Chapter 6
The beams of two headlights illuminated the road, casting a cold and lonely glow.
Lola sat in the passenger seat, calmly staring ahead. The car door beside her was locked, and her hands were tightly bound together with a necktie, tied to the overhead handle. Dominick’s cold, indifferent words echoed in her mind.
“Jessie lost the baby because of you. Go to the hospital, take care of her. It’s your responsibility.”
“Responsibility?”
Lola let out a faint laugh, speaking each word deliberately.
“If I must care for Jessica to make up for her loss of her baby, then what about my child, Dominick? It was lost because of you. How do you plan to compensate for that?”
Dominick’s cold and clear eyes stared impassively at the road. His fingers tightened around the steering wheel, flicker of pain briefly crossing his eyes. Pressing his lips, he always felt that although Lola was sitting beside him, she seemed far away, almost out of his reach.
Just like the figure he had glimpsed on the balcony this morning, she seemed unreal, as if it could vanish at any Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.
moment.
The car drove straight into the hospital’s underground parking lot. The tie bound around Lola’s wrist was untied, leaving a conspicuous mark. Dominick dragged her out of the car, pulled her into the elevator, and pushed her into Jessica’s hospital room.
“Mom, it’s all my fault. I couldn’t protect Landon’s child.”
“How is it your fault, Jessica? Don’t blame yourself.
When Lola was pushed into the room, she saw Jessica and Laura embracing and weeping together.
Laura was clad in a green evening gown with an expensive burgundy shawl draped over her. She had her hair meticulously coiled at the back of her head, adorned with a silver hair accessory. Her face was gentle and serene, exuding a sense of elegance and grace.
Seeing Lola and Dominick approaching, Laura wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and stood up. She gave Lola a brief, indifferent glance and then looked past her directly at Dominick.
“Landon is gone now, and you are the only one Jessie can rely on. Take good care of her!”
“I understand, Mother, Dominick replied respectfully
Laura was Dominick’s stepmother. She had been caring for Dominick since he was young, so Dominick always held great respect for Laura. He never called her “Mom” but “Mother‘ respectfully.
Afterward, Laura instructed something about Jessica that Lola didn’t catch. As she watched the woman leave, Lola was preoccupied with a thought. Jessica’s unborn child was Landon’s only bloodline, and that child was lost because of her, but Laura seemed to bear no deep resentment towards her.
What puzzled her even more was that Laura was now subtly arranging for Dominick to be with his son’s wife.
Everyone said Laura was gentle and virtuous, but in the year Lola married Dominick, she never truly understood Laura, and she even felt a bit scared of her. She would avoid Laura whenever possible,
but Laura seemed to disregard Lola, who had no notable family background.
18
4:37 PM
“Heh.”
A soft laugh snapped Lola back to reality, and she looked at the hospital bed.
Jessica dressed in a pink–striped hospital gown, lying on the bed with a sense of arrogance. She smiled smugly with her long hair flowing down, and Dominick had left the room.
“Was it hard to keep up the act these past three months?”
This was the question Lola had always wanted to ask Jessica.
Jessica had started acting strangely three months ago. Everyone thought she would love the child she was carrying even more after Landon’s passing. However, she actually had planned to get rid of the baby and cling to Dominick, the now sole heir to the Sinclair Group.
“Lola, what are you talking about? I don’t get it.” Jessica looked weak and drained, asking as she gazed at Lola.
Just as Lola was about to speak, she saw Jessica suddenly fall heavily to the floor. Without thinking, Lola quickly stepped forward to help her up. But just as she touched Jessica, the door behind them was pushed open.
“Jessiel
Dominick’s face changed dramatically as he saw Jessica on the floor. He quickly strode over and pushed Lola away.
“Dominick, don’t blame Lola. She just…loves you too much…
Leaning in Dominick’s arms, Jessica choked up as if trying to find an excuse for Lola. But in the end, she used the same excuse as for being pushed downstairs. She had claimed that Lola, out of jealousy, had pushed her down the stairs, and now, she used the same tactics.
“Lola, don’t you know Jessie just had a miscarriage?”
Dominick’s eyes were cold as he held Jessica in his arms, looking down at Lola who remained on the ground.
Lola just sat there. The push had hit a wound on her arm, and a streak of fresh red bled through her tracksuit from underneath. She laughed at Dominick’s accusation.
How naive she had been to think Jessica simply fell from her bed. But at that moment, someone was even more naive than her, Dominick, who was deceived by Jessica not once but twice. A mocking smile curled on her lips as she turned to look at the man she had loved for ten years.
Some things, it seemed, have nothing to do with being smart or foolish, but rather with love and not love.
At that moment, Lola really wanted to ask if he knew about her miscarriage, since he knew about Jessica’s. She had been forced to kneel on the ground, losing their child. She was thrown into a hospital room where no one came, then abducted, and now, she was dragged here to take care of Jessica.
In the end, tears streamed down her cheeks, blurring her vision. Lola raised her hand to wipe away the tears at the corners of her eyes and climbed up from the ground.
Seeing the tears in Lola’s eyes, Dominick narrowed his eyes. But he remained silent, and carefully laid Jessica on the
bed.
“Since you’re so concerned about her, Mr. Sinclair, you should be on guard. I might strike at her any time. After all, I’m heartless, cunning, and wicked.”
Having said this, Lola walked towards the door. But as she opened it, two men in suits blocked her way.
“Mr. Sinclair has instructed you to stay in the hospital room for the next few days to take good care of Ms. Moore, Ms. Mitchell.”
Lola turned back and saw Dominick, who seemed to have known she wouldn’t be able to leave. He was carefully covering Jessica with a blanket, not even bothering to look at Lola. Once done, he settled into a chair beside the bed and started peeling an apple. His muscular arms moved with an unexpected grace.
Lola sat on the couch, quietly watching the man and woman.
She consoled herself, believing that just a little more heartache would be enough to numb her to the pain.
Dominick cut the apple into small pieces and handed them to Jessica. His gaze drifted unintentionally toward Lola. Eyes downeast, Lola was lost in thought, and he sensed a rare stir of deliance in her.
That night, the three of them slept in the hospital room.
Though Dominick had confined Lola, she had no intention of taking care of Jessien. Without parents or family, Lola was all alone. Dominick had no leverage to hold against her, leaving him to care for Jessica himself.
In the hospital room, Jessica was in her bed, Dominick was on an adjacent caregiver’s bed, and Lola was on the couch.
Deep into the night, Lola faintly sensed someone standing beside her. The figure seemed to watch her for a long time before warmth enveloped her….
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