Fearing his daughter might be hurt, Mr. Wales hadn’t even bothered to put on a coat, rushing over in the short-sleeved shirt he wore at home.
Seeing his daughter, he strode toward her.
“Tilda, Dad’s here.”
When Johnny saw Tilda’s father, his anxiety intensified.
“Mr. Wales…”
Mr. Wales’ face turned cold as he shielded his daughter behind him. “What Tilda just told me… is it true?”
Johnny hurriedly explained, “There’s a reason for this! It’s not what Tilda thinks!”
“Just answer me. Did you stay out all night with another woman?”
“Yes…”
“Fine, I’m taking my daughter home.” Mr. Wales was even less willing to listen to explanations than Tilda. He looked at his daughter and asked, “Are those two suitcases yours?”
Tilda nodded. “Yes.”
“I’ll get them. Wait for me in the car.”
Her father’s gentleness and protectiveness made Tilda, who hadn’t shed a single tear until now, suddenly well up.
She turned and walked toward her father’s car.
Johnny ran over quickly, grabbing her wrist. “How can you be so heartless? We’ve been together for so long, yet you just cut ties with me like this?”
“Let go.”
“I won’t!” Johnny looked determined. “We’re about to get engaged. How can you be so frivolous? Tilda, haven’t I been good enough to you?”
“You’ve been very good to me,” Tilda admitted. “But if it’s not exclusive affection, then I don’t need it.”
“How is it not exclusive? I have never poured my heart out to anyone like this in my life!” Johnny forcefully turned her body around to face him. “I swear I don’t have any feelings for Caroline! Last night, my phone really died, and I was so tired that I fell asleep on the hospital’s bench. As soon as I woke up today, I called you right away!”
These words sounded reasonable. But Tilda didn’t believe a single word.
“Last night your phone had no power, but this morning it did.”
“I borrowed a charger.”
“Johnny, stop lying, okay? Let’s part on good terms.” Tilda pushed his hand away and stepped back. “You clearly didn’t want to contact me. If you had wanted to contact me, you could have! But you didn’t. You let me run around in the middle of the night looking for you and made me worry myself sick, while you were with another woman.”
This was absolutely unacceptable!
He could have been a playboy before, doing whatever he wanted. She could even overlook or not care about his thousands of ex-girlfriends. But once they were together, his eyes and heart had to be only for her.
Johnny felt his heart sting, so painful that he couldn’t breathe.
Last night, he had been so conflicted, not knowing how to tell Tilda about the child, so he chose to avoid it by turning off his phone.
He thought Caroline was only asking him to stay at the hospital for one night, so he’d just be out of contact for that night, and he’d accept whatever scolding came his way.
However…
Johnny never imagined that in just one night, he would receive a death sentence.
Now it seemed that no explanation would work. Anything he said would sound like an excuse.
“Give me one more chance, just one last chance.”
“When I first agreed to be with you, that was your only chance, but you didn’t cherish it.” Tilda managed a bitter smile and looked toward her father, who was waiting with the suitcases.
“Dad, let’s go.”
“Alright!”