National Asset: The Marvelous Tyler Wood

Chapter 8

He couldn't understand what was Everly doing with him? A cold feeling washed over Tyler as he watched them laugh together.

Five years. Five long years he had been gone. Now he was back, and nothing looked the same anymore.

Tyler took a deep breath and walked toward them.

His feet felt heavy but his head was high.

“Everly, I am back,” he called out, voice shaking slightly. Tyler opened his arms wide, hoping for her warm hug or something else, perhaps welcome him.

Everly's mouth dropped open. Her eyes grew big as coins as she stared at the husband she never thought she'd see again.

The fancy man beside her was Luis Armstrong.

At that moment Luis let out a mean laugh that cut through the air like a knife.

“What are you doing here, Tyler?” Luis asked with a snake's smile.

“Or are my eyes tricking me? We all thought you jumped off a cliff after the divine doctor kicked you out five years ago.”

Luis looked Tyler up and down, his eyes cold and mean.

“Where have you been hiding all this time?” Another nasty laugh bubbled from his throat.

“Don't tell me the great supreme doctor took you in again! That's a joke!”

“The divine doctor threw you out like trash,” Luis said, his voice dripping with poison. “So why are you here now, acting like some hero who's returned?”

Tyler didn't need anyone to tell him the truth. He could see it clearly. Luis was the rat who spread lies about him, and Luis had paid for it too. One look was all Tyler needed. Luis barely had a tiny drop of medicine energy left in his body – like a single raindrop in an empty bucket.

If he was to classify Luis in the world of medicine arts, Luis was merely a fetus in the womb – weak, undeveloped, and helpless.

 Tyler almost wanted to laugh at the sight, but he kept his calm.

 What a joke that someone so weak had the nerve to speak to him this way! Tyler's blood boiled under his skin, but his face stayed cool as stone. Five years of training had taught him to hide his anger well.

However Tyler noticed Everly's silence, her eyes wouldn't meet his. The wind rustled through her dark hair as she stood frozen like a statue. Tyler's heart sank a little more with each passing second.

“Yes, I was disqualified by the divine doctor,” Tyler began to explain again, his voice steady despite the storm inside him.

“But what all of you didn't know was—”

But Before he could finish his truth, Everly suddenly walked past him as if he were nothing but a ghost. The scent of her perfume – brushed against him, then faded away. As she moved by, her words fell cold on his ears.

“Father, I have brought in the miraculous doctor.”

Tyler's mind spun like a leaf in a storm. “Miraculous doctor?” ‘What was she talking about?’ His eyes darted between Everly's back and Luis's smug face. Something wasn't right.

Luis raised his shoulder as he strutted past Tyler with the pride of a peacock. A sharp tap on Tyler's shoulder felt like a stab as Luis leaned in close, his breath hot on Tyler's ear.

“Look,” Luis whispered with poison in his voice, “you thought everything would be roses the moment you married Everly. But you forgot the poor can never have what's meant for the rich.” His lips curled into a cruel smile.

“There is no elevator to Heaven. Just a scattered stairway.”

At that moment Luis walked with a proud step toward Everly's parents. Luis bowed Slightly, his expensive silk clothes rustling softly.

“So many important people searched for me when I left the Supreme Forest,” Luis announced, his voice smooth as honey. “Kings and queens would pay mountains of gold for my help. But when I saw the worry in sweet Everly's eyes, I knew something terrible must be wrong.” He placed his hand over his heart. “That's why I rushed here right away, leaving all other offers behind.”

Upon hearing what Luis just said Everly's mother clutched her hands together with hope shining in her eyes. Her father stood taller, impressed by the man before them.

Everly gracefully bowed to Luis, her long hair falling like a dark waterfall over her shoulders. “Something is really wrong, Doctor Luis,” she said softly.

“It's about Grandfather. He's—”

At that moment a sharp, bitter laugh cut through the air like lightning.

Immediately all heads turned to see Tyler leaning against the doorway, arms crossed and eyes burning.

“You actually believe this quack over me?”  Tyler's voice bounced off the walls. He pushed himself away from the door and walked closer to them

“This man a miraculous doctor? That's the best joke I've heard in five years!”

Tyler circled Luis like a wolf, studying him.

“The way I see it, Luis spent maybe a month in the Supreme Forest before they kicked him out also.” His finger jabbed the air.

“If he had stayed any longer, he might actually know something useful.

Hearing what Tyler just said.

The friendly warmth in the room vanished instantly. Everly's parents' faces darkened like storm clouds. Her father's face turned deep red, the veins in his neck bulging.

“What are you still doing here?” they barked in perfect angry harmony. Her father slammed his fist on a nearby table, making a vase wobble.

“Leave immediately! How dare you insult the miraculous doctor!”

Immediately her mother pointed a shaking finger toward the door.

“Guards! Remove this man from our home at once!”

Immediately two burly guards with stern faces stepped forward, hands reaching for Tyler's arms. Their heavy boots echoed on the marble floor as they approached.

“Wait.”