None of it was her fault, yet she had to take the blame. And for what? There was nothing fair about shouldering guilts that were not of her doing! And why the hell must Summer bring up these sealed painful memories back to the fore?!When reason finally reclaimed her, Tanya released her clutch from Summer’s neck in terror, crying, “Oh my God… Oh, my God! I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry! Please don’t scream at me for this… Please stop tormenting me with those words…”Summer’s hands quickly wrapped around her own neck before shoving the woman away from her. “Cough.. You were trying to kill me! Cough, cough… You… You’re mad!” she shrieked between sputters.Tanya’s tears broke out as she shook her head, over and over again. “N-No! I didn’t! I didn’t… I didn’t; I didn’t, I didn’t want to kill you... I’m sorry, I..”The extreme flip-flop in Tanya’s demeanor mortified Summer to the core. What was that, a window into Tanya’s split personality? Frightened, the older woman
The rappings on the door prompted a listless Tanya to roll out of her bed before heading toward it. She was too tired to wonder who her visitor might be.She yanked the door open to a furious Jackson and froze, entirely at a loss of how to react.The man who so desperately wanted to avoid her had come looking for her.“If you really want to beat the sh*t out of someone, you come to me! Leave my mom alone!” Jackson fumed, his hands balled into fists. It was not in his nature to hit women, so even at his angriest, he stopped himself from acting on his impulse.Tanya reeled back in understanding. The memory of what happened earlier caused her to lower her head in shame.“I didn’t mean to do it,” she whispered. “I know, it doesn’t matter what hurtful things your mom said. I shouldn’t have lost control of my emotions and lashed out… I’m sorry. If she requires medical assistance or anything, I’ll pay. All I’m asking is that you people stop it, please. Stop forcing me into desperation.”
Tanya shut the door and began to recount her past without any prompt. “I was a young girl, about four years old, I think, when people started saying that my dad killed a man.“From then on, dad disappeared from my life. Mom left me. I had no one else but my grandpa. The people around me were always so eager and happy to remind me that I’m a murderer’s daughter whenever they saw me. They told their kids to never play with me, and then, for countless times… they beat me. They treated me like… like sh*t. Grandpa was scared that all of it was going to ruin me, so he sacrificed all of the money he had saved and took me out of the town I was born in and rented a house in the city.“I was eight by then, but the trauma of being seen as nothing but a murderer’s daughter haunts me. I can’t break free. I tried to be good. I follow my grandpa’s advice. I smile at everyone and treat everyone right because grandpa told me that no matter how bad my life started out to be, anyone who smiles will alw
Tanya walked out of her room and found out that Jackson had left her already. Dejected, she sank onto the couch like a puppet with broken strings.A few moments passed. Finally, she sent a text message to the man who had called her earlier: ‘I want to see you.’The man appeared by her doorstep exactly by three in the afternoon. He stood tall and straight as he showcased his handsome features. Jackson West may inspire more women to fantasize being with him, but this man boasted quite a presence, too.Tanya had only seen him a few times; three of them were for the sex that eventually led to the conception of the fetus inside her now. Other times were during Tiffany’s meals with Alejandro Smith.Indeed, the man was none other than Jett.Tanya was visibly embarrassed when talking to him. After all, he was the real father of the child, despite being someone she did not know all that well.“Look, can I abort this kid, and then come clean to Jackson? I’m done doing this. He’s never goin
Tanya had slipped in a drug into Jackson’s drink that night. That was the real reason why he had been so thoroughly knocked-out, and why it was impossible to have him do anything, let alone sex. The blood on the sheet? Tanya staged it.Per Alejandro’s scheme, she had sex with Jett three times. The best-case scenario was to make Tanya pregnant and to make the conception seem as realistically tied to the hoax as possible. Even if she did not manage to get impregnated on time, Tanya was supposed to fake it until she made it. Even the worst-case scenario—if Tanya just could not get pregnant—had contingency plans.She had been overjoyed and relieved when she succeeded in her pregnancy. But now, looking back, all she had achieved was shackling herself with a self-made burden.For her pregnancy, and also because she was too ashamed to continue working for Eric, Tanya had been subsisting on Alejandro’s allowance after she quit her job. It was Alejandro who paid for her livelihood, which was
Tanya gritted her teeth and smacked the rod against Jett’s shoulder. “Are you trying to scratch my back?” Jett growled. “Do you really think that a fight with Jackson would be that easy? Break my bones. I didn’t save you for nothing! Do it!”Tanya knew that if they failed to keep this from Alejandro, Jett would die. Broken bones were nothing compared to death. She hardened her resolve and whacked Jett with all of her might. She deliberately avoided his head. “Will that do? Does it hurt?” She gasped, holding her slightly hurting abdomen after the beating.Jett did not answer. He grabbed the small piggy bank on her bedside table and smashed it into his head, shattering the porcelain into pieces. Jett’s forehead immediately began to bleed. Tanya widened her eyes in shock, covering her mouth.“Go!”Tanya shivered from Jett’s roar. She stumbled her way to the door, her legs feeling like cotton. “A-are… you alright? I’m leaving…”Jett waved his hand then leaned against the wall and lit
Jackson didn’t stop her. Justice was restored. It didn’t matter where Tanya was going. He only asked her if someone had forced her into this because he felt that it would be difficult for her to execute this flawlessly on her own. Since she had refused to reveal the father’s identity, he couldn’t be bothered to ask. He suddenly felt relieved…Tanya was too afraid to go home. She loitered outside for a long time before making a decision — she was going to take the initiative and see Alejandro herself. She knew that neither she nor Jett would survive if she did not confront him. That was why she did not expose Alejandro to Jackson. She had to leave herself with a single thread for survival, or death would be certain.Her hands were trembling as she called Alejandro. His cold, demonic voice answered her. “Heh, what a surprise. You’ve actually contacted me on your own.”“Where are you?” she asked, summoning her courage. “I need to see you.”“Stay where you are and don’t move,” Alejandr
Tanya widened her eyes in shock. Wasn’t the lower half of his body supposed to be crippled? So, it was all fake!Alejandro’s tall figure seemed to make everything in the room even dimmer. He walked towards Jett and squatted. “See that? A weak little girl has come to me, all for your sake. How does it feel? You can’t tell me that you’ve both developed feelings for each other, right? You’ve only done it three times. It took three years for me to fall for Tiffany.”Jett exhaled, releasing the smell of blood too. “I was wrong… Sir…”Alejandro patted Jett’s blood-stained face. “It’s good to repent once you’ve realized your mistakes. Don’t worry. The old man planted you on me to be his eyes. It’d make things very difficult for me if I kill you. He’d never let himself go blind. This lesson should be enough to carve this deep into your memories. Speak, what do you want from me? Why should I believe that you’d keep your mouths shut? It’d be troublesome if Tiffany discovered any of this…”Ta