Chapter 96 I Need to Hear It From You
I knew there was no escaping him right now, so I looked down and said softly, "I told you I was coming back today."
Yeah, I had told him. The day after he left, I booked my flight back. I sent him a message, but he never replied. After that, I didn't bring it up again.
I didn't want to get into why he hadn't replied or what he was doing with Anne during those days. But I had told him, and he hadn't seen it. What could I do?
"No, I didn't get your message. Who did you send it to?" Edward's voice was strained. I grabbed his phone from his coat pocket, unlocked it with face recognition, and scrolled through our chat history. The last message was from before we went to the Ends of the Earth when he asked me to pack at the Howard Villa.
I was stunned. I pulled out my phone and showed him. It had the return date I sent him and a travel video I shared, but he hadn't received any of it. Or maybe he had, but someone deleted the messages before he saw them.
Edward let go of me and slumped onto the couch. "Diana, I've been so tired lately," he said.
I chuckled. "Honey, you've worked hard. How did that matter go?" I asked, referring to the rumors he said he would handle.
"You know about it?" Edward opened his eyes and sat up.
I placed the documents Theo had organized for me on the coffee table in front of him, and he started flipping through them.
I spoke without emotion, "Clara called me multiple times to clear things up. How could I not pay attention? I just didn't expect this to be something I couldn't resolve."
My tone shifted to a serious one. "Look."
I pointed to an article titled "Alice's Personal Secretary: A Public Lover? Dates in Various Settings, Including Him!" The article detailed my meetings with different men. But none of it was true: it was all fabricated from photos. The author had even annotated each photo, including one of me talking to Joshua outside the police station and another of me saying goodbye to Nolan in front of Willie's house.
The photo had been edited to show only Nolan and me, excluding Lila and other classmates. Another photo, matching the headline, showed me meeting Eric in a café. That meeting was purely work-related, but it was twisted to suggest I was seducing him to win a case.
Edward grew more serious as he read. He suddenly looked up and asked, "Can you guarantee these photos are fake?"
I was shocked by his doubt and completely disappointed in him.
"Which of the events captured in these photos are you unaware of?" I retorted.
I had always reported my whereabouts to Edward, including who I met. But even knowing the information was fabricated, he still didn't believe me.
Edward slowly put down the documents and came over to hug me tightly. His arms were strong, making it impossible for me to move. Edward buried his head in my shoulder and whispered, "I'm sorry, Diana. I believe you. I want to believe you, but I need to hear it from you."
I felt my strength fading. "There's nothing to explain. You know this stuff isn't true. If even you don't believe me, how can I convince anyone else?"
Tears streamed down my face, landing on Edward's expensive custom suit. I hoarsely asked, "Do you know who 'First Love' is?"
I already knew the answer, but I wanted to hear him say it.
Edward's eyes flickered. "Maybe it's one of Eric's fans," he guessed.
I laughed through my tears. "A fan? More like one of your fans," I said.
Edward let go of me. I sat on the couch, waiting to see what he'd do next. But he just sat beside me, holding my hand.
Edward looked exhausted. "Diana, I've already talked to Anne. She promised not to send those messages anymore. It's just a childish prank. You don't need to take it seriously," he said.
"A prank?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My tone turned serious. "She's an adult. I can sue her for defamation and damaging my reputation."
"Diana, enough!" Edward snapped, shaking off my hand and standing up. "You've already made Anne go to jail once. She's forgiven you, and now you want to sue her again. When are you going to stop this?"
I wanted to pry open Edward's mind to see what was inside. He was so sharp in business, but when it came to Anne, why couldn't he see the truth?
"Diana, do you think you're any better?" Edward's words made me wary, and I stared at him.
He continued, "Do you think I don't know you want Stellar Legal Advisors not for yourself but to give to Lila? Do you think I don't know you're secretly selling all your shares in the Cooper Group? Or that you're planning to follow Nolan to his law firm? Do you think I don't know what you're doing?"
Everything Edward said was indeed what I had been secretly planning and hiding from him. Until now, I thought I had done a perfect job of keeping it all under wraps. It seemed I underestimated Edward; his thoughts were far deeper than I ever imagined.
I said nothing, and Edward sneered. "So you admit it?"
My tone softened slightly. "So what if I do?"
Edward sighed. "Diana, I really want us to have a future together. Why won't you give yourself a chance?"
I didn't want to argue with Edward anymore. Realizing our conversation was pointless, I stood up and told him to leave.
"You should go. I have work to do." I opened the door and gestured for him to step out.
Edward hesitated but didn't move. He sat back on the couch, crossed his legs, and said, "I'm not leaving. You're my wife. Your home is my home. Why should I leave my own home?"
I laughed at Edward's logic and ignored him, retreating to my study. I reorganized the information from my conversation with Alice this afternoon and added it to my defense. The case wasn't difficult. Since Alice and Eric had been separated long enough, they no longer had a de facto marriage and were just waiting for the judge's ruling. I was confident about this case.
I was so deep into the files that I lost track of time. I had no idea how long I'd been at it when Edward gently pushed open my door.
"Diana, can we talk?" he asked.
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