If it were Noel, he definitely wouldn’t tell her to wash her hands clean when he saw her fingers covered in ashes. Instead, he would say, "Ms. Jarvis, did you enjoy eating roasted sweet potatoes?" He knew what she truly liked and cared about. He always took care of her meticulously, without imposing any rules on her.Before Cecilia met Noel, she didn't think there was anything wrong with her life with the Jarvis family. She only knew that everything had been arranged for her. With so many people loving her, she only needed to accept everything passively. But now, she felt restrained by this arrangement.This included her engagement to Julian.Cecilia wiped her fingers clean, and looked up. "Mom… Did you ever ask me how I feel about my engagement to Julian?" They hadn't even gone through an engagement ceremony. It was just an agreement between Sue and Julian, and that was supposed to be enough."You've been ill after all," Sue said, sounding slightly guilty. However, she was
Sue had always gone out of her way to hug Cecilia. Cecilia used to think that as long as she had her mother's embrace, she would have boundless strength. But since she got sick and started losing control of herself—especially when her illness was at its worst—her mother had rarely hugged her. Now, being embraced by her mother again, that warmth seemed to return.Perhaps she was overthinking things. Cecilia lowered her gaze. She was just about to apologize to Sue for hiding the fact that she searched for Noel in secret when she heard Sue say, "That’s in the past. Don't bring it up again. You’re a good and perfect child. How could you have gotten that illness?"Sue pouted, and continued, "Plus, your engagement with Julian isn't something just anyone can have."The tone and emphasis were familiar, but Cecilia found them strangely foreign. Her mother...wanted to pretend that nothing had happened and erase her illness, rather than fully accepting her.Cecilia's throat tightened as i
Diana had been waiting for Julian.She had been waiting for him to contact her. However, he hadn't done so. He simply left the restaurant and got into his car, as if her abrupt departure hadn’t affected him the slightest.Diana felt deeply disappointed.After Julian's car left, Diana walked into the crowd and made her way to the subway station. The bodyguards following her at a distance were unaware of what had transpired. Julian had only instructed them to ensure her safety from afar. They didn't report her Diana standing behind the big tree to him.Diana didn't rush to find Nina; instead, she went to the cemetery. She wanted to visit Madam Fulcher, Aster, and Star first.-When Julian arrived in the countryside, Albert was already waiting at the gate. Seeing Julian getting out of the car, he quickly approached Julian. "Sir."Julian nodded. "Where's Cecilia?"Albert didn't rush to respond; instead, he handed a stack of money to Julian. "Please return this to Mrs. Jarvis fo
It was hard for Julian to refuse such hospitality. Julian knew he couldn't let down the Jarvis family, so he continued to accompany Frederick for a while. Sue noticed they were getting along well, and her mood improved even more. She brought more food, clearly hinting that Julian should stay the night.Julian declined, and didn't continue drinking with Frederick. "I should talk to Cecilia now," he said.Sue's smile grew even more affectionate, and there was a genuine sense of satisfaction in it."Oh, look at us! We're in the way of the engaged couple, aren't we?" she said. Julian couldn't help but notice her emphasizing the words 'engaged couple' in a somewhat probing manner.However, he had no intention of discussing it openly with Sue. Instead, he just smiled in response. "No worries, it was my fault for not visiting more often."After a few more pleasantries, Sue took Julian to Cecilia's room.Sue hesitated for a moment, then said, "Noel Carter… I heard from Cecilia that h
"When will you tell your parents about the annulment?" Julian asked, standing at the doorway. He didn't enter the room. Cecilia, on the other hand, approached him willingly. Her eyes were red, as if she had been crying. She suddenly pulled Julian forcefully into the room.With a loud slam, she closed the door.Being alone in a room with a woman other than Diana made Julian somewhat uncomfortable, especially when this woman was someone Noel held dear. Noel had been with Julian for so long, and had only offered to leave because of Cecilia. Noel had been by Julian’s side when he needed it the most. Noel had helped him build the foundation of Fulcher Inc., which had grown into what it was today.Julian wasn't an ungrateful person, and remembered Noel's contributions well. Despite Noel's resignation letter and his continued absence, Julian hadn't hired a new assistant to replace him.Even though Noel had no blood ties to him, the man was more family to Julian than Simon, who was h
“I’m sorry,” Cecilia said quickly. She was blaming Julian while not excusing herself at the same time. “I should’ve objected vehemently to this engagement right from the start.”Despite her words, she didn’t do anything about it at all.Both she and Julian were wrong in their own right. Thus, it was pointless to shift the blame.“Bring Noel to me,” Cecilia demanded. He was the person she wanted to see the most.Cecilia refused to wait aimlessly. Bent on getting her way, she decided to go back on her promise she made at the countryside right there and then. “I’ll tell my mom to call off the engagement only after Noel accepts my confession and gets together with me,” she said. “But before, you told me that as long as I stay at Albert’s that night and wait for Noel with you, you’d tell your mother about calling off the engagement,” Julian argued.Cecilia shrugged. “I did say that.”However! “I’m going back on my word.”After thinking things through, Cecilia decided waiting wi
Julian felt as if a bird had flown past him, blowing a slight breeze on his face.He looked up. The coldness in his eyes melted into tenderness. “Betty.”Julian finally closed his laptop, and reached his hands out to his daughter. “Come here for a hug with Daddy.”“No!” Betty wasn’t about to be placated by Julian into accepting everything with just a few words of comfort. “You promised you’d take me to see Mommy and Sean.”Betty’s voice was laced with indignation. She put out her fingers, and said to Julian, “It’s been three days. Oh, wait.”She put down three fingers, and counted again before putting out four fingers. “It’s been four days, and you haven’t told me when you’re going to take me to them!”Betty called them so many times in a day, since video calling Mommy was the only thing she could do. Sean wasn’t willing to be in the video call. Each time she called out to him through the video, she could only hear his response. She couldn’t see his face at all.Betty miss
Betty thought about it, then asked, “if Daddy didn’t send me, who would?”She wanted Daddy to send her there. She wanted to stay with Daddy.Julian had been busy working in his study recently, and it was usually the nanny who took care of Betty at home.What Julian said inevitably made Betty indignant.Upon seeing his daughter’s crystal clear eyes, Julian suddenly felt embarrassed to speak. “I didn’t mean that.”“Who is it, then?” Betty urged. She wanted to see Mommy and Sean soon.“Well… Daddy’s still the one who will send you. You just can’t tell Mommy that it’s Daddy who sent you.” Julian looked at her chubby cheeks. “Do you understand?”Betty nodded. “I do!”Her voice was bright and crisp. As she went on, however, her following words were a slap to Julian’s face. “Daddy wants me to lie. Adults always tell us not to lie, but Daddy…” Betty paused for a moment, trying to find the right words to say. “Daddy’s forcing me to lie.”Julian said exasperatedly, “I’m not forcing yo
“Life is all about reconciliation.” Decades passed in the blink of an eye. Diana’s children had all grown up.Kate and Isaac had both passed away. Even Diana’s old friends, Fanny and Oliver, had left the world too.Fanny was never able to get pregnant again after that rainy night. She had gradually let go of her desire to get pregnant under Oliver’s persuasion.They stayed relentlessly by each other’s side, albeit childless. Over the years, having experienced all that life had to offer and being each other’s best friend, Oliver died on a peaceful night, never awaking again.Fanny held his hand while sending him off, and closed her eyes forever as well.Diana had seen too many people off in her lifetime.She had grown old herself, too. She could see her life slowly ebbing away.“Julian, I’m so happy to have lived my life with you.” She had transformed from a disgraced young woman to Mrs. Fulcher, respected by all in Richburgh. Julian even took care of her in person when she
He blurted those words instinctively.He had been waiting so long for a pair of daughters, yet when the doctor came over, he saw a pair of sons instead.Diana thought the hospital must have made a mistake and kicked up a fuss, insisting that she had a pair of daughters. She insisted for them to check the footage from the surveillance camera to see if there was a mix-up. The culprit, Julian, could only stand guiltily at a corner and mumble, “Actually…sons are fine too.”As long as it was their children, it didn’t matter whether they were girls or boys. Either way, Diana was the only woman he loved his entire life. Even his love for his only daughter Betty didn’t match up to that.After witnessing Diana giving birth, Julian’s love for Diana went up a notch, to the point of paranoia.For the rest of their lives, he made sure to never let her worry or touch cold water.He took great care of her.Kate finally appeared two years after Diana gave birth.When the mother and daughter
Nina mentioned the Jenningses. “The Jennings family is gone overnight, just like that.”Diana wasn’t shocked.She guessed that Julian had wanted to do that for a while. Not just for her and to seek justice for the Lemmington family, but also for Simon.Although Julian never allowed Simon to call him his brother, he had wanted to annihilate everything that was involved with the Hughes family since Simon’s death.Him making his move on the Jenningses indicated that the time had come.“Congratulations,” Diana said to Nina. “Has Vans come back to you?”“No,” Nina said with a shake of her head. “Lina Jennings isn’t the only thing standing in between us. We have problems of our own to overcome.”Diana sighed. “I think Marcus is pretty good.”She felt relaxed and comfortable around him.Even if Vans came round and worked with Julian to bring down the Jenningses, and had no feelings whatsoever for Lina, Diana wasn’t exactly eager to be with him.As if they had telepathy with each oth
“He doesn’t need to be jailed,” Fanny said, confused. “One word from him, and his lawyers will be able to exonerate him. I just don’t understand why he’d rather go to jail.”“He wants to pay for his father’s sins,” Diana said with a sigh.Fanny didn’t know what to think of that. Was Oliver innocent, or not? He even went to such great lengths to stop her.Yet, the moment she declared that she would never compromise and would rather be under the protection of Diana than to be involved with Oliver, he clearly looked like he was in a daze.Diana noticed that Fanny hardly smiled over the past few days, and rubbed her hand comfortingly. “He just wants a clean start with you.”Fanny’s heart shook. She couldn’t sleep the entire night.The next morning, she told Diana, “Today’s the day of his trial and sentencing. I want to see him.”Diana asked Julian to send a few bodyguards with Fanny on her trip there.When she returned, she looked as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoul
Fanny bet that he wouldn’t dare.That was equivalent to eliminating all chances he stood with Diana.Julian witnessed the scene unfolding before him. Instead of getting frustrated, he stood quietly there, ready to protect Diana, as he watched Fanny and Oliver fight it out with each other.Oliver was confused. “Why not?”He glanced at Diana, and went on, “I did like Diana in the past, but I have since given up on those feelings for her. Fanny Smith, is your heart made of stone? Can’t you tell who the woman I like is after all this time?”Fanny was stunned, feeling suffocated as if something was stuck in her throat. “Don’t tell me it’s me.”Oliver was dumbfounded. Who else could he be talking about? The stars in the sky?Fanny felt indignant under his glare. “If you like me, why did you say that I’m just a child-bearing tool for you?”“If I didn’t say that, would I be able to keep you confined in the villa? Would I be able to dash all your hopes and make you feel hopeless?”
Oliver would never let her go. “Fanny Smith, don’t even think about leaving me in this life!”That was when Diana and Julian hurriedly made their way.Sean located Oliver very accurately. Diana saw the scene unfolding before her, and couldn’t help but recall everything that happened in Jacroaof. She hurriedly told Noel to take Sean outside and wait. She couldn’t afford to gamble on Sean’s safety. She didn’t want Sean exposed to any form of danger right under her nose.Her actions made Oliver tense. “Diana, do you think I’ve gone mad?” He grabbed Fanny’s hand, as if he was holding onto the most precious treasure in the world.Diana didn’t answer him, but she threw her bag that Julian was helping her carry toward Fanny.She was exerting so much force for a pregnant lady, looking as if she wanted to fight with Fanny.Even Julian didn’t know what Diana was trying to do, not to mention Fanny herself.By the time he snapped back to attention and wanted to stop Diana from doing s
However, Fanny must let go of her hatred and past grudges first.The mention of children made Fanny waver. The hatred in her eyes grew even more intense. “Oliver Channing! The cheek of you to mention children!” What gave him the right to say that?!“We agreed,” Oliver said. He didn’t find anything wrong with that. “Fanny, if you want to leave that villa and be free once more, you must give birth to a child of ours.”“What about the child I lost just a few days ago?” Fanny demanded. She found him unreasonable. “Over the past few days, have you ever thought of him, or felt like you let him down? We haven’t even resolved the issues between us, and you want me to get pregnant again. Are you really ready to be a father?!”“I want you to get pregnant again?” Oliver said as he drew closer to her. His eyes were dark, looking as if he wanted to crush Fanny and put her in his pocket. “Weren’t you the one who tried to seduce me by wearing a revealing dress in my house? Fanny Smith, do
Julian stopped talking to the butler, but he was already making plans in his heart.He returned to the study, and told Diana, “Fanny and Oliver have been fighting for a long time, and it might be over something that might potentially destroy their relationship.”In fact… “Fanny might no longer love Oliver right now.”However, the fact that Oliver faked her death and confined her was enough to show that he still cared for her.If he realized that Fanny no longer loved him, he might do something even crazier.“Let’s hurry up and save her, then!” Diana said.“Wait,” Julian said calmly, “I’m not done with my prediction.”“What?”“Oliver really doesn’t like you now.” Julian’s mood lifted as he arrived at his final conclusion. “We can step in to help Fanny.”Diana was dumbfounded.She had thought that Julian went to such great lengths to analyze the situation for the sake of saving another. To think that his possessiveness took over, and he prioritized figuring out Oliver’s feeli
The three of them entered the study.None of them expected to see a portrait of Diana right in the middle of the study.The portrait was most likely drawn by copying a photo. In the portrait, Diana was eating something with a smile. It looked like the day when Diana encountered a pervert on the train and Oliver stepped in to help her and treated her to a meal.Did she smile so tenderly at him at that time?“You couldn’t have smiled so happily at that time when we were fighting over Kayla.”It was a portrait, not a photo. It was likely that the owner of this portrait added his own interpretation and features when he commissioned this portrait.“He still has feelings for you,” Julian said coldly.He no longer wanted to interfere with the affairs of the Channings.However, Diana disagreed. “If he really had feelings for me, he wouldn’t hang my portrait up so boldly right here.”The fact that Oliver could display the portrait for all to see proved that his feelings for Diana were