Julian donned a navy blue suit, which was in his usual style and was a perfect fit for his body.It hugged his broad shoulders and narrow hips snugly.The hem of his suit jacket moved as he did, making him look even more suave.Kayla, who was standing next to him, had her face covered with a veil, but her eyes were bright and lively as they told of how happy and smug she was feeling on the inside. She was clearly delighted.Her gown had a long train and left a mark on the floor wherever it swept past, sending petals and balloons flying as she moved.Anyone who saw them would be convinced that they were a match made in heaven.What's more, the groom of the wedding today was none other than Julian Fulcher.Endless streams of congratulations echoed within the wedding hall.Diana stood amidst the raging crowd, and considered giving up.Meanwhile, the security guards were charging toward her.Simon was following behind the security guards.He was pointing right at Diana.She nev
Diana felt as if she had her soul sucked out of her. Her legs seemed to be walking on air, and she was suddenly in a trance-like daze.Who was she? Where was she? Why exactly did she try so hard to come here from that abandoned place? Grandma!It was for Madam Fulcher, the one and only person in this world who loved and doted on her! Tears streamed down her face, soaking all the wounds she gathered these two days in her salty, wet drops.The security guards and bodyguards surrounding her were all in a daze at the sight of the state she was in. When the blood stains on her face were washed off by her tears, they could finally make out her facial features and became even more agitated.They stared hard at the photo that Kayla sent them and yelled, “We can’t let her go! She’s the one Ms. Winnington is looking for!”It didn’t matter to Diana any more.What Julian really felt didn’t matter anymore! Her bet with Grandma didn’t matter, either! It no longer mattered whether s
Julian didn’t want to get married to Kayla. As much as he was forced, he had no desire to marry any woman aside from Diana. Yet at this moment, he had no choice but to give in. He spoke through gritted teeth, completely without his usual commanding aura and as if he had put up a thin veil between him and everyone else. “Fine…”Kayla could finally rest at ease as she took Julian’s hand. However, Julian pushed her hand away as if scalded by it.She could only pretend nothing happened, and quickly adjusted her veil in an attempt to hide her awkwardness.The host noticed the strange air between the two of them, and took the initiative to grab the microphone from Kayla. Just then, Julian snatched the microphone and faced the guests, looking like he was finally ready to deliver his speech.Kayla was touched; she smiled and waited for him to speak.His deep, low voice echoed through the wedding hall, resounding through everyone’s ears. “I, Julian Fulcher…” He paused for a moment, h
He was even trying to clear Diana’s name.As it turned out, he had always known what she cared about, even though he never made it clear.Still, this wasn’t the best place for a confession.Julian didn’t intend to confess. He didn’t even know that his beloved Diana, whom he had been pining for, was here.He knelt because he no longer cared about his dignity, not even his pride. All he wanted was to know where Diana was.There were so many people and so many pairs of eyes around, which was better than him looking out for her alone.Ever since he realized that he loved Diana, he had become more humble and no longer thought of himself as invincible and all-powerful.He looked at every single person in the crowd, his body upright and his side profile perfect like a Greek god statue. His kneeling posture did nothing to lessen his commanding aura and instead, made those before him tremble in uncertainty.Some people in the crowd even began slowly kneeling before him, unable to stand
Diana finally understood the true significance behind why he knelt.It wasn’t just to find her. More importantly, it was to catch Kayla off-guard and ruin the entire wedding.It wasn’t enough for him to just ruin the wedding. He had to tell the truth about how he was being threatened so that everyone would understand. Not only was this wedding a failure in terms of the ceremony, but he also wanted to wipe this entire incident clean psychologically!He wanted everyone to know that Diana was his wife and the only woman he loved.Even if she was his ex-wife, it didn’t lessen his affection for her in the slightest.It did not take much for Diana to understand all the pains he went through. “Silly.”Her heart ached for him the more she thought about it. “How could you kneel in front of so many people because of me…?”“Don’t feel burdened by it.” Julian’s fingers caressed her cheeks gently, touching her wounds so carefully that his fingers began trembling. “Does it hurt?”“It doesn’t
That was what she thought, but tears overflowed and drenched her entire face. “Julian. Julian.”Diana said she wouldn’t be scared.And yet, why did she feel her soul sucked out of her body as fear coursed through her veins? Every single part of her body was trembling.“Julian! Julian!” she yelled again and again, worried he wouldn’t respond to her.Her voice was trembling as well, and pain pierced through Julian’s flesh. She grabbed hold of him tight as her entire body shook, trying to turn his body over so she could have a look.“Let me see…let me see…” Waves of fear flooded Diana, making her almost unable to speak. She could only grab his arm, trying to walk past him.However, Julian persisted in blocking her way like a giant tree towering over a flower.He didn’t want her exposed to the winds and rain.The only thing she could sense was the ear-piercing screams in the venue, and her hands that he held firm behind her back.He was protecting her.The dagger Kayla held whi
At this time…Kayla was distracted by his yelling, and her vision started drifting off.She looked down, and saw Julian grabbing the dagger with his bare hands. Blood dripped down from his palms, no less than the blood he lost from blocking Diana from Kayla’s first attack.Stark red blood flowed and trickled down.“Julian Fulcher!” Kayla yelled at the top of her voice, as if not knowing the best way to vent her frustrations. The only thing she could do was to hold on tight to the dagger and thrust it forward.Especially toward Diana.Julian’s obsession was all because of Diana!No matter what, Kayla knew she had to drive this dagger through that b*tch!Yet, Julian held on so tightly to the blade, letting blood flow, and refusing to let go.“If you let go right now, I can spare your life,” Julian said as he continued gripping onto the dagger, as if he couldn’t feel pain.The tighter he gripped the dagger, the crazier Kayla became.“Spare my life?” Kayla sneered. “How are you
Julian, on the other hand, was turning paler and paler by the minute.He had already blocked Diana from an attack with his chest, which might have affected his heart. They needed a professional doctor to treat him.Diana stood behind him, panicking as she saw the blood on his shirt spread fast. The moment she saw his arms relax slightly, she immediately took the chance to squeeze past his arms and take a look at his wound.Yet, Julian moved even faster than her. He hauled her back into his arms. “Stay still.”He refused to let her leave the safety of his back.He was on guard against Kayla attacking Diana once more.Thankfully, the surrounding guests had snapped back to attention amidst the flabbergasting scene unfolding before them. “Quick! Call for a doctor! A doctor!” The security guards and bodyguards who had been trying to capture Diana changed their target, and started drawing closer to Kayla instead.They were waiting for a chance to nab her at one go, without letting
“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