My Husband Hated Me for a Lie

Chapter 3

Hearing the commotion, Mrs. Roberson rushed upstairs. She was met with the sight of Tyler's face covered in blood, a sight so terrifying that she immediately called for a car to rush him to the hospital.

After the doctor finished bandaging the wound on Tyler's forehead and provided the necessary aftercare instructions, he took his leave.

Mrs. Roberson looked at Tyler's pale face, her heart aching with pity. Yet, her mind drifted toward Luke. She had watched that boy grow up as well, and her maternal worry for him lingered. Hesitating, she said, "Tyler, honey, just stay here and rest. I'm going to go check on Luke."

"I'm fine, Mom. I can get home by myself," Tyler replied with a faint nod, his voice unnervingly calm.

Before Mrs. Roberson could get very far, Tyler realized she hadn't had a chance to eat lunch while tending to him. He intended to ask her about it, but as he looked up, he saw her hurrying toward the Obstetrics and Gynecology department.

Something flickered in Tyler's chest. On an impulse, he followed her.

Outside the laboratory, Luke greeted Mrs. Roberson, his face lit with an irrepressible joy. "Mrs. Roberson! Alena's pregnant!"

The words pierced Tyler's heart like a shard of glass. A wave of fury and bitterness surged through him, leaving his chest feeling tight and suffocating.

Ever since his Noah passed away, he and Alena had been sleeping in separate rooms. If she was pregnant now, there was no mystery as to who the father was.

This absurd reality left him feeling cold to the bone.

Mrs. Roberson told Luke to head back to his ward first.

As soon as he was gone, her voice rose, thick with suppressed rage. "Alena! Explain yourself. Right now. Whose baby is this? Didn't you swear to Tyler there was nothing going on with Luke?"

"Noah's body isn't even cold in the ground yet, and you choose now to get pregnant? How do you think Tyler is going to take this?"

Alena's voice sounded small, laced with guilt. "I… I didn't mean for it to happen. I just had too much to drink one night."

She paused, then continued with a sudden, firm resolve. "I've made up my mind. I'll go abroad to have the baby. When I come back, I'll tell everyone I adopted it. Tyler and I can raise the child together. It'll give him some comfort."

Mrs. Roberson was clearly appalled by the ridiculous suggestion. "You make it sound so easy! You think Luke is just going to sign off on that?"

"Mom, Luke will agree," Alena said with unsettling certainty. "He told me once he doesn't even like kids. Besides, ever since Noah died, he's felt like he owes Tyler."

Listening from the shadows, Tyler found it both farcical and pathetic.

He never realized Alena could be so naive, or perhaps, she simply had too much blind faith in Luke's character.

But it didn't matter. Alena's self-delusion and Luke's calculated moves were no longer his concern.

Soon enough, he would be gone anyway.

He didn't step out to shatter their illusions. He simply turned around and walked home alone.

It wasn't until the following day that Alena finally returned from the hospital.

Tyler was in the middle of packing Noah's clothes—the only things he intended to take with him.

Seeing this, Alena didn't show a hint of emotion. Instead, she looked relieved. "It's about time you packed those away," she said. "No point in dwelling on the past every time you look at them."

Tyler kept his eyes down, silently folding the clothes into his suitcase.

Ignoring his silence, Alena continued, "I remember you have that Kirin Hearthstone pendant. Lend it to Luke for a bit, will you? He's still struggling after his injury. It'll help him get his strength back."

"No." Tyler refused instantly, his tone leaving no room for negotiation.

Back when she was pregnant with Noah, Alena's pregnancy had been perilously unstable due to old injuries from her days at the military academy. She had nearly lost the baby several times, and it was only thanks to this Kirin Hearthstone that she pulled through.

That Kirin Hearthstone was not just an ancestral heirloom. It was now the only remaining bond between him and Noah. He had to take it with him.