With a splash, a bucket of ice-cold water rained down on the woman lying on the ground, barely alive.
The coldness jolted Diana awake, and she instinctively opened her hazy eyes. Before her were a pair of pointed women's leather shoes. Looking up along those shoes, she recognized the face that was all too familiar.
"Maddie Stewart..." Diana's pupils shrank abruptly. Her ten fingers tightly gripped the freezing ground, causing numbness, but it was nothing compared to the heart-wrenching pain she felt. This woman, whom she regarded as her closest family member and sister, had taken everything away from her, causing her family's downfall. Their once-great business had gone bankrupt, her father was hospitalized, and two of her three brothers were brutally killed. And as for herself, Maddie had dragged her to this deserted place, torturing her for two days.
"Why... Maddie, why!" Diana's face was pressed against the icy ground as she bit her whitened lips, questioning with every ounce of her being.
"Diana Thompson, it's all your fault!" Maddie's foot stepped on her face, almost seeming amused. "If you hadn't abandoned your perfectly good family and fiancé, how could you have fallen into this situation? You're such a stupid girl. I don't know what John sees in you!"
As she mentioned the name John, Maddie's tone carried a hint of jealousy. She lifted her foot and kicked Diana's head fiercely. Diana was nearly knocked out, but in her blurry state, she saw Maddie crouching down, grabbing her hair with one hand.
"Time is running out. I don't have time to play with you anymore. I'll send you to your death now!"
As she finished speaking, she grabbed Diana's golden hair and slammed her head hard against the icy ground. Diana was hit so hard that blood flowed from her head and she lay on the ground like a dead dog. She passed out for a moment and when she came to, she suddenly smelled a strong gasoline odor. Suddenly, the area around them became scorching hot and flames started to rise. Maddie was trying to destroy the evidence by burning everything down!
Diana was horrified and tried to scream for help, but only a weak moan came out. Tears flowed uncontrollably from her eyes as she felt the crushing weight of regret and despair. She had let down so many people in her life, her father, her brothers, her friends, and John Matthews. The man who was once high and mighty, now disabled by her actions and his heart shattered by her callousness. Just the day before, she had told him that she would never love him in this lifetime and wished him dead.
"Diana!" Suddenly, she heard a heart-wrenching call, interrupting her thoughts. Was that John's voice? She had heard that people sometimes experience hallucinations before they die, so was she hallucinating?
"Diana!" The voice called out again, followed by the door being slammed open. Diana tried to open her eyes, and through the raging flames, she saw a man in a black shirt sitting in a wheelchair, looking in their direction. His face, which was always handsome and cold, was now twisted in madness and terror at the sight of her.
John Matthews?!
Someone tried to grab him, but he pushed them away fiercely. Diana watched in horror as John ran towards her, shouting her name repeatedly. She lay on the ground, gasping for breath and whimpering in pain.
She had tortured him while he was alive, and now that she was dead, she had dragged him to hell with her. She had been his curse from the beginning till the end. But she didn't even get a chance to apologize.
This lifetime, she had wronged him. If there was another life... Diana closed her eyes slowly, and darkness engulfed her.
...
Diana felt pain all over her body. It felt like she had been run over by a car, and her bones were shattered.
Diana's eyelids trembled as she slowly opened her eyes. She saw a white ceiling above her.
"Is this heaven? No, it must be hell," thought Diana.
"Diana, are you awake?!" She heard a voice, and it sounded familiar. She tried to turn her head to see who it was, but she felt dizzy and her neck hurt.
What was going on? Why was she still in pain? Wasn't she dead? What was happening?
"Diana, say something, don't scare me!" Someone grabbed her hand beside her. She turned her head and saw a handsome face.
It's her second oldest brother, Ben Thompson!
"Ben?!" Diana exclaimed.
"You finally woke up! Thank goodness!" Ben's eyes were slightly red as he put Diana's hand on his face, his eyes filled with excitement. Thank God, his little sister had finally woken up! The tangible pain and warmth transmitted through his hand left Diana's brain blank for three seconds. Was she dreaming? Was this... a rebirth?!
She remembered very clearly that she had been killed by Maddie... The last scene she saw before she died was John pushing his wheelchair and rushing towards her regardless of everything. Like a fierce beast, the flames swept them both in an instant. At that moment, she finally realized that John, whom she had always wanted to push away, was the one who truly loved her. Thinking of the tragedy of her previous life, Diana's teeth began to chatter!
She grabbed Ben's wrist and asked, "What about John?"
"John? John Matthews?" Ben was puzzled as to why his little sister would ask him about John. Wasn't she always disgusted by him and avoided him?
Suddenly, the door to the hospital room burst open, and a man dressed in a white suit walked in. He wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and had a clear and elegant appearance. He exuded a refined and competent demeanor from head to toe. It was Andrew Thompson, the eldest son of the Thompson family and Diana's brother.
Upon seeing him, Diana was momentarily stunned. She then said in a hoarse voice, "Andrew..."
Andrew's appearance was somewhat similar to Ben's, but Ben was more delicate, and Andrew had a more mature charm.
"Diana, you're awake?" Andrew walked over quickly, seeing her red-rimmed eyes, and gently furrowed his eyebrows in concern. He took out a tissue and gently wiped the corners of Diana's eyes. The four siblings lost their mother when they were young, and Andrew had always been like a mother to Diana.
Emotions churned in Diana's heart, and she reached out and hugged Andrew, burying her face in his chest. "Andrew, I missed you."
It had been a long time since she had seen her oldest brother Andrew. In her previous life, she had believed stepmother Serena Stewart's words and stole confidential documents and money from Andrew's company, which resulted in him being charged with extortion and thrown into prison. The pride of the Thompson family had become a prisoner in an instant.
Their father was so angry that he ended up in the hospital, and the Thompson family began to crumble. Andrew committed suicide in prison, and Serena took control of the Thompson family's assets.
It was only much later that Diana found out the truth. Andrew had committed suicide because he couldn't bear the inhumane torture in prison. Thinking of this, Diana bit her lip and sat on the bed, full of regret.
Ben, seeing Diana not saying anything for a long time, shook her with concern. Was his cute little sister out of her mind?
"Diana, do you remember what happened between you and John?" Ben looked at her carefully. Diana came to her senses after the initial shock, and her intelligence finally went online.
This scene was very memorable for her. If she remembered correctly, she had been reborn four years ago. Because the two families wanted her to be engaged to John, she had a conflict with him in the car and angrily tried to grab the steering wheel, which resulted in the two of them getting into an accident. She lay in bed for a week, while John became disabled. From that moment on, their relationship became even more contentious, and she was completely hated by the Matthews family.
"Where's John?" Diana grabbed Andrew's clothes and looked at him with anxious eyes.
"He's in the hospital room on the third floor, and there's no life-threatening danger," Andrew replied slowly and softly.
He let out a small sigh. "Diana, if you really don't like John, don't do anything foolish that will hurt you both. If you don't want to marry him, that's fine..."
"It's my fault, Andrew," Diana interrupted him, her head hung low. "I've made up my mind. I'm going to marry John Matthews!"
"What?!" Her second oldest brother Ben was stunned upon hearing her words. After standing still for a moment, a look of realization washed over his face."Diana, did John say something to you? Don't be afraid, tell us if there's anything wrong. We'll always be your solid support!"
Ben was always like this, unconditionally doting on her. But in the last life, his fate was quite tragic. In the last life, because of his exceptional looks, Ben became a very popular idol, but then for her, his career and image plummeted.
He was ridiculed, harassed, and even suffered from depression, attempting suicide many times. Now, she still had the image of Ben lying in the bathtub, covered in blood in her mind.
At the thought of this, Diana's heart felt sour.
"There's nothing wrong, Ben. Don't hold such a grudge against him. I just suddenly realized it," Diana said.
Ben looked at her with a face full of disbelief. Diana felt overwhelmed. How deep was Ben's prejudice against John?
"I really think he's someone I can entrust my life with. Andrew, Ben, I've figured it out..."said Diana.
Ben reached out and touched Diana's head. "Diana, do you know what you're saying?" Ben looked at her as if he had seen a ghost. "Didn't you say before that you must cut ties with this sick man John and want to be with Luke Grey?"
Luke Grey! Just mentioning this name made Diana feel cold and angry. This scum!
In her last life, she was blind to fall so deeply in love with this scum, making herself neither human nor ghost for him. But in reality, Luke had long been secretly involved with Maddie. The two of them conspired and deceived her as if she were a fool. For him, she hurt all the people who loved her! Including John. That cool and aloof person, she hurt him with her malicious curses and harsh words, making his eyes turn red.
It was probably because she had done too many wrong things in her past life that she was given a chance to make amends!
"Don't mention Luke," Diana took a deep breath. "I don't like him anymore. From now on, I have nothing to do with him!"
Upon hearing this, Ben was initially stunned, but then a smile crept onto his face. He had never liked Luke anyway. The guy didn't deserve his little sister. Of course, in his eyes, no man was qualified to marry her.
"Andrew, Ben," Diana wiped away her tears and said solemnly, "I've made a lot of mistakes before and hurt you both. From now on, you are my most important family."
The two of them widened their eyes and looked at her in shock. How could their little sister change so much after waking up from an accident... but it felt good!
"Silly girl, why apologize? You're always right in my heart," Andrew reached out and gently touched her head. His unconditional love made Diana almost cry again.
"Andrew, Ben, can you help me with the hospital discharge procedures? I'm fine now and want to go home soon," she said eagerly. She wanted to see her father and third oldest brother Colin Thompson. She remembered that at this time in the previous life, her father was apologizing to the Matthews family for her mistakes, while Colin was studying abroad for a month, and her family didn't tell him about her injury to avoid worrying him. But today was the day Colin came back.