Snare of Love

Matthew held the steering wheel tight but his fingers seemed to jerk up slightly. He shot her a glance and commented, "You're fine."

Dolores relaxed her tense frame a little while not planning to continue this conversation.

Nobody spoke for a while and a blanket of depressing silence hung over the air in the car.

Dolores' gaze swept over his hands which were gripping the steering wheel. His fingers were long and they looked chiselled. His fingernails were immaculate. It was another sight to behold. His fingers had the same impact on others as his face. It was an unforgettable sight.

"Do they look that good?" His gaze was still trained on the road ahead.

Upon hearing that, Dolores only realized that she had been staring at him for some time. She instantly shifted her gaze elsewhere and pretended not to hear him.

Matthew turned around slowly with his lips curled up, "Is my face more good-looking than my fingers?"

Dolores continued to pretend, and this time she even pretended to fall asleep.

She was criticizing him furiously in her heart. Where did his aloofness and nobility disappear to?

Why did he sound like a narcissist now?

After roughly twenty minutes, the car halted in front of the Flores family villa.

Randolph was back home earlier than usual and Beulah had been busy preparing the dishes for dinner. The scale and quality of the food was very satisfactory in Randolph's opinion. He seemed like he had forgotten a little about their previous unhappy altercation.

"The First Miss has come home." One of the maids came in to announce.

Randolph peeked at Beulah and Annabelle as he warned them, "This is a very important ordeal for me. Don't do anything that would ruin this meeting!"

Beulah suppressed the anger in her heart as she tidied up his suit, "You don't have anything to worry about. We will never talk back or retaliate even though she might come at us with fury. As long as she could vent her anger and lend you a hand in the company's matters, I can still do all of this for you considering that I can be of no help to you in the company."

Randolph felt like she didn't waste any of his sentiments towards her in the past, "When the crisis in the company has been averted, I will make sure to compensate you nicely."

After saying that, Randolph went to the door, wanting to receive them personally.

Dolores was standing next to Matthew, and she was holding the contract regarding the piece of land in Repulse Bay.

Matthew stole a glance at her and held out his arms, "Hold my arm."

Dolores followed suit and together they entered the villa.

"I have been waiting for you guys. Please come in." Randolph welcomed them with open arms.

He didn't look like his usual arrogant and entitled self at all. He looked more like a flattering man.

Matthew never had any good feelings for Randolph, but he just slightly nodded while keeping his mouth shut and maintained his indifference.

Randolph froze slightly when he realized that Matthew wasn't going to banter with him and ease the tension in the air. He thought that Matthew would have a different attitude, seeing that he was Dolores' fathe and his father-in-law.

He suddenly felt that he was losing face here!

Dolores simply laughed, "He is always like that."

Randolph managed to brighten up his expression as he invited, "Come in now."

Beulah was playing the role of a decent wife and mother. She was seen arranging the cutleries on the table. At the sight of them, she flashed an insincere smile, "You're finally here. Come sit down. Lola, you would never have thought that your dad has asked me to prepare some scrumptious meal after he learnt that you're coming for dinner today. I hope that the food would suit your taste buds."

Dolores looked at her with a smile on her face. They were just putting on an act at that moment.

"I'm not an outsider, you don't have to stand on ceremony." As she replied, she tightened her grip on Matthew's arm.

She was doing this for show.

Beulah studied Dolores' appearance as she tried hard to suppress the resentment in her heart. She continued her fake facade, "You're indeed right."

Dolores settled into her seat while still holding on to Matthew's arm. Beulah and Annabelle were seated opposite them.

Annabelle had put on a red dress and a delicate make-up. Despite being so young, she had a mature and coquettish look at the moment.

Dolores sneaked a disdainful glance at her.

She snickered coldly in her heart. Was Annabelle trying to seduce Matthew?

As she looked into Annabelle's petrified expression, she joked, "Sister, why are you staring at your brother-in-law like that? Is there something on his face?"

Matthew's eyes twitched slightly as he pondered Dolores' intentions.

He felt bored looking at such a heavily made-up face and although the both of them were wearing a red dress, Dolores who had light make-up looked infinitely better than her sister. She was a sight to behold around this dining table.

Annabelle immediately lowered her head.

Beulah was holding Annabelle's hands under the table. She was trying to calm Annabelle down.

"Alright, it's not early anymore; you guys should be hungry by now." Randolph was finding the chance to start a conversation with Matthew, but he couldn't settle on a suitable topic.

From the moment Matthew appeared in this place, he looked like he was trying not to have anything to do with any of them.

From time to time, he would pick up some food and place it on Dolores' plate in a show of affection.

Randolph was watching this silently. He didn't expect that his daughter which never garnered his attention was now the apple of Matthew's eyes.

He couldn't help but change his mind about Dolores.

Dolores never intended to just have a dinner with her family. She placed the contract on the table and announced, "This is what you always wanted. Since I've brought this here, you didn't forget about your promise, did you?"

Since it was not easy for her to gain Matthew's support in this matter, she must cherish this opportunity and get back what belonged to her and her mother.

The smile on Randolph's face slowly diminished, "We are still family in the end. Just tell me straight if you have any favour to ask from me."

His priority was to resolve the crisis in his company. He wouldn't have much use for this piece of land at the moment.

He was hinting at Dolores hard by blinking several times to initiate the topic in front of Matthew, but Dolores pretended not to understand him as she asked with concern, "Is there something wrong with your eyes?"

If Matthew was not here, Randolph would have jumped up in fury.

Matthew glanced at this woman one more time and thought that she was feigning ignorance although she knew what she had to do.

It made her look smart...no, it actually made her look adorable.

Beulah then interrupted them in an attempt to clear things up. She said while sending some food into Dolores' plate, "Lola, your dad's company has some problems right now..." As she began, she focused her gaze on Matthew, "Matthew is our son-in-law, and we really need your help this time. If I have offended you in the past, I hope that you can let it go for now."

Dolores' face darkened at the mention of Matthew as their son-in-law. They really knew how to garner all the prestige for themselves.

"Did you only give birth to me or did you also raise me up?" Dolores inched towards Matthew as she looked at him, "Since when did my husband suddenly become your son-in-law?" Beulah was curling up her fists underneath the table but she was still able to maintain her smile. "I know that you are still mad about me and your dad, but we really do love each other..." "I'm coming here today to get back what belongs to me in the first place!" Dolores didn't give her any chance to finish her sentence. Did Beulah just say that they were in love? She wanted to see for herself what choice would Randolph made when he was presented with benefits and love!

Randolph saw that the atmosphere had turned sour and there was no way to carry out a proper conversation anymore. He stood up and said to Dolores, "Come with me for a while." Dolores got up and glanced at Matthew, "I will be back."

Matthew simply mumbled a faint response.

Dolores followed Randolph into his study.

As soon as they were inside, Randolph immediately changed his expression into one of cruelty, "Have you told Matthew about my problem?"

Dolores just stared at Randolph without any emotion on her face. It seemed that she had gotten used to getting hurt, so she couldn't be stirred by anything anymore.

"Give me back my things first." It was a rare opportunity for her. She had to get back her stuff first.

Randolph glared at her while replying, "I will return them to you, but you have to make sure Matthew will help my company breeze through this crisis."

"Our deal last time only encompasses that piece of land and my things. The matter about your company is beside the point. I have mentioned this before, if you want me to convince Matthew to help you, you have to divorce Beulah. If you do that, I will definitely help you." Dolores paused slightly before continuing, "You can see for yourself that Matthew still love me very much. He would immediately agree to help you if I'm the one who brings this up."

Randolph sank into a deep silence upon hearing that.

Dolores added, "You have to think carefully which is more important: your company or your wife who can't even give you a son."

She then turned around and was about to leave the study.

At the last second, Randolph blurted out, "I agree to your terms."

As expected...

Dolores stopped in her tracks and turned around to gaze at him, "I want my things back today."

She didn't want to drag this on, fearing that things would take a turn for the worse. It didn't matter that she couldn't retrieve everything, but she could still take back things such as money for now. Her mother's medical bills are going to be due soon.

Randolph gnashed his teeth, "Lola, remember that we are still a family."

Dolores smiled in response, "I know that, but what belongs to me and my mother always belongs to us. Shouldn't you return them to us no matter what?"

They were a family?

He finally remembered that they were a family at this point in his life.0000000