Chapter 2 Suffering

"No! This can't be happening!"

Kara Isabelle, the beautiful-faced girl, was frozen, staring at the two clear red lines in front of her.

Today, Kara should have been at the campus. Fulfilling her new task as a teaching assistant, and completing several of her courses well so that her full scholarship status could be approved soon. But unfortunately, in reality, she found herself trapped in her bathroom with a very surprising test result.

"Oh God, what should I do now?" She muttered in frustration, massaging her temples.

Never did Kara imagine that the one-night stand she had desperately tried to forget a month ago would result in this.

Kara wasn't ready to face this reality. She thought everything was over, after successfully escaping from Barra's clutches. She hadn't even bothered to find out the clear identity of the man who had taken her purity because, to her, that night was just the first and last time she would meet him.

Kara's shattered world was now even more unformed! Slowly, her tears began to fall, along with her inability to contain her suffering.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Kara! Open the door quickly!"

Kara's cries stopped instantly when she heard her foster mother's voice. With her increasingly irregular heartbeat, Kara panickedly turned towards the door, which was shaking more and more. She immediately tried to hide the evidence of her pregnancy before wiping away her tears and moving to open the door.

Slap!

"What is this, Kara?! Explain everything to me!" Helena-her foster mother-exclaimed, holding a pharmacy receipt in her hand.

"That ..."

Helena's glaring eyes made Kara's breath catch. Her pale lips couldn't continue the words, because everything she had hidden had been exposed due to carelessness she never expected.

"Why did you buy that thing?!" Helena asked abruptly, without bothering to look at her foster daughter, who had been kneeling before her.

Fear, worry, and various emotions were now raging inside Kara. They all appeared at once, as if not giving her a moment to think even for a second.

"Explain everything, Kara! Is that for you? What's the result?!" Helena demanded, her veins bulging visibly on her neck.

With just one pull, the woman managed to make Kara whimper in pain. She then mercilessly pulled the hair of her foster daughter, who had been bowing her head all this time, before quickly grabbing the small chin that had been lowered.

"Mom, forgive me! I did buy it for myself, but please! Please don't tell Dad about this! I-"

Slap!

"You shameless child! Disgraceful!" Helena exclaimed with increasing anger.

"Mom, please! I don't want to make my dad's condition worse!"

Ignoring her continued assault, Kara only hoped that this news wouldn't reach her father's ears. She didn't want to make him even sicker, so without hesitation, she immediately moved to prostrate herself before her foster mother.

"I admit my mistake, Mom. I have done something very shameful so now I'm pregnant! But please, please keep this a secret from my dad!"

Bam!

"You idiot!" Helena cursed even more emotionally.

With her foster child now pregnant, she didn't want to listen anymore. With heartlessness, the woman kicked Kara's limp body until she fell backward, her cries sounding painful.

"How dare you say that when I'm struggling to take care of your sick father?!" Helena yelled uncontrollably. "Who's the father of the baby in your womb? Your boyfriend? Your friend? Or some other man out there? Speak up, so he can take responsibility!"

"I'm sorry, Mom. That ... That's not possible," Kara answered resignedly, tears streaming down her face.

The girl curled up in fear as Helena approached. Kara was afraid of her foster mother, but she couldn't answer the question either. She certainly didn't want to encounter Barra again, as the man who planted the seed in her womb was cruel and heartless.

Bam!

"Idiot! If it's not him who's responsible, then who else?! Do you think I'd want this? Huh?" Helena shouted, now unhesitatingly slamming the head of her foster child.

A drop of fresh blood began to trickle down Kara's forehead. She felt the pain, but unfortunately, all the physical suffering she felt now was nothing compared to the pain in her heart.

"Terminate the pregnancy!"

"But, Mom-"

"I said terminate it right away!"

Crash!

"Ouch!"

"Dad!"

Kara jerked, right after seeing her father fall from his wheelchair. Immediately, she rose, trying her best to lift the figure that had raised her onto the bed, and laid him down carefully there, her face swollen with tear marks.

"Ra? You ...."

"I'm sorry! Forgive me, Dad! I'm sorry because your child made a very fatal mistake!" Kara blurted out, unable to bear the reality anymore.

Quickly, she embraced her father's frail body. Ignoring her increasingly bleeding forehead, Kara pressed her father's hand to it even more. She begged for forgiveness from the figure who had loved her so much, not realizing that he was becoming more breathless with each passing moment.

"Dad! Wake up, Dad!"

Kara's breath became more labored, unable to continue her speech. She had checked everything, from his breathing, and heart rate, to his pulse. She wanted to ask her foster mother, to convince herself that what she saw was just a glimpse of a bad shadow. But unfortunately, it seemed impossible.

"No! Dad must have just fainted, right?" The girl murmured finally, her lips trembling more.

As much as possible, Kara denied the reality that deeply pierced her heart. She still hadn't accepted her father's sudden departure. Slowly, her limp hands moved to caress his expressionless face.

"Now you see, don't you? This is the result of your shameful act!" Helena hissed, staring at her lifeless husband.

"Mom, I'm sorry! I believe Dad can still wake up! He just-"

"Enough, Kara! Stop your nonsense and leave this house immediately! It's useless for you to cry over your father's death because you're the one who caused your father to be like this! You killed him! And no matter what, I will never be willing to see you again! You're just a burden to the family, disgracing your family!"