Vans had personally dealt with Lina, turning her into Richburgh’s laughingstock with that slap-swollen face and messy hair at her own banquet. However, Diana was unable to accept that Vans neither issued Lina an ultimatum nor broke off their wedding engagement. He didn’t break up with Nina, either.Yes…After what happened at the banquet, Nina requested Vans for a breakup. Yet, he didn’t agree to it.Things between them had reached a stalemate.Right now, Nina was shunning Vans at all costs.That was how Diana came up with the idea of inviting Nina over to celebrate the new year. Firstly, it would help to comfort Nina. Secondly, with Nina around, Vans wouldn’t come visit.Diana’s heart ached for Nina, but her conflicting feelings regarding Vans clashed in her heart. He had, after all, risked much to protect her babies once upon a time.He had also helped her out many, many times.She instinctively sensed that Vans wasn’t a two-timer or a heartless man. As Julian had said, s
His hands subconsciously clenched into fists. His father was right. He wanted Diana. He wanted her desperately.To the point that just by hearing her laughing with Julian, he felt jealous beyond anything.When he heard them planning on getting remarried, he wished he could rush in and take Diana by the lips and claim her as his!Noel stood at a corner of the kitchen, and glanced outside. Out of so many people in the kitchen, he was the only one who dared to speak up and remind Julian. “Sir, Mr. Channing is here.”The moment Diana heard Noel’s announcement, the smile on her face vanished and she immediately turned solemn.Ever since Julian showed her the evidence that proved that Oliver wasn’t the man she thought him to be, she had been feeling confused and conflicted. She tried not to think about it.But the time had eventually come for her to face the music.Diana glanced at Julian, wanting to clean his face up. However, Julian stopped her. “It’s fine just like that
Oliver’s heart hardened with determination.He looked calmly at Julian, with no intention of stopping the latter from recording their conversation.He knew that any struggle would simply be in vain.Diana probably sensed his real character by now.The thought made Julian’s lips arch in a smile. His fingers landed on the chair with self-assured confidence. “Are you here to apologize, or to plead for me to show the Channings mercy?”“Neither.” Oliver knew Julian. Even if he were to plead with him, Julian would never agree to it.It was because he had made a move on Diana.Julian would never let it go.“I admit defeat,” Oliver said. “I lost to you this time, and I’m willing to bear the consequences. As for an apology…” He paused for a moment, as conflict flashed past his eyes. “Even if I were to apologize, it wouldn’t be for this.”He had figured things out.Anyone had the right to pursue happiness and ambitions.How could he give up on what he wanted, just because he shared
Julian looked at Oliver in shock. “What do you mean by that?”Oliver went all out, as he pulled out a napkin and wiped his face. “Seems like you don’t know that Diana saved you once before.”Julian looked as if someone had just punched in the face. “She saved me once?”Wasn’t it Kayla who saved him? In his daze, the memory of Diana mentioning Yale Village when Kayla kidnapped her and letting them call each other flashed past his mind at that instant.This concerned Diana.At that moment, Julian was genuinely flustered.He didn’t care whether Oliver had the upper hand right now, and simply blurted out in a panic, “Yale Village… She had been to Yale Village before?”If Oliver weren’t around, he would’ve rushed out and ran to Diana, and asked her what this was all about.Why did she mention Yale Village that day?And why didn’t she mention it again at all after that one time?A vague thought flashed past his mind, but he was unable to pin it down.He could only pin his hopes
“Are you sure?” Julian seemed to still be in a daze. “It was Diana who saved me?”“Yes,” Oliver replied. “It wasn’t my first time meeting her. I gave her a sweet potato at Yale Village.”Her face was flushed a bright red—he remembered it clearly.Her eyes were bright and glistening as they stared wide-eyed at him.Oliver remembered that look for many years to come.As it turned out, Yale Village was where their intertwined destinies began.And Julian was the last to find out.“Then… What’s with Kayla?”“She’s an imposter.” Oliver’s voice was laced with disdain at the mention of that woman. “She’s addicted to being an imposter, and leveraged on her resemblance with Diana to do many wicked things.”When Julian woke up at that time, he did notice a slight difference between Kayla’s figure and that of the person who saved him.However, he didn’t think too much of it.When one was suffering from high fever, unclear vision and being unable to see people around was absolutely norma
But of course, he couldn’t possibly say that to Oliver.Still, his eyes were filled with clear disdain.He even looked thankful to Oliver for telling him something so important. That little bit of guilt he had felt for Kayla had vanished without a trace.Unfortunately for Oliver, this wasn’t the end result he hoped. In fact, the look on Julian’s face made it seem like what he had done worked against him instead.Oliver was so furious, his accumulated feelings of inferiority and humiliation from years of being trampled under Julian’s feet and losing to the latter began arising in his chest.And so, he decided to reveal the truth about Simon Channing. “Julian Fulcher, you pride yourself in having everything under control and that nothing escapes your eye. But in actual fact, not only did you mistake your own savior, but you don’t even know that your parents left you with a biological younger brother!“Where’s your control?“Where is your power?!”Oliver’s words were like an
That look in his face induced pity.Diana’s heart ached at the sight of it, and she immediately sat next to him. She fixed her eyes on him and asked solemnly, “Julian, what exactly happened?”Julian evaded her line of sight. There were still abrasion wounds on his knuckles.Even without his reply, Diana knew that his chat with Oliver didn’t go well.She immediately grabbed the first-aid kit to help him treat his wound. “Why can’t you talk things through properly?” She was worried that he hit Oliver because of her.She pondered for a moment before saying, “Even if he’s not who I thought he was, it’s all right.”Diana looked at Julian and went on, “It’s better that you don’t get hurt.“To us, Oliver can be a friend or a stranger, perhaps even an enemy. I might care and be troubled about the kind of a person he is, but I’ll never be sad about it.”Her voice was gentle, comforting to the soul. “But… My heart will ache if you get hurt.”The look in Julian’s eyes finally gentled upo
For example, its effect on Diana right now was undeniable.The sight of his handsome face improved her mood so much, she almost forgot that she was angry with him for lying to her.She even smiled at him and advised, “It’s a little crooked. Pull it slightly to the left.”“How about this?” Julian did so. “Is it still crooked?”“Yes, it still is.” Diana stood in the middle and looked at it. “It’s still not right.” She pointed towards the left. “A little more to the left.”Julian adjusted it accordingly. “How about now?”This took much time and effort.Diana shook her head. “It’s still not straight. Now it’s too much to the left. You need to adjust it to the right a bit more.”If it were anyone else, Julian would have dusted his hands and called it quits.Or rather, aside from Diana, no one else could possibly make him stand here.Not to mention make him move left and right like a bumbling idiot.But this person was Diana.He was willing to do her every bidding.Even if it wa
“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