Convenient Marriage: Mr. Nelson's Love Trap

When Dolores arrived at the hospital, Sampson was sitting in the corridor outside the patients’ rooms with his hands on his knees. He leaned forward slightly, deep in his thoughts. He didn’t even notice when Dolores walked up to him.

“What are you thinking about?”

Sampson raised his head and struggled to hold back his concern when he finally noticed Dolores. He looked towards the patients’ rooms. “Your mother is suffering from a severe anxiety attack and is hallucinating.”

Dolores had mentally prepared herself for the worst. “Thank you for taking care of her. Please go get some rest. I’ll look after her.”

Sampson glanced at her abdomen. “You also need to rest.”

“Please don’t worry about me, I’ll take good care of myself.” Dolores smiled calmly at him.

Sampson was silent for a moment, then nodded. “Call me if you need anything.”

“I will.”

Sampson stood up to leave. Dolores watched as Sampson walked away and chewed her lip. Although she’d known him for a rather long time, she knew little about his family. In that way, she felt like she knew nothing about him at all. He had to be worried about something big to be so deep in his thoughts.

At that moment, Sampson stopped, turned, and looked at Dolores. “I heard something from those women. Someone paid them to say those things and to splash paint on your door.”

Dolores nodded. “Thank you for telling me. And, Sampson, you can always talk to me if something is troubling you.” Dolores looked at him.

Sampson smiled, “I’m fine.”

Dolores didn’t pester him. She knew firsthand that everyone had something they didn’t want to share with others.

She didn’t go into her mother’s room immediately after Sampson left. She wondered who would want to pay the neighbors to do such things? Annabelle? Beulah? They didn’t know she was pregnant. So—

Crash!

ground echoed from Jessica’s room. Dolores jumped and quickly and pushed the door open and saw the broken glass at Jessica’s

over to pick up the glass shards while speaking to her mom. “Mom, do you want a drink? Go sit down and I’ll

finish, Jessica grabbed her wrist and looked like

up at her mother.

Dolores’ wrist with increasing

would others think of them if the baby just looked different? Dolores knew Jessica was traumatized, but she didn’t

“Mom…”

if her soul had left her body. “You’re reluctant to. I knew

bed and leaned back in a daze, “Jeremy is gone,

called for the doctor but Jessica fought the doctor and threatened to hurt herself. As a

from a

cupboard behind her. “How did it

has happened. She must’ve suppressed her stress for too long and it’s exploded,

worsened after Jeremy’s death. Dolores’ pregnancy was also emotionally stressful for her and must have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. That was Jessica’s limit of her emotional tolerance. The additional stress tipped her over the edge and caused her

was incoherent and

“It’s not easy to treat a mental illness. You know Dr. Herbert, don’t you? He’s a psychiatrist. He

and wondered if he knew something

transfer your mother to a psychiatric

Dolores nodded in agreement.

squatted next to her mother and looked at the self-inflicted scratches on Jessica’s face. Her heart ached so much she couldn’t breathe. The image of Jessica

*****

the potential to cause harm to herself and others, only the next of kin could visit her, and then only

of Jessica’s and her belongings and terminated the lease. Because she had to

Dolores felt that she was increasingly indebted to

do about the situation. As she was fully lost in her thoughts, the car stopped at the villa. She paid the driver and got out of the car with her bags.

the door to the villa, a car drove up and she recognized it as Matthew’s. She froze

car and saw Dolores