take it.â
Dolores murmured, âArenât you afraid Iâll take your place?â
She whispered quietly, but Matthew heard her. He leaned toward her and spoke in a volume she could only hear, âHeâs all yours. Iâm all yours too.â
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