Chapter 14: No Longer Understand Her

"What is that?" Dolores asked, her confusion deepening.

Matthew rose from his chair and strode toward her, the room's lighting casting him as a mere silhouette. His footsteps were deliberate and unhurried. Within moments, he stood over Dolores and spoke to her in a low voice.

"You're still my wife by law, so you should refrain from being intimate with other men."

He didn't care what would happen to their marriage in less than a month. As long as they were legally married, he would not tolerate infidelity. That was his limit, and his pride as a man was at stake.

Dolores didn't know how to respond. When had she been intimate with other men?

She retorted immediately, "Haven't you slept with other women here as well? Should I demand the same from you as your wife?"

Matthew's forehead furrowed deeper. "I didn't sleep with another woman."

Dolores was momentarily taken aback. She was certain that Helen had spent the night the day before. Who would truly believe they hadn't ended up sleeping together? However, she suddenly realized that whether he had or hadn't slept with other women was irrelevant to her anyway.

Matthew's expression grew increasingly sour. What was he thinking?

Dolores didn't want their relationship to sour, so she softened her tone. "I will try to respect your wishes. Should I..."

She gestured with the document in her hand, fearing that her intentions weren't clear enough.

Matthew muttered a response, but he couldn't hide the trace of anger in his voice. He wasn't angry at Dolores; instead, he was frustrated with himself. Why had he bothered explaining himself to her in the first place? Was he going insane? Lately, he found himself increasingly annoyed by his own responses to her. The discomfort almost turned into disgust.

Since Dolores had secured a job at the restaurant, she needed to finish translating the documents as soon as possible.

When the clock struck midnight, she was only halfway through, but she struggled to keep her eyes open. Deciding to fight sleep, she went down to the living room. At that hour, the entire villa was enveloped in profound silence. Matthew and Coral were likely fast asleep, having been awake for quite some time.

She placed the documents on the table and poured herself a glass of water in the kitchen. Setting the glass on the table, she sat down on the floor, continuing her translation task.

Matthew woke up feeling thirsty, so he went downstairs to pour himself a glass of water in the middle of the night. Upon seeing Dolores still translating his documents, he couldn't help but furrow his brows. However, he said nothing as he passed by her. Dolores also noticed his presence but didn't immediately greet him.

Being accustomed to living alone, Matthew instinctively picked up a glass of water from the table and began drinking from it.

"Hey—"

Dolores wanted to remind him that she was using that glass, but to her dismay, Matthew had already taken a sip. She couldn't complete her sentence.

Matthew glanced at her briefly, noticing her hesitant gaze. He then shifted his attention to the glass in his hands. Under the faint glow of the table lamp, he spotted a faint smudge of lipstick on the rim of the glass—the very spot he had just been drinking from. He had unknowingly drunk from a glass that had been used by someone else. Combined with Dolores' reaction, Matthew deduced that it was probably her.

Dolores kept her gaze fixed on the floor, pretending that nothing out of the ordinary was happening. However, she could feel her face growing warm. They were still so unfamiliar with each other that the simple act of sharing a glass felt overly intimate to her.

Though it had been unintentional, Dolores couldn't help but feel embarrassed by the situation.

Matthew's lips trembled slightly as he moistened them. He was uncertain about the situation, so he finished the water in one gulp.

Setting the cup back on the table, he approached Dolores, noticing that it was already one o'clock in the morning.

"Why aren't you in bed?" he asked.

Dolores kept her gaze fixed on the floor, not willing to lift her head. "I'm not sleepy yet."

Matthew stared at her for a moment before turning and heading back upstairs. As he reached the top of the stairs, he recalled Dolores mentioning her unsuccessful job interview at his company. The whole situation seemed peculiar to him. Returning to his room, he picked up his phone and dialed Abbott's number.

Abbott was fast asleep, so he felt irritated when the ringing phone woke him up. Annoyed, he answered the call, ready to give a piece of his mind to whoever disturbed his sleep. However, when he saw Matthew's name on the caller ID, his frustration instantly dissipated. Nervously rubbing his eyes, he answered the phone.

"Yes, Mr. Nelson."

"Investigate why the human resources department rejected the recent translator hire," Matthew instructed.

"Huh?" Before Abbott could fully comprehend the order, the line went dead.

Abbott stared at his phone for a while. Why would the president call him about such a trivial matter?

A worried expression crept onto his face. Was he being disturbed in his sleep for no reason? However, Abbott kept his complaints to himself. He didn't dare delay carrying out Matthew's orders.

The next day, Coral woke up to find Dolores slumped forward on the table, sound asleep. Papers were scattered around her, filled with incomprehensible writing. Coral guessed it had something to do with her work and sighed.

"You shouldn't exhaust yourself like this without getting proper rest," she said.

Though Coral didn't fully understand Dolores' situation, she fetched a blanket and gently covered her.

Meanwhile, Matthew descended the stairs. Seeing Coral covering Dolores, a quiet emotion intensified by the passage of time welled up within him.

Approaching Dolores, he picked up some of the papers scattered around. There were twenty-two pages in total, each flawlessly translated by her.

She had likely spent the entire night completing the translation. When had she finally fallen asleep? Matthew couldn't help but steal a glance at her.

Coral sighed again, unsure of what else she could do. She turned around and disappeared into the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

When Dolores woke up, she saw Matthew already tucking into his breakfast. Rubbing her eyes and attempting to stand by bracing herself against the table, she realized her legs were numb. She had to wait for the numbness to subside before she could fully wake up.

After freshening up in the bathroom and taking a bath to invigorate herself, Dolores dressed and approached Matthew, handing him the stack of documents.

"They're all finished," she said.

She settled into her seat at the table to eat her breakfast.

After a momentary pause, she added, "If you're free, remember to pay me."

She wanted to ensure he wouldn't forget to compensate her.

Matthew set down his coffee and stared at her for a couple of seconds. "I don't have cash on me. Come find me at my office later."

With that said, he got up.

Dolores took a sip of her milk and decided not to pursue the matter further. As long as he would pay her, she had no issue with the details.

The reason Dolores had worked so diligently to complete the translation was to ensure nothing would interfere with her new job.

After Matthew left, Dolores followed suit shortly after.

She had to wear a uniform at the restaurant. Dolores put on a white shirt and a black vest, adding a bowtie and a figure-hugging skirt that accentuated her long, slender legs.

Helen sat at a table near the window, in high spirits as Matthew had asked her out for a meal, just the two of them.

While Matthew had acknowledged their relationship and promised to marry her, he never took the initiative in anything. It was always her making the moves.

"Matthew—"

"I heard you were the one responsible for rejecting Ms. Flores for the translator position," he interrupted.

He had learned about it from Abbott earlier in the afternoon.

Helen gripped the armrest of her chair tightly. How did he find out?

Matthew leaned back in his chair, sunlight streaming in through the window. He lazily rested his chin on his hand, scrutinizing her.

He no longer felt like he truly knew the woman before him, the one who had saved him by creating a potion.