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

mom. “Mom, do you want a drink? Go sit down and I’ll

wrist and looked like she

up at

looked extremely conflicted and grabbed Dolores’ wrist with increasing strength. “Can you just

was the first of many. What if the baby was born without a father? What would others think of them

“Mom…”

soul had left her body. “You’re reluctant

bed and leaned back in a daze, “Jeremy is

fought the doctor and threatened to hurt herself. As a result, the doctor gave her

from a mental illness,” the doctor explained after checking

and steadied herself on the cupboard behind her. “How

trauma? This can’t be the first time this has happened. She must’ve suppressed her stress for too long and it’s exploded, resulting in her current

stress the whole time. She’d suffered from postpartum depression after her brother was born and the depression 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

was incoherent and

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

and wondered if he knew something but didn’t want to tell

you transfer your

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 losing control and

*****

day. Because the patient was emotionally unstable and had the potential to cause harm to herself and others, only the next of kin could visit her, and then only during regulated visiting hours. It was as if part of the treatment was to isolate the

Jessica’s and her belongings and terminated the lease. Because she had to leave some things

had paid Jessica’s hospital bills and Dolores felt that she was

a cab and tried to figure out what she could 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. She

she reached the door to the villa, a car drove up and she recognized it as Matthew’s. She froze in place, not sure

of the car and saw Dolores standing on one