As she waited for the bath to fill, Diana’s phone rang in her pocket.
It was Brian. Why was he calling her now? Gazing at her phone, Diana was confused.
Still, the day’s events had changed Diana’s views toward Brian. She had witnessed that it was possible for him not to be so bossy and unreasonable. So she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“Hello?”
Diana heard Brian’s deep voice over the phone. To her surprise, his tone was much gentler than usual, sounding far more pleasing and sexy. Such a change made Diana’s heart beat crazily.
“Everything OK?” Diana said in a gentle tone.
It was rare that they could talk with each other in peace like this.
Brian noticed her friendly tone and matched it with his own, “Please come out. I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?” Diana was surprised; Brian was usually so bossy and arrogant. Since when did he ask her to do something and use the word “please”? It was astonishing!
Brian said, “You will find out once you’re here.”
“Why can’t you tell me over the phone?”
“It’s not convenient,” Brian answered.
Diana would ordinarily have refused Brian’s request, but she could feel he had something important to say.
“OK, Brian, I’ll come now.”
Brian was surprised that Diana had agreed so easily; it was a positive start for his plan!
Diana walked out of the bathroom to go and find Brian.
“Is it ready?” Sybil said happily.
Diana smiled and nodded at her. “I’m just going out for something. Take your time to enjoy the bath.”
Having heard her conversation with Brian, Sybil nodded pleasantly. She waved her hand and said, “Thanks for your help, see you when you’re back. ”
After making sure Sybil was okay, Diana walked out, and there she saw Brian standing in the hallway of the second floor.
He was wearing a pair of slim, black pants. The top buttons of his white shirt were undone, which partially revealed his sculpted upper body. Leaning on the banister of the stairs, Brian looked charming and sexy.
“Follow me,” he said, before smoothly turning away.
Diana couldn’t resist Brian. She held her breath and followed in silence.
Finally, Brian stopped at the balcony on the third floor.
“What is it? Why do we have to speak up here?”
Brian finally turned to face Diana.
“My father is going to have a family party soon. I want to invite you to come with me.”
“Why do you want to invite me?”
“Because I don’t want to go with Carol.”
Brian thought his hint was clear enough, but Diana was still confused.
“Can I refuse?” she murmured.
“Why?” Brian was hurt. He didn’t expect that Diana would turn him down so quickly.
“I don’t like those parties. Besides, if I were there, what about Carol?”
“I don’t care about her!” Brian shouted.
Brian looked at Diana, trying to digest this information. Reaching out his hands, Brian pressed Diana’s shoulder. He gazed into her eyes and said, “I only care about you. Understand?”
Diana’s heart started beating powerfully as she looked back into Brian’s eyes.
Brian moved his hand to Diana’s face and gently touched her cheek.
Then he uttered in the softest of voices, “Diana Anderson, I love you.”
Diana was stunned and stared at Brian in silent disbelief.
“What’s wrong?” Brian asked. “Is it that much of a surprise?”
For some reason, he was touched by Diana’s strong reaction, so he slowly leaned in to kiss her.
Seeing his face come closer and closer, Diana pushed Brian away fiercely.
“Brian! What is your plan this time? I won’t fall for it again!” Diana yelled.
Not expecting her reaction, Brian stood back awkwardly, and they fell into an embarrassed silence.
After what seemed like an age, Brian decided to break the impasse and turned to Diana with a serious look. “Diana, I am serious. I do love you.”
Diana was shocked. Did he really mean it? She didn’t know how to reply to him and ran away in a panic.
Diana rushed back into her room, full of excitement and nervous energy.
Sybil had finished her bath and was drying her hair when Diana entered.
“Hey, what’s going on? Why do you look so flustered?”
Diana smiled. She didn’t know how to explain it.
Judging from Diana’s blushing face, Sybil thought she could make a pretty good guess.
“What? What did my brother say to you?” she said jokingly.
Diana shook her head. She was too confused to offer any reply.
Seeing that, Sybil gave up asking any more questions. She knew she’d find out soon enough.
After taking a shower, Diana lay down on the soft bed and gazed up at the ceiling. Sybil had fallen asleep already, but she just couldn’t sleep. She wondered whether maybe she had reacted badly to Brian’s declaration of love. It really looked like he might have been serious.
However, she then shook her head fiercely and denied the idea. How could it be possible that Brian loved her?
Diana slept badly, full of worries and doubts. And Brian didn’t leave her alone even in her dreams. Diana dreamt that Brian was holding a knife to her, asking again and again, “Diana Anderson, do you love me?”
Diana was tortured the whole night, and the dark circles under her eyes in the mirror were a testament to that; she looked awful!
Sybil was already awake and looked at her with a smiling face.
“Diana, why did you call out my brother’s name all night?”
Diana was so shocked she accidentally dropped the toothbrush she’d been holding.
“What? I called your brother’s name?”
“Yeah! More than once!” Sybil replied, nodding vigorously.
“Maybe it was in your dream?” Diana said hopefully.
Diana was in a nervous panic. Saying Brian’s name in her sleep, how embarrassing! She brushed her teeth quickly and went downstairs.
As they all went to bed late the previous night, everyone got up later than usual. The living room appeared empty until Diana got closer and finally noticed Kate Grace sitting on the couch!
“Good morning, Miss Anderson,” Kate said cheerily.
Diana felt embarrassed and rubbed her head. Would Kate think she always got up so late?
Knowing what she was thinking, Kate said reassuringly, “It’s okay. Sybil gets up much later than this.”
“Mum, I just came back, and you are talking bad about me already,” Sybil called out from the stairs, smiling as she padded down the stairs.
Kate laughed out loud and shook her head mockingly at Sybil. Then she walked to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
Diana was still troubled by what had happened last night. She looked around to see where Brian was.
Seeing that, Sybil knew her thoughts and smiled. “Are you looking for Brian?”
“No!” Diana denied it at once.
Sybil rolled her eyes. It was clear that Diana was thinking about Brian. Did she really think she could keep it a secret?
“I am going shopping later. How about asking Ken to drive you to Brian’s company?” Sybil suggested.
Diana hesitated. “I don’t know…”
“Stop worrying! Just come with us! We can go shopping in the mall under his office building. And he will pay for everything we buy,” Sybil tried to persuade Diana.
“I guess I could come with you…” Diana said, touched by Sybil’s offer to spend time with her.
“Fantastic! Let’s go!” Without further ado, Sybil dragged Diana by the arm and marched her outside.
Ken had been waiting for them outside the door and was ready to set off as Sybil practically threw Diana enthusiastically into the car.
On the drive to the mall, Diana noticed Ken frequently looking in the rear mirror.
From his view, he could see Sybil very clearly. Diana smiled silently. Ken’s love was obvious for everyone to see. But Sybil, the girl he loved, was the only one blind to it.
“Diana, why are you smiling?” Sybil asked curiously.
Diana waved her hands. “Ah, it’s nothing,” she said casually.
As Sybil looked back out the window, Diana caught Ken’s eye in the mirror and gave him a little nod of support.
Ken stopped the car outside Brian’s company building. When he walked around to open the passenger door, Sybil jumped out excitedly and took his hand.
“Ken, come shopping with me!” she said sweetly.
Not expecting her sudden request, Ken was shocked and could only just muster a mumbled “Okay,” as Sybil led them to the entrance of the mall.
Sybil smiled happily. She had asked Ken to go with her for a good reason. She knew Brian loved Diana, so she had to create more chances for them to be together. Bringing Ken along meant Brian was much more likely to join them shopping.
Unaware of Sybil’s plan, Diana was happy for Ken to have a chance to be with Sybil.
On the way up to Brian’s offices, Diana felt nervous to see Brian. After what had happened yesterday, she didn’t know how to face him.
She was still sure that Brian was just playing a joke yesterday, but what if it was true?