Before answering Evelyn, Carlos cast a burning glance at Terilynn. He assumed it was her influence.
Glared at by her father, Terilynn was confused. What did it have to do with her?
"I'm your dad! I won't allow you to move out! You have no right to dictate to me. Your baby's daddy, and Tayson, I'll do what I want to them!" How could that guy hurt Evelyn like this! Carlos swore that he would do something to make him pay.
Evelyn was flustered. "Dad, I'm almost thirty. Can't I get a little privacy? I've told you that it was all me. He didn't even know I was pregnant. It was an accident. If you have to blame someone, blame me and my bad luck. Just ease up."
'Blame it on her and her bad luck?' Carlos' heart ached at her words.
Evelyn was a hard-luck woman when it came to love. Her first three boyfriends were dead.
And she broke up with the fourth one. Now there was this guy. She had an accidental pregnancy that turned into an ectopic one. What a tragedy!
Carlos felt his heart break into a thousand pieces for his daughter. "Have some soup first," he said in a calm voice as he placed the bowl of soup on the table.
Evelyn, however, had no appetite at all. In a choked voice, she said, "Dad, I'll go to America tomorrow. As long as you promise me..."
"I promise!" Carlos interrupted her.
Evelyn opened her mouth, but said nothing more. She lowered her head and focused on eating the soup.
When she finished, Carlos asked Debbie to leave and take the other two kids. Only he and Evelyn were left in the ward.
Carlos gave Debbie a comforting look. Then she closed the door to the ward.
The father and daughter sat face to face in the room.
"Evelyn."
Evelyn took a deep breath and bravely looked into his eyes. "Dad."
"Are you calmer now? If you're cooled down now, we can talk. If not, I'll wait."
Sad, Evelyn said, "I'm sorry, Dad." She shouldn't have spoken to Carlos like that. She knew that.
"You don't have to apologize. I know you. But Evelyn, you've been conned."
Her heart skipped a beat.
Evelyn was almost thirty years old, and Carlos believed she should accept the bitter truth. Ignoring his daughter's reaction, he continued, "If he really fell for you in a week, he should've respected you instead of taking advantage of you. He should've asked you out first. But obviously, he didn't."
"Dad, you don't trust my judgment?" Evelyn blurted out without confidence.
She believed in Sheffield. The way he looked at her was so sincere. The eyes don't lie.
Staring at her, Carlos asked, "You want me to trust you. You want more respect. Fine. But you know I'm right. Why didn't you tell him that you were in the hospital? Or he knew, but hasn't come to visit you yet?"
"He has to work. He's busy right now—"
"Evelyn Huo." Carlos stopped her. He looked into her eyes and said coldly, "If your mom got hurt, I'd leave ZL Group so I could look after her."
Evelyn was shocked by the affection in Carlos' eyes. She believed he was not just saying it.
In his heart, nothing was more important than Debbie.
"He took advantage of you, and even got you pregnant. I know this is a conversation you're supposed to have with your mom, but I need to ask you this. Didn't you say you used condoms? So how did you get pregnant? Eve, he did it on purpose."
'Right. Why did I still get pregnant when we used condoms?'
Carlos was right. There was only one possibility. Sheffield did it on purpose
She looked at Carlos confusedly and asked, "But why would he do that?"
Carlos clenched his fists. He didn't want to hurt his daughter, but he had to make her face reality. "He wanted you to marry him using the baby as an excuse. And you are my daughter. It's possible he was after you for your money."
Evelyn smiled.
It was a pale and helpless smile.
"Evelyn, don't be so stubborn. You couldn't protect yourself this time. You were cheated by a bad guy. It's not just your fault, but ours too. I've discussed this with your mom recently. We already booked the ticket to America for you. We'll fix you up on a blind date after you come back. You are almost thirty. It's time to get married."
'A blind date?' Evelyn's eyes widened in shock. She couldn't believe Carlos said that. On second thought, she realized that he might have misunderstood Sheffield. "No, Dad. It's not that he won't visit me, he can't. He's very busy," she explained hurriedly. He was a doctor. Of course, his patients were the most important.
Carlos held out his right hand to stop her. "You've not only been conned, but completely fallen for him." He really felt sorry for his daughter's wishful thinking.
Evelyn didn't respond.
Since she came back from her trip, she had been unwilling to admit that she actually fell in love with Sheffield. Even though she missed him, she wouldn't face this fact.
Carlos concluded, "Whether I take his life or not, it depends on how much he cares about you. Go to America to recuperate.
When you're back, go on a blind date and get married. Just forget what happened in D City."
Evelyn still remained silent.
"Evelyn, Dad and Mom don't want you to get hurt anymore. We sheltered you a lot. We didn't let you see how ugly and cold the world could be. After you recover, you're still the regional CEO of ZL Group. But I won't force you to work only in the company. You have to try to go to some meals and banquets and get comfortable with being in the public eye."
Carlos had never asked her to appear in front of the media. Besides, he had never asked her to go on business trips, attend banquets or hold events. In a word, he never allowed her to show up in public.
Everyone knew that there was a mysterious female CEO in ZL Group, but no one knew what she looked like, much less what her name was.
After Carlos left, only Evelyn was left in the ward.
Debbie came in, patted her daughter lovingly and pulled her into her arms. "Evelyn, whatever your dad does is for your own good. Honey, don't blame him for making decisions for you."
Evelyn nodded her head. She was not a three-year-old, and she knew her father cared for her.
Looking at his sister, Matthew didn't say anything.
Tears welled up in Terilynn's eyes. "Eve, you're an awesome sister. I'd tell you good luck, but you won't need it." Her elder sister was like her goddess. Evelyn had always been strong. She had never acted like this even after her three ex-boyfriends died in mysterious ways.