National Asset: The Marvelous Tyler Wood

Chapter 7

without being told he could tell they don't believe him.

But his mother  and his wife will.

At that moment Tyler turned away from their laughter, his bare feet moving toward the house he'd dreamed of for five years.

However before he could move any further step, his wife's family quickly moved to block his path, their expensive clothes forming a wall between him and the door. Their faces had lost all trace of amusement now, replaced by cold hostility.

“What do you think you're doing?” Luke demanded.

his designer shoes scraping against the stone path as he stepped forward.

Tyler's dirt-streaked face showed pure calmness.

“I need to clean up,” he said softly. Then his hands gestured to his torn clothes.

“I want to see my wife... my mother.”

Immediately his wife's father's face twisted into a cruel smile.

“Wife?” he spat the word like it tasted bitter.

“You have no wife here, she divorced you five years ago, right after the news broke about your failure. You're nothing to this family anymore.”

immediately Tyler's eyebrows pushed up.

“As for your mother,” his wife's father's voice turned even colder, his expensive suit rustling as he leaned closer.

“We threw her out immediately we heard about your disgraceful failure, She will Probably be living under some bridge now, if she's even alive.” His lips curled into a sneer as he watched the color drain from Tyler's face.

“Haven't seen that beggar woman in five years. Why don't you go find her? You can join her in the street where you both belong.”

At that moment Tyler's whole body trembled with shock, his dirt-covered hands shaking uncontrollably at his sides.

His heart pounded so violently against his ribs that black spots danced in his vision.

“Why?”

he shouted, his voice cracking like dry leaves. The veins in his neck stood out as emotion of his mother overwhelmed him.

“It was just a rumor!” Sweat mixed with forest dirt ran down his temple as he struggled to understand.

“You didn't accept us because of kindness? Because my mother was sick and needed medicine?”

Immediately his wife's mother's cruel laughter pierced the air. Her perfectly coiffed hair bounced as she threw her head back.

 Her manicured hand pressed against her expensive silk dress as she laughed harder.

“Oh, you really are a fool, Tyler,” she said between laughs, her perfectly painted red lips curling with disdain.

Then her nose wrinkled as if she smelled something foul.

“Why would we ever let a dirty street boy marry into the Emmett family? We only accept it because we heard the divine doctor would choose you.”

The truth poured out like poison. Tyler's face drained of color beneath the dirt, leaving ashen patches visible through the grime.

His wife's father stood tall in his tailored suit, eyes cold as he watched Tyler's world crumble with the news of his mother. Each word struck Tyler like physical blows, making him flinch.

Then his wife's father's fingers smoothed his silk tie with precise movements.

“Once we learned you'd failed, there was no reason to keep feeding your worthless mother again.” His lips curled into a sneer as he adjusted his expensive cufflinks.

“We never expected you'd have the nerve to show your face here again.”

“Who would be stupid enough,” Luke added with a mocking laugh, as he stepped closer.

“Who would've thought Tyler would be this foolish to go somewhere and spend five years, so he could come and claim that he actually trained under the divine doctor.”

Tyler's legs trembled beneath his torn clothes as the crushing truth shattered his world.

 Every precious memory -all those promises of family and belonging - they twisted into ugly lies.

They'd never wanted Tyler, the homeless boy with healing hands. They'd only wanted to own the divine doctor's future apprentice.

His heart slammed against his ribs as thoughts of his mother flooded his mind.

Then he searched their eyes - his wife's mother's perfectly lined ones, her father's cold stare, Luke's mocking gaze.

The cruel truth showed clearly in their expressions. His mother, sick and helpless, thrown into the streets like garbage five years ago.

At that moment Something shifted in Tyler's expression then - a darkness that made even his wife's confident parents take an involuntary step back.

The afternoon sun cast deep shadows across his dirt-streaked face, making his eyes seem to glow with dangerous intensity.

“You'll pay for this,” Each word fell like stones into a deep well.

“If anything has happened to my mother...” His bare feet planted themselves firmly on the path, toes gripping the stone.

“I will wipe the entire Emmett family from this earth.”

“Get out!” his wife's father snarled, his hand shaking slightly as he reached for the security button.

At that moment the tension broke as tire wheels crunched on gravel.

A gleaming black luxury car glided into the compound.

Then the car door opened.

Then Tyler's wife emerged, she was more beautiful than his dreams during long forest nights.

Her silk dress rustled softly, her jewelry catching the light like stars. Her makeup was perfect, her hair styled elegantly - everything about her screamed wealth and class, making Tyler's ragged appearance seem even more stark.

But it was her companion who made Tyler's gaze turned even more deadly.

The man's hand supported her elbow with familiar intimacy as she stepped out.

Even after five years, Tyler would never forget that face - one of the chosen five apprentices the divine doctor had picked that fateful day. The man's tailored suit, confident smile, and casual display of wealth told the story of his success.