“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
However, the thought of Oliver scheming against her and forcing her to the Pabians’ residence made her resistant against him.She pondered for a moment, and finally decided to reach out to Simon.After all, Simon had a part to play in inviting her over to the Pabians. He probably shared a good relationship with Oliver. She might be able to find something out from him.Standing at the door of the Channings residence, Julian didn’t see Simon in it after driving over.It was almost the new year, yet Simon wasn’t home.Nobody cared about where he went. Julian, unable to locate him, had no choice but to return to the villa.Diana was still waiting for him, after all.Yet when he returned home, not only was Nina not there yet, but even Diana wasn’t around.The wall decorations were left forgotten on the table, which told of how much of a hurry Diana must’ve been in when she left. She didn’t even bother tidying up the place before leaving.The servants thought they wanted to use the
Who could she be looking for at the Channing family?Oliver, who else? She didn’t even know anyone else.As for Simon…Julian remembered that she didn’t look very happy at the mention of his name. What’s more, Simon was the one who dragged her to the Pabian family. That probably only served to worsen her impression of him.“Sir.” Noel could feel the mood in the car worsening, and became cautious even in his breathing. “Shall… Shall we look for her at the Channings’?”“No need.”It seemed she wasn’t in any danger whatsoever.She even looked like she was in a great mood.Why did Julian even bother?“Let’s go home.”The moment he issued his instruction, the limited edition Rolls Royce drove off slowly in the night.Diana was completely unaware of what was going on outside. She had agreed to meet Simon here.As she had guessed, he did know the reason Julian was so upset after seeing Oliver. However, he didn’t want to talk about it over the phone and requested for her to come
"But I..."Diana was stunned speechless, even before Simon could finish his sentence.She had only been joking! She didn't expect that it would turn out to be the truth!In that instant, she felt as if she had been struck by lightning. For a moment, she couldn't believe such a dramatic thing could happen to Julian.Her lips trembled as she continued off from where Simon stopped. "But… You and Julian don't have the same father."Simon didn't even give her time to react. "Yes, you guessed it right."No wonder Julian was suddenly so upset!If Simon and Julian had different fathers, it meant the parents he had always thought were deeply in love had long drifted apart.Julian must be deeply heartbroken.He was already the type to keep things to himself, and now, he would surely become even more tormented by keeping this matter to himself.She turned around immediately, eager to leave. "I want to go home."Julian was waiting for her.She needed to go back and comfort him.Even i
Just then, Simon said, "Your phone’s ringing."Diana pulled her phone out, and saw that Nina was calling her."Where are you?!" Nina sounded particularly anxious. "Mr. Fulcher has been looking for you all day, but now we can't reach him! Did you two meet up or not?"Diana was taken aback by the information. "Julian was looking for me?"How could he have been looking for her when she hadn't even received a single phone call?"Yeah," Nina replied, then briefly told Diana about the events of the evening. "When Vans came to see me, he happened to receive a call from Julian. He wanted Vans to ask me what time you’d be coming home. He thought we were together."After Nina finished speaking, she paused before asking, "He still hasn't contacted you?""No," Diana said, and she quickly looked at her phone. There was one missed call, but it was from an hour ago. Since then, there hadn't been a call or even a text message.That was the reason she didn't pay attention to her phone and ins
“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