The next day was the day they agreed to meet.When Diana arrived at her studio in the morning, she confirmed Cecilia’s schedule. Then she contacted Julian, asking him when he would come. He said he would be there very soon.Diana thought about it, then called Cecilia to come earlier. “You have to reach my studio before Mr. Fulcher does, so you can put on the dress and give him a surprise.”Cecilia was hesitant.Would she look overly anxious if she tried out the dress before Mr. Fulcher arrived? Men didn’t like women who were too bold and unrestrained. She didn’t want to do that.Diana agreed with her thinking. “I understand.” She didn’t force Cecilia to come earlier. “I’ll call you when Mr. Fulcher is here.”“Wait!” Cecilia said. She thought about the man who made her heart beat faster, and looked at the pink diamond he gave her a few days ago. She bit her lip. Regretting her earlier words, she yelled passionately, “I’ll go right now!” Julian had already expressed his liking
Cecilia was getting excited.Not only because of this dress, which exceeded way beyond her expectations, but more so because Julian was on his way here. “Here, help me wear this.” Cecilia opened the jewelry box containing her pink diamond necklace, and asked Diana to put it around her neck. “This is Mr. Fulcher’s gift to me. I think it matches the sky blue dress you made for me very well.”Cecilia was thankful she brought it out. She hoped Julian would never forget how she looked today.Julian truly would never forget today.When he arrived at the studio, he knew that something was off. The air didn’t feel right.Although there were no customers in sight, and there was even a sign that says “Closed” hanging on the studio door, he could feel a joyous ambience in the air the moment he entered.It didn’t feel like… Like Diana was going to talk to him about Aster and Star’s death anniversary.Displeasure rose in his chest as he walked upstairs to the second floor, calling out
The smile on Diana’s face vanished. “Julian Fulcher, what do you mean by that?”What’s with that dark look on his face? Didn’t he realize she was trying to pair him and Ms. Jarvis by inviting her here to the studio?Julian walked toward her, and looked down at her. “Nothing. I came here today in hopes you’ll come clean about not losing your memories.”Not losing her memories? But she really did! Until now, Julian didn’t believe her.Diana took a deep breath. From the bottom of her heart, she found this man incredibly frustrating and unreasonable. She had said it so many times that she no longer wanted to talk about it anymore, especially not today, when Ms. Jarvis was right here with them.“Shh.” She lifted her hands and pointed to the dressing room, indicating to him that someone was inside, and that he should stop behaving so unreasonably.Julian ignored her. He was in a rush to get to the cemetery, and had no time to waste with Diana.“If you’re not sincere about it, th
All Cecilia’s hopes were dashed.Contrary to her expectations, she was treated so terribly by Julian.Anger rose up her chest, turning her face red. She leaned hard on the mirror with her palm, leaving colorful paint marks on the surface. That was the only way she could continue standing where she was.She bit her lips, refusing to make a sound.She couldn’t make a sound.She didn’t want Julian seeing her in such a terrible state after abandoning her pride.Thankfully, although he splashed paint at her, he didn’t barge into the dressing room.Diana subconsciously heaved a sigh of relief amidst the shock she felt. Her head was buzzing right now.She had been arrogant. She shouldn’t have interfered with Julian’s relationship and indirectly hurt Cecilia.“Mr. Fulcher,” she had to remind him in a low voice, “Ms. Jarvis…is inside.”She hoped Julian could apologize to Cecilia. That way, the situation could still possibly be salvaged.However, Julian disregarded her advice complete
“Mrs. Fulcher.”Yet, the moment Julian shot them a glare, no one dared to address her as that any longer.Diana looked at the words at the entrance of the cemetery, and mumbled under her breath, “Fulcher Cemetery…”She stopped dead in her tracks, and turned to the man whose face was dark as hell. “Julian Fulcher, what exactly do you want by bringing me here?”Cecilia was all she could think about right now. “You really shouldn’t have said what you said just now.”Cecilia was going to be so sad.The anger Julian had suppressed all the way here finally burst forth. He grabbed Diana’s chin viciously. “Diana Winnington, cut the act!”Did she think that as long as she pretended not to recognize this place and know who was buried right here, he would be fooled by her?His grip was so strong, Diana felt her jaw almost dislocate. However, she couldn’t even struggle against his hold. She could only stare at him in disbelief.It felt as if they had returned to when she first came to R
Did they cry out in sorrow in the netherworld?She neither held herself back, nor deliberately forced a response. Without realizing it, tears spilled down her cheeks and on the ground.The veins on Julian’s forehead popped when he saw Diana like that. Aside from fuming anger, he felt…powerless.He looked disdainfully at her. “What do you think? Until when are you going to pretend that you’ve lost your memories? Today was their death anniversary, and you spared no effort in making use of them to turn my slight interest in Cecilia into disgust. Good on you, Diana Winnington.”Did she really think she could do anything just by using her memory loss as an excuse?! Others couldn’t even blame her properly!Diana was exhausted explaining it to him so many times. “Julian Fulcher…” Her mind was in a mess. She had no memories of the tombstone, or her children buried under it. What’s more, Julian refused to believe that she had lost her memories.“I…” Before she could go on, Julian’s ph
On the day of Aster and Star’s death anniversary, Julian couldn’t look happy even in Betty and Sean’s presence.The thought of his two children, who didn’t even have the chance to see the light of day, weighed heavily on his heart.Diana was also drowning in endless sorrow. She couldn’t walk out of it.She hated herself. She hated herself for not being able to remember a single thing.That yellowed tombstone…Why exactly did her children lose their lives?She wanted to regain her memories. She wanted to regain them all. And yet, she felt so powerless and lost.She covered her head with arms, feeling like it was on the verge of exploding.The air in the villa was somber.Just then, members of the Jarvis family came knocking on the door in search of Cecilia’s whereabouts.Mrs. Jarvis was most worried. “Cecilia said she’d call me after meeting Mr. Fulcher, but I haven’t heard from her until now.”Cecilia was their princess, whom they doted on dearly. They couldn’t bear for anyt
Cecilia took a deep breath, and recalled the firm rejection Julian threw her way before grabbing Diana and leaving the studio.Pain shot through her chest.However, she took care to be polite, and stopped herself from yelling at Diana. “I’ll be going home with my family. Goodbye.”Before Diana had a chance to say anything, Cecilia left the studio in the company of her family members. She looked just like a princess, doted on and surrounded by her loving subjects.Diana could tell that Cecilia’s family had many questions for her, as they kept rambling on about something to her. Cecilia didn’t look at all frustrated, and kept smiling sweetly as she responded to each one of them. She must’ve received lots of love from them.Diana couldn’t help but think about her Betty. If Betty received such love, could she grow up into a loving and happy adult?Diana watched on as Cecilia walked away and eventually drove off. Only then did she snap back to reality.She had never felt the love of
“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