Diana was flabbergasted.For a moment, she thought Julian was pulling her leg. “Gone mad?”How did Cecilia suddenly go mad?Diana considered other possibilities.“Is she lying to you?”She thought about it, and decided to tell Julian about the bloody words cursing her to die that Cecilia left behind on the second floor of her studio. The room was pitch-black. She was deep in her thoughts, and didn’t see Julian’s face darken with displeasure.“Diana!” He said harshly, frustration building in his cold eyes. “I’m here to discuss things with you, not to hear you slander her!”He could see with his own two eyes whether Cecilia had really gone mad!If Cecilia was really pretending and just putting up an act, he would’ve been able to tell in one glance. He wouldn’t have even mentioned it to Diana with such a heavy heart.“Slander?”Diana wasn’t slandering Cecilia. She was simply telling him the truth. “I’m just raising one possibility. I…”“But this possibility of yours is impo
“I’m not saying you spoke too much,” Julian said tiredly. “I just think I have enough sense to judge the Jarvises’ character, and the condition Cecilia’s in.“What’s more, Cecilia became like this because we were too careless on the day of Aster and Star’s death anniversary. If you hadn’t taken the liberty of telling her I had prepared a surprise for her, if you hadn’t called her to your studio to try out the gown, if I had been calm…”“Stop talking!” Every single word Julian spoke was like a harsh rebuke to Diana.Just like the car accident that Simon was in today.It was her fault.It was all her fault! “Let me go, please,” Diana said. She was so tired.She didn’t want to be blamed for everything, especially by someone she trusted the most right now—who couldn’t even bother giving her the comfort she needed most.“I did wrong to Cecilia Jarvis.”Just like what she did to Simon.She had done wrong to him, too!“I did wrong to everyone. Are you happy now?”Tears welled
Before she reunited with Julian, she was clearly doing well in Stirling City.She was independent, self-assured, and confident. She didn’t know when it happened, but she began becoming reliant on Julian. It was an addiction she couldn’t remove herself from.But now, she had woken up from her stupor.This time, she would never give in to him!She would never, ever rely on him for comfort and peace of mind!Meanwhile, Julian was in bed and staring at the ceiling in the master bedroom. The look in Cecilia’s eyes and her bony arms flashed in his mind non-stop.Her arms were covered with injection marks and bruises. Clearly, she wouldn’t have survived without getting hooked up to the nutrient solution.Julian had asked Sue for details about Cecilia’s condition. She told him that Cecilia would usually behave crazily at home.A bright and kind young lady like her would suddenly scream at the wall and her clothes, and call them vixens.Sometimes, when Sue entered the room, Cecilia wou
Julian…Was the only who thought he was spoiling and doting on Diana. It had all been in his own head.In actual truth, he never prioritized her when problems really arose, like he thought he would. Why else would he have been so negligent today?At that moment, deep regret overwhelmed him. That silly girl was probably crying all alone right now.Suddenly, he didn’t have the courage to go to her.Meanwhile, Diana originally thought that he might come back after leaving. However, he didn’t appear at the dining table even when it was dinner time.Her heart gradually turned cold. Slowly, it hardened as well.She pretended as if Julian didn’t exist and took care of her twins as usual, hiding her emotions with a smile.By the time she was done putting the twins to sleep, she felt like things had returned to how they were back at Stirling City. It seemed there wasn’t much of a difference between having no one and having someone to rely upon.Either way, she was able to do whatev
No!Not just Simon.Diana had ruined Cecilia’s life as well.If she hadn’t lost her memory, and if she hadn’t been such a smart Alec and thought she could help Julian pursue Cecilia, Julian wouldn’t have splashed paint on Cecilia. Things wouldn’t have turned out this way.And Simon…If she hadn’t pushed him away, if he had defended himself against her and attacked her the same way he was attacking the bodyguards, he wouldn’t have ended up crippled.Diana didn’t have the courage to open the door of the ward.She was afraid of seeing his legs and the defeat in his eyes.She leaned against the door frame, her entire body racked with tremors.She took a deep breath, and called Julian with her phone. “Go ahead.” Her tone was sincere. “Go ahead and take care of Cecilia, and make amends on my behalf.”At the same time, Julian had been thinking about how he could apologize to Diana. Yet now, Diana’s words confused him.He could tell that she wasn’t being passive-aggressive. She wa
She must be in great remorse, her heart broken, when she said such words—especially last night.She probably felt so helpless when he argued with her.Julian wanted to treat her so well—but somehow, so often, he would inadvertently cause her even more hurt.“I’m the one to blame,” he said, patting her back gently. “I want to take care of Cecilia because I want to correct the wrong I’ve done, and bear the responsibility that I should.”That might be right, but if Cecilia had truly gone insane, how long was he going to take care of her for?What exactly did the Jarvises want from him?Do they really not want Julian to marry Cecilia and bear the fullest responsibility?Julian didn’t consider that last night, but Diana did. That was why she wanted to first confirm whether Cecilia had truly gone mad or not.If it was true, then it was right of Julian to do whatever he could to make it up to the Jarvises.And yet, she had merely raised a suggestion when Julian started yelling at her
Diana was only taking care of Simon—she wouldn’t promise him anything. Regardless, she still gave Julian her blessings. “Okay. Go on, now.”She needed some alone time.Her tone was cold, and she seemed emotionless. Julian knew he had hurt her again last night.He still wanted to make things clear to her, lest she misunderstood things further. With that in mind, he said, “I kept thinking about how to apologize to you after I went back to the room last night, but I couldn’t come up with the perfect apology. “I didn’t even go down for dinner.“Diana… Don’t be angry with me, please?“Be it Simon or Cecilia, we can face everything together. We’ll definitely be able to overcome these trying times.“I’ll find the best doctors for them, and I’ll do my best to give them the most conducive environment for their recuperation. Don’t worry, this will surely pass.”Will it?Could Simon’s legs really be healed?The bodyguards made it clear to Diana that Simon’s legs could never be he
He looked up, almost unable to keep his eyes open.He got into the car, leaned back against the seat, and instructed Noel, “To the Jarvises’ residence.” By the time they arrived at the Jarvises’ residence, Sue had been waiting for Julian for a long time.“Mr. Fulcher,” she greeted him, feeling grateful from the bottom of her heart.Despite everything, he had come. This meant there was hope for Cecilia’s condition.Julian even brought gifts; some for Sue, and some for Cecilia’s father and the other family members. His gesture seemed like an attempt to make things better for Cecilia.Some of the gifts were also for Cecilia.Noel carried the gifts, and walked in with Julian.Cecilia had just completed a dose of nutrient solution. A doctor was removing the needle from her arm when she saw Julian. That made her jump from the bed.Because of that, blood started oozing from the injection point. It left a shocking red stain on the pure white sheets.Julian patiently stepped forward,
“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