Snare of Love

Warmth slowly surrounded her from behind and water vapor condensed on her ear. "Are you scared?" Strange breaths that lingered on beside her ear made her shivered and not dared to speak. Dolores Flores sensed that the man had paused, and he continued afterwards. "It's still not too late to regret."

Dolores clenched her fists nervously and shook her head. "I don't regret." She was in the prime of her life now, yet...

The night was long and excruciating.

The man finally got up and went to the bathroom at the latter half of the night. Dolores dragged her exhausted body and walked out of the room after putting on her clothes.

At the downstairs of the hotel stood the middle-aged woman who introduced her that business. Seeing her walking out, she handed her a black plastic bag and said, "This is your reward." Almost without any hesitation, Dolores took it over immediately. After taking the money, she sprinted out of the hotel and had even forgotten the pain she felt at her lower body part. She only wanted to reach the hospital as fast as possible.

The sky was not yet bright and the corridor was quiet. Two stretchers were placed in front of the operating room. As the fee was not paid, the casualties on the stretchers were not carried into the operating

room.

Dolores's heart ached very much when she saw that. She choked. "I have money, please save my mom and brother..." She handed the money she was holding to the doctor. The doctor took a glance at it and asked a nurse to count the sum. He then only asked the medical personnel to carry the casualties into the operating room.

Seeing them not carrying her brother inside, Dolores pounced on the doctor. She grabbed his arms and pleaded. "What about my brother? Please save him..."

The doctor sighed. "I'm sorry; it's already too late to save him..." Too late? As if being struck by lightning, the impact made Dolores blacked out. She felt pain. It felt like someone was twisting a knife stabbed into her chest. She writhed and collapsed onto the ground.

Eight years ago, she was ten. Her father cheated with another woman and abandoned her mother. He then sent her and her mother who was pregnant that time to a foreign strange country.

Her younger brother was born afterwards and he was found to have autism when he was three. They had been living paycheck to paycheck during that time and her brother's illness had made their life harder. She and her mother had been doing odd jobs to make ends meet, yet a car accident had made her understood how despair looked like when she lost her family in an unfriendly foreign country and without a single penny. She was forced to go against her will and sell herself, yet she was still unable to save her brother.

Not everyone who suffered pain would go hysteric. The pain would only make one feel uncomfortable and difficult to breathe, and even make one feel the sky looked gloomy, yet you have to accept the reality even with a smile, because you still have a mother who was alive, and she needed you.

After treatment, her mother had gradually recovered. Yet upon knowing her brother's death, she had gone crazy. It was Dolores who hugged her and cried. "Mom, I'm still here, please live for me." During the one month period in the hospital, Jessica Lennon often stared into space at the edge of her bed. Dolores knew she had missed her brother. If it was not for her, her mother might already follow her brother to the afterworld. As she had to take care of her mother, she was expelled from school, but the good thing was her mother's injury had healed.

She carried some food and walked into the hospital. As she reached the ward and was about to open the door, she heard a voice from the inside - the voice she was familiar with. Although it had been eight years, she still remembered the scene which he forced her mother to sign the divorce letter clearly. After sending them here, he had never once paid them a visit, but why did he suddenly appear here today?

"Jessica, you and the mistress of the Nelson family were like sisters back then, and you've even promised to let your child marry hers when they grow up. It's you who made the promise, so logically it should be your daughter who marries her son..."

"What do you mean? Randolph Flores!" Jessica who was skinny struggled to get up to hit him without even minding her wound. Was he still a sensible human being? After dumping her and her daughter at a freaking place and never cared how their life was, he insisted her to marry her daughter off now?

"The eldest son of the Nelson family is your best friend's son. He's raised well and you know their family status. Marrying the son would only lead to a happy life..." His voice died down as he spoke. The eldest son had a high dignity and a charming look, yet he was bitten by a poisonous snake when he was away on business abroad one month ago. He was then paralyzed and could not live by himself. Marrying him was like becoming a widow though the husband was still alive.

"I'll do it." Dolores suddenly pushed the door open. She stood at the entrance while grasping the lunchbox in her hand. "I'm okay to marry him, but under one condition."

Randolph turned to the entrance and looked at the daughter whom he had not seen for eight years. He was startled for several seconds. When he sent her here, she was still a ten year old kid, and now she was all grown up. She had a pale skin yet she was extremely underweight. The size of her face was even smaller than the size of a palm. She was skinny and did not look healthy, as if she was not well- developed. She was not as loving as his younger daughter who was now staying at home.

The sympathy he felt lessened. After all, she was not that good-looking; it was still not too bad to let her marry a cripple who could not have sex. Having thought of this, his guilt vanished and he believed he had done nothing wrong. He then said, "Spill the bean."

"I want to return home with mom. Give all the things belong to mom back to us, and I'll agree marrying the son." Dolores kept on squeezing her hands and finally calmed down at last. Although she was not in her home country for quite a couple of years, she had heard about the Nelson family of City B since young. The family was huge and possessed wealth worth hundreds of billions. The son of the family therefore naturally had a high dignity.

Dolores did not think such a good thing would fall into her lap; it could be that the son was exceptionally hideous or he had any physical defects. Even so, it was still a good chance to return home for her. If she managed to utilize this opportunity, she might be able to help her mother seize back the fortune which was her mother's dowry.

"Lola..." Jessica wanted to advise her that marriage was no joke. She had suffered plenty by her side and she could not let her daughter have a ruined marriage too. Having heard that, Randolph became worried that Dolores would be persuaded by Jessica and gave up marrying the son, he then quickly said, "Sure, as long as you agree, I'll let you go home."

"What about mom's dowry?" Dolores stared at the man known as her father and asked with an icy voice. There were indeed quite many dowries when Jessica first married him back then. It was not a small amount and Randolph was reluctant to give them away. "Dad, I suppose my younger sister looks gorgeous. She deserves a better man. If she's married to a man with flaws, her life is gonna to be ruined, not to mention you've divorced my mom, you should return the money she gave to the Flores family."

Randolph was guilty and he did not dare to meet her eyes. She had always been abroad, how did she know the son of the Nelson family had physical defects? He would definitely not know that it was just Dolores's own guessing. Having thought that the man she was going to marry was an abnormal one, Randolph gritted his teeth and said, "I'll give it to you once you marry him."

His younger daughter was as precious and loving as a flower. How could he let her marry a man who could not even live a normal human life? No matter how noble he was, he was no different than a waste if he could not fulfill his duty as a husband. Having thought of that, Randolph no longer felt as uncomfortable as before, yet his disgust towards Dolores had risen when she insisted to take money from him. He threw her a cold glance and said, "Your mom didn't teach you well. You don't know any manner!"

Dolores wanted to ask him that was he as her father completely free of responsibility? He had abandoned her here and did not care about her ever since. Yet she could not say that at the moment because her bargaining chip was too weak and she would not be benefitted if she provoked him.

"Prepare yourself and we'll head back tomorrow." Randolph left the ward with a wave in his sleeve.