Chapter 268 No Going Back
No wonder Dalton wanted to divorce Lydia.
His personality could never tolerate such betrayal.
Dalton said, “Meryl, I’m asking you one last time. Three years ago, were you the one who bribed those thugs to kidnap Lydia? Or was it all just her own scheme, something she orchestrated herself?”
As soon as Dalton mentioned the events from three years ago, Meryl’s expression turned cold.
A sharp pain pierced her heart.
This was a shadow that had haunted her entire life.
Those three years in prison – every day was an absolute nightmare for her. Meryl even considered ending it all at times.
The prime of her life was wasted away behind bars.
The meager meals, the beatings from other inmates, and the long scar on her ankle – these were wounds that would never heal.
Meryl didn’t immediately answer Dalton’s question. Instead, she asked in return, “What did Lydia tell you back then?”
For all these years, Meryl had harbored doubts in her heart.
After waking up from the car accident, Dalton began to coldly distance himself from her.
Although he became distant, it wasn’t to the extent that he would send her to prison.
It seemed like, from a certain day onward, he suddenly started loathing her. Whenever he saw Meryl, it was as if he was looking at something filthy.
Meryl suspected that Lydia must have said something to him.
Dalton’s eyes narrowed as he spoke, “Lydia said that to get those thugs to obey you, you slept with their leader.”
“So that’s what it was,” Meryl suddenly understood.
Back then, she and Dalton had just gotten engaged. How could a man like Dalton possibly tolerate his fiancée being involved with another man?
In Dalton’s eyes, she not only caused Lydia to be kidnapped but also betrayed him. He must have been devastated and furious.
Meryl asked, “And you just believed what she said?”
Dalton pressed his lips together and nodded heavily.
Back then, Lydia was crying her heart out, almost assaulted by that gang of thugs. How could he not believe her?
A brief silence hung in the air.
“Back then, no matter how much I explained that I didn’t kidnap her, none of you believed me. And now, you’re coming to me for the truth? So, you’re starting to doubt Lydia too? You know she’s not as innocent as she seems.”
Dalton gripped Meryl’s shoulders tightly. “You didn’t sleep with those thugs! The kidnapping was all her doing, wasn’t it? You went to prison because she framed you, didn’t you?”
Meryl wore a faint smile. “So what if it’s true? So what if it’s not? It couldn’t change anything.”
Dalton’s eyes were filled with rage, his mind racing with thoughts he barely dared to entertain. The more he thought about it, the more everything seemed to fall apart.
How had he only just begun to doubt Lydia now?
He was such a fool, completely played by a woman!
“If you’ve been wronged, I’ll make sure you get justice!” he nearly growled.
“Justice?” Meryl scoffed. “It’s already happened. You can’t imagine what I went through during those three years inside. The damage is done, the pain I’ve endured – do you really think ‘justice’ can make up for that? And besides, Dalton, in what capacity are you going to help me get justice?”
Dalton froze at Meryl’s words.
Meryl looked at him calmly. “I’m married now. There’s no going back, Dalton. You need to face reality.”
With that, Meryl turned to leave.
Dalton, in a rush of emotion, blocked her path.
Standing against the light, Dalton merged into the darkness, his shadow stretched long by the faint moon, yet all it conveyed was his boundless loneliness.