But with Evelyn, he treated her as if she were a precious treasure.

Every time I begged him to stop, he would only become more relentless, claiming he was madly in love with me.

Especially when Mrs. Cross wasn’t home, his behavior was completely out of control. Once even landing me in the hospital.

The doctor scolded him, saying that if he truly loved me, he should cherish me instead of indulging in such excess.

Blushing, he apologized to me and when the doctor wasn’t looking, he leaned in to gently whisper in my ear. "Diana, what should I do? I just can’t control myself around you. I’m afraid to even imagine how much I love you..."

At his words of love, I couldn’t bring myself to blame him anymore. After all, if he didn’t love me, how could he be so infatuated with me?

But I had never considered that a man’s desire and love could be completely separate.

One time, his good friend teased him about where he found the energy to be with me so often. He pinched my blushing face and said it was because of love.

But now, I know it was really because of hatred.

That night, I couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning. I woke up early and made breakfast for myself and Mrs. Cross.

Halfway through my meal, Vincent and Evelyn came out of their room.

Seeing that there was no extra breakfast on the table, he immediately asked, "Where’s breakfast for me and Evelyn?"

Noticing the red marks on Evelyn’s neck, Mrs. Cross immediately coldened her expression and said, "Vincent, who gave you permission to bring this woman home?"

Mrs. Cross had never liked Evelyn from the moment Vincent first brought her home. At first, I thought she disliked Evelyn because she was just the adopted daughter of the Carter Family, and perhaps, she found the match inappropriate.

But she would rather have Vincent marry me, someone with nothing to offer, than see her son involved with Evelyn.

Usually, to create opportunities for me and Vincent to be alone, she often went on trips with her friends, leaving us to ourselves.

Behind the scenes, she even came up with strategies for me on how to win over Vincent. Every time this happened, I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt.

I couldn’t tell her that, in fact, less than a month after I moved into the Cross Family, I had already ended up in bed with Vincent. I was afraid that if she knew the truth, she would think of me as a woman with impure motives and would come to despise me.

Mrs. Cross refused to eat breakfast, threw her spoon down and stood up, trying to pull me out of the house.

Vincent immediately grabbed me by the arm. "Mom, I need to talk to Diana."

He suddenly tightened his grip on my hand, causing me to flinch in pain and furrow my brow. Was he afraid that I might tell his mother the truth?

Wanting to see me and Vincent get along, Mrs. Cross decided to wait for me in the car.

Vincent comforted Evelyn for a moment before pulling me aside. "Diana, I won’t hold last night against you, but you should know which things to say and which things to keep to yourself. Evelyn is different from you. She’s been pampered and has never suffered a day in her life. On the other hand, you have endured hardship from a young age, so be more understanding."

Was I supposed to suffer forever because Evelyn took away my parents and my life?

I curled my lips into a faint smile. "Hmm."

Seeing that I was no longer bristling with thorns, Vincent wrapped his arm around my waist, attempting to kiss me, but I dodged him.

"Have some decency! Don’t let your Evelyn misunderstand."

Vincent withdrew his hand as though electrocuted, his gaze dark and unreadable. "Diana, something’s been off with you since yesterday. Didn’t you used to love it when I touched you?"

I stepped back, keeping a calm demeanor. "I find it filthy."

Not only was his heart filthy, but his body was too.

Feeling the sting of my disdain, Vincent flung his sleeves and turned away, heading to the living room where he openly flirted with Evelyn as if no one else existed.

I walked out the door indifferently, ignoring the scorching gaze burning into my back.

Vincent had always forbidden me to defy him and my repeated rejection of his advances seemed to have completely infuriated him.

Yet, I no longer cared.

As I got into the car, Mrs. Cross sighed. “Are you sure you want to leave so soon? Why not wait until your birthday?”

I glanced at the plane ticket scheduled for three days later and politely declined Mrs. Cross’s kind suggestion.

But I never expected that after accompanying her to have afternoon tea with her friends, I would gradually lose consciousness.

In my haze, I heard Mrs. Cross's soft whisper.

“Diana, don’t blame me. I just don’t want Vincent to stay with that woman anymore, so I can only wrong you! Don’t worry, I’ll make sure Vincent takes responsibility for you!”

She made a phone call, locked the door from the outside and left. When I woke up, my body was unbearably hot.

"Are you awake?"

Hearing a somewhat familiar voice, I remembered that it was Julian, the man who had once asked Vincent for me.

"Why are you here?"

Julian studied my face carefully, a casual smile playing on his lips as he said, “Didn't you hear it that day? Are you still expecting Vincent to come and spend a night of passion with you? He said he wouldn't let anyone touch his person, but didn't he let me come in the end?”

Julian’s tone was light, but his words cut deep.

He chuckled as he pulled out his phone and showed me his chat history with Vincent.

[Help me handle something. I’ll give a big reward once it’s done.]

Following that was the address and the room number.

I felt a pang in my chest as I turned on my own phone. Sure enough, there was a message from Vincent waiting for me.

[Diana, are you so eager to climb the social ladder? Don’t think that by winning over my mother, you can make me easily compromise. Playing hard to get won’t work on me!]

I’d always known that Vincent hated me, but I didn’t realize it had reached this extent.

All I did was refuse his advances once and he now treated me like a burden he couldn’t shake off, belittling me like this.

“Aren’t you Vincent’s good friend? What are you trying to gain by deliberately letting me hear the truth?”

The Parker Family was wealthy and powerful and Julian was the heir to the Parker Family. I couldn’t imagine what he could possibly lack.

"What am I doing this for? Didn't you hear it all that day?"

I was stunned.

"If not for you, who would want to be friends with him? There were a bunch of reporters waiting outside, all arranged by Mrs. Cross. She just wants to force you to marry Vincent, especially now that she knows you’re the Carter Family's heiress. Only by marrying Vincent can the Carter Family let go of the fact that their daughter was oppressed by her son for five years..."

As expected of Vincent's mother. Any kindness she showed me always came with an ulterior motive.

Facing my calm and composed expression, Julian continued to coax gently. "Have you thought about being with me?"