A sinner had to atone for their sins."Don't worry," Diana continued. "From now on, I’ll really draw a line with Julian."Whether Julian loved Kayla or Diana, none of it had anything to do with Diana anymore.Eventually, when Diana recovered her strength, she would definitely collect on the debt that was owed to her babies!It was the first time Diana had gotten drunk, so she was in a daze when she woke up the next morning. She lay in bed blankly for a while before she got up. After washing up, she went downstairs.This was a new ward she was in. Even though they called it a ward, it was more of an area in the hospital that had been sectioned off. It was made to look like a hotel, and the people living here were all wealthy. There were all sorts of food and drinks available.It was more like a vacation rather than a hospital stay.Madam Fulcher had booked a place for Diana here to recuperate.Upon recalling this, Diana hurriedly called Madam Fulcher and told the latter about
Diana was curious, so she took a few steps in Oliver's direction.This was what Julian happened to see, and he was furious."Diana!"Julian walked up the stairs with a dark face and stopped before her, sandwiches and milk in hand. "What's the meaning of this?"Julian was much too imposing, and it caused Diana to back up continuously until she hit a corner."What on earth are you talking about?""You and Oliver!" Julian was holding a plate of sandwiches, and his hands were visibly shaking. After taking care of her last night, he had gone to buy ingredients suitable for her current diet to make her favorite sandwiches in the restaurant here early this morning.Yet, what about them?Julian took a deep breath, possessiveness filling his eyes as he demanded, "Why are you chasing after other men so early in the morning?"Even though there was nothing wrong with his tone, Diana still gritted her teeth when she heard him."Seriously?"Chasing men? Diana had only wanted to catch
"You can take a look around," Julian said.He was a head taller than Diana, and the two of them standing together made them look like the most adorable couple with big height differences. Because of this, many people kept looking their way.Julian looked like he was enjoying himself as he deliberately pulled Diana into the crowd, pointing to several cages with cats inside. "If you like any of them, you can buy them today."Julian had read somewhere that these cute, furry animals could soothe the heart of a sad woman.He had failed to save their babies, but he would do all he could to make her feel happy and comforted.Like giving her the divorce and taking her to see little animals.Even if she said she liked Oliver and wanted to chase after the latter, Julian probably could...plaster on a smile and help her until the two got together."I'm still hospitalized," Diana pointed out, but her eyes were drawn to the cats. Further down, there were also many dogs and cute, furry anima
Forget it. Julian wouldn't place Diana as his first priority, anyway."You don't like it?" Julian asked when he noticed her frown. "Did I bring you to the wrong place? But… don't all women like small animals?"The only other woman Julian had by his side was Kayla. He had probably lied and brought Diana here to practice how he could make Kayla happy.Thinking that she had once again become a substitute and even a test subject for him, Diana's face turned cold."Go and get your shot."Diana was suddenly uninterested in these furry little animals.Julian took one look at her expression, and knew at once he had said something wrong."I've never brought Kayla to such a place.""Did I mention her?" Diana shot back, a rare aggressiveness in her tone. "What does it matter if you did or not?"He’d still have other chances to bring Kayla here in the future, right?There would be many more moments in their lives together, but Diana's time with Julian would end here.Julian wanted to
Kayla hid in the shadows with a calculating look in her eyes.First, she took a few pictures of Noel handling the flowers, then she stepped back into the middle of the discarded flowers, smiled brightly, and made a heart with her hand before taking some pictures.In quick succession, Kayla found the best angle for herself and sent all the photos to Diana.This created the illusion that Julian had asked Noel to buy all these flowers for her.Even the location was near the animal clinic. The pictures immediately validated Diana's suspicions.When Diana received the photos, the only thought in her mind was that it was good that their divorce had been finalized.Julian really had been using her as practice on how to make Kayla happy.He had truly carried out this play of substitute with perfection.Diana was so tired of this triangle between them, so she deleted the photos and turned off her phone before heading to the cemetery again.However, she didn't bring alcohol this time.
Diana now had a bright smile on her face."Come on. I'll buy you dinner tonight."Oliver didn't refuse.Diana needed support from the people around her now, and to do things to distract herself from the sadness.The two chatted as they walked."Where's Julian? Why isn't he here with you?""What do you mean that you and Fanny are siblings?"Diana and Oliver spoke at the same time. Then they exchanged glances, smiling in amusement."You go ahead.""You go ahead."They seemed to speak at the same time again, and Oliver took the initiative to say, "It's exactly what I meant. You mistook us for a couple last time, and I didn't explain. But now..."Diana was now divorced.Oliver couldn't deny his heart, and wanted to get closer to her. However, he didn't mention his feelings. Now wasn’t the time right. He would scare her away if he did, and they probably couldn't even be friends once that happened...There was plenty of time in the future anyway, and he wasn't in a hurry to let
Diana's eyes were like apricots, round and full. They were akin to ripples on water, and just a glance left one feeling thrilled to the point of being reluctant to breathe.Oliver wasn’t someone easily distracted by appearances, but he was still slightly dazed at the way Diana looked at him.His brain seemed to have received an electric shock; he was momentarily stunned to the point he was unable to speak. After a few moments, he finally said, "I'm fine with anything."His answer was so different from Julian's. The latter would’ve snatched her phone roughly and said, "Food recommendations? You don't need those. Just follow me."Julian had always been a domineering man, and would never say things as Oliver did.However, Oliver was willing to go along with her words.The two men were really different.Diana rarely had contact with men other than Julian. Now that she had learned she had mistaken the relationship between Oliver and Fanny, she became even more cautious, lest she misu
When Diana looked up and closed at the server's face, she suddenly felt that the latter looked suspiciously familiar.She stared at the server for a while, and a trace of nervousness appeared on his face. "Do you need anything else?""No, it's nothing," Diana said, waving her hand. "Sorry I kept staring at you. I don't need anything else."The server nodded and left. He walked around the corner and opened the watch on his wrist, which had a video call turned on."Mr. Fulcher," he greeted respectfully. "Madam almost recognized me.""Hmm," Julian responded from the small video. His handsome features were clear on the small screen. It looked like the sun was casting soft rays on him, as he looked to be covered in a layer of golden light. There was an air of arrogance around him that was hard to ignore, even if the exchange happened through a video call.He had watched the entire scene play out before him clearly through the miniature pinhole camera.Diana's smile was especially
“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