Chapter 292 You Do Not Deserve Forgiveness

Chapter 292 You Do Not Deserve Forgiveness

Why were so many people apologizing to her lately?

Now they knew they were wrong—where were they before?

Seraphine looked at Richard long and hard, the disgust and contempt in her eyes growing stronger.

"No, I remember you. After talking with Madison last time, my memories started coming back. I still haven't fully recalled what I went through before the orphanage took me in."

"But I've already remembered you and my mother."

"I remember my mother begging you in the pouring rain, pleading with you not to leave us. But you said you couldn't stay—you had to go to your mistress, because your mistress needed you."

"Mr. Romanov, I was too young back then, too scared to make you angry. But now I want to ask you something on my mother's behalf: your mistress needed you, but didn't your wife and daughter need you too?"

"And another thing—if you loved your mistress so much, and her first child was even older than me, then why did you marry my mother in the first place?"

"You claim to be a man of deep feeling, but your actions tell a different story. Time and again, you abandoned the person you supposedly loved most—all for your own gain. And in the process, you destroyed an innocent woman."

"People like you make me sick."

Was she out of her mind? How dare she speak to Richard that way?

Everyone knew Richard could shake Thalassia's entire economy with a single move.

Madison was terrified by Seraphine's boldness. But as Seraphine's closest childhood friend, she quickly collected herself and stepped protectively in front of her.

"Mr. Romanov, please don't be angry—"

"It's fine."

Before she could finish, Richard cut her off.

Richard pressed his fingers to his temple and let out a weary sigh.

"Madison, everything Savannah said is true. Don't worry—I won't hold it against her."

Madison relaxed slightly, then turned to look at Seraphine. In a voice only the two of them could hear, she whispered urgently.

"Seraphine, I know you hate Mr. Romanov. But if you can help it, please don't provoke him. Your career is just taking off. Making an enemy this powerful right now—it's really not smart."

Seraphine looked at Madison for a long moment. Finally, her expression softened. She gestured toward the couch nearby.

"Fine. Let's sit down and talk."

"Okay."

Madison's face brightened. She quickly ushered both Seraphine and Richard to sit down.

To keep Richard from accidentally setting Seraphine off again, she thoughtfully seated herself between them.

"Savannah, before I came to see you, I looked into your background—"

Under Madison's calming presence, Seraphine's hostility seemed to ease slightly. Richard called her name, as if trying to say something important.

But before he could finish, Seraphine cut him off.

"Mr. Romanov, watch your words. I'm not Savannah. My name is Seraphine. Your wife and daughter died a long time ago—and you're the one who killed them."

"Back then, you took your mistress and your illegitimate children abroad to start a new life. You left your wife and daughter behind in this country to face your creditors alone."

"Later, when your wife brought your daughter overseas to find you, you refused to see them. You handed them over to your mistress to 'deal with.' Have you forgotten all of that?"

Richard's face went pale. He didn't dare speak another word.

But Seraphine wasn't finished with him.

She smiled coldly, looking him straight in the eye as she spoke, each word deliberate.

"Do you know what your mistress did to your wife and daughter back then? That woman sold them to a predator. Your wife was raped by multiple old men—right in front of your daughter."

"Enough!"

Richard roared, covering his ears with his hands.

"Stop. Please, I'm begging you—don't say another word."

"Why shouldn't I keep going? Are you guilty? Are you afraid? Just hearing me talk about the past causes you this much pain—can you even imagine how desperate those two people were when they actually lived through it? Have you ever thought about that?"

"I'm sorry!"

Richard buried his face in his hands.

"Seraphine, I'm sorry! I didn't know that woman did such horrible things to you and your mother. I thought she gave you both a sum of money and sent you back home."

"And when I left the country, I didn't leave any debts for your mother. What I left you was a company worth five billion dollars."

"It's all that evil woman's fault—she sold the company I gave you and your mother behind my back."

Seraphine clutched her stomach and dry-heaved, her eyes bloodshot.

"Mr. Romanov, you know what? You're just like my ex-husband. You both love to blame other people for the mistakes you made. So let me ask you this: how was your mistress able to sell the company you gave me and my mother without you even noticing?"

"If you hadn't cheated on my mother, if you hadn't taken that woman's side over and over, if you hadn't enabled her to bully us—how would she have had the power to humiliate us?"

Seraphine paused. Then, without warning, she grabbed a vase from the table beside her and hurled it at Richard.

"Richard, do you know where I was when my mother was strangled to death? I was hiding in the closet right next to her. I watched it happen. And even at the very end, her eyes wouldn't close."

"She died with regret. After you abandoned her, she realized her mistake—why had she ever fallen in love with you? You destroyed both our lives."

"And what about you? What did you do?"

"You say you've been looking for me all these years. Did you ever investigate your mistress? The way she plotted against me and my mother wasn't even that clever. If you'd actually tried, you would've found the evidence."

"But you didn't."

"You kept that woman and her children by your side this whole time. You gave them a life of luxury."

"So tell me—what right do you have to apologize to me now?"

He was guilty. He had no right to ask for her forgiveness.

Richard didn't even flinch when the vase hit him. He didn't dare complain about the pain.

He covered his face with his hands.

"Seraphine, tell me—what do I have to do to atone for this? Punish me. Whatever you ask, I'll do it."