Diana Bell stared at the message William Knight had sent on WhatsApp: [If you want me to, I'll come back.] Her heart skipped a beat. Looking out the window, she suddenly felt as if the sunlight today was exceptionally brilliant.
Penelope Reed tugged at her arm, pulling her further into the mall. "I'm exhausted from all this walking. We absolutely have to grab some KFC for a 'cici' break."
Diana stopped in her tracks. "Penelope, I can't have dinner with you tonight."
"Why not?" Penelope leaned in, her face practically pressed against Diana's phone screen. "Ooh, look at this! 'Do you want me to come home tonight? If you want me to...' God, this is sickeningly sweet!"
"Alright, Diana, spill it. What exactly do you want your husband to do when he gets home tonight?"
Diana's face flushed like a sunset.
Penelope teased, "You, obviously!"
Diana regretted not bringing a couple of bitter gourds along today so she could stuff them in Penelope's mouth again to keep her quiet. Knowing her best friend needed to head home to see her husband, Penelope wasn't about to stand in the way of a newlywed couple's "quality time."
"Fine, no more shopping, no more eating. I'm going home to order takeout," Penelope declared.
As they walked toward the mall exit, Penelope asked, "Does that 'White Lotus' stepmother of yours and her 'Green Tea' daughter know you've married the Young Master of the East City, William Knight?"
"They have no idea," Diana replied.
"You haven't seen them since you finished your weight loss transformation, have you?"
"I'm not that desperate," Diana said coolly. "I'm not going to go out of my way to see people who despise me."
"Exactly! That's the spirit. You are who you are, and whether they like it or not is neither necessary nor important." Penelope turned to look at Diana. Ever since Diana had successfully slimmed down, Penelope was struck by her beauty every single time she saw her.
"Babe, seriously, I cannot wait to see the looks on Catherine Archer's and Aurora Stone's faces when they see you now. You lost eighty pounds in a year! I bet even if you stood right in front of them, they wouldn't recognize this gorgeous woman as the old Diana."
"Once they realize it's actually you, they'll be as shocked as if an atomic bomb went off. I heard Aurora has been desperately trying to get close to William Knight lately, dreaming of becoming Miss Bell. Little does she know, you're already the legitimate Miss Bell! Hahaha!"
Penelope cackled at the thought. "According to the age hierarchy in the Bell family, if Aurora meets William, she'll have to call him 'Brother-in-law.' The man she's crushing on is now her sister's husband! It's too perfect."
As they stepped out of the exit, Catherine Archer and Aurora Stone happened to be walking through the entrance just two meters away. Catherine glanced toward the exit, spotting the back of a girl in a white dress and another in a red dress.
"Aurora, look at that girl in the white dress. Isn't that Diana's little sidekick, Penelope Reed?"
Aurora looked over. "That's Penelope, alright. I know all of Diana's friends." She frowned, looking at the woman standing next to Penelope. "Who's the one in the red dress?"
Catherine studied Diana's figure from head to toe. "I don't recognize her. She's tall, thin, and pale... her poise is incredible."
Aurora was also scrutinizing Diana. "Penelope is usually glued to Diana's side. They're always out shopping together. Why isn't she with that fat pig today?"
"It's obvious," Catherine remarked. "Penelope has found a new friend. With a beauty like that by her side, why would she bother hanging out with a heavy girl like Diana? It's much more prestigious to be seen with her."
Diana walked toward her Iceberry Pink supercar. Just as she pulled the door open to sit inside, she looked up and locked eyes with Catherine and Aurora.
The mother and daughter both froze. This woman was breathtakingly beautiful—vibrant and stunning. Standing there, she made everyone else in the vicinity look dull and faded.
Who was she?
Diana looked at Catherine and Aurora with an indifferent gaze, a hint of a mocking smirk playing on her lips before she sat in the driver's seat. The Iceberry Pink car pulled away, looking like a streak of liquid gold on the road.
Aurora was green with envy. It was bad enough the woman was beautiful, but she was also driving the exact car Aurora had been dying to buy but couldn't afford.
Catherine watched the car disappear and asked, "Does she look a bit familiar to you?"
"A little," Aurora muttered. "I feel like I've seen her somewhere."
Catherine scanned her mental Rolodex of every wealthy young socialite she knew but couldn't place her. "With that look and that aura, she must be a daughter of some prestigious family who rarely makes public appearances."
Aurora whispered a silent prayer: Please, God, don't let that woman be a rival for William Knight.
On her way back to the Imperial Mansion, Diana stopped by a florist. She bought a bouquet of pink and blue hydrangeas.
Once home, she filled a glass vase with water and placed the flowers in the center of the bedroom table. The monochromatic black, white, and gray room was suddenly infused with a touch of spring—it felt warmer, softer.
Diana then went downstairs to Noah Bell's room. "Did you finish those five sets of practice exams?"
Noah slammed his math papers onto the desk with a triumphant grin. "Check them yourself. I killed it."
Diana picked up the exams and graded them carefully with a red pen. Each set was out of a hundred, and Noah had scored a perfect hundred on every single one. Not a single mistake.
She set the papers down. "Well done. As a reward, we're having beef tonight."
Noah's eyes lit up. "I want cumin beef, poached spicy beef, stir-fried chili beef, and braised brisket!"
"Fine, eat as much as you want. I'll put it on William's tab."
Noah sighed happily. "Having a brother-in-law is the best. Life is good."
"The answers are right," Diana added, pointing at the papers, "but... could you work on this handwriting? It looks like a chicken had a seizure on the page. Even a hen scratching in the dirt writes better than this."
"Who cares about handwriting?" Noah shrugged. "A real man doesn't sweat the small details."
"You might not, but the examiners do. Especially your English teachers. When they see a page full of this chicken-scratch, their heads probably throb. They won't even bother reading your essay properly. First impression? That's an automatic five-point deduction."
Noah was heavily skewed toward STEM subjects. He could ace math, but his literature and language scores were often barely passing.
"What did you get for your essay on the last final exam?" Diana asked.
Noah looked sheepish. "Eighteen points. I went off-topic again."
"The essay is worth sixty points! How far off-topic did you have to go to get an eighteen?"
"My teacher said I'm the 'God of Tangents' from Ancient Greece," Noah grumbled. "She said I can start in Greece, drift to India, circle the globe, and end up in the Himalayas. My logic is so unpredictable that even an East Wind missile couldn't track me."
"And you're proud of this?"
Noah hung his head. "Hardly."
"Tell me, why do you keep going off-topic?"
"If I knew why I was doing it, I wouldn't be doing it, would I?" Noah muttered defensively.
Diana found she couldn't argue with that logic. She was momentarily speechless.
The conversation was going nowhere, and Noah was worried that if they kept talking, his beef dinner might be at risk. He quickly changed the subject. "Hey, is William coming home for dinner tonight? I haven't seen him all day; I kind of miss the guy."
Diana didn't think he would. His message mentioned "tonight," which usually implied later in the evening rather than dinner time. "He probably won't be back yet."
"Why don't you just text him and ask?"
Diana reached for her phone, but then she remembered what he had said before they registered their marriage: Mutual respect, no interference. She pulled her hand back.
"Mr. Knight is very busy. We shouldn't disturb him."
"Man, he's so busy he has time to make money but no time to spend it," Noah declared. "I officially volunteer to make the ultimate sacrifice. I'll spend his money for him."
Diana gave him a look. "A real man stands on his own two feet. Don't think about spending other people's money. Think about how you're going to earn your own to provide for your future wife and kids."
"Forget wives and kids," Noah grinned. "I only have eyes for my beautiful sister. I'm going to study hard, make a fortune, and give it all to my heavenly sister to spend."
Diana laughed and teased, "You're such a smooth talker."
Noah beamed. His sister was smiling—the beef was safe.
After dinner, Diana returned to her bedroom.
After showering, she stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and pulled out the two sets of lingerie she had recently purchased.
Since she was married to William Knight, there was no reason to make him suppress his desires. It was only natural that she would cooperate and fulfill her marital obligations.
Knowing that William was a perfectionist in everything he did, she had specifically gone to a boutique to buy something special to add a bit of romance to their life together.
It was, after all, going to be their first time. She wanted them both to have a perfect experience.