Chapter 42 Apologize
Meryl retorted, “Why should I apologize to Dalton? I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“You beat him, Meryl! That’s definitely on you. You owe him an apology!” Malcolm’s voice was sharp, frustration dripping from every word.
After everything that had happened recently, Meryl had come to a conclusion: swallowing her pride and staying silent only encouraged those who bullied her to push harder.
She thought to herself, “I’ve been bending over backward for the Stone family all these years, and what did I get in return? A one-way ticket to jail for my troubles. How ridiculous is that? I’ve done nothing wrong from the start. So why should I keep backing down? Why let them walk all over me?
If the Stone family is biased, then I’m done playing the good girl. In their eyes, no matter how well-behaved I am, the only true ‘good’ girl is Lydia.”
“Are you sure Dalton wants me to apologize? He got knocked out by a woman last night; now he’s the laughingstock of the whole circle. If I go to him and say sorry, it’s just going to remind him of the humiliation all over again!”
“Meryl, stop making excuses! Don’t make me drag you there myself!”
“If you want me to apologize to Dalton, fine. But only if Lydia apologizes to me first.”
Malcolm snapped, “What kind of nonsense is that?!”
Meryl leaned back on the couch, her voice icy. “Come on, it’s been days since that press conference. Are you all pretending it didn’t happen? Lydia slept with my fiancé, and you and Mom always love to play the fair judge, right? So tell me, should Lydia apologize to me or not?”
Malcolm was left speechless.
“And by the way, about last night, even the police ruled it as self-defense. If you have any objections, why not just call the cops and have them arrest me again?”
Malcolm was utterly dumbfounded by Meryl’s barrage of questions.
Finally, in a fit of anger, he hung up the phone.
Barely two minutes later, Bianca called back.
Clearly, Bianca and Malcolm were playing good cop, bad cop.
“Did you really announce you were married in public last night? You can’t just say things like that! And where have you been for the last few days?”
Meryl replied, “I really am married. Why do you think I went back to the Stone Villa that morning? I was there to get my ID.”
Bianca was momentarily speechless.
“I know what you’re thinking. I just picked up some random guy off the street to marry. He’s got nothing, not a dime to his name, and he’s not even good-looking. I’ve been living under a bridge with him for the last few days. Want to come see?”
“Are you trying to drive me crazy?” Bianca’s voice was laced with disbelief.
“It’s the truth, Mom! Dalton dumped me, and I’ve just given up. Isn’t that what you and Dad wanted to see?”
Bianca’s face turned pale with anger. “You really are impossible!”
At that moment, Chandler, who had just turned on the home surveillance to check if Meryl was up yet, raised an eyebrow.
He thought, “Living under a bridge? Now that’s a wild imagination.”
“Mr. Aniston, the car is ready. Are we heading out now?” Walter knocked lightly on the door.
Chandler closed his laptop. “How many people have already gone to the hospital?”
“Almost the entire Aniston family is there, including Sir Aniston. We’re the only ones who haven’t arrived yet.”
Dalton had bled a bit last night, but his injuries weren’t too severe. After seeing the doctor, he decided to stay overnight in the hospital’s VIP suite since it was getting late, and he didn’t want to deal with any hassle.
The Aniston family was known for their flair for drama, and they made a grand show of visiting the hospital. Since they were there, Dalton couldn’t very well downplay his condition, so he just embraced the opportunity to take a mini-vacation.
Chandler raised an eyebrow, asking, “What about Lydia? She didn’t go?”