Chapter 126
Ruby brimmed with tears as she clung to Vincent’s shirt, her grip tight and desperate. “Vincent. why should I apologize to her? What gives her the right to demand an apology from me?”
Vincent darkened his expression. He knew Rhett’s temperament all too well. Even someone as influential as Holcomb might fail to persuade him, let alone Vincent himself.
Looking up at Kristin, Vincent wished she would speak up and put an end to this debacle. After all, Kristin was indebted to Ruby. It was a debt that could never be fully repaid in this lifetime.
With her head bowed, Kristin stood silently behind Rhett.
“What are you looking at her for? Watch your woman,” Rhett said as he stepped in front of Kristin, effectively blocking Vincent’s line of sight.
Kristin felt the towering presence of Rhett before her, a sense of security that calmed her racing heart in an instant.
“Kristin, why should I apologize to you?” Ruby’s tear–filled eyes turned towards Kristin as she cried out.
With Rhett there, Vincent was powerless to protect her. But Ruby was not willing to back down.
Kristin remained silent, her gaze fixed on the ground.
“So Ms. Collins, are you admitting that you spread rumors about Kristin out of personal spite?” York stepped forward to clarify for Ruby.
“Ruby, have you lost your mind? Why drag us into your feud with Kristin?” Tam had just gotten off a phone call filled with a tirade from his parents, leaving him practically on the brink of depression.
Still fuming. Tam glared at Vincent. “Vincent, can’t you control your woman? She’s been spreading rumors for years. If it weren’t for the sake of your reputation, I’d never let her off the hook!”
Vincent’s expression darkened as he shot a warning glance at Tam, who responded with a snort of exasperation.
The others had also been berated by their families.
With Rhett applying pressure, none of their families dared to provoke him.
“Rhett, we’ve made mistakes too. We’ll hold Ruby accountable for spreading rumors, but we also failed to clear Kristin’s name right away. That’s on us,” the group quickly apologized to Kristin, hoping to avoid a lawsuit.
They feared the wrath of their families more than anything.
Besides, it was clear to anyone with eyes that Rhett was backing Kristin now. Times had changed and the tables had turned.
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Rhett remained silent, only glancing at Kristin. Instinctively, she edged closer to Rhett, clearly rejecting the others.
“Get lost!” Rhett deepened his frown as he spoke.
The group inhaled sharply and scrambled away without looking back.
“Rhett. I didn’t provoke her, I just…” Tam began to protest, but Rhett cut him off..
“You too, get lost.” Rhett said, his patience wearing thin.
“Right… Tam spun on his heel and scampered off.
York couldn’t help but laugh at the scene.
Tam stopped, turned back, and pointed at York. “I’ll remember that slap.”
York rolled his eyes and kept quiet.
Tam huffed, gave Kristin a frustrated glance, and left.
It was clear to him that Vincent and Ruby had come to bully Kristin again, but this time they’d hit a wall.
“Vincent…” Ruby looked nervously at Vincent and didn’t want to apologize.
But without an apology, Rhett seemed to have no intention of letting her leave.
“Rhett, you don’t understand the whole story between Kristin and Ruby. It was Kristin who stole Ruby’s life first. If anyone is at fault, it’s Kristin. Ruby lost twenty years of her life to her, years. filled with suffering.” Vincent tried to explain on Ruby’s behalf.
“So you prove that your mom you are idiots,” Rhett retorted, glancing at his watch impatiently.
Everyone knew Rhett had a packed schedule, and Ruby was holding up important company operations, wasting his valuable time.
“I heard Mr. Vincent’s mother was a mistress when she was pregnant with him, always on shaky ground. She was just a poor student back then with nothing to her name. No wonder Mr. Fitzgerald mentioned her nutritional deficiencies.”
“Yeah, I heard about the affair too.”
The company’s employees whispered among themselves, careful not to speak too loudly, but their words spread in hushed tones.
Vincent grew darker with each murmured word, his gaze filled with malice as he looked at Rhett.
Ruby was also panicking, her eyes darting nervously around for Clarence, who had kept his head low and had been silent throughout the whole ordeal.
==
He felt humiliated, yet he couldn’t abandon Ruby and leave.
“When Kristin and Ruby were switched, they were both mere infants and swapped without a
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choice. Both were victims, and the culprit has been punished and jailed. You keep saying Kristin owes you a life, but what about her life? How will you repay that?” Rhett questioned Ruby in his cold voice.
“Or do you think that only the Turner family’s lives are worth something with wealthy living and high social status? In Kristin’s eyes, she would rather have grown up with her real brother, cherished by Garner. Without the need for riches, just a peaceful life with family is far better than all of the Turner family’s pretenses.”
Rhett settled his gaze on Clarence, his words meant for him as well.
Claiming to love his sister, yet he turned his back on Kristin the moment he learned she wasn’t his biological sibling, which showed that his twenty years of brotherly love were nothing but a
sham.
Such kinship was utterly revolting.
Clarence’s knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists, unable to muster a single word in retaliation.
Rhett’s words struck deep, leaving no room for argument.
“Look, it’s because her mom had her eyes on our family’s wealth, purposefully letting her daughter live the high life while I got dragged through the mud!” Ruby spat out the words with
venom.
“From what I’ve gathered and the neighbors I’ve talked to, the Collins family poured all their efforts into you. Garner was wearing summer clothes in the middle of winter, while you had a new wardrobe for every season. To afford your schooling at top institutions, Garner’s mom worked day and night, ensuring you both received the same education at the same prestigious schools during your elementary and middle school years. Tell me, what kind of family can afford such an education for you on par with the Turner family? You dropped out because you couldn’t cut it academically, not because of them, right?”
Seeing that Ruby showed no remorse, Rhett felt no need to spare her any dignity.
Ruby froze, her eyes flicking towards Vincent in panic. “That’s… that’s because the Collins family felt guilty.”
Rhett couldn’t be bothered to argue with such a foolish woman. She was an irritation he’d rather not endure.
“Ruby, you’re in the wrong here. Apologize to Kristin and I’ll take you home,” Clarence said, his voice low as he tugged at Ruby’s wrist, pleading with her to stop talking.
The more she spoke, the more he felt he wouldn’t be able to hold himself together.
Rhett was right. What had Kristin done to deserve this? But over the years, what had he, Clarence, done to Kristin?
Now, all he wanted was to run away. Clarence didn’t even have the courage to lift his head and
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look at Kristin.
Together, they had destroyed her, especially him.
Six years ago, Clarence had stood by, watching someone enter Kristin’s room, watching as she was bullied and defiled…
