Chapter 14

"Me? Getting back together with you? Hah!" A mocking smile was traced on Perseus' lips as he glared at Rochelle icily. "Aren't you being a little too vain here? Who the hell wants to get back together with a piece of shit like you?" "You're calling me vain?" Rochelle tittered. "Am I hearing things?" Perseus took a deep breath before saying, "Oh, no. You're definitely not hearing things. First of all, I'm not here to get back together with you. You're not worth my time and effort. "Second of all, you know very well why I got tossed behind bars three years ago. Just know that what goes around comes around. One day, you'll definitely get your ass handed to you. "Also, I'd like to clarify in front of everyone that I was the one who dumped you, not the other way around. Remember that." "What makes you think you're the one dumping me?" Rochelle's expression darkened instantly. Of course, she knew very well what had happened three years ago. She and Gilbert had hatched a plan to goad Perseus into hurting Gilbert so that he'd end up getting jail time. When Rochelle first started her internship at the hospital, she had secretly hooked up with Gilbert. During her school days, she loved handsome guys who had good grades. Once she started working, she preferred guys with rich backgrounds like Gilbert. Rochelle didn't want Perseus to disturb her love life, hence the plan to send him to jail. But she didn't feel guilty for doing that. All she did was follow the unspoken rule of the strong ruling the world. She felt that she didn't do anything wrong. What made Perseus, an ex-convict, think that he was the one who dumped her? "That's because you're not worthy to become my girlfriend," Perseus snapped coldly. "Also, you'd better return my family's clinic to me. Don't blame me for not sparing your pride once I snatch it back from you later on." "Clinic? What clinic? That's your compensation to me! Are you saying that you should've dated me for free?" Caitford Clinic was already demolished. Rochelle knew that the area the clinic was located in was set to be bulldozed and relocated. Hence, she decided to come up with an excuse that she was pregnant in order to get to the clinic. Now that she had received three million dollars worth of compensation, there was no way she'd spit it out. As if she'd do that. "Still playing dumb, huh? Do you really think I'm—" At that moment, the door opened from the outside. A confident man dressed in a white suit strode into the room with two lackeys trailing behind him. The man was very handsome, yet the sight of him made Perseus' eyes go bloodshot immediately. That was Gilbert. Three years ago, Perseus had beaten Gilbert up for flirting with Rochelle. That was how he was sentenced to five years in prison. Who would've thought that the bastard and the bitch would get together three years later? Rochelle even had the gall to tell others that Perseus couldn't bear to break up with her while hating Gilbert's guts at the same time. Thus, he gave into his brash instincts and beat Gilbert up. Perseus was very sure that Rochelle would be crowned "the most manipulative bitch in this world" if that category ever existed. Rochelle felt slightly reassured when she saw Gilbert entering the private room. For some reason, she felt uncomfortable looking at Perseus due to how frightening he looked. "Honey, you're finally here! I missed you so much!" She clung to Gilbert while whining in a high-pitched voice. Everyone could feel goosebumps crawling under their skin. "I'm here now, aren't I? Are your classmates all here? Oh? Who's this? Perseus Caitford?" Gilbert swept his gaze across the room. Finally, he noticed Perseus, who wore a military green shirt and a pair of jeans. He recognized the latter right away. "You're out of prison already?" he asked, his shock mirroring Rochelle's. Gilbert continued, "It's good to see you're back. You and I might have had some unpleasantries in the past, but let's leave them all in the past, yeah?" Before Perseus could speak up, Gilbert patted him on the arm. "You should work on becoming a good and honest man from now on. If you ever need help, don't hesitate to seek me out, alright?" "Hah!" Perseus chuckled coldly once again. Gilbert's act was even better than Rochelle's. He really was a "gentleman". "You're so gracious, Gilbert!" One of Gilbert's lackeys was Max Topp, a fellow classmate from Perseus and Rochelle's batch. Nowadays, he spends his time doing errands for Gilbert. He and another man named Gregory Lincoln had sworn their loyalty to Gilbert. "That's right! Perseus, do you even have any idea how generous and gracious Gilbert is for disregarding what you've done to him in the past and not minding your status as an ex-convict? Hurry up and thank him!" Gregory added. Perseus raised an eyebrow in response. He opted to tune out the two lackeys, so he turned his chilly gaze back on Gilbert. Gilbert disregarded the past, huh? Perseus was the one who got sentenced to five years in jail, damn it! Although he didn't get jailed for real and even picked up an array of skills from his mentor, he still spent over a thousand nights away from home. During this time, Egbert and Lindsay cried their hearts out every single day for him. His family even got ruined as a result. How was Perseus supposed to let that go? Rochelle had used her pregnancy as an excuse to snatch Caitford Clinic away. But Perseus had never once gotten physically intimate with her when they were still dating. How did she get pregnant, then? Perseus got cheated on. How was he supposed to let it go? "Perseus, don't!" The observant Camilla immediately picked up on the fluctuation of Perseus' emotions. She reached out to tug at his sleeve, worried that he might hurt someone again due to his lack of control over his own emotions. Perseus turned around to smile at Camilla. Most of his anger quickly receded upon seeing Camilla's face. It wasn't worth getting angry over trash like them. Rochelle spoke up once again. "Perseus, Gilbert and I are getting married soon. I told you before that whatever happened between us is all in the past. Stop pestering me from now on. "Our wedding will be held next month. Gilbert has promised to make me the happiest woman in the world. If you truly want to give us your blessings, you're welcome to attend our wedding. "My dear Gilbert has already made it clear that he doesn't care about you beating him up in the past. You don't have to thank us, but at the very least, don't come pestering us anymore." Max gave Rochelle a thumbs-up before turning around to look at Perseus. He chided, "Perseus, you must always remember that you're an ex-convict. You have to keep reminding yourself that you have no right to be with a woman as gorgeous as Rochelle. You can only be envious of her relationship with Gilbert, got it? "Oh, right. Since you're already here, make sure to eat more later. Since you've spent three years in jail, you must've forgotten what the taste of meat is. In fact, you can do a takeaway for you to bring home. "Don't worry about it. I assure you that Gilbert and Rochelle are very rich." Mocking laughter filled the whole room as soon as Max's words fell. The other people started gossiping about Perseus sneakily. To his credit, Perseus didn't even blow his lid off. He just remained calm Although he could endure the humiliation, Camilla couldn't do it at all. She had been enduring for Perseus' sake for far too long. "All of you are outrageous! We were once classmates, weren't we? Is it really necessary for you to make fun of him? Who here has never experienced the darkest moment in their lives, huh? "So what if he's poor? So what if he's gone to jail before? The law has given him a chance to redeem himself! What makes you think you get to criticize him? "Let's go, Perseus! I'd rather not attend a gathering as disgusting as this!" Perseus was about to speak up when Camilla forcefully dragged him out of the private room with the unknown strength she had somehow summoned in a fit of rage. Her eyes had gone red, and her expression was still warped into one of fury. "Camilla, you—" "Ah, you're already here, Mr. Caitford. I was about to call you," a beautiful voice interrupted Perseus before he could finish his sentences. Nancy thought Perseus hadn't reached the hotel yet, so she was about to call him. She didn't expect to see him and a beautiful woman in the corridor. "Is this your girlfriend?" Nancy asked while studying Camilla curiously. Camilla's cheeks flared up instantly out of embarrassment. She was eager to find out what Perseus' answer was.