51. His Secret Past

Night fell, and when Killian returned home, his little girlfriend didn't throw herself into his arms happily as she usually did.

He searched around the place and finally discovered her in the bathtub.

She trusted him enough not to close the bathroom door, so he saw her exactly as she was at that moment.

Her gaze was dazed and absent; only when he appeared did a flicker of clarity return to her eyes.

Looking closely, her smooth, delicate fingertips were slightly wrinkled from soaking, showing just how long she had been in the water.

He frowned slightly, fetched a bath towel to lift her out of the water, and after wrapping her up, carried her to the bed in the bedroom.

"What's wrong?" He pressed his large hand against her damp hair, his deep eyes filled with concern. "Are you feeling unwell?"

Tara blinked, then flashed a sweet smile at him that was no different from usual. "No, I was just thinking about you coming back with me at the end of the year to meet my parents."

"Mhm?"

The worry in his eyes dissipated slightly. "Why the sudden thought?"

As he spoke, he brought over a dry towel, thoughtfully drying her long, damp hair, and chuckled as he looked at her. "Scared I won't perform well?"

Tara let him dry her hair like a beautiful ball-jointed doll, then raised her small face slightly to look at him.

"No, I was just thinking, since you are going to meet my family, I should probably meet yours too."

Her beautiful, shimmering eyes held a hint of curiosity as she looked at him. "Killian, where is your family?"

In asking this, she did indeed intend to probe more deeply into his background, because she didn't dare to fully believe what old Mr. West had said earlier that day.

She wanted to hear Killian tell her himself, because she believed he would never lie to her.

Hearing her question, Killian’s movements froze.

The atmosphere suddenly fell into silence, like a stagnant pool of lifeless water.

Tara sensed his mood was off and thought he was angry. Just as she was about to apologize, his large hand moved, settling between her delicate brows as his fingertips brushed over them gently.

After a moment, he said in a low voice, "My family has passed away."

He didn't mention anyone from the West family, stating bluntly instead that they had passed away.

Tara’s heart felt as if it had been struck by something, aching slightly.

"I'm sorry, Killian, I—"

"It's fine. No need to apologize for that."

He set aside the damp towel, got onto the bed, pulled her into his arms from behind, and rested his head longingly against her neck.

"Tara, let me tell you a story." He said in a low voice, sounding self-deprecating. "A melodramatic, cliché story."

Sensing his low spirits, Tara let him hold her obediently and said softly, "Okay."

Then, she listened to his deep voice as he began to narrate the story in a calm and gentle tone:

"Once, there was a Chinese couple. They married at eighteen and traveled far to Country M to start from scratch. By twenty-five, they became well-known local wealthy figures in Country M and gave birth to a lovely daughter named Katherine Qi."

Katherine Qi.

Tara repeated the name silently in her heart, already understanding the connection.

Killian: "But when Katherine was three years old, both husband and wife died in a car crash. Before their deaths, they entrusted all their property and their daughter to a close friend named Weston West."

Hearing the familiar name, Tara's expression froze, but she didn't speak to interrupt him.

She listened as he continued, "Weston took Katherine in as his adopted daughter and used the wealth left behind by Katherine’s parents to start his business, eventually becoming a world-renowned business tycoon."

"During those years, besides succeeding in his career, he also married a lady from a local prominent family and had a son named Gordon West."

"Gordon was five years younger than Katherine. He was naturally dissolute and completely uneducated. When he was seventeen, because he lusted after his adopted sister Katherine's beauty, he violated her."

Hearing this, Tara’s heart suddenly tightened. She turned her head to look at him again. "He violated her?"

Hearing this, a cold smile like a blade in a freezing night curled onto Killian’s lips. "Yes, and more than once. He confined her and violated her."

Tara knit her brows slightly, an uncontrollable wave of nausea rising in her stomach.

Killian gently rubbed her head, but his voice continued as if soaked in frost:

"Later, Weston soon found out about it. At that time, Gordon’s fiancée was already three months pregnant, and the two were just about to hold their wedding."

"To prevent this matter from being exposed and affecting Gordon’s marriage—which was a perfect match between families—Weston secretly sent Katherine to a small town in China and claimed to the outside world that she had died of illness."

Tara clenched her fists uncontrollably as she heard this.

So this was the truth. It was completely different from what Weston had said about a couple having a conflict and living separately. He really was lying to her!

"Later, Katherine found out she was pregnant, right?" Tara suppressed the anger in her heart, turning back to look at Killian with lowered eyes.

"Yes." Killian cupped her cheek, his thumb gently rubbing it as he continued, "After Katherine discovered it, she bought abortion medicine, wanting to terminate the pregnancy."

He said, as if mocking himself, "Unfortunately, she bought the cheapest, low-quality fake abortion medicine. The child wasn't miscarried. Katherine couldn't bear to do it after that, so she gave birth to the child."

Thank goodness the medicine was fake.

Although it was very inappropriate, Tara couldn't help but think that way.

Otherwise, there might not be a Killian in this world today.

Moreover—

She asked in confusion, "Why didn't Katherine go to a hospital instead of buying cheap abortion medicine? Didn't the West family give her money when they sent her away?"

"They did," Killian said without a trace of emotion. "But she found it disgusting. She didn't accept it, nor did she take anything belonging to the West family."

His cold voice continued smoothly, "After this child was born, Katherine didn't view him as a shame in her life, nor did she abandon him."

"She worked hard from dawn to dusk, giving the best of everything to this child. They depended on each other and managed to spend a wonderful period of time together."

"Unfortunately, the good times didn't last. Gordon’s wife discovered the existence of this illegitimate child."

Tara’s heart skipped a beat, and she looked at him anxiously. "Did she do something?"

"Nothing much," the corners of Killian's lips curled into a smile, yet it held no warmth whatsoever. "She just hired people to kidnap this illegitimate child to an isolated island, using some frightening tactics to scare him, that's all."

His expression turned regretful. "A pity, this illegitimate child was resilient. He wasn't scared to death; instead, he escaped on his own."

Tara’s heart couldn't stop suffocating and aching once more.

As if to comfort him, she placed a gentle kiss on his jaw, her eyes entirely filled with heartache. "Then... what kind of frightening tactics did they use?"

Feeling the soft touch on his jaw, Killian lowered his gaze and smiled at her tenderly. "It was nothing, just some ridiculous and low-class things. He forgot them long ago."

With that, he gripped her delicate shoulders, turning her around to hold her face-to-face in his embrace, and continued very, very softly,

"He escaped, but when he returned to his home, he discovered that Katherine had committed suicide because she believed the rumors that he had already died."

Tara’s expression froze, and soon, crystal tears spilled from her eyes, unable to be held back any longer. "Killian."

His well-defined hand gently stroked her back, his voice gentle: "Don't be sad."

He chuckled softly, leaning down to gently kiss away the crystal tears on her cheeks one by one, saying softly, "At least now, he already has a very wonderful girl staying by his side."

So, in this completely rotten life, he could be considered someone favored by fate, couldn't he?