Lia was referring to Dominic when she mentioned Bella's nemesis. Bella shook her head, feeling dejected, and confided in Lia everything she had discovered.

Lia reacted like a startled squirrel, suddenly handed a juicy, unexpected piece of gossip. Her eyes widened in disbelief. She did her best to support her best friend. "I think your father is the one who deserves all the blame here," she said. "And even if Dominic's father had feelings for your mother, it has nothing to do with you. Don't let it consume you." Bella felt a deep frustration welling up inside her. She took a large gulp of beer, but it did nothing to alleviate the suffocating feeling.

After going through Dorothy's belongings, Bella knew she needed to do something else: find her father and deliver the letters Dorothy hadn't been able to send. That man needed to know he was a heartless bastard who had ruined a woman's life.

Suddenly, a familiar voice cut through the air.

"Dr. Jones, what a surprise! I never would have thought someone so serious in a white coat would end up in a place like this after hours," a woman said.

Mandy had appeared unexpectedly. Bella looked up at the woman, whose revealing and gaudy clothes disgusted her, likely because she was Dominic's lover.

Seeing Bella's lack of response, Lia intervened. "Dr. Jones, you seem to run into your patients everywhere, huh? And who says doctors can't come to places like this? Everyone needs to unwind." Mandy sat next to Bella. "Dr. Jones, are you and Dominic close?"

Lia rolled her eyes at the bluntness of the question. "What does that have to do with you? Why don't you go back wherever you came from?"

Mandy smirked. "What I wanted to tell you the other day at the hospital was I happened to see your picture on his phone."

Bella was taken aback. "What?" How could Dominic have a photo of her on his phone? Didn't he hate her?

Mandy maintained her mysterious air, her smile tinged with something unspoken. Bella couldn't understand her. If Mandy had really seen Bella's picture on Dominic's phone, shouldn't she consider Bella a rival? But there was no hostility in her demeanor.

Instead of asking directly about the photo, Bella probed gently, "You just had surgery not too long ago, and you're out here. Isn't Dominic worried about you?"

Mandy burst into laughter. "Why would he care about me? You don't actually think the baby I aborted was his, do you?"

Bella was stunned. "It wasn't?"

Mandy shrugged. "Of course not. I wish it had been! If it were, maybe I'd have a shot at getting into the big leagues. But no, the father is just some notorious playboy who never takes responsibility. Just my luck." Bella didn't care who the father was. Her mind raced with the thought that Mandy wasn't involved with Dominic and that he had a photo of her on his phone.

Could this mean he didn't despise her as much as she thought? Her mood lifted, but simultaneously, her guilt toward him deepened.

After a while, Mandy left with a well-dressed man.

Lia didn't hide her disdain for Mandy. "That woman is so annoying. She's really good at getting close to everyone, huh? You can easily tell she's a cheap whore." Bella didn't respond; she was too preoccupied with what Mandy had said. Did Dominic really have a photo of her on his phone?

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