He was even helping her call Enzo. “Don’t panic,” Jim comforted Diana. “Your children and husband will be fine.”He even switched the phone to loudspeaker so Diana could hear his conversation with Enzo. “Enzo,” Jim said into the phone.The moment the arrogant Enzo got Jim’s call, he immediately bowed and replied respectfully. His hair stood on end; he was alert and ready to receive his commands. “I’m right here, Professor Hughes. How can I be of service?”“Release Mr. Fulcher and his children. I don’t want any mishap,” Jim said. He turned to Diana and said in a polite, almost distant manner, “Do you have anything else to add?”Diana was already very grateful to him, so she didn’t see the need to raise any further requests. She was now certain that Jim and Enzo weren’t in cahoots.“As long as they come back safely to me,” Diana said, knowing that she was unable to bear the loss of her loved ones.Jim nodded. “Okay.”Enzo’s voice turned a pitch higher. “But… But…”“But what?”
The sudden change in attitude…Did Enzo sense the police coming, and decided to back down in hopes of being spared by the law?That couldn’t be.Julian sought the help of the most reliable people he knew before coming here alone. They couldn’t possibly expose his plan before reaching here to gather hard evidence.What exactly went wrong?If Enzo released Julian earlier than expected, his plan would be botched.Could he still successfully stop Enzo from listing his company?Julian was still pondering how he had to adjust his plan, when he saw Diana and Noel standing at the door.He thought he was hallucinating. He rubbed his eyes, and looked again. It was really Diana in the flesh!Her eyes were filled with tears. There was also anger in them. Even without asking, Julian knew he must have worried Diana.The fact that she had to worry about him even when she was pregnant filled Julian with guilt. He immediately stood up to run toward her, but Diana stopped him. “Don’t move
Recently, Julian had consumed many unknown pills. He didn't want to take any more of these mysterious substances of unknown origin. He was about to open his mouth to spit the pill out, but Diana's gaze stopped him. She regarded Jim as a savior—to the point she treated every medicine he gave as a panacea, regardless of its name or ingredients. Diana wasn't usually so irrational; she used to look into even the ingredients in her skincare products. After becoming pregnant, her understanding of various components had reached an almost unbearable level. But now, regarding the pills Jim was urging Julian to take, she didn't ask a single question.Jim's fingers had already landed on Julian's arm, adopting a professional pulse-checking posture. Julian had spent a considerable amount of time lying in bed, watching Diana bustle around him. Back then, when Shiloh checked his pulse, it was the same. He liked to use a single finger for diagnosis, too. Every time he examined Julian, he wo
So far, none of the reliable police officers Julian had contacted had shown up. When it came to Julian, something like this was almost unheard of.It could only mean that someone had interfered behind the scenes."Thank you, Professor Hughes," Julian said.With how close Diana seemed to Jim, Julian arranged a banquet in the Fulcher Manor to express his gratitude. Enzo and Tommy also followed them. However, there was a notable difference—while their group sat at the dining table, Enzo and Tommy remained kneeling on the floor.Diana was very uncomfortable with this situation. Whenever she thought about her son's injuries and Julian's near escape, however, her distress overwhelmed her. Jim could only treat injuries that had been caused by the unknown pills they had consumed; he couldn't address other injuries. Sean's injuries had been assessed by the family doctor, who performed a CT scan at their home. The little child had bruising on his chest from the kick.If Diana wasn’t
Diana leaned against Julian’s chest, gasping for breath. Her small face was flushed from exhaustion. Julian feared hurting her with too much movement, so he quickly resumed massaging her to relax her muscles.Diana lay half-reclined on the bed, comfortably enjoying the fruits placed within her reach."Is your knee hurting?" Julian asked.He originally hesitated to bring up the topic, but he couldn't hold back. "In the future, don't kneel for anyone. If I'm not around, let Noel handle things. If Noel can't handle it, just leave it be. You can't continue to neglect yourself like this."He held her knee, gently moving it back and forth. What Diana had suffered in the Jarvises’ residence was nothing compared to the emotional turmoil she was experiencing now.A spark of defiance lit up in her eyes. In Julian's presence, she was undoubtedly the boss, and she adopted a commanding tone. "What are you implying? Should I just ignore you if you get into trouble in the future? Am I that
"I really want to know," Diana said."Just don't get angry," Julian replied."I won't be angry. Tell me.""Enzo gave Sean a similar drug to the one you took, the so-called second-phase experimental drug that hasn't been approved for sale yet.""The drug I took?" Diana was a bit confused. "What did I take?"Seeing her confusion, Julian tapped her nose with his finger. "The drug you took before, remember? The one that caused you to lose your memory four years ago. The one Kiki prepared for you."Upon hearing this, Diana immediately rolled her eyes and denied Julian's claims. "You're overthinking it.""How?""All of these drugs are made from traditional ingredients. To better mix various drugs, they're often shaped into small black pills. The pink pill Jim gave you is already quite unusual in appearance. Although the pills may look similar, the herbal composition and effects can vary greatly."Despite Diana's explanation, Julian wasn't entirely convinced. His furrowed brows revea
In this situation, receiving Julian's call made Noel feel somewhat negligent. He apologized, "I'm sorry, sir, but Mrs. Jarvis didn't agree. She said she wouldn't interfere in any matters related to the Fulcher family."This was becoming even more strange. Based on Julian's understanding of Sue, despite her resentment, she wouldn’t stay silent after Diana had kneeled.It seemed like she initially planned to tell Diana something, only to have a change of heart later.Julian felt he might have touched on the crucial point of the matter. "Noel.""Yes?""When did Jim appear at the Jarvis family?""I couldn't get inside then, so I don't know the details. It was probably right after Sue wounded Mrs. Fulcher’s forehead." Noel remembered this clearly, because Cecilia had witnessed Diana's head injury. She knew Noel cared about Julian and everything related to the Fulcher family. Besides, it had been a long time since the Cecilia had slapped Diana. Cecilia had already let go of any
Now that Julian was worried, Noel couldn't rest well either, even at this late hour. Cecilia asked, "You were born for Julian? If so, what about me?"Why was he such a devoted servant to Julian? And why did a wealthy heiress like her fall for such a humble servant?Cecilia held his hand. They were hiding beneath her courtyard wall, and she was unwilling to let him leave. She didn't want Noel to be preoccupied with Julian while they were together; she wanted him to think about her. Alas, Noel was a man of few words.He looked at Cecilia. Then, he thought about Sue's attitude and his own inability to marry Cecilia to this day. He abruptly pushed Cecilia's hand away. "Ms. Jarvis, please have some self-respect."Cecilia was nearly livid when she heard this. She had worked so hard to avoid her mother and the house staff, sneaking out like a thief just to spend more time with Noel. However, he became completely detached after he answered Julian's phone call.He told her to behav
“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