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.

countless moments of despair, she had clung to that

again,

continued, "Yeah, I was in prison,

turned pale as Meryl

Meryl's past, Bianca also suspected it was

to cover it up, she believed i was just a slip

had watched Lydia grow up and couldn't believe she had

had too much to drink. Let them help you upstairs

if I had really kidnapped Lydia, I could have made her disappear without a trace. Why

sharp slap echoed through the

his

this nonsense right now!"

stung, but Meryl

those men really wanted to hurt her, they would have done it when they first

at Lydia,

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

laugh,

own suffering, this was

look, 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,

being a Stone family member would protect her in prison. They believed this might be the only way to

who