Chapter 3

"It makes sense. Someone incompetent like you can only find some sense of accomplishment in things like that," Adam said. "You get it now, don't you? I didn't suddenly change my statement three years ago. Lindsey was never the one who was guilty!"

I had to give credit where it was due. He knew exactly what to say to hurt me since he'd been with me for so long.

I closed my eyes and forced myself to calm down. I then gritted my teeth and asked coldly, "Are you really going to marry Lindsey, Adam?"

Adam exchanged glances with Lindsey before the two of them burst into laughter in unison. "Who else am I going to marry if not Lindsey? Am I supposed to marry a convict like you? You're too naive, Robin."

"Alright. I hope that you don't regret your decision," I said.

I then pulled out the phone that someone had given me three days ago, dialing the only number that was saved in the contacts list.

"You've finally decided to call, Ms. Smith."

"Tell her that I'm willing to go back to inherit her legacy," I said. "But I have a condition."

An autumn breeze blew past, sending my clothes fluttering in the air as I glared venomously at Adam and Lindsey.

"I want the Herring family's businesses to completely disappear before nightfall," I said.

Adam, Lindsey, and the other guests who were watching the scene unfold doubled over in laughter upon hearing my words.

"What did she say? She wanted the Herring family's businesses to disappear before nightfall?"

"Is she drunk? She's just spouting nonsense now."

"Coincidentally, it's a joyous occasion for Adam and me today. I'll allow you to drink as much as you want out of the kindness of my heart," Lindsey said.

The bodyguards, whose clutches I had escaped from earlier, swarmed forward and grabbed me the moment the words left her lips. They forcefully yanked my mouth open as Lindsey grabbed a bottle of wine from a waiter's tray with a devious smile.

She smashed the bottle on the table with a loud bang. Then she poured the wine that was mixed with a few tiny fragments of glass down my throat.

When the dark red wine surged out of my nostrils, Lindsey covered my nose and mouth with her hand.

"Adam personally picked this wine," she said. "Don't you dare let it go to waste. I won't let you disrespect his hard work."

The wine rushed into my airway after Lindsey covered the bottom half of my face. All of my blood rushed to my face as my eyes darted around frantically.

Just as I thought that I was going to meet my end there, Lindsey let go of me. She threw the wine bottle away, causing it to shatter into a million pieces when it hit the ground. She then aimed a kick at my back, making me stumble and fall to my knees on the shards of broken glass.

Adam sat in a chair opposite me. He took a sip of wine from his glass before saying coldly, "You're atoning for the sins you committed three years ago. If Lindsey's upset, you'll have to endure whatever she does to you until she feels better."

Just then, he suddenly noticed the blood on Lindsey's finger out of the corner of his eye. He frantically darted toward her and kissed the blood away. "You're hurt, Lindsey."

He slapped me hard across the face. Pain exploded across my cheek, but it was incomparable to the overwhelming pain in my heart.

"You're just a bitch who didn't have a father to discipline you when you were growing up. How dare you hurt my dear Lindsey?" he snapped.

The netizens were right. One should never expose their scars to someone else.

I never used to celebrate my birthday. The first time I did was when Adam wanted to celebrate it with me.

When he asked me why I didn't celebrate my birthdays, I naively thought his curiosity just stemmed from the fact that he loved me too much. That was why I exposed the wound that I had been hiding for over two decades to him.

"Mom had a difficult labor when she gave birth to me. Dad got into a car accident and passed away when he went to look for a doctor. I always thought that he wouldn't have died if it wasn't for me."

I never would have guessed that Adam would use that to attack me one day.

The warmth of his palm still lingered on my cheek. He didn't spare me another glance as he lifted Lindsey's hand and said, "Don't hurt yourself when you're punishing her, darling. You don't want me to die of heartbreak, do you?"