Chapter 151 A Family Divided

Kyla hung her head low, tears silently streaming down her cheeks. She sobbed, “Mom, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t stayed with this family, the incident wouldn’t have happened to Dominic, and Tilda wouldn’t have hurt us. This is all because of me…”

“You silly girl, it’s not your fault. Enough now, I have to go.”

Blair wasn’t in the mood to comfort Kyla. In fact, her mind was racing with questions she wanted to ask Tilda. As soon as the car arrived, Blair got in and left.

Kyla could only watch as Blair’s car disappeared down the driveway. She gently bit her lip.

They seemed to be getting tired of it. I’d have to tone it down next time, probably not using the same trick. If she could tag along this time, Kyla was confident that her acting skills could stir up more trouble between the Jensons and Tilda.

With a little push, maybe she could make Tilda disappear for good. She could use someone else to do her dirty work; that would be the best outcome.

Right now, Tilda felt like some kind of awful virus clinging to Kyla. Every time Tilda was around, Kyla felt uncomfortable, almost sick to her stomach. There wasn’t enough room for two daughters in this house.

This war would only end when one of them was gone. It was all or nothing.

Besides, Kyla could clearly feel that everyone was starting to see Tilda differently. If it had been before, knowing Dominic had been hurt by Tilda, their parents would’ve marched straight over to get revenge. Now, they just seemed calm about the whole thing. Wade, too. Even Dominic was starting to feel guilty toward Tilda.

All these changes were pushing Kyla into a corner. She needed to find a way to turn things around—fast!

Back at her condominium, Tilda took a long, hot shower. She changed out of her wet clothes and stuffed them in a trash bag. After all, her clothes had been touched by someone as gross as Dominic. Tilda wanted nothing to do with those clothes anymore. She planned to pack them up and toss them in the dumpster tomorrow.

She even placed a cool face mask on her face for the first time in ages, something she hoped would help her get her good mood back.

Relaxing in the tub, Tilda called Andy.

“Dang. Tilda, I can’t believe such a mess happened right after I left,” Andy said, totally shocked by Tilda’s story.

“Seriously! What a crazy twist of fate.”

Andy listened in disbelief as Tilda recounted everything that had happened. Was the world really this full of freaky coincidences?

“Don’t even talk about it, Andy. I’m kicking myself for not listening to you. I should never have tried to hold on to my principles. If I had just investigated DJ’s real identity earlier, none of this would’ve happened.” Tilda sighed, a bitter smile tugging at her lips.

“See? You never listen to me, and now you pay the price,” Andy teased. “Tilda, I know how you are. When you care about someone, you’ll do anything to protect them–even if it means ignoring the truth or hurting yourself. You’re tough on the outside but soft on the inside. That kind of personality can get you hurt–just like what happened with your family.

“But honestly, I like you just the way you are, Tilda. You’re full of life. If you were all cold and robotic, we wouldn’t get along half as well.”

“You really see right through me, Andy. I’ll give you that.”

Andy tried all sorts of ways to cheer Tilda up, and gradually, her mood started to lighten.

“But you have to admit, Dominic has some nerve, putting his own initials up on the dark web,” Andy laughed. “I never would’ve guessed it. But if the wrong people ever figured it out, he’d be in real trouble. If you hadn’t taken him in and helped wipe his tracks, Dominic would’ve had a much harder time.”

“That’s enough, Andy. I don’t want to hear anything more about Dominic. We’ve shared so many good times—why waste energy on an awful person like him?”

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop. Anyway, I have to run. You enjoy your bath, Tilda!”

After hanging up, Tilda climbed out of the tub, dried off, and slipped into her pajamas. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and sighed. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t just leave the bad feelings behind. Maybe a good night’s sleep would help, and tomorrow would be a little brighter.

Just then, Tilda’s phone rang again. It was the building management.

“Yes?” she answered.

“Ms. Tilda, there’s a woman outside who says she’s your mother. Would you like to let her in?”

Mother? Hearing that word, Tilda’s mind went blank for a second. Then she just found it ridiculous. Funny, even. Blair, oh Blair, you and your family really have no shame, do you? You had cut me off completely. After everything that’s happened, you still have the nerve to call yourself my mother? If people heard about this, they’d laugh themselves silly.

“Tell her to leave,” Tilda said, then hung up.

As far as Tilda was concerned, she wanted nothing more to do with that family—ever again.