Secret Admiration: Finding True Love After Prison novel Chapter 6

"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.

In prison, during countless moments of despair, she had clung to that pendant to get through it.

When she looked up again, her eyes were cold.

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

Bianca's face turned pale as Meryl admitted her imprisonment.

Initially, when Lydia exposed Meryl's past, Bianca also suspected it was intentional.

But watching Lydia apologize and try to cover it up, she believed it was just a slip of the tongue.

She had watched Lydia grow up and couldn't believe she had such malicious intentions.

Not wanting things 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 sober up."

But Meryl ignored her, her voice steady.

"Three years ago, if I had really kidnapped Lydia, I could have made her disappear without a trace. Why would I leave evidence for you to find her?"

Suddenly, a sharp slap echoed through the room.

Malcolm had emerged from his study, his face stern.

"Meryl, stop this nonsense right now!" he commanded.