Marvin leaned his fat body against the door."Miss Winnington. If you go out now, it'll be an insult to me," he said bluntly. His gaze felt like repulsive leeches crawling all over Diana, and it made her deeply uncomfortable. She shifted slightly and forced a smile as she said, "Mr. Trotter, I really need to use the restroom."Marvin had taken the chance to touch her hand when he pressed the teacup into her hand just now, and it made Diana's skin itch with the urge to clean it immediately. Yet, the man refused to let her leave."I'll be upfront with you, Diana," Marvin said with narrowed eyes. "I'm willing to invest in your studio, but I'll never invest in people who don't matter. If you want money from me, you'll have to perform well."After saying that, Marvin pulled out a room card and placed it on the table. The meaning behind his words couldn't be any more obvious.But Diana clearly underestimated how nasty the man could get as he added, "As long as you go, I'll always ha
Diana didn't want to involve her past, and she was even less willing to do anything in the name of D&J. Alas, there was nothing else she could think of.She couldn't contact any good investors, and those she could were trash like Marvin. If she continued to deal with people like him, forget losing her money; she would also endanger herself in the process.After considering all her options, it seemed talking to Mr. Crawford was the only way to go.But… What was she to say to him? She still needed time to consider it properly.After Diana finally calmed down, she flung the room card into the trash before leaving the private room and heading straight for the restroom.When she exited the restroom, she only took a couple of steps into the lobby before the receptionist called out to her. "Ms. Winnington?"Diana froze and turned to look at her. "Yes?"The girl rushed forward and placed a bottle of disinfectant in her hand."You've been asked to disinfect before you leave."Diana was
Sadly, Julian didn't see her at all.Diana had hidden behind a wall, carefully and clearly memorizing Julian's smile.Was it that great to be with Kayla?That nasty man who kept insisting she needed to be disinfected, had turned into a gentle and indulgent man with a bright smile on his lips.In his heart...Had he ever thought about her and their babies at all whenever he was with Kayla?Diana felt a terrible pang shoot through her heart; she grew even more determined to secure an investment for her studio and get through this challenging period.She had to...She had to have the power to compete with Julian, crush Kayla, and make that witch kneel at the grave of her babies and apologize!Diana walked away with her heels clicking as she did, leaving only cold indifference in her eyes.Julian, on the other hand, hadn't noticed Diana. His smile vanished when he turned to see Kayla.His face turned cold, with an indescribably frightening chill radiating from him.Kayla couldn
Julian wanted to hear things like Kayla asking for forgiveness even less!Because only Diana had the right to decide to forgive her or not!His serious and chilling look shocked Kayla. "J-Julian... I-I won't talk about it anymore, okay? Don't be angry. Actually, I was just confused recently. I know I was wrong, I...""Hmm."Julian kept the materials in his hand and said, "Keep it up and stop having any bad intentions toward Diana. Otherwise, I'll deal with you permanently next time."Obviously, Kayla still remembered what had happened to Luke.She also knew how much the Pabian family suffered as a result.Yet she didn't think Julian, who had already taken away her fertility, would still think badly of her... She was extremely lucky today, too!Even today, when she took the initiative to show her goodwill toward Diana, he was still reprimanding her and telling her not to have any bad intentions toward Diana.Julian...Kayla gritted her teeth and hung her head down, looking
And yet, who had given Diana this document?Diana stood on her tiptoes and looked out several times, but couldn't see anyone nearby.Was it Julian?Diana shuddered at the thought.How could that be? Perhaps. Madam Fulcher was helping her in secret. It couldn't possibly be Julian, her scumbag ex-husband who only had eyes for Kayla, as well as the man who sent her disinfectant when he saw her being molested.If it wasn't Madam Fulcher, then she would only worry if Diana mentioned it to her.Whoever sent her the documents, the person meant no harm and managed to get past the security in the hospital. It shouldn’t be a bad person.In that case, Diana would keep this matter a secret for now.She was relieved to know that her current situation was not a result of her own mismanagement, but rather someone's deliberate mischief.She opened the window and took a breath of fresh air, suddenly feeling like the fighting spirit in her had been ignited.Now, she felt more confident about c
[Not tomorrow,] Mr. Crawford said. [But I'm free the day after.]Diana thought about it and replied, [Okay. Let's meet up at Eastside Teahouse, then.]She had personal reasons for wanting to meet at the same place again.After all, she had never met Mr. Crawford in person. All her knowledge of him was limited to their chats. Since Julian seemed to like monitoring her, she decided to use it to her advantage and let him watch her at the teahouse. If anything happened, she shouldn't have any trouble escaping.After deciding that, Diana returned to bed and rested. Thinking about it for a while, she decided to wash the red dress that same night. She wanted to wear the red dress again when she met Mr. Crawford the day after tomorrow. Not because it looked good, but because the color and style were different from her usual style. She hoped that wearing the dress would give her confidence for a fresh start.Soon, the day to meet Mr. Crawford arrived.It was the first time Diana was m
"Mine?" Diana asked as she pointed to herself. She was a little stunned."It's from L...?"Diana was no longer the owner of L, even just in name. Why was she being given new products?"Perhaps it's a mistake," Diana said as she fished out her phone to call the store manager about it.But the receptionist was firm and said, "Ms. Winnington, we're almost about to get off work. Please sign it. I'm sure these clothes are for you."Diana couldn't bear to trouble the staff, so she said, "Please send it to my room, then."Just as she entered her room, she didn't have time to turn on the lights or take off her shoes before a chime from her computer announced that she had an email.It was already so late. Who could it be?Was it Mr. Crawford wanting to confirm the details of the investment?During their meeting in person today, they chatted more than when they did online. Diana felt that the woman in Mr. Crawford's heart wasn’t a lie, as she could feel his sincerity every time he spoke
Diana did receive the clothes.But now, she felt even more disgusted with Julian.It turned out that the clothes hadn’t been sent wrongly by L's staff.It was Julian who had sent them on purpose, all to piss her off!Diana looked at the clothes, and was sorely tempted to throw them out of the window. But on second thought, she called the three girls from the reception who had yet to get off work to her room."Take three pieces each," Diana said as she counted the clothes. "Take them all. Free of charge."She would wear her own red dress, and not the dresses that Julian gave her!The girls were overjoyed, as if they had hit the jackpot. "These are new products from L! We can't even afford a single dress from there, even if we saved up months of our salary!"The girls covered their chests and gave Diana a disbelieving look. "Are you sure you want to give it to us?"Diana nodded firmly. "Yes."She moved to the side and let them enter her room to take the clothes that had bee
“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