Love's Redemption (Chris and Maddie) novel Chapter 1043

I pushed the coffee in front of me toward her. "It's not the 'old debt' you wanted, but you can still give it a try."

"Thanks," Yvonne said as she picked up the order slip from the table and slowly began her story.

"I was an international student, working hard and hoping for a bright future. But the reality of studying abroad was devastating.

"Being an international student sounds prestigious, but in reality, I lived worse than a stray dog. Not only was I exploited by my professor without question, but I was also excluded by many foreign classmates.

"As a young woman, I faced constant harassment.

"For a while, I fell into severe depression. It was so bad that I even thought about ending my life. Then one day, a fellow student took me to a club. She told me that if I lived differently, I wouldn't feel depressed anymore.

"That young woman introduced me to drinking, singing, and even entertaining men.

"In that kind of environment, I was no longer a student. I didn't have to please my professor or endure silent exploitation.

"I could sing, dance, wear a tank top without being lectured by my family. For the first time in my life, I felt completely unshackled. That kind of freedom and indulgence was addictive.

"Eventually, I started going more often. But those places are extremely dangerous.

"One night, I was targeted by a group of men. You can imagine what happened. I tried desperately to escape, but it was useless. I was violated.

"From that moment on, I began to hate—hate everyone. I was determined to kill them. So I used my chemistry lab access to make some poison, and I made sure every single one of those men drank it.

"Have you ever seen multiple people die at the same time? I watched them die right in front of me. And when they were dead, I walked out of there like nothing happened.

"But I didn't even make it past the door before I was stopped. They took me to a man. He turned out to be a fellow countryman."

At this point, she glanced at Sylvia.

"I thought he was going to kill me. But the first thing he said to me was, 'You're the gutsiest woman I've ever met.'

"He didn't make me pay for those men's lives. He let me go. No one ever came after me.

"That night woke me up. I got my life back on track. I never saw him again until after graduation at a community event.

"He sat there, confident and commanding, with no memory of who I was. But I still went up to toast him. That night, I went home with him.

"It's too early to talk about this. The child's lineage still needs to be verified. Until then, all of this is meaningless, don't you think?"

Her story was tragic, full of sorrow and helplessness. But that didn't mean I would believe her so easily.

"Alright, then. Ms. Crown, confirm it as soon as possible. The child and I will cooperate at any time." Yvonne glanced around my courtyard before finally fixing her gaze back on me.

"If he didn't come back, he wouldn't have died, right?"

Conrad's crimes had nothing to do with whether or not he returned to the country.

"If it weren't for you, he wouldn't have come back," Yvonne added.

I wasn't surprised that she knew about this. From her story, I could tell she had feelings for Conrad. It was just that she cared, and he didn't.

Whether it was the downfall of the Gildon family, Chris' fate, or Conrad's end—none of that was on me.

I smiled faintly. "Everything is destined. Don't you think so, Ms. Reynolds?"