Serena rushed into the room and grabbed the pitcher of water from the table, pouring it over Maddie, who was half-awake on the bed. "Maddie, wake up!"
The icy water startled Maddie, and her mind gradually cleared. "Mom?" she said, holding her head, which was throbbing with pain. She looked at Serena and then at James, who was standing by the door with a black face. Suddenly, she regained her senses.
"Ahh!" she cried out, quickly adjusting her dress, which had been disheveled. Her face turned bright red. How could this be happening? Wasn't it supposed to be Diana who had hooked up with Luke? And now... it turned out that she had fallen into her own trap? Maddie's mind went blank.
"Maddie! Don't you know you have a low tolerance for alcohol? You drank so much and lost consciousness. The result... the result..." Serena suddenly shouted, then hugged Maddie, looking sorrowful.
Maddie immediately realized what had happened. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked dazed. "Mom, I was unconscious when I was drunk, I... I don't know what happened." She had already fallen into a trap, and clearing things up with Luke was the priority now. As she spoke, Maddie looked puzzled, gazing at Luke with a pitiful expression.
Seeing her expression, Luke was at a loss for words. A sense of guilt suddenly rushed over him. When they were together earlier, Maddie had called his name, and he thought she had initiated it. Could it be that she was unconscious?
"Maddie... I'm sorry, but nothing happened between us!" Luke was anxious to explain. He looked at James by the door and said, "Maddie is innocent! We didn't do anything. She had too much to drink and didn't know what was happening..."
"Oh? So you were the only one who wanted to do something to Maddie?" Diana covered her mouth, looking surprised. "Luke, you're a beast!"
"You..." Luke almost choked on his own words. Diana shouldn't say anything if she didn't know what happened!
James looked at him with a stern expression. "What are you doing here?" Today was Diana's engagement party, yet this guy somehow managed to sneak into the guest room. How did he get in?
"I... I..." Luke stuttered. He couldn't just say that Maddie let him in!
"You... what? You don't even have an invitation. Who let you in?" Ben jumped out, his voice harsh. Diana chuckled inwardly. Finally, Ben's intelligence is catching up!
"I..." Luke turned his head and instinctively looked at Maddie. His heart melted at the sight of her tearful and pitiful eyes. It was all Diana's fault that they were in this situation. No matter what, he couldn't let Maddie get hurt. Luke looked at Diana with a dark expression and shouted, "It was Diana! Diana let me in!"
At his words, James and the three Thompson brothers all turned to look at Diana. Although they didn't want to believe it, Diana's previous obsession with Luke made it seem possible that she would do something like this.
"Diana, this has nothing to do with you, right? Explain yourself!" Ben stuttered. John, the stoic iceberg, was right beside them. If his little sister had let Luke in, John might explode and do something to Luke...
Diana instinctively turned to look at the handsome man beside her. John had a cold expression and his eyes showed no emotion. Diana's heart was pounding in her chest. She had behaved so well today. Could it be that the domineering man was suspicious of her because of Luke's words? She shrank her neck and felt extremely wronged.
As Diana was lost in thought, she suddenly felt a tightening around her waist. Turning her head, she met a pair of deep and mysterious eyes belonging to John. He was gazing at her intently, as if trying to see into her soul. Then, he spoke in a low voice: "I believe he wasn't let in by you."
Diana widened her eyes in disbelief. Did John...believe her? Was this really the same John who she thought would have been furious and choking her neck for deceiving him with Luke? Maddie, who was sitting on the bed, also couldn't believe her eyes. Did she just see a hint of tenderness in John's gaze? How could this be possible? John, who was known for his mistrustful and violent nature, actually believed Diana?
After a brief moment of shock, Diana became excited. With John supporting her, she instantly straightened her posture and turned to Luke with a sneer. "Bullshit! Why would I let you in? To have you hooked up with Maddie?"
Upon hearing this, Maddie's face turned pale. Diana, the fool, couldn't she stop bringing up this topic? John was still present, and her image in his heart was undoubtedly shattered.
"Maddie, you can hold your liquor, how did you suddenly faint?" Diana touched her chin, as if suddenly realizing something. "Could it be that you already knew Luke was here and came to see him?"
"You're talking nonsense! Maddie and I are innocent!" Luke roared in anger. "Diana! You love me but can't have me, so you want to frame me and ruin me, don't you? You're a vicious woman! Believe me, I'll rip your mouth off!"
Luke spoke a few words and suddenly, the temperature around them dropped. John's gaze turned icy, his fists clenched, and a chilling aura emanated from him as he walked towards Luke. How dare this scum act wild on Matthews' turf! The powerful aura of the man sent shivers down Luke's spine, causing him to shrink his neck and widen his eyes in fear. "What do you want to do?!" he exclaimed.
At that moment, Diana grabbed John's arm and said, "John, don't do it." John looked at her, his eyes filled with suspicion. But then he heard Diana say, "Your leg hasn't fully healed yet, let me handle this!" John hesitated for a moment, then stepped back. Diana cracked her knuckles, her face filled with excitement as she walked towards Luke, her eyes gleaming with a desire to fight. This time, Luke, you're going to lose half your life!
Meanwhile, Ben regained his senses. "Diana, you don't have to do this! I'll take care of it!" With that, Ben rushed over and punched Luke in the face, knocking him to the ground. As Luke let out a scream, Ben pounced on him. This son of a bitch actually tried to frame Diana! Beat him to death! Colin, who had been standing by, slowly rolled up his sleeves and joined the fight with a cool demeanor. Andrew felt that this was unbecoming and picked up a brick on the side.
These three brothers, Diana's older brothers, had inherited their father James' violent genes. Diana also wanted to join them, but her attire was not suitable for such violent activities.
Outside the door, the guests who were drawn by the commotion watched as these three outstandingly handsome men beat the man on the ground like a pack of mad dogs. They were all stunned and confused, standing there in the doorway. After the fight, Andrew threw away the blood-stained brick, straightened his tie, and flashed a gentlemanly smile at the stunned crowd. "Sorry for the disturbance, everyone. Please go back and continue the party."
The guests looked at the scene in front of them with mixed emotions, not knowing what to say.
After Luke lay motionless on the ground, John's face remained calm as he turned to Ethan and ordered, "Throw him out."
Ethan nodded and immediately tended to Luke, who had passed out. Jackson was responsible for the emotionally complex guests.
"Mr. Thompson, I..." Maddie sat on the bed with tears in her eyes, wanting to speak up for herself.
James coldly interrupted, "You better clean up and get out of here!" She was always so responsible, but today she let such a big mess happen! James slammed the door shut and left with the Thompson brothers.
Diana was about to follow when she felt a tug on her wrist. She turned to see John tightly gripping her hand. "Come with me," he said.
John left everyone behind and led Diana to the deserted backyard. In the dark of night, his face looked somewhat serious, and Diana felt a bit confused. Did he still not trust her? Suddenly, John turned around and reached out his hand. "Give me your hand."
Huh? Diana was puzzled but obediently offered her finger. John took hold of her hand and suddenly lowered his head, kissing it. His cool lips on her finger caught her off guard, and she felt a tingling sensation that spread from her palm to her heart.
"What... what are you doing?" She blushed slightly.
"Did you hurt your hand while carving wood?" Diana was stunned to realize that he had kissed a small cut on her finger. How could he have noticed such a small injury?
"Oh, this little cut is nothing," she muttered awkwardly. She tried to pull her hand back, but it didn't budge.
Suddenly, John pulled her gently and Diana, caught off guard, collided into his chest. For a moment, the air between them was filled with a faint scent of tobacco. It was light but overpowering. Diana's heart skipped a beat and she forgot to struggle. "John, what's going on?" she asked.
"What did you call me?"
"John... mate?" Diana replied.
At the sound of her words, a hint of pleasure crossed John's face. His eyes, usually cold, were now filled with excitement. Finally, his little girl was no longer fixated on others but standing by his side. Now...she was his fiancee! After hugging for a moment, John let go of her and reached out to pinch her chin. His rough fingers gently caressed her chin as he suddenly asked, "How about coming to my place?"
Hearing this, Diana's expression changed drastically. Did he mean to imprison her, just like in her previous life? Was it because of the incident with Luke that he still didn't trust her? Seeing the fear in her eyes, John was taken aback and subconsciously released his grip. "Don't want to? Then I'll wait..."
"It's not that..." Diana was a little confused by his sudden change of attitude. Why was he suddenly so accommodating? "I really don't like Luke anymore. I'm happy to be with you..."
"I believe you," John replied.
When John said...that he believed her? Diana couldn't help but feel overjoyed. Finally, in this life, there was trust between them!
"Why do you want me to go to your place?" Diana was puzzled. If it wasn't to imprison her, then what did he want?
This question stumped John. Why? Of course it was because...he wanted to see her every day. "My leg isn't very good, I need someone to take care of me."
Diana narrowed her eyes. With so many servants by his side, he still wanted her to take care of him? This man was truly being dramatic!
On the other side, while the two were being intimate, an old man with gray hair was holding a telescope by the railing not far away, watching the two in the backyard very clearly.
"I really didn't expect this," Harrison Matthews put down the telescope, and his wrinkled face was full of satisfaction. He had heard of the notorious reputation of the little girl from the Thompson family, but now he realized that she was a well-behaved and beautiful young lady. He even heard that she had given a wood carving to John. The two were simply a perfect match! Rumors could not be fully trusted after all.
As Diana stepped out of the Matthews' old mansion, Ben quickly grabbed her and pushed her into the car. Then, he held her small face and looked left and right with widened eyes. "Ben, what are you doing?" Diana was confused by his behavior.
"Did that ice-cold man try anything on you?"
"No... And, Ben, don't always call John 'ice-cold man', he has a name."
Ben gasped, "Diana, did that damn ice-cold man drug you with some sort of love potion? How could you speak up for him?!"
"John is actually quite nice... I think," Colin interjected nonchalantly from the sidelines. Diana gave him a sidelong glance. Colin, have you been holding that in for a while?
"I can't believe it, even you've switched sides, Colin! John, that bastard, not only stole away my beloved little sister, but now he's also seduced my little brother?!" Ben raged.