Chapter 3

The ring I personally designed for us, how could it be out of style?

It's not the ring that's outdated, it's her love for me.

My heart fluttered slightly as I hesitantly took the apple she handed me.

Just as I thought I was being oversensitive, in the next moment, Krista's words doused me like ice water, chilling me to the bone.

"Since you're fine now, come with me to apologize to Palmer."

My heart skipped a beat. I thought I had misheard and looked at her in disbelief.

"What did you say?"

Krista repeated herself. Hurt immediately flooded my heart. Despite my best efforts to control it, my voice still trembled slightly.

"Why should I apologize to him? Do you know what he called me yesterday?"

She rubbed her forehead, looking exasperated, as if I was the one being unreasonable.

"Whatever he called you, it's not a reason for you to get physical."

I gripped the apple tightly, arguing back with all my might.

"He called me 147!"

"Aren't you number 147?"

I froze, along with my heart at that moment. I looked at her with desperate resentment, my eyes brimming with hot tears.

Seeing my eyes redden, Krista completely lost her patience and frowned deeply. "Marvin, stop being so dramatic. It's disgusting. Palmer didn't even cry when you punched him, what are you crying for?"Hearing her rebuke, my hurt transformed into rage, completely consuming me. In fury, I hurled the apple in my hand at our framed photo nearby.

The glass frame shattered instantly.

"Marvin!" Krista sprang to her feet, standing before me. The last trace of tenderness in her eyes had vanished, replaced by deep disgust. "Do you know the biggest difference between humans and animals?"

"It's that humans can control their temper, animals can't!"

I stood there stunned, unable to believe that the same lips that once whispered sweet nothings to me could now utter the most hurtful words.

My heart ached unbearably.

The air fell into a deathly silence. After a long pause, Krista spoke coldly.

"If you still want me to marry you, go apologize to Palmer."

With those words, Krista slammed the door and left.

She still wanted to marry me, but I no longer wanted to marry her.

As the door thundered shut, my strength drained away. I slumped back against the headboard, my straight spine collapsing.

Even without a mirror, I could imagine how pathetic I looked with my reddened eyes.

Dragging my weary body, I went to the bathroom for a quick wash. The exposed skin revealed bruises, new injuries layered over old ones.For three years in prison, Palmer probably knows best how I spent each day.

When Riverdale Group was about to go public, company secrets suddenly leaked to competitors.

As the company's legal counsel and Krista's personal assistant, Palmer firmly insisted I was the one who leaked the information. Even my fiancée stood unwaveringly on his side.

But I had seen him entering and exiting my office with my own eyes.

It just so happened that the surveillance footage from that time went missing, so I ended up taking the fall.

Out of frustration, I tried searching my computer for any clues related to that time, but came up empty-handed.

I fell into confusion again, aimlessly wandering the streets until I found myself at the old house where I used to live with my mom.

Due to my biological father's affair, my mom had always been mentally unstable.

Afraid of worrying her, I had lied about going abroad to study when I was imprisoned. But mom was still deeply affected. Out of guilt, I hadn't dared to see her since.

After lingering at the doorstep for a long while, I finally worked up the courage to knock, but no one answered for a long time.

It wasn't until a neighbor lady came out that I learned mom had already passed away, and the only thing she left for me was a Woody doll.I shook my head in denial repeatedly, standing in the snow for a long time, unable to convince myself to accept this reality.

Filled with anger, I called Krista, desperate to confront her about why she had kept this from me.

But the call was rejected again and again, until finally she sent me a message.

[Busy. Don't call me until you've come to your senses and apologized to Palmer.]