His careful and gentle coaxing of her was so different from the unrestrained way he treated me. With me, he had never shown a shred of tenderness.
But with Evelyn, he treated her as if she were a precious treasure.
Every time I begged him to stop, he would only become more relentless, claiming he was madly in love with me.
Especially when Mrs. Cross wasn’t home, his behavior was completely out of control. Once even landing me in the hospital.
The doctor scolded him, saying that if he truly loved me, he should cherish me instead of indulging in such excess.
Blushing, he apologized to me and when the doctor wasn’t looking, he leaned in to gently whisper in my ear. "Diana, what should I do? I just can’t control myself around you. I’m afraid to even imagine how much I love you..."
At his words of love, I couldn’t bring myself to blame him anymore. After all, if he didn’t love me, how could he be so infatuated with me?
But I had never considered that a man’s desire and love could be completely separate.
One time, his good friend teased him about where he found the energy to be with me so often. He pinched my blushing face and said it was because of love.
But now, I know it was really because of hatred.
That night, I couldn’t sleep, tossing and turning. I woke up early and made breakfast for myself and Mrs. Cross.
Halfway through my meal, Vincent and Evelyn came out of their room.
Seeing that there was no extra breakfast on the table, he immediately asked, "Where’s breakfast for me and Evelyn?"
Noticing the red marks on Evelyn’s neck, Mrs. Cross immediately coldened her expression and said, "Vincent, who gave you permission to bring this woman home?"
Mrs. Cross had never liked Evelyn from the moment Vincent first brought her home. At first, I thought she disliked Evelyn because she was just the adopted daughter of the Carter Family, and perhaps, she found the match inappropriate.
But she would rather have Vincent marry me, someone with nothing to offer, than see her son involved with Evelyn.
Usually, to create opportunities for me and Vincent to be alone, she often went on trips with her friends, leaving us to ourselves.
Behind the scenes, she even came up with strategies for me on how to win over Vincent. Every time this happened, I felt an overwhelming sense of guilt.