Convenient Marriage: Mr. Nelson's Love Trap by Hannah Baker

Matthew moved his face closer to Dolores’. “If you dare disrespect me like that in the future, I…” He glanced at her lips, leaned down, and bit them.

She felt a sudden pain. The taste of blood spread in her mouth. She grimaced. It hurt, it burned. Matthew really bit her.

“In the future, every time you wrong me, I’ll do this as my way of punishing you. Does that sound fair?”

Dolores felt disoriented as she gazed at the man in front of her. She couldn’t understand the reasoning for behaviors.

“Do you understand what you’re doing right now?”

Speechless, Matthew didn’t know how to answer her question. Every moment that happened after he met Dolores was so unexpected that he lost control of himself and became a different man from who he was in the past.

He realized Dolores wasn’t virtuous, as she was impure, and didn’t respect herself.

However, the fact that he was interested in such an immoral woman, and felt like a real man—a man who had the normal, physical reaction a man should have when facing a woman—was confusing. He hid his emotions well as he stared down at Dolores.

He smiled faintly and asked, “What about you? You rushed forward to protect me from the sword without worrying about your own life. Does that mean…”

As Matthew spoke, his face moved even closer to hers. When Dolores took a step back, he would take a step himself and follow her. They were very close to each other. The smile on his face was slight, soft, gentle, and could hardly be ignored.

“Have you fallen in love with me?”

Was that why she rushed forward without concern for her and her child’s safety when Matthew was in danger?

Matthew remembered how shocked he was when he turned around and saw her rushing over.

Dolores turned away and refused to look at him. “Mr. Nelson, you have quite the sense of humor. I’ve only known you for a few days. How could I fall in love with you so quickly?”

If she didn’t suspect he was the father of her child, she certainly wouldn’t have put herself in such a dangerous situation. She cherished her own life as she had to survive for the sake of her mother and her child.

Matthew didn’t anger. Instead, turning away and leaning back on the sofa, smiling. “Perhaps, you fell in love with me when we first met? Love at first sight. That happens, right?”

He was apparently speaking to Dolores, but it sounded like he was asking a rhetorical question.

but she responded with a calm demeanor. “I don’t believe in love at the

were strangers, but they lived under the same roof due to fate. Now they were talking about the most

at the piano placed in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. Depression

*****

day, Dolores went to the hospital to see Jessica. This time, Jessica was sober and recognized

here.” Jessica held Dolores’s hands tightly, as if she was afraid Dolores would disappear as soon as she was no longer in

more alert, Dolores was ecstatic. “I won’t leave. When you’re strong enough,

agreement with Matthew ended, Dolores would buy a small house to live in with her mom

come Dr. Herbert hasn’t visited me for the past few days, Are

Matthew and marry Sampson, a majority of their problems would be solved. The problem was Dolores being

away on business and won’t be back for a while,” Dolores

out what happened that faithful night. So, he should be in

wonderful to be with

and helped her clasp a bracelet around her wrist, “Mom, do you

shock, believing she’d never see

trailed off, not sure how to broach the topic of the main reason for her visit, besides spending time with her mom. “Randolph is in a financial situation and he came to me begging for help yesterday. I don’t know what I

so much she hoped he would die. On the other hand, he was still

about this, Lola. Don’t dwell on the past. Don’t get involved with people from the past.

mother meant. No matter what Randolph was like now, regardless of good or bad, she

“Okay.”

*****

it was

the room, Dolores headed to the nursing

everything around her now; doesn’t that mean she’s

matters and while she does remember things in the short term, but not everything in the long term. We need to keep her under observation for

was recovering quickly. “Please take good care of her

will. Dr. Herbert specifically told us about this,

the nurse