After my parents passed away, they entrusted me to Tyler Dickerson. That made everyone in Brimstone knew that I was more important to Tyler than his own life.
Everyone thought I was his child bride, but he just told others that I was his sister. But the truth was, I got pregnant with him after having sex when he was drunk.
When I was about to tell him the news, I saw Mia’s circle of friends. They shared a photo of Tyler holding Mia with a broad smile, with a caption that read, [So this is how it feels to be cared about by others]
I directly went to the hospital, had the baby aborted and submitted an application to go abroad for an interview.
***
I walked into the doctor's office.
“Hello, I want to have an abortion,” I said.
It was also the first time for the doctor to see a woman having an abortion right after becoming pregnant.
The doctor asked to reassure me, “Are you sure? You are pregnant with twins and it is a natural conception. Have you thought it through?”
Before I answered him, I looked at the message on my phone, the one I sent to Tyler. As I saw he had not replied to me yet, I directly answered, “I'm sure.”
The light on the operating table was so bright and dazzling that it made me cry.
After getting off the operating table, I filled out the application form for overseas interviews and submitted it.
But when I walked out of the hospital, I ran into Mia in Tyler's arms after her prenatal check-up.
I was still in a lot of pain at that moment and was not in the mood to pay attention to them. So, I would just pretend I did not see them walk past.
However, Tyler suddenly put Mia down and grabbed me. “What are you doing here?” he asked.
I wanted to shake his hand off, but I was too weak to use any strength. So, I asked him back, “Didn't you see the message I sent you on my phone?”
Suddenly, a trace of guilt flashed across Tyler's eyes. “I was busy just now and didn't see the message.”
Well, well, he should be busy thinking about how to serve Mia well, I thought.
Mia also spoke at the right time, “Karla, what happened to you? Are you feeling uncomfortable?”
“I'm not sick, I just came here to have an abortion,” I answered lightly.
“Abortion? But Karla, you have not even gotten married yet, how could this happen?” Mia asked in surprise, fearing that people around me did not know that I was pregnant before marriage.
I felt really sick looking at Mia's hypocritical look, so I walked around them and moved forward.
Tyler did not react for a moment, so I took the opportunity to pull my hand away and wanted to leave.
“If you are pregnant, then whose child is it?” Tyler yelled at me angrily.
“It has nothing to do with you.”
After saying that, I wanted to leave. But Tyler suddenly took my hand and walked quickly towards the parking lot. He did not even hear Mia calling from behind.
Tyler's car was driving very fast on the road.
Then, after arriving home, he pulled me out of the car regardless of my weakness, walked quickly into the house and threw me onto the sofa.
“Tell me, who is that man?” Tyler stared into my eyes, as if he wanted to see something from them.
So, he really did not remember anything he had done.
That night I accompanied Tyler to a charity dinner. However, Tyler suddenly held me tightly in his drunk state.
He forcefully pushed me down on the bed. I, of course, struggled in his arms, but I was no match for him.
After we finished, Tyler whispered in my ear, “I will be responsible for you.”
That night was what I thought was the happiest night. I thought our relationship would get closer, but the next day Tyler went back to being just a brother.
I thought he was protecting me, but until I saw Mia, I realized that his sweetheart was back.
Chapter 2
Mia Andrews was the wife of Tyler's cousin. His cousin died unexpectedly and entrusted Mia to Tyler.
Since then, Mia was becoming Tyler's sweetheart.
“Anyway, the child is gone now, so does it matter whose it is?” I stared into Tyler's eyes because I wanted to know if he remembered a little bit.
But I found nothing, so I decided not to tell him.
He stood up from in front of me and yelled, “Fine. If you don't want to tell me, then I will check it myself. Don’t you think I can't find it out myself, Karla.”
After saying that, he took out his phone and called someone, “Check something for me. I want to know who Karla has been in contact with recently.”
After he finished giving the order, his phone rang. It was Mia calling.
Tyler went for a prenatal checkup with Mia that day, but they met me halfway and left her alone in the hospital. So, Mia should be confused at that moment.
“Tyler, I'm still in the hospital. When can you come over?” she asked.
“I'll pick you up next.”
After hanging up the phone, he turned to me and said, “Until I find out who that man is, you stay here.”
I was imprisoned in the villa by Tyler.
But it was fully equipped and there was no problem for me to live there by myself, so I just took it easy.
The next day I received a notification that my application was approved.
“Karla, have you really decided to go abroad for an interview? This is a big project and you won't be able to come back for at least a year or two. Does Mr. Dickerson agree?” my senior asked me.
But Mia had already come back and Tyler's attention was only focused on her, so he probably would not care about any decision I made.
In the end, I answered in confidence, “He agreed.”
“Okay, I will arrange it as soon as possible and let you know when it's done.”
His sweetheart was back and it was time for me to leave and stop being a third wheel there.
People outside might be thinking that I was important to him, but inside, I actually understood my place.
I was the only one who was aware that I was not that important. Tyler just was too chauvinistic and felt uncomfortable when his things were coveted.
I nodded my head and found that the money I had earned over the years. It was also the scholarships I had saved during college that were quite a bit, plus there were subsidies from the station.
Fortunately, the money was enough to support my life abroad.
After packing, I laid on the bed in a daze and prepared to sleep. But I was woken up by the heat in the middle of the night.
I took out the thermometer and measured it just to find if I was 39 degrees. I wanted to go out and take a taxi to the hospital, but there was a bodyguard guarding the door.
The time he saw me, he called Tyler, “Sir, Miss Schmidt is going out.”
I heard a buzzing voice on the other end of the line and after a while the person replied, “What could she be worried about at this late hour? Give her the phone.”
I picked up the phone and heard a sweet voice from the other end, “Tyler, who's calling?”
I was very familiar with that voice. Tyler really could not hide that from me again.
Tyler's gentle voice said, “You go to sleep first. I will take a call and come back in a while.”
Tyler walked to a quiet place over there and asked, “What brings you out so late?”
“I have a fever and need to go to the hospital.”
Tyler sneered on the other end of the phone, “Karla, you should find a better excuse. You can think of any excuse to meet that wild man.”
It was futile to explain what Tyler had determined, so I hung up the phone directly.
The moment I turned around, everything went dark and I woke up in the hospital.
Chapter 3
The doctor stood by the bed and explained, “You just had a miscarriage. You need to rest and be careful not to catch a cold.”
After the doctor left, I picked up the phone on the bedside table only to find that it was full of missed calls from Tyler.
When I saw Tyler called me again, I hung up directly. I did not need Tyler’s fake sympathy after all.
I received a message from my senior after that. He told me that I would be leaving in a week.
So, during this period, I had to take care of my health first.
Fortunately, without Tyler's interruption, I had a very happy time in the hospital.
However, when I was discharged from the hospital, I saw Tyler waiting for me at the hospital entrance. With his connections, I was not surprised at all that he knew I was there.
I walked around him and headed to the side of the road. But he got out of the car and grabbed me
“Why didn't you answer my call? You didn't even tell me you were in the hospital.” Tyler looked concerned, but the hand he was holding on to my arm was secretly exerting force.
I knew he was in a bad mood at that moment, as if something under his mind was out of his control.
“I told you, but you didn't believe it. So what difference does it make whether I tell you or not?”
Tyler recalled the call I made to him that night. I looked at him, wanting to explain something but not knowing where to start.
But I did not want to see him being hypocritical there, so I took a taxi on the roadside and booked a room in a hotel. There was no need to argue with Tyler during the period before going abroad.
The station arranged a cameraman to accompany me on that overseas interview. So, we agreed to meet at a cafe to discuss going abroad.
Shawn Hayden was the name of the cameraman. He was one year older than me and we went to the same university. He joined the TV station earlier than me and he took care of me like an older brother.
After the discussion, Shawn took me back to the hotel.
As soon as he arrived at the hotel entrance, he ran into Tyler, who came up and punched Shawn.
So, I protected Shawn behind me. “Tyler, don’t be insane!”
“How could I stay calm when I waited for you here so late, but then found you back with a strange man? You really can't stand loneliness at all, huh?”
The truth was, I had loved him for ten years. But, it turned out that I was such an unbearable existence in his heart.
Shawn could not stand it anymore, “Please be respectful. Karla and I are just colleagues. It's not what you think.”
Tyler saw Shawn speaking for me again and was about to take action. But his phone rang at that moment.
“Tyler, my stomach hurts. Is the baby uncomfortable? I'm so scared.”
“I will be right there.”
After saying that, he glared at Shawn, turned around and said to me, “Karla, I hope you can learn to respect yourself and don't let yourself fall into depravity.”
After he said that and left with such a disgraceful existence in his eyes.
Then, I could feel Shawn looked at me with uncontrollable worry in his eyes. So, I smiled at him and said, “I'm fine, you can go back first.”
After seeing Shawn off, I returned to the hotel.
As soon as I opened my phone, I saw the message Mia sent me. It was a photo.
But, after I downloaded it, I saw Tyler was putting shoes on Mia in the photo. He even sent me a text, [It feels good to be taken care of]
But then, the message was withdrawn two seconds after it was sent.
She sent me another one that read, [Sorry Karla, I sent this to the wrong person.]
The second message just made my anger overflow. Was it necessary to show off in front of me?
Chapter 4
When I aborted the child, Tyler and I already had no relationship at all. So, whatever he wanted to do at that time had nothing to do with me anymore.
The next morning, I completed the check-out procedures. Then, Shawn and I agreed to meet at the airport.
But no matter how long I waited, I did not see him. So, I called him. But he did not answer any.
Later, I received the video sent to me by Tyler, in which Shawn was beaten black and blue.
I directly came to the place he gave me. But by the time I arrived, Tyler was standing aside holding Mia and Shawn was already in a semi-comatose state.
I wanted to go over and take Shawn away from here. However, Tyler asked his bodyguard to stop me
“If you have something to say, come to me. What's the point of dragging irrelevant people into this?” I yelled angrily.
Tyler let go of Mia's hand, walked in front of me, lifted my face and sneered coldly. “He must be your wild man outside. I did not expect you to be so hungry that you would fall for such a guy.”
Tyler’s words stabbed into my heart like a knife, piercing my heart to the point of blood and flesh.
He was no longer the brother who would protect me behind my back when someone bullied me in my memory.
Tyler had changed, became someone I did not recognize at all.
I could not help sneer back, “Who are you to manage me now? Don't forget that I am an adult and you are no longer my guardian.”
When Tyler heard what I said, a hint of guilt flashed across his eyes, but he quickly returned to normal.
“You are still young and don't learn well. I can't just let you go down the path of depravity. I am fulfilling my responsibilities as your parents.” Tyler spoke righteously, as if I were an ignorant child.
“If I don't learn my lesson, then what about you? You hang around your cousin's wife all day long. If people saw it, they might think she's pregnant with your child!” I mocked him
As I finished my words, I suddenly felt a pain on my face.
That was the first time Tyler hit me. Before, he would get very nervous when he saw a cut on my hand and would hold my hand, blow on it non-stop.
At that time, he spoke with a look of remorse on his face and assured me, “I'm sorry Karla, from now on I promise that I will never let you get hurt again.”
That was also the first time I saw him cry.
His palm print was clearly imprinted on my face and he looked at a loss.
He opened his mouth several times, wanting to say something but not knowing how to start.
That slap shattered my love for him and also paid back for his care for me over the years.
Seeing Tyler's soft heart towards me, Mia quickly stepped forward and said, “Let me try to persuade Karla.”
Mia walked up to me and spoke like a caring older sister.
“Karla, Tyler is doing this for your own good. You are still young and don't understand many things. Tyler is doing this to protect you and prevent you from taking the wrong path.”
I looked at Mia, who looked like a saint in front of me and felt nauseous in my stomach.
Maybe she seduced Tyler by acting like a saint like that, but she could not seduce me a bit.
Looking at Mia, I felt sick when I thought of her and Tyler having sex in bed, so I sneered, “It's not your turn to act like a saint here.”
When Mia heard what I said, she immediately pretended to be aggrieved, as if I had bullied her.
Chapter 5
Mia leaned over to my ear. To outsiders, she was whispering to comfort me, but only I knew how vicious her words were.
“You are such a slut. You are so cunning at such a young age and yet you climbed into Tyler's bed. I wonder if your parents would be ashamed to have a daughter like you if they knew about it.”
I wanted to slap her, after all she had no right to talk about my parents.
But Mia seemed to know that I wanted to take action. Her hand seemed to be holding my arm to comfort me, but in fact, only I knew that her hand was pinching my arm.
“Sometimes I really envy you for being so lucky to have climbed up to Tyler's high branch. I know you like him. How about we make a bet to see whether he will choose you or me?”
Before I could react, Mia suddenly fell backwards. She collapsed on the ground, with a lot of blood flowing from her body.
Tyler immediately ran over and yelled at me, “Karla, you are really going too far.”
I did not expect Mia would use the child as a bargaining chip.
“This child is my brother's only blood in this world. You should set a limit to your mischief,” Tyler yelled at me with a vicious look on his face.
“Tyler, I didn't push her, whether you believe it or not.”
I wanted to take a gamble and see if our relationship over the years was trustworthy.
But I got his ridicule instead, “Karla, I really spoiled you. Now you are telling lies all the time.”
It seemed that I lost the bet after all.
“Now I don't need you anymore. I won't be a bother to you anymore. I'm leaving now.” I went over to help Shawn up and wanted to leave.
I looked at Mia hiding in Tyler's arms with a provocative look in her eyes, as if to say, “See, I am the winner of this bet.”
I watched this farce directed and acted by Mia and Tyler was willing to be shortlisted. They were really a perfect match, one willing to fight and the other willing to be beaten.
“Tyler, my stomach hurts so much, I wonder if I can keep the baby.” Mia said in panic, so Tyler hurriedly took Mia to the hospital.
But in the end, the baby was not saved.
Tyler stood in the corridor and his assistant brought a document
“Mr. Dickerson, these are the things we found in that room that night.”
Inside was a jade pendant with the word ‘Karla’ engraved on it. Tyler was very familiar with that jade pendant, since it was the birthday gift he gave me.
The assistant was a little hesitant, not knowing whether to speak or not.” The surveillance in the hotel has also been repaired.”
Tyler did not hear what the assistant said next and raised his head in confusion. “If you have anything else to say, just say it and don't hesitate.”
“The surveillance footage showed that the person who left your room that morning was Miss Schmidt.”