Chapter 543

“Why did she come looking for you?” Julian asked. “I thought you two were still at odds.”

“Did you think I was like you?* Vans shot back with a smirk. ‘You gotta coax a girl, you know? My relationship with Nina is still okay.”

Julian was stunned. He didn’t expect that Nina could even forgive Vans for getting engaged.

“What will happen now, then?” Julian asked.

“I don’t know,” Vans replied. “We’ll take it one day at a time, I guess.”

“You better tread lightly,” Julian warned. ’She’s Diana’s friend.”

The implication behind Julian’s words was for Vans not to do anything excessive.

Vans nodded somewhat helplessly. “I’ll do my best.’

That was the biggest assurance he could give as someone from the Stanley family.

In any case, Julian didn’t intend to intervene too much in his friend’s personal affairs.

“I’ll be hanging up now.”

He still needed to call the dean and dispel the rumors.

“Hurry up and prescribe the medicine.”

Julian couldn’t care less about where the dean was at the moment.

“He’ll call you soon. I want something that works immediately.’

Diana was still carefully spraying her lips with the medicine her employee had given her. However, since the car was moving, there were several occasions when the powder sprayed into her nose instead.

“Don’t use that-“

Before Julian could finish his sentence on how he would get a more effective medicine, his eyes landed on her bloodied lips.

“How did this happen?” he asked, his expression darkening instantly.

Diana was prepared for his reaction in advance and said, “I’m sorry.”

Her expression was calm, and there was no sign that she was in pain. Her face only showed remorse as she continued, ”1 shouldn’t have messed up my lips like this.”

As Kayla’s substitute, it was a fundamental rule for her to maintain her perfect appearance from head to toe. It had always been the same throughout her three-year marriage with Julian.

Julian’s hands paused at her tone.

“Diana, don’t be like that.”

“Like what?”

Julian pursed his lips. Like…apologizing to him without reason and disregarding the pain she felt because she didn’t want to anger him.

He wanted to see Diana who was comfortable in her own skin and in perfect health, not one who didn’t even care about her own body.

On the other hand, perhaps he prioritized his feelings far too much. In theory, he should be happy about it, but he couldn’t feel that way, no matter how much he tried. In fact, he even felt repulsed by that fact.

“I don’t like it.”

His response was simple and blunt, with no further explanation.

He was still the same.

Her feelings didn’t matter; it never did. What mattered was whether he liked it or not.

This man…truly hadn’t changed.

What had Diana been expecting? Why had she hoped for something she shouldn’t have?

Even if she had saved him when they were young children, it shouldn’t have been the reason for her yearning to return.

After all, she had personally thrown that life-saving favor into the trash. Since she had done that, she shouldn’t have entertained such thoughts.

“Alright.” Diana nodded obediently.

She didn’t ask him for a reason and didn’t display any excessive emotions. She simply agreed with him.

Julian gripped the medicine bottle in his hand, crushing it slowly.

He wasn’t an idiot.

He could sense something was deeply wrong with Diana. Although she had agreed to move back into the villa, her heart hadn’t returned with her body.

What had returned was just a puppet-an empty shell!