At first, Evelyn's heart sank, but then after a while, she heaved a sigh of relief.
She hoped that Sheffield wasn't lying.
While recalling the past, Sheffield said in a calm voice, "Let me just try to remember who saw me lying in the same bed with Kaylee. Oh, everyone! Yes! Everyone in the Tang family saw us. Everything happened too fast at that moment. Before I knew what was happening, Sterling was furiously dragging me out of the bed and beating me up. My father was also very furious. He not only let Sterling hit me, but also asked his eldest son, Willis, and his second son, Pierson, to teach me a lesson. At the same time, the women of the Tang family began to taunt and curse me. They said that I became such an insolent person because I was a child who didn't have a mother to discipline me. Peterson's third child, Sandra, said that I might not be a member of the Tang family after all. How could they have such a shameless child like me? She just wanted to hint to my father that my mother had an affair with someone else and I was not his biological son."
While she listened to Sheffield, Evelyn's heart broke more than she thought it could. She even began to tremble a little.
However, Sheffield was very calm as if he were just telling someone else's story. Evelyn couldn't imagine what he had to go through. It was so painful to hear. It was as if she could feel what he had felt back then. It must have been so tough to be accused like that by his own family.
At that time, he was only a teenager, but he had to bear so much agony and suffering.
She carefully moved Gwyn a little. Her daughter had been sleeping soundly for a while now. Then, she laid her head on Sheffield's arm, held him and said, "Forget it. I trust you."
With a gentle smile, Sheffield stroked her long hair. "I know. You're just jealous. It's normal to feel that way."
Evelyn didn't deny it and only nodded her head as a response. She loved him so much and he loved her back. More importantly, they were both certain about each other's love, so it was not shameful to admit that she was jealous. It was only further proof that she truly cared about him.
"From the moment I was born, I have been like a thorn in Sterling's eyes. And only because we have the same father but different mothers. I'm certain that it was Sterling and his wife who set me up. They wanted me out of the Tang family or beaten to death by my father.
My father's first wife gave birth to two sons and one daughter—Willis, Pierson, and Sandra. However, while she was giving birth to Sandra, she died of labor dystocia. His second wife, Sterling's mother, also gave him three children. She has two sons and a daughter. Her daughter is the eldest among the three. Later on, she divorced my father. From what I heard, she's not really well off right now, so she wants to remarry him. Who knows whether it's true or not?
Anyways, after the divorce, my father got married to his third wife, my mother, Ingrid. I can actually feel that he cared more for my mother than he cared for his first two wives. When my mother passed away, he was very sad, but it wasn't for a long time. His fourth wife is Lea. You've met her. I know he's my father, but he's the most heartless man that I have ever met when it comes to women. I do believe that he has never really given genuine love to any woman. Women are nothing more than a tool for him."
Evelyn didn't understand. "You just said that your dad has already married four women. So Sterling and the three children from your dad's first wife also have different mothers. But why is it that Sterling only has his eyes on you?"
With a smug smile on his face, Sheffield began to praise himself, "Because I'm smarter than them!"
Evelyn hit him lightly on the waist, telling him to be more serious.
"I mean it. I told you a long time ago that I often skipped grades in school because my capabilities were too advanced. My IQ also surpassed other students. Have you forgotten about this?"
"No, I haven't."
"Well, at that time, my father liked me more. He would often praise me in front of his other children. He also said that he wanted me to inherit the company in the future. I know Sterling is jealous of me. And he gradually set himself against me. That's it."
It turned out that men could also be terribly jealous of one another.
"All of the Tang family members except for me and Nastas have already been married. But none of them is loyal to their partners. After you marry me, we will never go back to such a messy place unless it's completely necessary. Even if we have to go there, don't trust anyone from the Tang family. If anyone dares to pick on you, fight back!"
Upon hearing that, Evelyn was utterly surprised. "What do you mean by none of them is loyal to their partners?"
"Willis often spends some time alone with his female secretary in a hotel room. Pierson has an affair with Felton's wife. Oh, Felton's my sixth sibling. Sandra hasn't had an affair with another man. After all, she is a teacher so she's a model of virtue for others. But she and her husband live in the Tang family's house after they got married. Her husband shows interest in Kaylee. I think after we get married, I can also live in the Huo family's manor. What do you think about that?"
"That's good!" It's customary for every daughter to leave her parents' house after getting married. But Evelyn wanted to continue to live in the Huo family's manor after marrying Sheffield.
Sheffield curled his lips and continued talking about his family. "My father's younger daughter is fond of male hookers. Sterling and Kaylee are in an open relationship and have their respective lovers. Felton has a lot of mistresses. I'm my father's seventh son. I only love you, Evelyn. For today and all of our days ahead, it's and will only be you. I don't know if Nastas, my father's youngest son, will grow to become like them in the future. Anyway, his mother, Lea, is not a righteous woman. So it's very likely that he's going to be as immoral as them when he grows up."
Evelyn couldn't help but be overwhelmed when she heard about what went on in the Tang family. With the exception of Sheffield, none of the Tang family members was a person of integrity. No wonder Sheffield didn't want to come back to them.
She looked up at him and asked, "What if in some subtle ways, they have unconsciously influenced you?" After all, one who has been in the company of wolves will learn to howl.
"No way! I am different from them. Although the Tang family members are very immoral, I will always be honorable and keep my character of integrity."
"It's the first time I've seen someone who loves to praise himself so much," Evelyn commented while she rolled her eyes.
"Yes, it's true. I'm proud and I may be overly confident at times. But if I were not this way, I wouldn't have been able to make you mine." Sheffield lowered head and kissed Evelyn at the top of her hair. Just having her by his side, he was content and happy. He couldn't ask for anything more.
With a smile, Evelyn sighed helplessly. "Do you just tell this so casually to other people? That I agree to be with you just because you're confident enough to chase after me?"
"Yes, you're right. Two days after our relationship was revealed, someone had already asked me how I was able to win your heart. Then I told them that the secret to pursuing you was to be confident and persistent."
"So you do know that you're very sure of yourself," Evelyn mocked. When she first met him in D City, Sheffield was already quite shameless.
Holding the woman tightly in his arms, he sighed, "Of course! That's what we should do. We should know ourselves and be confident about it!"
"Okay, you win!"
Sheffield rolled over in bed and pressed her against it. Knowing what he was about to do next, Evelyn pointed at their daughter and softly said, "No! Gwyn is here."
"It's fine as long as we keep quiet." He hadn't had sex for a long time, so he was desperate to do it with her.
"No. She usually wakes up in the middle of the night. She has to either go to the bathroom or drink milk. Don't..." Evelyn stammered, a little embarrassed.
In fact, she was lying. Gwyn seldom woke up at night, except for that particular period of time after she had just been abducted and rescued. The truth was that Evelyn didn't want a third person present in bed while they did their business, even if the child didn't know anything.
More or less, Sheffield knew what was on Evelyn's mind. After rolling off her, he kissed her on the lips, a little too strongly, as if trying to make up for intimacy.
Turning off the bedside lamp, he suddenly remembered an important thing. "What happened to Gwyn? Why does she have PTSD? Has she been this way since birth?"
At the mention of Gwyn's situation, Evelyn buried her head in his chest and explained, "No. She was very healthy and active when she was just born. Something happened before. It was one of the servants in the manor."
Although it was a thing of the past, still, Evelyn thought that Gwyn's father had the right to know.
When Gwyn was several months old, she was kidnapped by the maid who had been taking care of her. It was a normal day and they were casually playing outside when the maid took her.