Secret Admiration: Finding True Love After Prison

Chapter 6 Raking up the Past

"Yeah, I did time." Meryl's eyes scanned the crowd, finally landing on Lydia.

Lydia reached out to grab her hand. "Meryl, stop saying that. I just spoke without thinking, okay?"

Meryl pulled back, avoiding Lydia's touch, yanking her hand away.

Suddenly, Lydia stepped on the hem of her dress and fell to the ground.

The fall was hard, and shards from a broken glass on the floor hadn't been cleaned up yet.

Dalton immediately rushed over, pushing through the crowd to help Lydia up.

Her hand was a bloody mess, with shards embedded in her skin.

Dalton's eyes blazed with anger as he glared at Meryl. "Meryl, you never learn! I warned you..."

Meryl's heart skipped a beat. She knew Dalton didn't care about her, but seeing him protect another woman still hurt.

"What did I do? I just pulled my hand away. She fell on her own."

Seeing their hands clasped together, Meryl felt a pang of irony. She lowered her gaze, gently touching a spot on her chest where a pendant hung, a gift from someone long ago.

of despair, she had clung to that pendant to get through

she looked up again, her

and continued, "Yeah, I was in prison, but

pale as

when Lydia exposed Meryl's past,

watching Lydia apologize and try to cover it up, she believed i was just a slip of

up and

of hand, Bianca tried to smooth things over. "Meryl, you've had too much to drink. Let them help you upstairs to sober up." But Meryl ignored her,

her disappear without a trace. Why would I

a sharp slap echoed through

emerged from his study, his face

this nonsense right now!" he

cheek stung, but

If those men really wanted to hurt her, they would have done it when they first grabbed her. Why take her to an abandoned factory? It doesn't add up." The

through the room as people glanced at Lydia, who bit

them into a spectacle. His one daughter ended up in prison, and the other was nearly assaulted all because of a bitter feud between sisters. It was the kind of scandal that made for juicy gossip in high society. Tears

cold laugh, thinking, "Can't

her own suffering,

urging her to be quiet. Three years ago, they had agreed to send Meryl to prison to teach her a lesson because she had refused to admit her mistake, and

member would protect her in prison. They believed this might be the only way to set Meryl straight, fearing she would otherwise

who had also raised a gambling,