Brian returned to his car and lit a cigarette.
Inside the house, Diana went into her room, drew back a small corner of the curtain, and looked at Brian through the window.
Brian sat smoking one cigarette after another in front of his car. He looked utterly depressed.
He had never smoked in front of Diana, though he had picked up the habit a few years ago when he first took over the company.
At that time, Simon had gone abroad with Mrs. Garcia, Grace and Sybil were not around either. Brian was young and inexperienced, and many people were jealous of him for his fame and fortune. It was a challenging time for him, particularly after Vera left him as well. He had borne all the pressure and responsibility alone. Smoking was his one vice to deal with everything.
Since he met Diana, Brian had stopped smoking. But after recent events, he had started again.
Brian spent the whole night in front of Diana’s home, thinking over everything.
Diana stayed watching him for hours too. Yet neither of them was willing to make a move to communicate.
After one last look at the house at daybreak, Brian put out the cigarette and threw it onto the large pile of butts by the side of his car.
When Carol woke up that morning, her wet core was still dull with pain.
As she recalled the night’s events, her face flushed with shame. Even though she had expected certain things from her wedding night, it had still taken her by surprise.
Although Carol had never had sex before, Kyle took her several times, quite roughly. And the whole time, he didn’t say a word, as if he was taking his anger out on her.
Even after she had grown too tired and suggested going to sleep, Kyle continued relentlessly.
Eventually, Kyle woke up too.
Carol’s face grew hot, looking at the face that had been looming over her during the hours of sex.
“Good morning,” Carol forced herself to utter.
However, Kyle just coolly nodded his head. Without any further communication, he got dressed and went to go out.
Kyle’s indifference surprised Carol. “Are you really going to the company now? You haven’t eaten breakfast yet.”
“I’ll skip breakfast. You have what you want.”
“But…” That was all Carol could say before Kyle walked out, and the slam of the door interrupted her.
Carol was shocked by how strangely Kyle was behaving.
Although her body was aching, she struggled to get up, determined to prepare a nice lunch for her new husband.
As Carol was preparing the meal, she thought about how happy Kyle would be to come home to a table of food.
Kyle’s call came in just as Carol had finished preparing. She answered with heartfelt delight, but Kyle’s cold quickly dulled her enthusiasm.
“I won’t come back for lunch today. Dinner either.”
With that, he hung up before Carol could even say a word.
Carol stood transfixed with disappointment. The food slowly went cold, while Carol remained at the table, staring into space.
Kyle was totally different from the man she knew before they were married. Before, he always used to wait for her to hang up. But now, he even didn’t wait for her answer. It was the first day after their wedding. How had he changed so fast?
Carol burst into tears. It must just be because he is busy, she thought hopefully.
After Kyle hung up, Antonette chuckled, “Is it okay to leave your wife alone? After all, you’re newly-married.”
Kyle didn’t look at her. “It seems that you’re not very busy recently,” he said.
Antonette didn’t care what he said. She went to leave his office, then turned around again to add, “Kyle, in a few days there is an important party. Don’t forget to bring your new wife.”
Diana woke up after a fitful sleep, feeling totally drained. She was rather hungry and decided to go to the supermarket for some food.
When she stood up, pain shot through her ankle, and she was reminded of her new inconvenience. Diana could see a trip outside was impossible and called for a takeout instead.
As Diana waited for the food, a woman in blue appeared in front of her house. By chance, the delivery man arrived at the same time.
The woman quickly went to him, “Are you delivering food?”
The delivery man nodded and asked, “Yes. May I ask your name?”
A smile appeared on the woman’s face, “Diana Anderson.”
Diana heard the doorbell ring and hobbled over to answer it.
“Who’s there?”
The woman outside the door deliberately lowered her voice, “It’s your take-out.”
On hearing that, Diana opened the door without any mind of vigilance. However, as soon as the door opened, the woman dropped the takeaway and grabbed Diana by the neck.
Diana struggled as the woman pushed her inside. As she struggled to keep her footing, Diana turned to see the person attacking her was Vera!
“Surprised to see me?” Vera asked with an evil smile.
Diana was almost out of breath. “Ve… Vera, what do you want?”
“What do I want?” Vera laughed crazily. Overcome with jealousy, Vera increased the strength of her grip around Diana’s neck.
“Diana Anderson, because of you, everything I had is destroyed. Brian left me. I lost my baby. I might be going to hell, Diana, but I’m taking you with me!”
Vera was going insane. She had a maniacal look on her face.
Diana’s eyes gradually turned dim, and she gasped loudly, struggling for air. But Vera couldn’t hear anything. All she wanted to do was put Diana to death.
At that very moment, Brian was stood outside Diana’s house, debating whether Diana would like to see him.
Brian pushed open the gate and started down the path. It was then that he noticed the takeaway box open on the ground outside. He knew immediately something was wrong.
“Diana? Are you here?” he called out.
Brian’s voice made Vera jump. She released her grip on Diana’s neck just enough for Diana to take the chance to call out, “Brian, help!”
Vera hastened to cover Diana’s mouth again and used her elbow to strike her in the face.