Chapter 4

Jonathan sat on the couch, looking as if he were the owner of the house. Nearby, Corey was calling out to him. "Mr. Geller!" They seemed very affectionate with each other. Jonathan got up quickly when he saw Tyler walk in and smiled brightly at him. "Mr. Stone, you're back. Corey was discharged today, so Ms. Murphy asked me to bring him home with her." Tyler clenched his fists tightly, anger rising up inside him. Was Annaliese already that bold? Wasn't it enough for her to cheat? Did she have to fool around with him at home too? Annaliese saw that Tyler was displeased, so she explained quickly. "Oh, it was Corey! He kept holding on to Jon and refused to let go. Since he's only just recovered, I indulged him." Tyler's eyes widened in anger as he stared fixedly at her. Fury blazed in his heart. The two of them were going too far. "Annaliese, doesn't Corey have a father? Why must you let another man keep him company?" Tyler could not stop trembling, and his eyes were crimson with rage. Annaliese laughed guiltily and hurriedly walked over to him to explain. "Don't be angry, Ty. I just thought that you've been working so hard to take care of Corey, so I asked Jon to come and help out. It'll make things easier for you. But if you're not happy, I'll ask him to leave right now. Okay?" Tyler pursed his lips as he looked expressionlessly at her. Annaliese was an excellent actress. She acted so well that everyone thought Tyler was the most important person in her heart and that his moods were the rules she lived by. Now that Tyler was unhappy, she had immediately asked Jonathan to leave. However, no matter how good she was at acting, she could not deceive someone who already knew the truth. Tyler was tired, and he no longer wanted to play along with her. He opened his mouth to tell the truth when Corey suddenly rushed over to him and grabbed his sleeve. "Dad, let Mr. Geller stay. I like him, and I like playing with him." Corey's crying and shouting made Tyler feel as if his head was about to burst. His eyes filled with tears as he looked at the child that he had raised for three years. There was a bitter feeling in his heart. "Corey, do you really like Mr. Geller? But I don't like him. What will you do?" "Then go, Dad. I want Mr. Geller to stay and play with me." Tyler's pupils contracted, and he felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He suddenly found it difficult to breathe. He should have known that this would be the case. What had he been hoping for? He pulled his hand roughly away from Annaliese's and went straight upstairs to lock himself in the bedroom. Annaliese was very agitated, and she kept banging on the door. "Don't be angry, Ty. I'll make Jon leave right now, alright? Since you don't want to talk to me right now, then have a good rest. Let's talk when you've calmed down." Tyler sat with his back against the door and did not say a single word in reply. As he listened to Corey's laughter from downstairs, he felt as if his heart was bleeding. Jonathan wasn't the one who should leave. He was. After all, the three of them were a family. Who was Tyler to them? He was so exhausted that he did not even have the strength to look up. After a long time, he woke up and realized that he had fallen asleep on the floor. Jonathan was sitting in front of him. "What are you doing here?" Tyler propped himself up with difficulty and scrambled to his feet. He looked angrily at Jonathan. "Get out of here right now!" Jonathan's lip curled into a smirk as he strolled over to him. "Why are you so angry, Mr. Stone? I only came to tell you where that child of yours is." Tyler scoffed. He knew that Jonathan would not be so kind. "I'll find my child on my own. Now please get out!" "Oh? Don't you want to know whether your child is a boy or a girl, or what they look like now?" As he spoke, Jonathan opened a video and placed it in front of Tyler. In the video, there was a boy who was about three or four years old. He was covered in wounds, and his cheeks were swollen. Someone was yanking on his hair and pouring something in his mouth. Tyler started in shock, and he felt a dull ache in his heart. Although he had never seen his child before, there was a connection between father and son that could not be ignored. He only had to look once to know that it was his son. "Why is he so badly injured? What are you pouring into his mouth?" Tyler's veins bulged in anger, and he clenched his hands until his knuckles turned white. "You know that children without parents deserve to get bullied. As for what's in his mouth, it might be cow droppings, horse droppings, or maybe even human feces. I don't know either. In any case, it's some kind of feces. He's force-fed it several times a day!" Jonathan laughed wildly and triumphantly, which made him look devilish. Tyler could no longer endure it. He lunged forward and punched him viciously. Right after that, Annaliese rushed in. Jonathan immediately stood behind her, his eyes red. "Ms. Murphy, I only wanted to come and apologize to Mr. Stone. I didn't expect him to hit me." Annaliese looked at Tyler, who was still furious, and her eyes drifted from one man to the other. Then she yanked Jonathan out impatiently from behind her. "Apologize to Ty at once! You deserved to be hit. Why did you make him angry?" Jonathan was startled. He clutched his face and looked at Annaliese in disbelief. She yelled angrily again, "Didn't you hear me?" Tyler laughed bitterly and shook his head. He no longer wanted to watch their charade, and he pushed them both out of the room firmly.