SWNOVELS Chapter 33
Two days ago, Helen was drinking alone at the bar. Coincidentally, she bumped into Annabelle.
They were seated next to each other, and Helen could tell Annabelle was fairly drunk from the girl’s flushed face. Since Matthew
was no longer a cripple, Annabelle had inadvertently missed her chance to marry into the Nelson family because she was too
selfish to love a man who supposedly couldn’t provide. Annabelle was very resentful about that fact and she couldn’t stop
cursing out Dolores.
Helen inched closer toward Annabelle to build some rapport between them. Helen learned from Annabelle that she was also
from the Flores family and she hated Dolores, her half-sister, very much.
Helen was close to Matthew the entire time, so if she was going to launch an attack on Dolores, she would easily be found out.
Therefore, she realized she needed to manipulate Annabelle if she wanted Matthew back.
Although Annabelle greatly resembled Beulah, she was nowhere near as well-read and cultured. After all, Annabelle was only
seventeen and still had a long way to go before reaching maturity.
Helen had been well-versed in the ways of society since she was young and, to top things off, she was always learning from
Matthew. She was very good with words as a result.
She’d told Annabelle she was working at WY Group, and it would be easy for her to help Annabelle eliminate Dolores.
Under the enticement of Helen, Annabelle reached an agreement with her. After Annabelle returned home, she immediately told
Beulah what happened.
While the idea excited her, Beulah was also afraid of Dolores’ revenge. Eight years ago, by bearing a son, Beulah became the
new young lady in the family. Having a child granted her the opportunity to entice Randolph into sending Dolores and her mother
away.
Therefore, Beulah agreed to Annabelle’s proposal almost immediately. The two of them conspired and spoke with a guy about
their plan. They planned to bring Dolores somewhere secluded and have the guy rape her while they took photos of the process.
They wanted to destroy her and cause Matthew to rid himself of such a soiled woman. They just hadn’t planned on her escape.
After answering Helen’s call, Annabelle descended the stairs immediately, wanting to discuss their next step in targeting Dolores
with Beulah. However, when she reached the living room, she sensed an ominous atmosphere hanging over everything.
Both Randolph and Beulah had grave expressions on their faces.
Annabelle walked toward them and sat beside Beulah, wrapping her arms around her mother. “Mum, what’s wrong?”
Beulah just remained silent.
Randolph was very moody as he barked. “I never asked you to do anything funny. I just wanted you to apologize to her so she
wouldn’t be so petty about the past anymore. Now that the company is in trouble and we need her help!”
To be precise, they needed Matthew’s help. It seemed that Dolores had somehow garnered Matthew’s fondness so they figured
they had to make a move on Dolores first to get her on board.
Based on Dolores’ tone that day, however, she seemed like she only wanted to focus on the wrongdoings of the past.
Randolph still harbored some feelings toward Beulah, so if they weren’t in such a terrible situation, he would never even consider
divorcing Beulah.
“Dad, who are you asking mum to apologize to?” Annabelle couldn’t figure out what was going on.
“And you... Dolores is still your sister. You should try to treat her even nicer.” Randolph cast a glance at Beulah. “Think about
what I’ve said. I will call her now to invite her over for dinner tonight.”
Annabelle wasn’t as calm and composed as Beulah. When she realized her mother was being asked to apologize to Dolores,
she immediately got up and snapped. “Dad, how can you ask mum to apologize to her?”
Randolph’s eyes trembled slightly and he couldn’t comprehend why his usually obedient and sensible daughter was acting so
strangely forceful at that moment.
“I’m your father. Do you think you should talk to me like that?” Randolph responding finally flying into a rage, “Let me tell you
straight. If you’re willing to apologize, then everything is still up in the air; but if you refuse to apologize, I’ll immediately divorce
your mum!”
Unlike his wife, he still prioritized the company. As long as he could maintain his status in society, he wouldn’t be short of women
to marry at any given time. If he lost his wealth and status in society, it would mean that he had reached his doom!
“Dad...”
“Annabelle!” Beulah instantly interrupted her daughter.
She was very clear-headed about Randolph’s priority. Why would he care about her dignity after everything that had happened?
If he was being serious, he would divorce her in an instant. And it was all because of what had happened to Jessica and her
mother. Although they had been a family for a long time, he could still abandon them as soon as he got the chance.
Annabelle stomped her feet and crossed her arms. “Dad, but why? Who does Dolores think she is? Why do we have to
apologize to her?”
With a loud crashing sound, Randolph hurled the glass on the table at the nearest wall and glared at Beulah coldly. “Is this how
you have been educating our daughter?”
Beulah stood up and wrung her hands. “Randolph, Annabelle just doesn’t want to see me suffer from embarrassment. She
doesn’t know what she’s doing. She’s still young,” she explained while tugging at Annabelle. “Apologize to your father now.”
Annabelle was reluctant to do so since she didn’t think she’d done anything wrong.
“Do it now!”
Beulah spoke in a low voice. Annabelle’s attitude would be fine if it had been any other time, but they couldn’t afford to be
stubborn now. If Annabelle continued to be so pig-headed, that would only anger Randolph even more. They would meet their
doom if Randolph were to turn away from them!
Annabelle was heaving heavily now, not willing to back down. Beulah was getting more and more anxious as she slapped hard
on Annabelle’s back.
“Is this how I’ve taught you to behave? Apologize to your father now! Quickly”
As Beulah continued to persuade her daughter, she was also trying to hint to her daughter with her eyes.
Annabelle still didn’t want to change her stance, but she finally sensed the severity of the current situation, “Dad, I’m sorry. I’m
mistaken.”
Randolph didn’t want to continue arguing with them and turned away from them both. “Prepare more dishes for dinner.”
He immediately left for work after the conversation since he still had a lot of matters to handle in the company.
As he reached the door, Randolph turned around and looked at them one last time. “You two do nothing to help me at all
regarding the matters in the company. All you know how to do is spend my money. What use do I have for you two if you can’t do
something as simple as apologizing to someone we need?”
Randolph was still a heartless man when it came down to it although, deep down, he still loved Beulah. He could differentiate
very clearly between hard benefits and feelings.
Annabelle gnashed ground her teeth after Randolph left. “Is Dad crazy?”
Beulah plopped down onto the sofa and responded sarcastically. “He isn’t crazy in the slightest. He’s the sanest person I know.
Now that Dolores has gained Matthew’s trust, his scheming mind is planning to manipulate her to lure Matthew to his side so that
he doesn’t have to worry about losing the company.”
Annabelle was even more infuriated when she heard that. “If I were the one who ended up marrying Matthew, Dad would never
have treated us in such a terrible way!”
Beulah stared at her daughter and nodded. Annabelle was just as good as Dolores, if not more so.
Beulah pulled Annabelle to her side and tried to calm her. “Now is not the time to be angered by such trivial matters,” Beulah
chided while glaring into Annabelle’s eyes, “Do you like Matthew?”
Why is she asking the obvious? At the thought of Matthew, Annabelle couldn’t help but blush. She was still young so she wasn’t
good at concealing her emotions. She just lowered her head shyly while mumbling a silent response.
Beulah held her daughter's hand tightly. “You may still have a chance with him.”
“What chance are you talking about?” Annabelle asked, mildly surprised.
Beulah already had a plan in mind. She looked at her daughter. “You don’t need to worry about that now. You just need to doll
yourself up nicely and leave everything else to me.”
*****
Before she got off work, Dolores received a call from Randolph asking her to join them for dinner together with the family. He was
asking her to bring Matthew along. Dolores couldn’t gauge Randolph’s motivations at all. Was he suspicious of her? He was
already nosing around her relationship with Matthew. If Randolph found out that Matthew didn’t actually favor her, it was very
likely she wouldn’t be able to get everything and seek revenger against Beulah for what she’d done to her. On the other hand,
the notion of inviting Matthew to visit the Flores family sounded even more ridiculous.
After finishing her last translation, Dolores sat at her desk while immersed in her thoughts. She was thinking about how to
convince Matthew to go back home with her. After thinking for a long time, she was unable to come up with anything.
Helen wasn’t in the office, so Dolores grabbed the chance, wanting to have a conversation with Matthew.
She got up from her seat and wracked her brain to come up with a reason to enter his office. As her eyes fell on one of the
translated documents, she picked it up immediately. The whole time Helen had been eliminating any contact between Matthew
and Dolores. Helen would always fetch Dolores’ translated work and take them to Matthew herself.
As Dolores stood in front of the door to Matthew’s office, she sucked in a deep breath, and after a
while...