Chapter 1252
“Okay, I can help the Summer family this time, but whether it succeeds will depend on you,” Zephyr said.
Harriet was overjoyed. As long as Zephyr was willing to help, the circumstances would change.
“Zephyr, as long as you help the Summer family this time, we will never forget your kindness. The Summer family will cede more benefits to the Scott family in the future merger.”
However, Harriet’s words did not evoke even the slightest joy within Zephyr. No matter how many benefits he received, it was nothing significant.
His joy had completely vanished in the car accident back then.
Riley didn’t expect that Zephyr would take the initiative to meet her.
She met Zephyr in the private room of a private club in Lommore.
Right when Riley stepped into the private room, she heard a buzzing in her ears. Confusion flashed across her face.
Zephyr, sitting in a chair, explained indifferently, “It just destroyed and temporarily disabled all the electronic devices you’re carrying on you. They will be functional once you leave the room. I just don’t want our conversation in this room to be recorded.”
“What? Our conversation can never see the light of day?” Riley asked sarcastically.
Zephyr stared at the woman in front of him. The woman he had once loved with his entire being was glaring at him with hatred burning in her eyes.
They were only a few steps away from each other, yet it felt like a chasm had opened up between them.
“I already know that it was the Summer family’s fault that you were sent to a psychiatric hospital, but it was already done. You can’t change the past. Now, how about we talk about compensation?” Zephyr offered, making it seem like a business negotiation.
“Compensation?” Riley suddenly burst out laughing. “You’re saying you want to compensate me?”
“The Summer family will only get a small slap on the wrist even if you continue causing a scene about it, and it won’t do you any good. Your shares from before have already been diluted to little to none after they had been transferred over and over again. Now, you should be thinking about ways to gain sufficient benefits to continue with your life.”
Riley suddenly felt like she no longer knew the man in front of her, as if he was a complete stranger.
Or maybe she had never known the real him in the first place.
Zephyr’s voice continued to ring in her ear. “I can ask the Summer family to return your portion of the shares and compensate another 20 million dollars. You may choose to go abroad or stay in Lommore. Both are fine. Your accommodation and necessities will be arranged if you wish to go abroad. I can buy you a mansion here in Lommore if you decide to stay here. It’s better than living in the simple rental home you’re currently staying at.”
“So, what do you need me to do? Don’t say you’re giving me all these benefits without me having to lift a finger?” She looked at him impassively.
“All you have to do is announce publicly that you’ve fully recovered, move back into the Summer residence, and reconcile with members of the Summer family. On the surface, at least,” Zephyr listed.
“Zephyr, you knew Harriet and the others framed me, and I was forcibly admitted into the psychiatric hospital despite my lack of insanity, but you still want me to lie that I used to be a mental patient to the public? You want me to put on an act that the Summer family and I have reconciled, and the only reason I recovered was because they admitted me into the hospital, and I even have to thank them for it?”
The sarcasm dripping in Riley’s voice made Zephyr frown. “Those are already in the past. What you should be thinking about now is how to live your life in the future. Do you think you can rely on Rosalie and the Youngblood family for the rest of your life?”
“It looks like you can’t even differentiate right from wrong. You speak so lightly of my trauma. Imagine you’re in your prime, and someone locks you up in a psychiatric hospital for so many years. Can you still do as you said?” Riley asked.
“What do you want then?” Zephyr asked coldly.
“What do I want? I want the public to know the truth and the Summer family to get what they deserve!” she shouted. “Do you know how it feels for a healthy person to be forced into receiving treatment in a psychiatric hospital? Do you know what it feels like to be abused and tortured as if you’re an animal every day? Even…”
Riley suddenly raised her right hand. Her missing finger stuck out painfully.
“Do you know how my finger broke?” Riley questioned with a smile.
Yet, Riley’s smile evoked an inexplicable uneasiness within Zephyr, as if the truth was something he couldn’t bear to know.
Zephyr’s mouth opened and closed before he finally uttered, “How… did it break?”
“Do you remember the wedding ring you gave me? You left the ring with me after you bought it. On the day I was thrown into the psychiatric hospital, I happened to be wearing it. That day, I slid it onto my finger. Sadness and sorrow drowned me because I knew you had become the laughingstock after my car accident with Nicholas. I swore I would marry and love you for the rest of my life if you believed that I didn’t betray you. If you didn’t, then I will break off the engagement and shoulder all the criticism and disgrace so that you won’t suffer any grievance.”
For Riley, it had been a decision she pondered and weighed hundreds of times. Yet, she was so calm when she finally voiced it.
Zephyr wouldn’t know how nervous and scared Riley was when she decided at that time.
It was because Riley loved Zephyr and didn’t want him to suffer more harm from the incident. She was willing to carry all the sufferings alone.
Yet, Riley didn’t expect that fate would play such a huge joke on her.
Zephyr’s face turned grave slightly as if he had never considered that she had made such a decision at that time.
“You said you wanted me to trust you, but how could I believe you love me when you and Nicholas acted like that?” Zephyr demanded as he stared at Riley.
Riley glanced at Zephyr nonchalantly. “It seems like we wouldn’t be together anyway, even if I wasn’t sent to a psychiatric hospital because you never trusted me in the first place.
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Suddenly, Zephyr felt wretched, but why would he even feel like that? He was still superior, while Riley was just the eldest daughter of the Summer family who lost everything.
Riley paused before continuing, “It’s up to you to believe what I’m about to say next. I was forcibly admitted into a psychiatric hospital with this ring on my finger. Harriet claimed I didn’t deserve to wear the ring. I struggled a lot when I was admitted to the hospital at first, so my fingers were red and swollen, and the ring couldn’t be taken off at all. Do you know what she did next?”
