?Chapter 40: Proving His Innocence   Chapter 40: Proving His Innocence       Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio                           “I’m sorry, Mary,” Prisci apologized the moment they got onto the car.               Mary looked at Prisci, a little amused as she asked, “What are you apologizing for?”               Prisci looked guilty when she answered, “I didn’t expect Reba to go that far.”               “It’s fine. She’s pregnant. Her situation is an exception,” Mary replied calmly, “She might not be that extreme once the baby is born.”               “But she—” Prisci said.               “I’m fine, really,” Mary consoled Prisci, “It’s fine as long as she doesn’t argue with Paul. No matter what, it was thanks to her that I managed to keep Jason back then. Paul had also been severely injured. It was because of her help that we survived.”               There was silence. Prisci pursed her lips and did not say anything more.               Five years ago, Mary had almost been ruined by the men that Sandra White had employed. Paul had arrived at the scene just in time and saved her without regard for his life. The five men had died in the explosion of the chemical processing nt. Paul was severely injured, while she suffered a miscarriage after being assaulted by Sandra. Reba had helped Mary keep the remaining baby under the condition that Paul married her.               —               Meanwhile, Paul was sending Reba home while holding in his fury. Reba grumbled while Paul was still at the peak of his rage, “Paul, why are you not saying anything? Are you unhappy that Mary got together with Max Gaston?”               “Are you not done yet?” Paul finally roared with a steely expression when he steered into the parking lot.               Reba was even angrier than Paul was. She retorted, “Why are you angry at me? Am I wrong? Snatch Mary Hanks from him if you like her and can’t bear to see her in a rtionship. What kind of man are you, getting angry at me?”               Reba had been furious when Paul refused to y along with her back in the shop. Paul had grown even colder towards her on the way back. The jealousy pierced her heart. She wanted Paul to suffer along with her.               “You are being really unreasonable,” Paul uttered as he clenched his fists. However, he closed his eyes when he thought about how Reba was pregnant and how Mary did not want them to argue. He opened the door and was about to get down from the car.               However, Reba stopped him from leaving. She pounced forward and grabbed his arm, then interrogated agitatedly, “Exin yourself before getting off the car.”               “What do I have to exin?” Paul asked as he turned his head around. His eyelids were twitching with rage.               Reba refused to back down. She pushed, “Tell me if you love Mary Hanks. Tell me if you want to divorce me to take care of her and her illegitimate child.”               “Reba,” Paul shouted through his clenched teeth, “I will no longer tolerate you if you dare to insult Jason again.”               Reba retorted, “But he is an illegitimate child. Do you think Mary Hanks actually likes you? The person she likes is John Liam, yet she still did it with Max Gaston. I even saw the hickeys on her body today. Haha, she might even be doing it with both Max Gaston and John Liam— Ahh—”               She had not finished her sentence when the grip she had on Paul’s arm was fiercely flung aside. Her arm hit the steering wheel and she grimaced in pain.               Paul warned her, extremely livid, “Don’t you think that I do not dare toy a hand on you just because you’re pregnant. Reba, you can leave me at any time if you don’t want to continue living like this. But I forbid you from humiliating Mary and Jason. I’ll rip your mouth to shreds if you continue spouting nonsense.”               “Go ahead! Your Mary Hanks is an innocent and pure girl. Isn’t she the girl who was nearly gang-raped by five men? Paul Johnson, you heartless bast*rd. Have you forgotten who saved your Mary and Jason back then?” Reba retorted.               “I haven’t forgotten. I would not have married you if it wasn’t you who saved them,” Paul admitted.               “Hah, you finally admit that you love Mary. You want to bed her just like the other men do, right?” Reba eximed.               A p flew across Reba’s face. She was left in a daze and did not even register the pain on her cheek. She stared at the violent man in front of her in disbelief.               Paul Johnson looked like a demon straight from hell. His face was impossibly dark, his eyes a gruesome red. He snarled, “I told you to watch your words. I’ll entertain you at any time if you want a divorce, but I’ll do it again every time you say something nasty about Mary.”               “You bast*rd, you jerk! How dare you hit me! Fine, I’ll let you have your wish since you love Mary Hanks so much and want to be with her,” Reba cursed. As she spoke, she opened the door and got off, then ran.               They were in an underground parking lot. Cars were driving all around them. Reba was running toward a ck Land Rover at the front.               Paul clenched his teeth and cursed, then charged forward and grabbed her, spinning them around in the process. They narrowly avoided therge vehicle.               “Do you really want to f*cking die?!” Paul roared.               Reba pounded on Paul’s chest and said, “I really do. Let me die.”               Paul suddenly felt extremely tired. His fury turned intoughter after it reached its peak as he uttered, “Fine, then go and die. I’ll die with you.”               “Won’t you be free to go and look for Mary after I die?” Reba asked.               “No, I will not go and look for Mary,” Paul said self-deprecatingly, “I’ve only treated her as a sister ever since I promised to be with you. All these years, I’ve never done anything that would let you down. Yet you, Reba Yelton, had to blow everything out of proportion and even threaten to kill yourself.”               John sped his hands on Reba’s shoulder so hard that she flinched in pain. He said with a fierce re, “I won’t stop you if you want to die. I, Paul Johnson, will die with you and the child in your stomach because I am responsible for the both of you.”               —               Mary would not have brought the underwear home if she had not received Sandra White’s message. The message read, “Mary Hanks, Max was so intense just now. I took a picture for you.”               Under the message was an image of Sandra lying on Max Gaston’s bed, wearing nothing but one of his shirts.               Mary almost retched just looking at the picture. She thought back to what Max had done in her room yesterday morning. She felt even more disgusted than if she had just swallowed a fly.               She took a screenshot and immediately sent it to Max Gaston. It had been only a minute after Mary sent the message when Max called her. She rejected the call.               Max’s name shed on the screen of her phone again a momentter. Mary pursed her lips and took the call. His voice rang out from the other end of the line, “I am with Jason at the range right now. Do you want toe over?”               “No,” Mary replied.               “Alright, we’ll go and look for youter. Where are you?” Max asked.               “I’m going home,” Mary answered.               “Alright, we’ll head hometer,” Max said.                Max had not tried to exin that the image Sandra sent was fake. Mary did not probe either. They hung up after a short conversation.               —               Mary was woken up in the evening. Something was biting her lips. She swatted her hand at it in a daze, but her arm was grabbed. She jolted awake, only to meet the deep eyes of Max.               “Max Gaston, are you sick in the head?” Mary cursed.               “I’m waking you up,” Max said. He pinned her arms together above her head, then kissed her on the lips as he continued, “You’re awake now. I can now prove to you— My innocence.”               “Go away—” Mary protested.               “Don’t be a hypocrite. I like the underwear you bought for me very much—” Max interrupted. He released one of her hands and let his hand roam downwards.               —               An hourter, Max Gaston was unting his physique in front of Mary in the underwear that she had bought for him. He said, “Mary, you should buy all of my clothes from now on.”               Mary did not reply.               Max continued, “I’ve already gotten Matthew to change the lock. Sandra White can no longere into my room. I won’t be going back there to stay in the future either.”               The silence continued.                Max added, as if he knew what Mary was thinking, “Today was the first time Sandra White has entered my room.”