Chapter 2 Being Beaten

After saying goodbye, Carolyn rushed back home.

She thought that there was something really urgent back home. However, when she returned, she found her stepmother, Mae Zhao, sitting leisurely in the living room, watching TV and eating melon seeds. It didn't seem like there was something important that had to be addressed.

"Auntie, I'm back." Carolyn looked at Mae Zhao as she slowly stepped into the living room.

Mae Zhao looked askance at her and threw away the melon seed shells in her hands. "You're back. I asked you to come early because I wanted to discuss something with you. Your sister has been with Eric for so many years now, and our family is considering the possibility of a marriage. For her dowry, I plan to prepare a car for her. It doesn't need to be too good. It will cost about two hundred thousand dollars."

Carolyn didn't know how to tell her feeling after finding out that her former lover was going to marry her sister. Her eyes darkened and nodded. "Okay."

"What's wrong with you, Carolyn? Just 'okay'?" Mae Zhao glared at her coldly. "You know it, too. After your father's death, I raised you and your sister. I worked hard every day to make sure that you were both well fed. Dora just began to work, so she doesn't have any savings yet. If you don't pay it, then who else can afford the two hundred thousand dollars?"

It suddenly came to Carolyn's realization that her stepmother had called her back home to ask for money.

"Auntie, I don't have two hundred thousand now. Even if I have it, I'm not the one who will get married. Why should I be the one to pay for her?"

"How dare you talk back?" Mae Zhao stood up and angrily walked over to Carolyn. She pointed at her head and yelled, "If you hadn't killed your father seven years ago, then our family wouldn't have ended up like this. I took you home and took good care of you. It's okay that you don't thank me, but how dare you talk to me like that? I should have let you die outside!"

Every word and every sentence painfully struck Carolyn's heart.

Ever since she woke up seven years ago and found out about her sin, she had been trying her best to atone for it throughout the years. She had made great efforts for this family, for her stepmother and sister...

"Auntie, you can't deny what I have done for this family throughout the past few years. I have worked very hard and I take my salary home every month, except for the living expenses. I don't leave any money. If you ask me for the two hundred thousand dollars, where will I be able to get it? ..."

"Do you think your salary is enough for our family? How can you blame us for your incompetence?" ... Mae Zhao was exasperated. She cornered Carolyn, reached out her hand, and slapped her in the face. "You killed your own father for a man. You deserve to be single for the rest of your life!"

Carolyn felt dizzy after she endured the heavy slap. Mae Zhao rushed up to her again and tried to hit her, but she opened the door instinctively. She wanted to run away.

As soon as she took a step forward, she bumped into a black figure.

"Ah..." she screamed and stumbled because of the impact.

Before she could fall down, the man stretched his arm out and firmly caught her. He gently pulled her into his arms.

The air was filled with a strange, but particularly pleasant fragrance. It was mixed with a slight scent of tobacco that drew her in. When she looked up, she gazed into a pair of deep black eyes.

Her heart skipped a beat!

"Bitch, stop!" Mae Zhao rushed out angrily and was surprised to see Carolyn being cradled in a man's arms.

The man was dressed in a black suit, which made his handsome figure look taller. The elegant and strong aura between his eyebrows was obviously, not something that an ordinary person could possess.

Mae Zhao had experienced a lot, and she had a discerning eye.

When she saw the man and Carolyn looking at each other in an unusual way, she couldn't help but ask, "Hey, who is this? Don't you want to introduce him to me, Carolyn?"

Carolyn was slightly stunned. She then looked at Derrick who was standing next to her. She was confused why he was at the door of her house, but she could only bite the bullet and say, "He is..."

"I'm Carolyn's boyfriend." Derrick smiled at Mae Zhao.

When they heard this, both Carolyn and Mae Zhao gave him a stunned look.

Mae Zhao looked at the two of them with her eyebrows raised up and then giggled. "Boyfriend? How could Carolyn find a boyfriend? Don't be fooled by her weak appearance. Carolyn is not a simple woman. Seven years ago, she killed her own father so that she could elope with someone else. What else can't she do?"

Derrick carelessly smiled and pulled Carolyn closer to him. "I'm not interested in what happened seven years ago. And as far as I know, I don't need you to tell me what kind of person Carolyn is."

His words were filled with a tone of trust and protection for her.

Mae Zhao's eyes twitched. "I don't care who you are. She has to give me two hundred thousand dollars today!"

"Do you think it's worth being so hard on Carolyn for just two hundred thousand dollars?" Derrick didn't mean to give in. Instead, he took out a pen from his pocket and quickly wrote down a series of words on the checkbook.

As soon as he finished, he threw the check at Mae Zhao's hand. A strong and threatening grin appeared on his handsome face. "I hope you won't use these vulgar prices to measure my Carolyn in the future. If you dare beat her up again, I promise that I will cause you more pain."

His tone was cold and cruel, making Mae Zhao dare not doubt his words.

She was so shocked that she didn't even dare to pick up the check.