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.

she had clung

up again, her eyes

"Yeah, I was in prison, but I

face turned pale as Meryl admitted

Lydia exposed Meryl's past, Bianca

Lydia apologize and try to cover it up, she believed

up and couldn't

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

Lydia, I could have made her disappear

sharp slap echoed

his

nonsense right

cheek stung, but

her, they would have done it when they first grabbed her. Why take her to an abandoned factory? It doesn't add up." The crowd was stunned, eyes widening in

room as people glanced at Lydia,

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

let out a cold laugh, thinking, "Can't handle this, can

to her own

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

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

had been raised by Camille, who