Chapter 79
When I heard those words, I stood up like a conditioned reflex, my back ramrod straight.
I bowed slightly to her and said very seriously, "Good evening, Ms. Berlin."
Hearing my words, Berlin looked very pleased.
She covered her mouth and laughed.
Her teeth, yellowed from years of smoking, showed through her mouth, curved like a sickle, looking absolutely terrifying.
I swallowed hard.
Memories from the past kept flooding back into my mind.
The woman before me was nothing but a demon. I thought I'd never see her again.
I never expected to run into her in a place like this.
I tried to breathe deeply, attempting to calm the fear in my heart.
But just seeing her made my body shake uncontrollably.
Bertley, standing beside me, could tell I was terrified of Berlin.
He smiled and stood up, extending his hand to Berlin. "Hello, ma'am. She's my sister-in-law. Is there some misunderstanding between you two?"
Berlin looked at me with a smile, nodded at me, and asked, "Would there be any misunderstanding between us?"
My body immediately started trembling. I shook my head repeatedly and said to Bertley, "No, of course not. There's no misunderstanding between us at all."
Bertley looked at me with a somewhat puzzled expression. "You two must have some strange history, but if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine."
Then he said to Berlin, "Sonya doesn't welcome you joining us, so could you please leave?"
Hearing this, Berlin's expression turned vicious.
She stared at me for a long time before saying slowly, "Sonya, is this how I taught you? Is this how you treat your teacher?"
At those words, my fingers started throbbing with pain again, as if those needles would pierce my fingertips again any second.
I immediately invited her to sit down.
Nina looked at me like this with great heartache, but she couldn't say anything.
Berlin smiled at Bertley and said, "What's your relationship with Sonya?"
Bertley looked at me thoughtfully and said, "She's my sister-in-law. In fact, my brother is a very capable man."
At these words, a hint of disdain appeared in Berlin's eyes.
She seemed to think I shouldn't have married an excellent man.
Berlin smiled, revealing her gold teeth again. "Perhaps your brother had no idea what kind of person she was before marrying her."
Bertley's expression showed some interest.
He propped his chin on his hands, raised an eyebrow, and asked Berlin, "What kind of person is she? Can you tell me?"
Berlin looked at me with a sinister expression, as if telling me my good days were over.
I swallowed and closed my eyes.
As I expected, Berlin told that story. "She came to my house to steal things several times so her father would have money to gamble."
I closed my eyes, wanting to argue back.
It wasn't like that. I didn't want to steal. I was forced to do it too.
But I couldn't say a word.
Bertley's expression was full of surprise.
He looked at me, his eyes carrying a hint of amusement, and continued asking Berlin, "So, how much money did she steal from you?"
I covered my face, hoping Bertley would stop.
But Bertley was really curious about what I had done before.
He probably thought a woman who had been a thief had no right to marry his brother.
My eyes became somewhat unfocused.
I could even imagine how disgusted Kane would be when he found out I had been a thief.
But none of this was what I wanted to do.
I was forced by Luca, who threatened me with my mother's life. If I didn't steal, he would beat my mother to death.
For my mother's sake, I had no choice but to do it.
But Berlin caught me.
The first time I stole money, Berlin caught me.
She didn't give me any chance and locked me in her house, even imprisoning me for several days.
I've somewhat forgotten how I got through those days.
But the body doesn't lie. I'll always remember how terrified I was when I saw Berlin.
I never told anyone about this, only Nina.
That's why Nina's eyes were full of anger when facing Berlin.
Seeing that Bertley wanted to continue asking questions.
Nina suddenly screamed, "Enough! Do you think this is funny?"
Bertley was shocked by Nina's sudden change in attitude.
He looked up, meeting Nina's eyes in bewilderment, his tone even somewhat stuttering and panicked.
He said, "Honey, I think you've misunderstood me. I was just... um..."
Before Bertley could finish, Nina decisively pushed away his hand.
She stared at him with a cold expression, saying word by word, "You were just what? You think you're just making an insignificant joke, right? But can't you see? Sonya doesn't want to bring this up. You just want to watch the drama unfold, rubbing salt in her wounds again and again. You're a despicable person!"
With that, Nina pulled me up and turned to leave.
But Nina's words somewhat angered Bertley.
He reached out and grabbed Nina's hand, saying coldly, "What did you just call me? I think you have a death wish."
Nina met his cold eyes and trembled all over.
Only then did she realize that this seemingly refined and polite man was before her.
Was actually nothing but a complete playboy.
She struggled hard, trying to shake off Bertley's hand.
But Bertley didn't give her that chance. Instead, he pulled her a step closer to himself.
Berlin's eyes showed excitement.
She smiled and clapped her hands, saying, "That's right, just like that. Women need to be taught a lesson, or they won't listen."
Just as I was about to argue with Berlin, a figure suddenly appeared and punched Bertley in the face.
Everyone froze, including Berlin.
I watched Bandel swing his fist and punch Bertley in the face again. I was shocked.
Bertley had wanted to curse at the man who dared to hit him.
But when he saw it was Bandel, he fell silent.
He pressed his lips together and stared coldly at Bandel. "I'm going to tell my brother about this."
But Bandel just laughed dismissively. "You still dare to tell Mr. Moretti about this? Believe me, if you really dare tell Mr. Moretti, he'll definitely deal with you directly."
Bandel's words meant that Kane would absolutely do that.
Bertley said nothing.
He looked at Bandel and got punched in the face again.
Bertley passed out cold.
Quick as lightning, Bandel turned and grabbed the hair of Berlin, who was trying to run away.
A piercing scream rang through the entire restaurant. "Help! Someone's attacking! Murder!"
Bandel leaned close to her ear and said slowly, word by word, "Next time, before you mess with someone, find out who you're dealing with."