This man was undoubtedly dangerous.Diana couldn't help but shift further away from him."Feigning weakness to lure the enemy," Simon muttered in a righteous yet wicked manner. "Many women love using this tactic, but it doesn't work on me."Diana was speechless. Her previous judgment about this man had been completely wrong.He wasn't just a crazed man. He was an extremely narcissistic maniac!She was stunned by his behavior, and the only thing she could say was his name. "Mr. Simon Channing."Even though Oliver and Simon had the same surname, the difference between them was vast.A playful look flashed in Simon's eyes. "We've only met once, but you’ve already memorized my name."All in all, he concluded that Diana was interested in him."It seems I have far greater charm than Oliver, no?" He looked at her as if she were a doll, with a disrespectful leer that made Diana very uncomfortable.She almost shifted to the edge of the seat, but she couldn't escape the dangerous aur
In Diana’s mind, alarm bells were going off like crazy.She once again raised the paper bag in her hand and threw it wildly at Simon.However, her blows were like raindrops. They were consistent, but not painful.Simon rubbed his chin, tilting his head slightly to the side as he stared at her. A faint smile still tugged on his lips, and there was a touch of an indecipherable emotion in it. His eyes were swirling with a mix of emotions as he said, "You're the first woman who dares to hit me a second time."Instantly, he firmly gripped her chin. "So, tell me. Will you tell my brother that I've taken a liking to you? That I'm out to steal you from him?""Get off me!" There was a distinct pain in Diana’s chin, and her face was red from anger. Despite how tightly Simon restrained her, she shoved hard at him."Let me go...!"However, that did nothing but make Simon tighten his grip even more.For a moment, Diana thought she was going to suffocate.She was certain this man was
The chill running up Diana's spine when Simon approached her also crept back up on her."I didn't lie to you," Diana said, then turned around and walked towards the villa.It seemed all the security guards here had been replaced. When she looked up, she saw unfamiliar faces. She thought she might not be able to get in, but to her surprise, they immediately opened the iron gate as soon as they saw her face. "You're back, Madam." The title they addressed her with made her feel like she had traveled into another world."I'm not...""The master made special mention of it tonight," the security guard cut in, seemingly guessing what she would say as he glanced at her white dress. He smiled and said, "If a beautiful woman wearing a white dress comes, she must be the mistress of the Fulcher family."The security guard hadn't addressed her mistakenly.But... Diana wasn't the one who was supposed to be wearing a white dress and waltzing in like this.It should be Kayla.Diana force
The night was silent. The only light in the villa that was still on was the bedroom light.Diana turned around and saw that Simon had already driven away, so she planned to return the same way she came from. However, a servant noticed her and quickly greeted her. "Madam."It was truly strange. Everyone she encountered was a stranger; yet without exception, they all referred to her as "Madam" as if she had never divorced Julian. But with just a little more reasoning in her mind, it became clear that she wasn't the one they were actually referring to. However, Diana couldn’t be bothered to explain to them that she wasn't Kayla or Julian's fiancee. She simply responded calmly, "Yes."Upon hearing this, the servant's eyes instantly lit up. He hurriedly bowed and gestured to Diana, saying, "Please head upstairs, Madam. The master has been waiting for you." Did Julian know she would come? Had he tacitly accepted her as Kayla's replacement, allowing her to reappear by his sid
As their eyes met, neither of them said a word. However, they gradually closed the distance between them."Do you know what you're doing?" Julian asked hoarsely as he stared at the woman in front of him.Diana was dressed in a nightgown, and he felt an intense dryness in his throat as he continued to study her alluring appearance.She lowered her gaze, hiding all her emotions beneath her eyes. "Why don't you take a guess?" Diana replied.In an instant, everything went dark.By the time Diana reacted, Julian had already trapped her in his embrace. His inky eyes seemed to have a fire in them, and even his breath was scorching hot.Diana turned her head awkwardly.Seeing her reaction, Julian instantly acted like a child who had done something wrong, releasing her in a panic.He even took off his suit and covered her with it. "I can't guess," he admitted. The once arrogant Julian now voluntarily admitted something he couldn't do before her. He had always guessed her thought
Julian's eyes darkened further until it was terrifying to look at, and even his breathing grew heavy.Like punishment and revenge at the same time, he placed his fingers on the marks on her chin, covering the traces of another man with great jealousy. Displeasure flashed in his eyes."Diana, you shouldn't provoke me."Initially, he planned to handle their interaction with caution and slow, gradual progression. Yet every single one of her actions carried a deadly allure, almost causing the blood in his body to flow backward instead. Despite that, he still had to make an effort to restrain himself.He gripped her jaw as he gently bit her earlobe, his voice restrained. It sounded like a warning and a reminder, resonating like the danger of a deep well."Oliver said you don't like him, and you're not together with him.""That's the truth.""So now, you want to be with his brother?"Diana almost burst out laughing. "You have quite an imagination."She didn't want anything to do
Diana chuckled.She laughed because she knew Julian already knew the answer, yet he still asked the question on purpose and feigned ignorance."It's nothing." Since he wanted to keep up the act, she would play along. "I suddenly thought about it, and wanted to see if you were still clean."Julian was instantly pleased. His exquisitely sculpted features looked as though they had been bathed in the spring rain, emanating a refreshing and pleasant aura."You care about that.""I do."And yet, what difference did it make if she cared? Julian would eventually be with his fiancee.Diana had a smile on her face, but she was fully aware of the deep pain that continued to sting her heart."Do you care?" she suddenly retorted.Julian seemed taken aback. "About what?""Do you care if I'm clean or not?""I don't," Julian said quickly, shaking his head.If she wasn't, he might just kill that man outright. After all, Diana would be his as long as the man was dead…right?In the midst
It wasn't because Diana had saved Julian when he was a child that he spared her, but because her face was similar to Kayla's.However, she didn't explain this to Oliver.In a moment of recklessness the last time she had seen Oliver, she had suggested being together with her. Fortunately, he had turned her down. If he hadn't, she would definitely be more at a loss on how to face him right now.Diana twirled her fingers together and said, "About the incident this time... Thank you."He had always silently stayed by her side, helping her with everything he could.And yet, she couldn't give him anything in return.Including her feelings...Oliver sensed her unease. She had something on her mind in the past few days, so she had somewhat neglected their friendship.Today, however, she looked so much calmer.Oliver was relieved to see this, and said jokingly, "Is that how you show gratitude nowadays? Just by saying thanks?""What else?" Diana suddenly became interested. It would
“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