When Oliver dragged these questions out into the light, Julian felt as if someone had given him a tight slap on the face.Reality had beaten him to a pulp, and he was almost roaring in anger; but at the same time, he whispered in a hoarse voice, "Because she doesn't like me anymore...!""Then, who does she like now?" Oliver pressed.Julian didn't dare answer, nor did he dare think about it.But in his heart, he had a faint guess that perhaps Diana still had feelings for him.However, he didn't dare admit it.He was afraid he would once again make a wrong guess about Diana's thoughts, and do something that would upset her even more.After all, she had said that she hoped he would marry Kayla, and that he would never appear before her again.For her to make such an earnest request, she must’ve been very disgusted with him. He shouldn't delude himself into thinking that she still had feelings for him."Stop trying to fool me, Oliver."Sure, Julian still had feelings for Diana,
To prevent Kayla from screaming, Oliver had taped her mouth shut.It could be said that Kayla was like a fish on Diana's chopping board, just waiting to be slaughtered.When Kayla caught sight of Diana, her eyes widened and she began to whimper.She struggled violently, as if she had something to say.On the other hand, Diana was in no hurry. She waited until she could thank Oliver properly, and walked him to the elevator before returning to her apartment.When she came back into the room, she was holding a brocade box. Inside was a safety charm Oliver had told her about.He had agreed to bring Kayla here on the condition that Diana promised to keep herself safe, but that he would also provide some safety to her in the form of this charm.Oliver had thought of everything for her.Yes, there were still many people in this world who cared about her.Diana felt a burst of warmth in her heart. When she thought about Oliver's solemn expression, she put the brocade box carefully in
If water were to fall on the wound, the pain would undoubtedly be agonizing.And yet, the pain Kayla would feel wouldn't even be one-tenth of the torment Diana's babies was forced to suffer."You should’ve never touched my babies’ grave!"Not only had Kayla dug up the grave, but she also scattered their ashes!Every time Diana thought about it, she wished she could burn Kayla into ashes and wash it down with rainwater as well!For the time being, she couldn't. However, she could make it rain on Kayla’s injured face.Kayla understood what Diana was planning to do, and she turned pale. Her lips trembled uncontrollably as she begged, "My dear sister..."Kayla's tone was vastly different than before."You can't do this to me! We're sisters! We have the same father!"She twisted and turned on the chair Diana had tied her, struggling hard to break free. Yet the more she struggled, the tighter the ropes gnawed into her skin.Diana remained indifferent to her every move."Julian!"
It was also the first time Diana felt the extent of her parent's favoritism could never be corrected.She shouldn't have ever tried to compete with Kayla for their affection or attention, and she definitely shouldn't have tried to sow discord in that family.They were all rotten to the core, and should all rot together in the same family!Diana didn't need such people as family, and she didn't need to get Kayla punished by using James and Kate either.Instead, she wanted Kayla to understand firsthand that one had to face the consequences when one did something wrong.Since Kayla’s parents hadn't educated her about this fact, then Diana would do it in their stead.With that thought burning in mind, Diana grabbed the basin and poured its entire contents right on Kayla's face, causing the latter to scream in agony."Diana! You're being unreasonable!" She had already exposed James's part in this, so why did this b*tch still insist on targeting only her?"Unreasonable?" Diana repe
So, how was Kayla pathetic?Diana was clearly the pathetic one!Kayla's eyes snapped wide open. With the garish scar across her face, she looked like a corpse, utterly devoid of her usual delicate beauty."You're pathetic because everything you have was taken from me," Diana said firmly. "Family background, parents, men... I don't care how good or bad they are. I was the one who never wanted them in the first place."Before Diana was eighteen, she had fantasies about her parents and family. After turning eighteen, she slowly learned to let go. When she learned of James's deplorable actions, she realized she didn't need to learn how to let things go. Rather, doing so had become a natural thing.She didn't want family members like that.And then, there was Julian. Yes, Diana acted as a substitute. But so what? There were many things in fate that couldn’t be controlled, but Diana had never acted against her conscience, much less did she enjoy going against it!"And you, y
Diana was completely unaffected by Kayla's tears, and her calmness was terrifying.It was only now that Kayla remembered how Diana had survived a rather harsh environment her entire childhood.Diana had been so young when James abandoned her. Later, Lucy intentionally caused the death of her foster parents, hoping to leave Diana without a single ounce of support. But even though she was forced to fight with dogs for food just to survive, she had done it and succeeded.This woman had gone through the most bitter days in one's life.She wasn't a saint, nor was she an angel.She was simply one who sought pure and raw revenge!She hadn't taken action against Kayla before, not because she refused to, but simply because she was biding her time for the perfect opportunity. However, the incident with the grave ultimately accelerated her revenge.Diana, in her current state, was so intimidating that Kayla seemed like a pure and innocent angel next to her. Though Diana was never a goo
If Diana couldn't tolerate Kayla's existence in this world anymore, Julian would take action in her stead. However, under no circumstances would he ever hand the knife to Diana and let her do it with her own hands!Diana could see how anxious Julian was through the peephole.He would always be that way whenever Kayla was concerned. It was quite interesting, wasn't it?The man who once claimed that everything he felt for Kayla was simply out of obligation, and that the one he truly loved was Diana...Would go all out to protect the woman he considered to be indebted to. What was love, then?In the end, it was only a hollow word from Julian's lips.Diana shouldn't have taken it seriously in the first place.She lowered her head at the thought, and sorrow flickered in her eyes.Only a few seconds had passed, but Julian couldn't wait any longer. He had Noel bring the property management in charge of the apartment and pry open Diana's door.He moved so quickly that Diana didn't
Julian sighed. He had long known that Vans and Nina would eventually end up like this, but he hadn't expected it to happen so soon. He sighed again. "If you really don't want to get engaged, I can help you.""Don't be naive, Julian. You can help me once, but you can't help me forever," Vans said with a bitter smile, the helplessness in his voice evident. "I'm well aware of my situation. I'm not as capable as you. The best way for me is just quietly to follow along.""That's a pity." After all, this was Vans’ life, and his family was different from Julian's. Julian knew that everyone in this circle had their own difficulties and powerlessness, so he didn't push the matter any further."What is?""It's a pity I just rented the unit next door for you, hoping you could keep an eye on Diana. But..." There was a hint of disappointment in Julian's voice.Vans was so angry that he wanted to raise his hand and hit Julian. "Things are already like this, and you're still thinking about
“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