Chapter 587 Tell Me, Have You Ever Liked Him? (2)
It was Oliver calling.
Jacob kept one hand pressed against the mattress beside Serafina while answering his phone, his gaze fixed intently on her. Oliver's voice was urgent on the other end, requesting they return immediately—Diana was in trouble. The details were too complex for a phone call.
Jacob hung up and rolled away, exhaling softly. "We need to go back."
Serafina couldn't have been more relieved. She had no desire to share a bed with Jacob, even without intimacy; his touch repelled her.
She stared at the ceiling and whispered, "All right."
Jacob turned to look at her, his gaze penetrating.
Half an hour later, they arrived at the Windsor Mansion, which blazed with light despite the late hour. Oliver's thunderous voice reached them at the entrance.
"Absolutely not!" he roared.
Jacob's handsome face darkened. He exchanged a glance with Serafina before striding into the grand hall, where Oliver and Sarah sat gravely on the sofa. Diana stood nearby, her face ashen, large eyes brimming with tears as she stared helplessly at her father.
Oliver had never spoken to her so harshly before. His anger was so intense that even Jacob and Serafina's arrival couldn't temper it.
"I remember Dwayne Larson was once your tutor," Oliver continued berating Diana. "Now he's a professor with a promising future. How did you two end up together? And did it never occur to you to find out about his fiancée back home? Now she's come all the way to Evergreen City and attempted suicide—jumped from a university building and paralyzed herself. She'll demand Dwayne take responsibility."
He raked his fingers through his hair. "What's a twenty-one-year-old girl like you supposed to do? I don't care about Dwayne's background, but couldn't you at least find someone unattached? If I hadn't suppressed this story, it would be all over the city by morning. How would you face the world after that?"
His voice hardened. "I will never approve of Dwayne." After a pause, he made his decision. "You're going to study in Sovelan. Nicole and Theron are there—they'll look after you."
"Dad," Diana pleaded.
"Oliver," Sarah interjected, clearly opposing his decision to send Diana away. She had a favorable impression of Dwayne and didn't believe him to be dishonorable—quite the contrary, she found him reserved and principled.
Oliver knew Sarah's thoughts but wouldn't contradict her in front of them.
Later, when they were alone, he stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows for a long time before speaking softly, "Sarah, the implications of this are too severe."
"If Dwayne weren't so accomplished, if his family weren't prominent in their community, if he weren't the youngest professor at the university—perhaps this wouldn't attract so much attention. But he is all those things. Now neither Diana nor Dwayne can remain at Evergreen City University. The administration wants them both gone."
He sighed deeply. "Yes, they care for each other. But what about his fiancée? Will she simply accept this? And Dwayne's family—could Diana ever truly integrate there? I can't bear to see our daughter suffer, Sarah. I can't let her marry into such a family. She deserves someone like Theron."
Sarah hesitated. Oliver had persuaded her; as a woman, she understood the challenges of marrying into such a traditional family. She was about to suggest sending Diana to another city instead, but Oliver had made up his mind.
He waved his hand dismissively. "Sovelan it is. She leaves tomorrow morning."
Sarah froze. Tomorrow—so soon.
In the easternmost bedroom on the third floor—Jacob's quarters—a spring storm had erupted outside, rain pounding against the windows.
In the sitting area, Serafina comforted Diana while Jacob, dressed in a black shirt, stood on the balcony smoking, watching an SUV parked at the mansion's entrance.
A man emerged from the vehicle—Dwayne, judging by his build.
He stood in the torrential rain for about ten minutes before wiping his face and answering his phone. Jacob observed silently as Dwayne hung up, remained for another minute or two, then departed. Something urgent must have forced him to leave.
Dwayne. Another teacher.
Jacob couldn't help thinking of Floyd, the man who had admired Serafina. His long fingers held the cigarette as he inhaled slowly, his chiseled features betraying nothing. Only after the SUV disappeared did he turn toward Serafina and Diana.
The sitting room glowed with soft light. Diana, apparently aware of her impending exile to Sovelan, spoke to Serafina through tears. "I truly love him, Serafina. His engagement was arranged by his family—they have no feelings for each other. Besides, I pursued him first. He ignored me initially; I was the one who persisted."
At eighteen, Diana had been like a flower bud just beginning to bloom. Dwayne was finishing university when his professor, a close friend of Oliver's, recommended him as Diana's tutor. No one could have predicted that the reserved Dwayne would fall for the young girl. After two years of complicated entanglement, they finally became a couple.
Their happiness was short-lived when news of their relationship reached Dwayne's hometown. Serafina knew something of the customs there—places that appeared most wholesome often harbored the most brutal traditions. She understood Oliver's decision; the Windsor family could never allow Diana to marry into such an environment.
Diana's eyes overflowed with tears. Serafina had never seen her so heartbroken. She wiped Diana's tears away, her voice gentle. "Do you truly love him that much? Enough to risk everything?"
"Yes," Diana sobbed. "He told me not to be afraid. He promised he'd resolve everything and come find me. Serafina, I believe him—I believe he won't abandon what we have."
Serafina felt a momentary disorientation. She couldn't bring herself to tell Diana that she would be leaving for Sovelan tomorrow morning with no chance to see Dwayne again. By the time he sorted everything out, they would already be separated.
That was Oliver's plan. In four years, they would forget each other. By then, Dwayne would be married, and Diana, with Theron's extensive connections, would surely find an appropriate match in Sovelan. A satisfactory outcome for both Diana and Dwayne.
A satisfactory outcome? Serafina's eyes glistened with moisture. Wasn't a true happy ending being together? Two people defying all odds to be with each other?
Serafina couldn't help Diana's love story. The Windsor Mansion was now impenetrable as a fortress, and she lacked the power to assist. She could only comfort Diana and envy her capacity to love so deeply.
Truly, not everyone possessed the courage to love like that. Serafina certainly didn't. Her upbringing, with a father like Ronan, had left her incapable of loving unreservedly.
As Serafina drifted in these thoughts, the balcony door slid open. Jacob entered, bringing the damp scent of rain with him, as if he'd walked through a storm at sea. His unfathomable eyes fixed on her.
Serafina couldn't help but tremble.
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