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.

moments of despair, she had clung to

she looked up again, her eyes were

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

as Meryl admitted

Meryl's past, Bianca

up, she believed

up and

wanting things to get out of hand, Bianca tried to smooth things over. "Meryl, you've had too much to drink. Let them

made her disappear without a trace. Why would I leave evidence for you to find

slap echoed

emerged from his study, his

stop this nonsense

but

when they first grabbed her. Why take her to an abandoned factory? It doesn't add up." The crowd was

spread through the room as people glanced at Lydia, who bit her lip,

was furious. This incident had been a forbidden topic in the Stone family for years. Now, Meryl was airing their dirty laundry in front of everyone, turning 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 streamed down Lydia's face, her shoulders trembling as she sobbed

laugh, thinking, "Can't handle

her own

she had refused to admit her mistake, and they thought she was beyond help. Bianca sometimes wondered if they had been too harsh. After all, Meryl was their

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

by Camille, who had also raised a gambling,