Chapter 19
“No-!”
For the first time, true panic flickered in Diana’s eyes. She scrambled to her feet, her lips trembling in fear.
“That intern’s death wasn’t my fault! I loved you so much back then, Charles. She kept putting on that pitiful act in front of you just to get you to drive her home! I only wanted to teach her a lesson-I never meant for her to die!”
“And Vivian’s parents… you can’t blame me for that either! You told me, Charles-you said you’d love me for the rest of your
life. You said you’d always be there for me! How could you turn around and marry another woman, treat her parents like your own? You broke your promise-why wasn’t I allowed to be angry? Why couldn’t I give the Bennetts just a little punishment? You said whatever I did was always right!”
The truth stabbed straight Charles’s heart like a cold blade.
He sucked in a breath, every word trembling out of his throat.
“So you… really did kill her parents.”
The breath that rose in his chest caught like shards of glass-its jagged pain radiated through every nerve in his body.
In his mind, he saw again Vivian Bennett’s hopeless eyes.
“All I ever wanted was the truth… was that really too much to ask?”
Back then, he had trusted Diana blindly. As the only person Vivian could rely on, he had snuffed out her last hope with his
own hands.
Now the crushing weight of that realization flooded him, too late.
Before he could speak again, Diana was grabbing at his arm, her eyes wild.
“What the hell are you spacing out for, Charles?! Say something! You… you’ve really fallen for Vivian, haven’t you? You
forgot how you said you’d protect me for the rest of your life!”
Charles slowly pried her fingers off, one by one.
His voice dropped to a glacial calm.
“So you do remember that was the past?”
“Diana Schuyler, I’ll give you this-you’re right about one thing. I did fall for Vivian Bennett.”
“She’s the only woman I want to protect for the rest of my life.”
His words struck Diana like a bolt of lightning. Her eyes flew wide open.
“What did you just say?! You-you’re seriously in love with that maid?! What does she have that I don’t?! How could you choose her over me?!”
Charles let out a cold, bitter laugh. He enunciated each word with slow deliberation.
“Even if she had nothing-absolutely nothing at all-I would still choose her.
Because love… needs no reason, and never has.”
In that moment, he finally understood.
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Why he’d run out of patience with Diana.
Why Vivian’s tears had broken his heart.
Somewhere in those six years, he had already fallen for the quiet girl who’d stayed by his side-but he’d been too blind to
realize it.
He realized it now. Too late.
And Diana panicked.
All her arrogance and recklessness had been built on one thing: Charles’s love.
Now that it was gone-she had nothing left.
Desperation swallowed her pride. She dropped to her knees and grabbed his arm.
“Charles, please… don’t leave me… I beg you, I’m Evan’s mother. You can’t do this to me…”
But Charles stepped back, avoiding her touch with a look of undisguised disgust.
“I’ll raise Evan myself. That’s none of your concern.”
He flipped his phone over, revealing the call screen.
The number for the police was dialed in, ready to go.
“I won’t let my wife’s parents die in vain. In the eyes of the law, no one stands above justice.”
“You’re insane!!”
Diana stared at him in disbelief.
“You helped me cover it up! You destroyed the evidence! If I go down for this, Charles, you’ll go down with me!”
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