Chapter 17

Sheila was rushed to the hospital shortly after.

Just as she was taken to the ward, she spotted a group of doctors wheeling someone on the bed out of the emergency room. With the doctors standing in the way, she could not see the patient's face and only heard the doctors whispering to one another as she went past them.

"Have you managed to reach the patient's family?"

"Not yet. She didn't have that many contacts on her phone... We tried calling the person she called most recently, but no one has picked up so far."

"Oh, dear. I pity her. She almost drowned to death, and she doesn't even have a friend or a family member with her..."

Sheila looked away carelessly.

Inside the ward, the doctor was treating Sheila's wound when Tyler walked inside.

"How is she?" he asked calmly.

"It's just a scratch. She's alright. She should recover in a few days," replied the doctor.

Tyler nodded.

Sheila looked at him longingly. "I've caused you trouble today, Tyler," she muttered, her voice gentle and pleasant. "If it wasn't for you, Miss Sparks wouldn't have let me go that easily."

Tyler remained expressionless. "It's not your fault. Someone just decided to take it out on you."

She was stunned for a moment but immediately realized what he meant by that.

He had already told everyone about it and no one out there would dare to bully Sheila… or so it was supposed to be. It was clear that Maria was determined to make Sheila suffer.

"Tyler, did you know… Miss Sparks?"

She had known Tyler for years and knew that despite playing around, he did not have many female friends, so she had not expected Tyler to act as though he had known Maria for a long time.

He did not answer her question and simply said, "Have a rest. Such a thing won't happen again."

-

Vicky had a long dream where she was standing in a chapel with Tyler in a white wedding dress. He stared at her darkly as he warned her in the most devilish voice, "You better be ready, Vicky Shaw. Once we're married, you won't ever escape me."

She lifted her veil, revealing the determination in her eyes as she looked into his. "You listen here, Tyler Hart. We'll never get a divorce unless I die!"

All the voices and scattered memories crowded her brain.

On the day of their wedding, she waited at home until midnight, but he never returned home and was seen with another woman that same night.

After they had gotten married, she would cook every night and wait for him to come home, but he rarely did. On the rare occasions that he returned, they never had dinner together.

He did not remember her birthday or their anniversary, nor did he bother to spare her a single look in the eye, but she held on stubbornly and refused to give up.

Suddenly, her surroundings changed, and the man was strangling her with bloodshot eyes. "Vicky Shaw, how dare you kill my child?!"

His eyes were filled with hatred and malicious resentment as he tightened his grip around her neck. Slowly running out of breath, Vicky choked and sensed that death was near...

"Ah!" She jolted awake, and before her was a plain white room.

"You're finally awake, Vicky." Someone approached her and asked, "Vicky, are you alright?"

She blinked and slowly focused on the beautiful face before her.

It was a young, elegant-looking man whom Vicky did not recognize. "You're..."

The man's expression darkened. "Vicky, don't you recognize me?" He seemed to have concluded that Vicky lost her memories from drowning and blurted out, "I'll call for the doctor. Hang on!"

"Wait," she uttered hoarsely. "I was in a car accident some time ago and lost my memories."

The man came to a halt. "You were involved in a car accident?"

She nodded, feeling light-headed at the simple movement.

The man walked back to Vicky and introduced himself, "Vicky, my name is Sebastian Mills. We grew up together."

The sight of Vicky's pale face filled Sebastian's heart with regret and pain. "I'm sorry, Vicky. I shouldn't have left you with Tyler Hart."

She did not respond. Her head was spinning, and she could not even recall anything about the man standing before her.

Realizing that he was practically a stranger to her at the moment, Sebastian decided not to mention the past again; he asked hesitantly, "Vicky, why did you drown? Did you forget how to swim because you lost your memories?"

He had known Vicky since they were children and knew that she was an excellent swimmer who could not have drowned.

Vicky closed her eyes for a few moments before saying, "I was pushed into the pool. The water was too cold, and I had muscle cramps. That's why I drowned."

His expression darkened. "Who pushed you?"

"Sasha Young."

The mention of Sasha's name filled Sebastian's face with contempt. "It's that haughty woman again! Does Tyler know about this?"

She cracked a bitter smile. "Even if he knows, he'll only say that I deserved this."

Sebastian sighed helplessly. "Try and get some sleep, Vicky. I'll bring the doctor here."

Feeling drained, Vicky closed her eyes weakly.

-

Sebastian exited the room and was about to call out to the doctor when he spotted Tyler in the corridor.

He stopped in his tracks.

As if feeling something, Tyler turned to meet Sebastian's eyes, his expression darkening when he saw him.

"It's been a while, Mister Hart," Sebastian greeted him calmly. "Are you here to see Vicky?"

"Vicky?" Tyler narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong with her?"

He had just seen Vicky at the party a few hours ago.

Sebastian sneered. "Looks like I've overestimated you once again. I thought you were here to check on Vicky, but it turns out that you don't even know what happened to her."

His voice grew colder as he continued, "Tyler Hart, you probably won't even bat an eye if Vicky dies, will you? If you care so little about her, why won't you let her go?!"