Outside the house, Brian was distraught for Diana and banged on the door with more and more strength.
“Diana! Are you okay?!”
But Diana couldn’t answer him as Vera was covering her mouth.
Brian knew instinctively that Diana was in danger, so he had no problem in booting down her front door. He kicked out hard, and the door came right off the hinges, splintering in two.
He raced into the living room and found Vera standing over Diana, striking her over and over with vicious elbows.
Brian strode forward and shouted angrily, “Vera, what the hell are you doing?” Just as he was about to rescue Diana, Vera produced a knife from her back pocket and held it to Diana’s throat. “Don’t come any closer,” she screamed.
Brian didn’t dare go forward. “Okay, Vera, just calm down.”
Vera held Diana firmly and kept waving her head, “Brian, you have changed! You are fixated on this bitch. I know you didn’t love me before, but you didn’t like other girls either.”
Brian squinted his eyes and said, “Vera, it was you who left me!”
His words sent Vera’s mind on another wild trajectory. It was true she had left Brian when he was beginning his career. He had experienced many setbacks, and she thought there was no hope for him.
Brian took advantage of Vera’s distraction and jumped forward to knock the knife from her hands whilst simultaneously pulling Diana out of danger.
“Diana, Diana! Are you okay?” Brian shouted.
Diana feebly shook her head. She had taken many violent blows from Vera and was barely conscious.
Brian turned to Vera with a vicious look on his face. “Vera, You’d better pray that Diana is fine. Or else I swear I will kill you.”
With that, he picked Diana up and took her out to his car, while Vera sat hopelessly on the ground, watching them leave.
Brian ran several red lights in a row before finally arriving at the hospital.
After a comprehensive medical examination, Diana was taken to a private room, and Brian went off to get the examination result.
Some minutes later, Brian came back with the results and Diana’s medication. He handed over the pills and said to Diana in a soft voice, “Here, take these.”
Brian waited for a few moments in silence before continuing, “I’m sorry that I didn’t come to you sooner.”
However, Diana didn’t accept his apology. “You don’t need to apologize to me. We’re just strangers.”
“Diana, I know that I was wrong. Could you give me one more chance?”
He waited again for a response from Diana, but she remained silent.
“About Vera… it was my fault. I placed too much trust in her. You know me and her have a long history; she accompanied me through a very difficult time.”
A bitter smile spread across Diana’s heart. This is what she feared; they had known each other for so long… maybe Vera was irreplaceable.
“But she is just a friend; you’re the one who I want to spend the rest of my life with,” Brian continued.
Diana was moved, but she still didn’t say anything.
“Diana, I will not let anyone hurt you in the future. No one.” Brian sat down next to Diana and stroked her hair.
Finally, Diana spoke. “Brian, do you know what disappointed me the most? Not your attitude towards Vera, but your distrust of me. You only heard her side of the story; you never asked me what happened.
Brian wanted to defend himself, but in truth, she was right. He had been a bad boyfriend.
Diana turned her back to Brian. “Please leave me alone. I think we need time to calm down and think things over. For now, separation is best.”
Brian knew he would be unable to change Diana’s mind, so whatever he said would be of no use. At last, he stood up and sighed, “Well, get some rest. We’ll speak soon.”
After Brian left, Diana wept silently. It was her second time in hospital in just two days, and recent events were starting to catch up with her.
Luckily, Diana had only received a mild concussion, so she was able to go home the next day after some rest.
When Diana arrived home, to her great surprise, she found that her parents were there, waiting for her at the door.
“Mum, Dad! When did you get back? Why didn’t you inform me in advance?”
Mrs. Anderson rushed over to her daughter. “Sweetie, I missed you so much.”
After some brief small talk, Mrs. Anderson suddenly noticed Diana’s plastered leg.
“Diana, what happened to your leg?” she cried out. “Does it have something to do with the broken door?”
Diana didn’t want to explain all that had happened, so her mother’s question provided a good excuse. She nodded her head and mumbled something about an accident with the door.
In an effort to change the subject, Diana quickly asked, “So tell me, why did you guys come back so early? I thought you would be away for a long?”
“Because we missed you so much, darling,” Mrs. Anderson replied.
Her mother’s words cheered Diana up immensely. It was so good to have them back. She was not alone anymore.
Two days later, Kyle finally came back home. His coldness made Carol feel completely at a loss. After fetching him a cup of tea, Carol tried to find out what the problem was.
“Kyle, have you been busy recently?” Carol asked.
Kyle nodded vaguely and drank some water. He wondered why Carol was getting suspicious.
“Okay, well, it doesn’t matter.” Carol sounded very down.
Carol’s attitude made Kyle annoyed, he couldn’t stand her spoiled little face. “There’s a party I am attending tomorrow, I need you to come with me,” Kyle said impatiently.
“Okay.” Carol nodded obediently.
Then Kyle walked away to the bedroom and left Carol alone.
Mrs. Anderson prepared a plate of fruit for Diana and then sat down beside her on the sofa.
“Diana, I’d like to discuss something with you.”