Love’s Final Reveal by Sherry Nicholas
Chapter 7

Chapter 7

When Lola woke up in the morning. Dominick was not in the room.

As Jessica gradually woke up, she slowly sat up from the bed. Her eyes flicked to Lola and then scanned around the room. Seeing Dominick wasn’t here, she looked at Lola indifferently.

“Actually, Dominick did show you respect. Usually, he would hold me in his sleep.”

“Oh, really?” Lola laughed, her voice cold as she raised her eyes to look at the sleepy woman on the bed.

“The ink is barely dry on Landon’s death certificate, and here you are, sleeping with his brother. I wonder what Landon would think if he saw all this!”

Lola’s words had just left her mouth when the door burst open. Every syllable reached Dominick’s ears, his expression darkening instantly as anger flared in his eyes. He looked like a volcano ready to erupt, yet somehow, he held himself back.

“Lola, Dominick is…

A flicker of panic crossed Jessica’s eves as she saw Dominick. She had barely spoken a few words when Dominick cut

her off with a cold voice.

“Why are you still here? Go freshen up!”

This time, Lola didn’t argue. She walked into the bathroom. As soon as she closed the door behind her, her pretense of strength fell away. She leaned heavily on the clean washbasin, her reflection in the mirror showing a face drained of color, her eyes dull and lifeless.

So, Dominick might even hold Jessica asleep when Lola wasn’t around! He was just showing Lola respect, not to do it

in front of her.

After freshening up. Lola forced a strained smile in the mirror, pulling at the corners of her mouth. She stepped our to replace Jessica, despite just waking up, maintained a fresh appearance. Far from looking disheveled, she exuded a touch of youthful sweetness. Lying in bed, she allowed two nurses to measure her blood pressure.

Dominick stood close by, watching intently.

No sooner had Lola sat down on the sofa than she heard Dominick’s voice echo in the room.

“Jessie wants the seafood soup from Carlton Restaurant, Go get it!”

Lola was about to ignore him when Dominick’s voice rang out again.

“Get the seafood soup and then get out of here. You’re nothing but a pain in the eyes here.”

Lola tried to remain indifferent, yet her heart was heavy with unspoken pain. She cast a fleeting look at the pair in the distance before heading for the door. The guards by the entrance were still there, but this time, they let her without a word. Buying a bowl of soup seemed trivial compared to staying here

Lola took a deep breath, after leaving the hospital.

• pass

The Carlton Restaurant was neither far nor close to the hospital. Lola wasn’t concerned about Jessica waiting for her. She made her way to a nearby bus stop, and boarded a packed bus after a while. Slipping into an available seat, Lola sat in silence, and her gaze lost in the world beyond the window.

At some point, she had grown fond of just watching the world outside without doing or thinking anything.

Chapter 7

Lola snapped back to reality only after the bus had passed the restaurant. She got off, squinting under the harsh glare of the sun. For a moment, her vision blurred into darkness. She stood there for a long time, slowly regaining her senses. Instead of taking another ride, she walked back to the previous stop.

The Carlton Restaurant, with its vintage decor, claimed to be a very famous dining spot, and naturally, its offerings were pricey.

Lola waited in line for a long time before she managed to buy a bowl of seafood soup. Holding the soup, she had just reached the entrance when the dazzling sunlight struck her eyes, darkening her vision once again. Lola thought it might pass soon, but before she could recover, her head spun, and she collapsed to the ground, losing consciousness…

She faints!”

People at the entrance saw her and shouted urgently, crowding around.

In one of the private rooms, a casually dressed man, who seemed to have just finished his meal, was walking out with a woman in his arms. As they passed by the entrance, he cast a casual glance around. He had no intention of paying attention, but his steps halted abruptly when he saw Lola….

Dominick was feeding Jessica soup when he received a call from his friend, Wesley Reynolds.

“Dominick, don’t be hard on Lola. Maybe something comes up and she has to leave,” Jessica said, her voice full of empathy.

Dominick looked sullen, without uttering a word. Buying a single bowl of soup had taken more than three hours, and he marveled at her ability. He never knew Lola had a rebellious streak. She had always been his shadow, carefree and unbothered.

Just as Jessica swallowed her soup and prepared to say something, she noticed that the person in front of her seemed preoccupied, and her words were cut off as another spoonful of soup thrust toward her.

Jessica choked on her soup, coughing violently.

Glancing up, Jessica realized Dominick didn’t pay any attention and was about to feed her another spoonful.

“Dominick…..”

Jessica opened her mouth to speak, but at that moment, Dominick’s phone rang. He pushed the bowl into her hands without a word.

“Hello!”

Dominick walked to the window to answer the call. His face changed visibly at the news. Hurrying to the door, he shouted back, “Something urgent, I have to deal with it. Call the maid to come and look after you at the hospital.”

By the time Jessica reacted, Dominick had already gone.

The soup bowl was slammed onto the floor with a loud bang, shattering, and a flicker of hatred flashed in Jessica’s

eyes.

“That bitch!”

Over the past few days, even though Dominick had been by Jessica’s side, she could sense his heart wasn’t truly with her. His attention would instantly shift at sounds next door where Lola was. Each time, he’d check it out. After Lola’s discharge, he made a phone call to the Sinclair Manor every few hours.

Jessica asked Lola to accompany her to the hospital because she wanted to humiliate her, but the only reason why Dominick agreed was because he wanted to see Lola… He was worried about her!

Chapter 7

All these days, last night was the only night Dominick had stayed in her hospital room, not out of concern for her, but because Lola was there..

In a lavish apartment. Dominick stepped inside to replace Wesley watching a financial news report on a sofa.

Scanning the room. Dominick turned to the person on the sofa and asked, “Where is she?”

Wesley didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he checked the time and said with a faint smile, “Not bad, Dominick. It usually takes about twenty minutes to drive here from the hospital. You made it in just eight minutes and forty–five seconds. Seems she means quite a bit to you, doesn’t she?”

Dominick looked aloof and remained silent.

Knowing that provoking Dominick would do no good, Wesley dropped the suspense and spoke out

“It’s nothing serious, probably just heat exhaustion. She’s running a fever. I’ve asked Ellie to look after her in the bedroom.”

Hearing that Lola was suffering from nothing more than heat exhaustion, Dominick finally relaxed. He was about to step into the bedroom when Wesley called out to him.

“Let everything go back to the beginning!”

“What?” Dominick paused, turning to look at Wesley.

Wesley stood up from the couch, his voice grave as he looked at Dominick.

“Dominick, we all know you have loved Jessica for years. You stepped aside because of your brother’s feelings, but love is always selfish. Now that Landon is gone, let everything reset to the beginning”

Dominick lowered his eyes, remaining silent, as Wesley continued earnestly.

“You know, when Landon left, he handed Jessica over to you, like a wish granted. Why did you have to…

Abruptly, a harsh cough from nearby interrupted.

Wesley was cut off by the cough. Both men turned toward the corner of the room at the same time, where they saw Ellie Collins looking awkwardly at them. Noticing their gaze, she shrugged her shoulders. Behind Ellie stood Lola, dressed in a gray tracksuit.

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