She loved the little boy in her stomach, he used to kick very often, and she would put headphones on her bump and he listened to her favourite songs. The first kicks felt like butterflies in her stomach, every time she would listen to her favourite songs, she knew he would love the same things as her. His name would have been Heracles, the strongest little boy. James was overjoyed, he was going to be the father of a little boy, he noticed how happy Diana was too. They both grew closer together for baby Heracles, he would have had a happy life and family if he had lived.
Diana loved James, she knew she did, she wanted Heracles to have everything, and she wanted to think about giving him a sibling one day. But life was never kind to Diana.
Abigail died at the age of 48, strangled to death by her ex-husband. Her body was found by her daughter, Diana, who was pregnant at the time and miscarried due to the shock. The police found his fingerprints around her neck, it seemed he had been under the influence of methamphetamines, he was given a life sentence. His oldest son, Jeremiah, was now the owner of their company, but no one could save the company of the son of a murderer.
James was distraught by the news of the miscarriage, but no one was as broken as Diana. He saw her staring at the curtains and crying every night, but in his helplessness he faltered in his feelings. Thus, as his wife wept in agony, he slept next to a new woman, as she wished for comfort, he gave it to someone else.
"James, I want a divorce." She whispered to him one day, he was sitting on the couch, and she was in the kitchen. He heard her words, but he pretended that he didn't, he couldn't lose her. What would he have left if he lost her too? "James, I want a divorce." She demanded, louder this time. He continued to pretend he heard nothing. "James, I want a divorce." She shouted, across the room and into his ears, a year into the marriage and she already wanted a divorce? He stood up, and left the room, his stomps followed by the pattering of her feet. She ran in front of him and stopped him, "James…" she huffed, "I want… a… divorce." She was out of breath, for he was much taller than her, thus two of her steps equated to one of his. She wished he could be small again, he was so much cuter back then. The blush on her face and desperation writ in her actions made his pupils darken, he was angry and turned on. He picked her up and took her to their bed, he was still gentle but his strength was too much for her. "James… mmm… I want… ahh…. Divorce!" She tried to speak, but she couldn't if he was kissing her.
"No." He finally said as he fell asleep, her in his arms, she sighed and wondered why he couldn't let her go. Wasn't it painful enough to see him sleep with a new woman every night? But in that moment, she felt happy, so happy to be in his arms, so happy to be his. And perhaps this was the downfall of her future, her happiness could flip so easily.
She was pregnant, and once again, the couple was overjoyed. Perhaps the reason Diana was so protective of Eliza was Heracles, but it was also because she felt that Eliza had been made with love. A child made with love, raised with love, and who could spread her love around, that was what Eliza was to Diana and James. Alisha could feel the love Diana had for the foetus in her womb, it surpassed even Heracles. And even if her husband slept around, she still had so much love in her life. It was a short era of happiness for Diana.
Then came Alisha. Diana knew that there were possibly many little James' roaming around, but she never expected to meet one. She was glad that Alisha had been born before her marriage to James, but everything about the little girl annoyed her. Though Alisha had no blame, and she knew in her heart that it wasn't Alisha that she hated, but it was what Alisha represented, James' infidelity. If only Alisha had never existed, her peaceful life would have remained, she knew that she couldn't bring herself to physically harm Alisha, how could she hurt a child? But every time she saw the mini-James, she felt anger boil in her blood, and she said things and did things that she would regret at night.
Eliza was good to Alisha, and she felt proud of her daughter for being such a good girl, she knew that Eliza had had it tough, the pressures of being the perfect princess of the family. In her heart, she only wanted one thing, she wanted Eliza to always be happy. No matter what happened, she'd rather die than have Eliza go through anything she had to go through. Even if she wasn't at anything else, Diana was a good mother to Eliza.
Diana met Bryan at one of the low points in her life after having Eliza, she had been drinking at a bar, depressed because her husband had kept a woman for longer than his usual two months, he'd been with her for almost six months now. She was scared that he'd finally divorce her, he finally had nothing left in his heart for Diana.
Bryan was scoping out the bar, trying to find a more difficult target when he saw Diana, who still looked as if she were in her early twenties. Bryan knew who Diana was, as he had seen her with the great James Richards, but he never expected to see her alone at an Elite bar. She didn't wear anything alluring, just a dress by Pr*da, a Herm*s bag and heels. But the aura she exuded, the maturity of an older woman, the innocence of a young girl, the kindness emanating in her eyes, he knew that he couldn't let go of such an opportunity.
"Mrs Richards?" He approached her at the bar as she sipped on some champagne, she turned to him, a blush decorated on her cheeks and smiled at him as she usually would at a social gathering. Part of being an Elite was never forgetting another Elite that you meet, unless of course you're from the Richards' family. Thus, it was not surprising that everyone at the bar knew Diana, but she didn't care for who they were. She nodded at the boy, acknowledging him for she had nothing better to do. Bryan didn't like her nonchalance, so he pushed his boundaries, he pushed his seat close enough to her that he could smell her. He enjoyed her scent, it was like smelling winter, it was perfect for her because Diana was still the ice queen of the Elites, no one could ever take that role from her until she died.
"You're very pretty Ms Richards." Bryan purposefully changed 'Mrs' to 'Ms', he noticed that she rolled her eyes. Anticipation began to build up in his heart, and in his nether regions, what would this divine lady do now? To his surprise, a tear rolled down her cheek, it was followed by another, on the other cheek. Two transparent streaks, she hadn't worn make-up, so he could only see them when light reflected from them. His heart felt troubled, why was she crying?
"Ms Richards, you're right, that is what I should be called. I'm barely his wife anyways, that cheating bastard!" A tear dropped from her eye, into her glass of champagne, he could see its impact as ripples spread on the surface. It seemed to add ripples to his heart, he pitied her.
"I'm sure he has his reasons." He tried to reassure her, but he felt helpless, he truly hated the feeling. He noticed that she had let her guard down considerably, so he hugged her shoulders with his arm, she felt so much smaller than before. "Why don't you get revenge?" he tempted her with a whisper in her ear.
"Revenge?" She turned to him, her face slightly blushed, and pouted, "How could I take revenge on the great James Richards? How could I do that?" She rested her head on her forearms, tears dropped to the ground, her body trembled like a scared bunny. Bryan decided that he would show her how she could take revenge tonight, but he knew that she wouldn't agree easily.
"I can help you, it's up to you to accept or decline my help. If you accept, you can't turn back, do you promise to trust me?" Diana looked at him, help her take revenge? But it wasn't that she didn't know how to take revenge, it was that she couldn't bring herself to. She loved James too much.
"Name…" she mumbled.
"What?"
"Tell me your name."
"Bryan Martinez."
She stood up and left, never turning back, but she remembered his name, Bryan Martinez, an apple of temptation. Upon reaching her home, she heard noises, a woman, it was the mistress. She went up the stairs, one at a time, trying to extend the time she had before she would see the sight she was expecting. She reached her room, their room, and opened the door. She saw her husband turn, a naked woman underneath him scream, but then the room became silent.
"Divorce." She stated.
"No." He replied.
She turned on her heels, she had never shown James the tears that had fallen for him, not until that night. And he realised that he might have gone too far, but he couldn't stop, he had too much pride to stop. He dumped the mistress that night, but it was too late, Diana never stepped into their room again, she moved into Eliza's mansion. James only saw her when they needed to make appearances after that, he had finally been closed off from the heart of the woman that loved him more than anyone else. He finally broke her.
"Hello?"
"Bryan Martinez, help me take revenge."
"Diana Richards, meet me where we were before." And his eyes widened as he saw her strut in, she wore a body hugging dress, it covered her yet it showed all her assets. "Wow…" He whispered to himself as he whistled in his head, she was truly the Ice Queen, perfect even at this age.
"What is your plan?" She asked, for if he was no good she would find someone else, she needed to get her revenge on James. She was done being his trophy wife, she was done with people treating her like sh*t, she was done with always being the one that was hurt. She was the smartest woman to have ever entered the Academy, she had been the prettiest woman in the world based on countless lists, she was the Ice Queen, she would no longer let the richest man treat her like a doormat. Diana Richards could cheat, she could live her life the way she wanted to, she was not an object, she was a woman who needed love.
"How about becoming one of my girls? I may not be as rich as James Richards, but I sure as hell will be one day." Alisha nodded at his words, he would become even richer than her father because of Annabelle's vision, perhaps if Annabelle had lived he would have been someone that could never be conquered. Diana raised her eyebrow. "In return for insider information, I'll be your b**ch, your boy toy. We take down his pride and riches, how about it?"
"I have no insider information. I'm just a trophy wife." She replied, a pang of pain jolted in her heart but she stifled it, such pain was better kept away. "Let's just have sex." They went to a Lilies and Spices motel that night, and Diana became Bryan's only girl for a long time.
Perhaps it was his sweet words, or the fact that Bryan treated her as gently as James always had during sex, but she felt herself becoming attracted to the boy. They went on dates, and he always said the right things, he made her cold heart feel warm and… fuzzy.
Their first date was hiking, and as they stood on top of a small mountain, and she viewed the world below her, she felt like she was seeing it for the first time because someone was there with her. She cringed at her thoughts, but it was true, she'd seen the view countless times before and thought nothing of it but when she saw it today, it looked beautiful. She had her first kiss with someone on a date, it was also the first proper date she had ever had, she had only had meetings and quick dinners before this. He was giving her his time, and he didn't take calls when they were together, he listened to her opinions, though few, and he looked at her as if she was the only person he could ever love. She knew that she had fallen for the young boy, she knew that he didn't feel the strong feelings she felt, but she hoped he did. She needed it.
'Alisha's going on a blind date with George, Andrew's son' she received Mr Thompson one day, she liked to keep up to date with Alisha and Eliza's life. And a plan came about in her mind...