Love is the Sunshine

Chapter 15 The Dramatic Reversal

"Why are you so afraid and hesitant of introducing me to your friends, Carla? Don't you think I'm

presentable enough to be with you?"

Staring at Carla's face, Terence said, pretending to be angry. Then, he turned to look at Karen and his

expression softened into a polite smile,"Let me introduce myself, Karen. I'm Terence An. Nice to meet

you. I should have welcomed you at the door, but due to a minor wound, I can't walk properly now,"

Terence greeted, as he placed Carla's hand in his and murmured,"Don't try to explain, Carla. Leave it

as it is. They will know eventually!"

Totally blown away by his appearance, Karen had forgotten to greet Terence and kept checking him up,

looking at him from head to toe. Even though it was quite obvious he couldn't walk properly, it didn't

influence his charm at all, nor all his handsome features. His very attractive appearance totally

surprised Karen.

A few moments after, Karen pulled herself out of her deep thought and burst into laughter.

"He is right! Carla, why on earth are you afraid of introducing him to me? He is perfect. Besides, you

are old enough to have a boyfriend, aren't you?"

Karen said, smiling, as she walked towards the sofa.

The three of them took a seat on the sofa.

Terence sat next to Carla. Smiling, he casually put a hand on her shoulder,"You know, Karen, she might

think I'm so handsome, that she is scared to let the other people know me," Terence teased.

Upon hearing that, Karen couldn't help laughing and added,"You are right! Nowadays, girls like to have

a handsome boyfriend. If others knew that Carla had a man, as attractive as you, they would be jealous

of her, wouldn't they?

And your name is Terence, right? Frankly speaking, I've always treated Carla as my very own younger

sister, not as my staff only. In my role of her older sister and her boss, I have something to tell you,"

Karen announced somehow mysteriously. The smile on her face faded and was replaced by a serious

look.

"Terence, most probably you know her family situation, do you?"

Nodding slightly, Terence glanced sideways at Carla, who sat on the sofa quietly with her eyes gazing

downwards. 'I never thought that she could be so quiet, ' he thought secretly.

"Since you have been aware of it, then I'm going to get straight to the point. Unfortunately, Carla's

parents have passed away a long time ago, but she is a sensible and capable girl. She works really

hard," Karen stated gently, as she turned to look at Carla, who sat quietly.

Even though she didn't say anything, Carla knew very well what Karen was going to talk about.

Pity that she hadn't figured out a way to stop Karen in the past from this type of conversations.

And this time she still could not find a solution.

At last, Carla just concluded in her mind she would explain all to Terence later, after Karen left home.

"On top of all, she has a younger brother to take care of. But you need to understand that he will grow

up one day, then he won't need her support anymore. If you are truly in love with Carla, you have to

accept her and all her life in totality, including her younger brother. Terence, you will not disappoint me

like all the other men before, will you? They were all superficial!"

Karen sighed. 'Nowadays, people care so much about material things. The same story was repeating

over and over again - once they heard that Carla has a sibling to support, they didn't even give

themselves a chance to make an effort, nor did they care any longer that Carla is actually a good girl, '

Karen concluded inwardly.

Upon hearing Karen's heavy words, Terence frowned. He had never thought Carla's life was so hard.

First, he looked sideways at her and noticed she was still sitting there quietly, like a statue, in a

somewhat frozen state. Then he turned his bold gaze towards Karen again and said,"No, I will not! I will

not let you down, Karen! I promise I will take care of Carla from now on. Speaking of Sean, I like him

very much. I will make sure to arrange his education, even his wedding party. Don't worry about it. I will

support and protect them both."

The courageous and firm statement of Terence had instantly provoked Karen to think very highly of

him. She was quite impressed by his determination and love.

At the same time, Carla instantly raised her head and looked at Terence eagerly.

As if he had said something she had never expected someone would ever say, Karen nodded

repeatedly and added,"Very well! I'm relieved to hear you say that. Terence, it doesn't matter that you

may not earn enough money at the moment. One day, you will have everything you want in life, only if

you have the ambition to pursue it!"

Somehow, Karen thought that Terence was not coming from a wealthy family, otherwise he would not

have stayed in Carla's apartment.

But deep inside, Karen didn't care about whether he was rich or not. She was concerned more if

Terence was truly in love with Carla. If he was, he would help her and take off some of her burdens.

"Well, Carla, No hurry to get back to work. Since Terence can't walk properly after getting hurt, you'd

better stay at home to take care of him. You can be absent from the restaurant until he gets better!"

Karen explained motherly, as she stood up. She was about to leave now.

Carla followed her boss to send her out. At the doorway, Karen lowered her voice down and

persuaded,"He is a good man, Carla, you have to take this chance. You should know that it's hard for

you to get a rich, handsome boyfriend. This man is not rich, but he has a lot of potentials.

Even though he has no wealth, at least, he is handsome, and he is the best choice you have now.

Since you seldom asked to be absent from work before, you deserve a paid leave now. You have to

remember that marriage is your lifetime event. It has to take priority over work."

After Karen had left, Carla couldn't stop thinking of her boss's words. She was feeling so shocked.

A moment later, she closed the door, shook herself off from the heavy thoughts and rushed to the

sitting room.

"Terence, do you realize what you were talking about?" Carla asked eagerly.

He sat on the sofa, picked up his teacup and took a small sip, then replied,"Of course, I know. What's

the matter?"

"You know? Are you sure you know what you mean?"

Carla sat beside him and asked seriously, staring gently and deeply in his eyes.

Well aware that she was a little anxious, he quickly put down the cup and nodded reassuringly.

"Carla, what I have just said is not only to make Karen feeling content and it's not an empty whim.

Really, I mean it."

After he confirmed again and again his intentions, Carla felt so surprised. She fixated her black bright

eyes on his handsome face.

Eventually, Carla glanced down and nudged his shoulder slightly, asking shyly,"Terence, why didn't you

tell me all this a bit early?"

'He must have feelings for me. If he didn't, he wouldn't have kissed me on the street; he wouldn't have

agreed to pretend to be my boyfriend and

he wouldn't even have been worried that I couldn't sleep well on the sofa, so he carried me to the bed

last night, even though he was still suffering from his wound.

"Ah... Ah... Terence, if you promise me, you will turn your life around, and try to be good, then I will

consider being with you and forgiving what you have done," Carla added excitedly.

'He has been chased down by the killer. On top of all, he has nearly been hurt by a gun. No doubt, he

must be in big trouble.

As long as he could forget the past and decide to restart his life, I don't mind establishing a relationship

with him, ' Carla concluded with determination inwardly.

She was lost in her thoughts.

Meanwhile he was mesmerized and perplexed by her words.

The room was so quiet at this moment, that one could hear the noise of a dropping needle on the

carpet.

In a while, Terence finally realized what she meant and couldn't help bursting into laughter. He looked

at the girl, who was looking at the tiled ground shyly.

"What do you say? You are so conceited, aren't you?

What I mean is that no matter what happens next, I will take care of you and Sean. I will merely treat

you both like our family and make sure that you both have a good life. I didn't mean to be your

boyfriend, got it?"

Carla was surprised by his words. A while later, gasping her utter shock and swallowing to clear her

throat, she asked "Then why? Why did you tell Karen that you are my boyfriend?"

"Gee! It's not necessary to explain everything to them, especially when you can't make them believe in

you. It's hard to convince her that you and I are not in a relationship, when she saw me staying in your

room this morning."

Terence uttered slowly.

Never did he do anything in vain. If that ever happened by chance, he had to get what he wanted back

in return.

Closing her eyes, Carla gritted her teeth tightly, like a wounded animal. Finally, she spelled out,"Te-ren-

ce!"

"Yes? By the way, you are deeply touched by my previous words, aren't you? Are you falling for me

because of how sweet I was?"

Terence teased her, smiling.

"Get out!"

As Carla yelled loudly, her voice, traveling through the walls of the small department, could be clearly

heard even outside the room.