Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Max Gaston’s phone rang. He glanced at it and immediately rejected the call. He then stared fixedly at Mary and said, “I’ll hold a press conference either today or tomorrow to cancel my wedding with Sandra White.”
Mary was startled for a second. Her expression changed when she finally processed what Max had said. “There’s no need for that.”
Max frowned. His tone became a notch colder. “Back then, I did not know that the person that night was you. Now that I do, I have to be responsible for you and Jason.”
“Max, do you only think of responsibility?” Mary asked. She looked mockingly at him. She took a step back to put some distance between them, then looked into his eyes. She continued, “I was not the only one there back then. Sandra White was there too. Moreover, didn’t she also once have your child?”
Max’s voice suddenly turned much deeper, “Mary.”
The atmosphere instantly grew cold. It was as if all the air had been sucked out of the room, making it hard to breathe.
Mary ignored Max’s fury and continued, “I still remember that you accompanied Sandra to her pregnancy test back then.”
There was a flash of pain in her eyes as she said that. She tightened her fists. There was a ripping pain in her heart as she thought about the child that left her. She pursed her lips, then said coldly, “Go back, Jason and I don’t need you to look after us.”
She was about to leave the room when Max immediately grabbed her wrist. He placed his other hand on her slender waist. Their bodies instantly pressed against each other.
“Max Gaston,” Mary dropped the politeness.
She could not free herself from Max’s strength just by struggling. Max twirled her around before finally pressing her against the door. His body heat lingered beside her ear. Max said coldly, “I will investigate what happened five years ago and give you an explanation.”
“You can’t even remember what happened five years ago, yet now you want to give me an explanation?” Mary asked. Tears welled up in her eyes as she continued, “Moreover, I’m not going to marry a corrupted man. If you really think that your actions back then have hurt me and feel guilty about that, then hold your wedding with Sandra as planned.”
“Impossible,” Max replied, suppressing his fury. He felt that Mary did not know what she was talking about. However, Mary meant exactly what she said. Not only would she not marry someone so corrupt, but she also would not marry the son of the people who killed her parents. Even if this man was someone she had once thought of as her closest kin.
“This is what you and Sandra owe me,” Mary uttered firmly.
“Mary Hanks,” Max said, his voice icy.
The phone in his pocket rang again. He removed his hand from around Mary’s waist and took out the phone. This time, it was Sandra White who was calling him. It hurt Mary to see the name on the screen.
Mary’s voice suddenly became softer, “Unless you agree with my request to hold your wedding with Sandra White, I’ll immediately find a man to marry and make Jason adopt his last name.”
“…”
“You won’t marry someone else if I hold the wedding with Sandra?” Max asked.
“Yes,” Mary replied.
“…”
Max’s expression was cold and stoic. He picked up Sandra’s call in front of Mary.
Sandra’s voice rang out through the phone, “Max, when are you coming back? I’m waiting for you at home.”
“I’ll be back soon,” Max replied.
Max released Mary and left as promised after taking the call. Mary slid down the wall and onto the floor after Max’s footsteps disappeared. She had thought that she would not be upset when she did that. However, her heart still struggled when she came face to face with Max. It felt like someone was pulling on her heart. She could not describe what she was feeling.
She took a deep breath and slowly calmed herself down. No matter what, Max had promised her to hold his wedding with Sandra White as planned. She was going to make Sandra’s life a living hell right when she was happiest.
Outside the villa, Matthew Smith saw Max emerge. He immediately opened the door of the car and addressed respectfully, “Sir.”
“Stop whatever work you have at the moment and reinvestigate what exactly happened five years ago,” Max instructed Matthew after he got into the car.
“Sir, are you referring to the people who were with you in the hotel that night?” Matthew asked, a little hesitant. The people who had harmed Max that night had died a long time ago.
Max’s face were ice-cold when he replied, “Yes.”
“Sir, you suspect that Ms. White was not—” Matthew hesitated.
“The surveillance footage of the hotel back then was altered, so you need not investigate that. Go to the hospital and see if the embryonic cells from Sandra’s miscarriage have been preserved,” Max said.
“Understood, Sir,” Matthew responded.
“Also, send men to keep an eye on Sandra and the Whites,” Max added.
Though Max had always treated Sandra coldly over the years, he had never suspected that Sandra to not have been the person that night. However, he had to investigate it thoroughly now. Mary said that he had gotten intimate with not only her that night, but he had also done it to Sandra. He did not believe that.
Sandra White and Sofia Garcia were doing a facial mask and watching TV in the living room when Max arrived home. Sandra looked at him emotionally and said, “Max, Sofia asked me to move in to recuperate. I’ll be staying in the room beside yours.”
“The room beside mine?” Max mused. He dodged the arms that Sandra had reached out toward him and looked down at her in her wheelchair. His gaze was emotionless and filled with doubt.
Sofia quickly smiled and said, “Max, the room beside yours has always been empty and Sandra has injured her leg. It’ll be easier for you to take care of her if she stays in that room. You can get her to stay in your room if you think that it’s too far. Both of you are about to get married anyway. Sooner or later—”
“Mother,” Max interrupted Sofia with an emotionless voice, “That room is Mary’s. Get her to move upstairs to the room beside yours tomorrow.”
Sofia’s expression changed slightly, “Max, Mary has eloped with some other man for five years. She would have contacted you during that time and let you know where she was if she had any conscience left in her.”
“Mother, Mary did not elope with another man. Also, she did not refuse to let me know where she was,” Max explained.
“Then where is she?” Sofia asked.
“She’s back,” Max said as he swept his gaze toward Sandra in the wheelchair.
Sandra looked at him curiously. Her gaze wavered slightly when she caught his eye. She then asked, confused, “Max, do you mean it when you said that Mary is back? Where is she now? Why didn’t you bring her back here?”
Max’s eyes lingered on Sandra’s exquisitely made-up face. Sandra smiled.
His expression darkened. He said indifferently, “Mary has just come back and does not have much free time.”
“I see. Why don’t you give me Mary’s number? We were all very worried about her when she suddenly disappeared five years ago. Did she say why she left without a word?” Sandra asked.
“She did,” Max replied. The air around him suddenly turned cold. This caused Sandra to stiffen.
She forced a smile as she asked, “What’s the reason? Is it because you were too strict on her and forbade her to be in a relationship? Did she elope with the person she liked because of that?”
“She did not elope,” Max repeated.
An unidentifiable emotion flashed in his deep eyes when he thought about Mary. He said, his tone so chilling that it made Sandra’s blood run cold, “She barely escaped death and had a child alone in a foreign land. She finally thought it through and came back to find me.”
Sandra’s face turned pale..