Julie left the room after Diana. Earlier, she had taken the time to stare intently at her father-in-law. "You've gone too far!" Julie exclaimed angrily as she left Ryan's office.Ryan looked away with bated breath. There wasn't even a hint of guilt in the man and there was only anger written all over his face.Bill had never felt the difficulty of breathing in one room like now. He knew that there were always problems in family life, just like his own family. However, this time he felt something too suffocating. Ryan in his eyes was indeed a stern and dominant figure, but what Bill saw right now was nothing more than a villain who took away his own grandson's freedom. Maybe that sounded outrageous, but it was worth what Ryan himself had done. Unable to bear being in a situation like this, Bill chose to leave the room. He briefly looked at Jonathan who was still standing stiffly with a blank stare. "Dad doesn't seem to know about this problem," Bill muttered to himself. For the ump
Julie knocked on her daughter's bedroom door. Luckily the door was unlocked and still showed a slight crack there. As she tried to enter, a dim atmosphere enveloped the room. Julie turned on the light and saw Diana sitting on the sofa by the window. She was half-curled into a sitting position and her gaze was lost in the view outside. Slowly Julie moved closer. She was about to touch Diana's shoulder, but aborted when her daughter made a tear-wiping gesture. Julie didn't know that Diana was crying because she had her back to her, and no sobs could be heard. "Honey," Julie called softly. "I'm so sorry."There was no answer. Diana just let out a long sigh, along with her tears. She had never been this devastated, not once in her life before the argument in Ryan's study. Diana thought she was still worthy enough to be called the granddaughter of the Rainer family. Where she still had hope as an heir and Ryan recognized her abilities, but now her eyes were open. Ryan had never recogni
After the argument, the Rainer family mansion was noticeably quieter. Not because there were no residents, but because of the cold attitude of the people there. It seemed that yesterday's events had left quite a mark on them, especially Diana. The woman was now more quiet than usual. Diana was reluctant to interact with anyone in the mansion, especially Ryan. She didn't completely withdraw from his life, only from those who were involved in yesterday's dispute. Diana still worked, went to the office and other activities normally, but not during meal times. Diana was no longer present at the table with the others. The servants now provided a separate menu to be brought to Diana's room. It was the woman who made this condition when Julie begged her daughter to keep eating.Julie had no problem with that. After all, she wasn't imposing her will either, except when it came to Diana's health. Julie didn't want to be another Ryan in Diana's life. Although of course she was very saddened b
The situation was getting more and more heated. Bill had never predicted that Jonathan would speak like that. As long as he lived in the Rainer family, he had never seen Jonathan oppose Ryan. Julie felt the same way. She seemed to see someone else, not Jonathan her husband. "What did you say?" The look on Ryan's face was more terrifying than ever. His voice was low, yet deep. The same angry gaze as the one where he found out that his son was having an affair with a lower-class woman. A gaze that seemed to want to swallow anyone who dared to speak out against him again. "Father, stop all--" Without a signal, Ryan suddenly got up from the wheelchair. The old man could indeed stand up occasionally, though not for long. Ryan's hand reached into his right waistband and pulled out a pistol and fired a shot right at Jonathan. The sound of the shot was deafening to everyone there. Bill and Julie felt their hearts stop beating for some time. A look of horror appeared in their eyes. They tu
For a moment, Ryan looked surprised that his bullet had misfired. However, it was only for a moment that his expression was visible. Ryan regained control of his face in a matter of seconds.Everyone panicked, except Ryan who just stared at his grandchildren expressionlessly. Diana cried as she continued to hug Bill, one hand holding back the blood coming out of the gunshot wound that pierced through her half-brother's left back. The girl's hand shook violently with her face getting splashed with fresh blood. This was the worst nightmare of his entire life. Bill was still conscious with a blank look and coughed a few times, until he finally closed his eyes again. "Bill," Diana called hoarsely, trembling and filled with terror, fear and guilt. Several people flocked in with a hasty dash as soon as the gunshots rang out. They were the bodyguards under Jonathan's command. "Prepare the car!" Jonathan's shout filled the dining room. "Prepare the car now!" he repeated until one of his s
Jonathan and Diana left the hospital in the same car. They sat in the back seat and created a long silence for almost half the journey. Diana refused to take her eyes off the road and her thoughts were always on the recent tragedy. Her chest still felt tight, but she didn't want to cry in the car, not when it was just Jonathan and the driver. "Are you okay?" Jonathan's voice broke the silence. For a moment Diana gave a small gasp as her reverie was interrupted. She glanced without interest at the one who had just spoken, her own father."I regret a lot of things. About your mother, Bill, and you," the man said as he looked down at his own hand that was still stiff and numb. The warm sensation of Bill's blood as he tried to carry the boy was still tangible. "I'm glad it wasn't you who got hurt, but I'm very angry with your grandfather for making Bill die." Diana listened. Even though she tried not to care, Jonathan's words comforted her a little. "I always do what your grandfathe
Julie had no idea who she was talking to. Ryan looked very bad in her eyes. How could someone who had put a bullet into his own grandson show no compassion at all? The man was pointing the finger at Julie as the cause of all this trouble, the reason Bill was dying the way he was."Diana is just like you. Insubordinate and petty," Ryan said, pointing at Julie. A slur that felt so sharp and piercing to Julie. "For a long time, you never really listened to what I said and followed my orders." Ryan added."Because you are selfish. What you do is only for your own self-interest to keep the Rainer family victorious! You never paid attention to how your actions affected those closest to you. You never cared, even though you always acted on behalf of the family. When in fact you never considered us family. To you, we're not even people, we're just robots. Tools that you use to achieve all your goals!" said Julie loudly. Julie had never spoken so boldly in criticizing her father-in-law. "Be
Joana, who was currently in her apartment, jumped out of her chair as soon as she heard the news about Bill. In a hurried voice, she asked, "Bill's in the hospital?" "Yes," Julie replied.Joana got up immediately. She was in a bit of shock, and hit the leg of the table as she was about to pick up her blazer. However, she didn't seem to care about that. "What happened to him? How did she end up in the hospital?" "He had an accident," Julie answered on the other side of the phone after a few seconds of silence. "She's undergoing surgery right now.""Surgery?" Joana gasped and was even more surprised. "How bad was the accident?" Only, right now she couldn't wait long to listen to the explanation over the phone. She had to meet with Bill first, or at least confirm how severe the man's condition was. "No, just tell me where the hospital is?" Julie actually felt torn between telling Joana where Bill was receiving treatment or not. But in the end Julie told Joana the address of the hospi