Diana subconsciously took a hasty step back as she didn’t want him to find out she was pregnant.The joy she felt when she first learnt she was pregnant and her desire to share the good news with Julian had long disappeared. Now, she only wanted to keep the child by her side, so she must keep the baby’s existence a secret. “It’s not me but Nina. Vans lied to you.”Julian’s hand hovered awkwardly in the air, but he did not lose his temper.On the contrary, he was a little relieved as if he was glad that Diana wasn’t ill. How could he still be so concerned about her when he already had another woman by his side? Diana rubbed her eyes and looked away. She always felt that she was prone to overthinking at the thought of his charming face.She shouldn’t be sentimental, or she might not be able to bring herself to leave again.She recalled the scenes she saw at Winnington Mansion, the Forget Me Not flower shop, and SK Mall today. She suddenly raised her head and said, “That banquet.
Julian touched Diana’s hands, realizing that they were hot.He instructed all the maids to leave and then personally got a pot of freshly boiled water. He soaked some towels in it.The water was scalding hot. When he placed his hands in it, he wanted to jump a few times from the sheer heat. He swirled the towels around the water, let them soak again, and then fished them out with great difficulty. After that, he squeezed the water out of them.His hands quickly turned red. Yet, he still insisted on sponging Diana over and over again. “Why aren’t you acting cold to me today? Why didn’t you cook soup for Noel and the rest?”“Hmph! You’re not going to make soup for me anymore, are you? You even spent so much money on an entire boutique yesterday. Did you think I wouldn’t know about it?”“You heartless little thing!”So noisy…To Diana, it seemed there was a fly buzzing incessantly beside her ears. She wanted to raise her hand to swat it away, but she didn’t have any strength. S
Diana’s mind went blank. She could only clutch her lower abdomen tightly as tears streamed down her eyes.It was a heartbreak that deprived her of all sanity, leaving her with only a mother’s instinct.Her baby…She was about to lose her baby!This was the baby she had been looking forward to for so long!Yet, it was about to be brutally murdered by his own father!In her desperation, Diana seemed to have been endowed with infinite strength as she lunged toward Julian.She jumped over the many doctors and pounced directly on Julian. She hated him!She hated the fact that Julian had turned a blind eye to her pleas for help when he was right beside her, and chose that woman instead of her over and over again!Were it not for that, she wouldn’t have fallen into a coma due to a simple cold. He wouldn’t have found out that she was pregnant, and she would be able to protect her baby!Diana clenched her teeth in anger. Hatred and resentment toward Julian filled her as she recall
Meanwhile, Kayla hadn’t expected Diana to be a tough nut to crack.When she received Loraine’s call, she thought she had met a crafty scammer. What a joke! Could the goods sold by a famous brand like L be recalled without reason?But when Kayla received a phone call from the manager of L Luxury Dresses, she immediately realized that the hillbilly who had spent more than ten years in the countryside wasn’t as easy to bully as she had first thought.That woman had dared to spend fifteen million dollars of Julian’s money… to buy that boutique!Kayla was enraged. That money belonged to her!How dare that hillbilly Diana touch her money?!Diana even told the workers to have the dress Kayla had bought returned immediately, on the grounds that it was of poor quality.Was this a deliberate attempt to infuriate Kayla? Or was it because Diana had sensed something was wrong and wanted to get revenge when Kayla had deliberately bought the dress one step ahead of Diana the moment she s
However, she couldn’t tell Julian’s grandmother that.If Madam Fulcher found out, Diana’s divorce from Julian wouldn’t be possible. Julian would then spend the rest of his life hating her. It would be so much better for them to separate amicably when they still had the chance.Julian frowned. There was a look of disappointment on his face as he said, “Grandma, we’ve been trying to have a child for three years. We simply can’t…”This was what he often said in front of his grandmother. Yet this time, the old lady refused to accept this excuse anymore. “I don’t care! It’s precisely because it’s been three years! You must give me a great-grandson soon! It’d be better if you give me a great-granddaughter, but she has to look like Diana and not you. I don’t like your cold face.”“Yes, a girl should be cute and adorable.” Diana thought of the baby in her belly, and a gentle expression subconsciously appeared on her face. She couldn’t stop herself from chiming in and adding to Madam Fulche
“I’m the problem?”Diana’s face flushed red instantly.“I was… I was just trying to help you out…”She didn’t want him to find out about the baby, but she didn’t expect Madam Fulcher to be so ‘helpful’!Looking at Julian’s red face, she couldn’t imagine what else she had failed to consider…“Help me out?” The man smiled impishly. His dark eyes were deep, and he leaned closer to her ear as he said with his magnetic voice, “Was it really to help me out, or are you trying to play hard to get?”Play hard to get?!Diana’s eyes widened in shock. That wasn’t what she meant at all!But Julian didn’t listen to her explanation at all and refused to put her down.After entering the room prepared by his grandmother, he kicked the door open. The redness inside almost blinded Diana. “What…” she said.Julian closed the door and carried her in his arms. He stepped on the rose petals on the ground all the way to the bed on which there was a red formed by petals. “Grandma prepared this,” he
Was it the confidence Julian gave this woman, or did she no longer regard Diana as Julian’s wife because she already knew they were going to divorce?This phone call early in the morning was like a big slap to Diana’s face. Diana also understood that Julian might be the first to refuse if she wanted to let what had happened go and reconcile with Julian.This woman…It seemed she had a tight hold on Julian’s heart.This was why she was so arrogant.Diana couldn’t wait to meet the woman and see if she was pampered endlessly by Julian just like what he used to do to Diana.Diana felt a stabbing pain in her heart when she thought of the past.She only calmed down after her palms turned pale from how tightly she had clenched her fists. Then, she said, “My husband is still sleeping. Who are you? Why are you asking my husband to accompany you to go home?”Kayla trembled with anger when she heard Diana’s assertive words.Diana was saying that Julian hadn’t woken up yet. Did that mea
Kayla subconsciously nodded. “All right, Julian.”“Send me your location. I’ll pick you up.”When he went downstairs, his grandmother was already waiting at the staircase. She looked behind him kindly and asked, “Where’s Diana?”Julian’s expression didn’t change. “Aren’t you fully aware of what you’ve done?”Madam Fulcher was little nervous as she asked, “Is she angry with me?”“She’s not angry with you, but she’s certainly angry with me.”That was true…Diana was very close to her.Sometimes, Madam Fulcher even felt that Diana was like her own granddaughter and that Julian did the right thing by marrying Diana.The more she thought about it, the happier she became. She couldn’t stop herself from giving Julian a thumbs-up with a big smile.Julian sighed when he saw his grandmother’s goofy expression. “You’re not acting the way you should.”“You brat!” The old lady hit him hard. “Go quickly! Hurry back and see Diana. Help me to apologize to her too.”-At the same moment, D
“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