Upon hearing this, Sue's recently relaxed expression turned sour once more. "Diana Winnington!""This is Ms. Jarvis's and Julian's shared wish," Diana continued, explaining her purpose without being influenced by Sue's attitude. "Please, grant us this.""Grant?" Sue nearly crushed the teacup in her hand. "You and Julian Fulcher are going too far!"As she spoke, she slammed the teacup onto the table and hurled it toward Diana.Fortunately, Diana was prepared. She leaned to the side, and the teacup barely grazed past her ear. Diana remained unharmed, but her gaze suddenly became sharp. "Mrs. Jarvis."Since Sue wasn't willing to have a civil conversation, Diana had no choice but to say the words she didn't want to say, forcing Sue to compromise.Although the Jarvis family wasn't on the same level as the Fulcher family, they were still a well-known, prestigious family in Richburgh. When they purchased the Northern City Manor in Richburgh, it caused quite a stir. Over the years, t
This implied that Diana lacked self-awareness, and wasn’t a suitable match for Julian at all."Whether Julian and I are a match or Noel and Ms. Jarvis are a match, it has nothing to do with you. It's solely up to the parties involved," Diana stated firmly.Sue listened, and chuckled coldly. "It's truly appalling that even a mistress like you can shamelessly say so much in front of me, the Fulchers’ prospective mother-in-law. Diana Winnington, you better know your place! Cecilia will definitely marry Mr. Fulcher and become Mrs. Fulcher!""Doesn’t it matter who your daughter truly loves? Doesn’t her happiness matter to you?"Sue had her own convictions. "Why wouldn't it matter? A woman is happier when she marries well, far better than marrying poorly.""What does it mean to marry well?""Of course..." Sue began, but then changed her tone. "I don't need to tell you so much. As long as you understand your place! Don't become a mistress that everyone scorns!"Diana, despite hearing a
When Diana came out, Julian was leaning against the car, smoking. The flickering flames accentuated his exquisite features, making him look just as captivating as the first time they met. However, it had already been more than six years since that first encounter.Even though they had gone around in circles, they finally ended up together. Diana quickened her pace and walked toward him. Julian heard her approaching and quickly lifted his head, extinguishing the cigarette near him. Then, he changed into a different coat to get rid of the smoke smell. He didn't want her to inhale the smoke smell.At the same time, he approached Diana. He turned her around, examining her. "How did it go? You're not injured, right?""Of course not." Diana saw how nervous he was, and couldn't help but laugh heartily. "It's all settled. From now on, your engagement with Cecilia is invalid. We can be together openly and without any hindrance."She stretched her arms towards him, indicating that
Julian didn't waste another moment. He carefully cradled her cheeks, and kissed her forehead.No matter how happy he was, he hadn't forgotten the bruise on her face. He really wanted to kiss her lips passionately, but he dared not as he feared he might hurt her. He gazed at Diana, his heart overflowing with tenderness. However, he wanted to confirm one more time. "Does that mean you want to remarry me?"Diana thought he had already understood. And yet, he had to ask again. She was starting to get a little irritated, and poked his side harshly. "What? Don't you want to?"Julian shook his head. "Of course I want to!"He just felt like he was dreaming right now."No..." Julian lowered his head. "I don't want to."Tears welled up in Diana's eyes, and she looked extremely dejected. "Do you really have feelings for Cecilia?""That's not it." Julian shook his head again. "Well, it's not time for remarriage yet."It would be the time in a little while. Still, he didn't say
The sales clerk instantly recognized him. From the moment Julian entered, people kept approaching him, asking, "Mr. Fulcher, what are you here to buy today?"In the past, Julian wouldn't have bothered to respond. But today, as he entered, a gentle smile adorned his face. He even smiled at everyone who approached him. "I'm buying a ring.""A ring?" The sales clerk immediately led Julian inside. "Please, Mr. Fulcher, this way."Julian had come to a high-end jewelry store. They sold engagement rings and various other jewelry items as well as gold, catering to all wedding-related needs.The sales clerk in charge of Julian never had such close contact with this prominent figure before. For the past three years, they only knew that Julian would frequently visit the L boutique and browse around. He would never make any purchases. Every time someone got too close, he would get quite irritable. Such approachability from the man was a rare sight.Julian was still smiling. The sales
The sales clerk didn't dare to delay any further.She quickly set aside her thoughts, and called the manager to request the collectibles. As soon as the manager heard that it was Julian, he immediately instructed the sales clerk to bring out the collectibles. Then, he rushed over himself.These precious collectibles were all top-quality large pink diamonds, designed to be beautifully set in rings. These were their flagship products—high-end pink diamonds, each weighing a whopping sixty carats. While sixty-carat diamonds weren’t particularly rare, what set these apart was the fact that they were originally passed down among European royalty and nobility. Later, they made their way to the country and became the prized possessions of this jewelry store.Ordinary customers wouldn't have the privilege of seeing such treasures. To put it mildly, a single glance at a diamond of this quality would cost at least a million dollars. And that was just for looking.Yet, Julian had come toda
Before Julian could reach the car, the driver approached him. "Sir."The driver's uneasy expression and nervous demeanor gave Julian a bad feeling. "Where's Diana?""She left.""She left?!" Julian snapped the ring box shut. His face was stormy. "Didn't I tell you to lock the car doors?"He had been planning to surprise her with a proposal, but now, she was gone! Could she have really thought he wouldn't agree to remarry and got upset?But Julian knew that, at this point, it was pointless to blame the driver. He could only take out his phone and try to contact her. As expected, she refused to answer his calls.The driver stood nearby, growing increasingly anxious. He asked in a low voice, "Sir... What should we do now?"Julian was also worried. His main concern was that Diana might be angry. If she was indeed upset, he feared she might not even allow herself to be found.He lowered his head, looking at the ring box in his hand. After a moment's thought, he said, "I'll try
There was a deep and lingering sentiment within his eyes. Diana couldn't stop gazing into them.She couldn't help but lament, "Having a handsome face really works wonders. Even though you rejected my proposal, I can't stay mad when I see your face.""I didn't reject it," Julian replied. He immediately knelt down on one knee.Diana didn’t have a chance to think about what he was doing. Shocked, she grabbed his arm and tried to pull him up. "What are you doing in front of so many people?!"Julian remained silent; he only had eyes for her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet box. Inside the box lay the priceless pink diamond. "Diana, marry me."He had never refused her proposal. In fact, it was the opposite.Hearing her bring up the topic on her own initiative brought him immense joy."I can't let you propose to me first," Julian said, his eyes even turning slightly teary. "That would be too unfair to you."So, he had prepared everything for the proposal in re
“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