Chapter 4 Keep You in Prison Forever

After several slaps, Derek's face swelled like a balloon.

Diana shook her aching right hand, regretting not using both hands—at least then the pain would be evenly distributed.

"Diana!" Derek glared at her through gritted teeth. "How dare you hit me?"

"You were scheming against me!" Diana tossed her hair and walked over to the contract she'd thrown on the ground, kicking it a few times before stepping on one of the pages. "This contract transfers all my shares and management rights to you—it's basically handing over the entire company!"

Derek clutched his face, stunned.

How could Diana understand any of this?

He narrowed his eyes, studying her face, searching for cracks in her facade. But her appearance was so revolting that he couldn't even make out her expression, let alone her eyes.

His gaze lingered on the love bites marking her neck, his eyes darkening with calculation.

Diana never bothered reading contracts. If she could spot the problems now, Nicholas must be poisoning her mind against him.

"Diana, I know you didn't mean to hit me. You're just angry that I couldn't protect you."

He stepped forward to take her hand, but the sight of her ghoulish face made him recoil.

He continued, "I told you Nicholas was bad news. He's obviously keeping you from me, turning you against me on purpose. He wants to destroy the Windsor Corporation."

Seeing she hadn't signed yet, Derek quickly gathered the scattered papers from the ground. "Diana, I know you're hurting, but you have to know I'm the only one who truly cares about you. Just sign this contract and the company will be safe. You owe that much to your dead parents, don't you?"

He wiped the pen distastefully on Diana's coat. "Diana, sign it. Once Nicholas swallows up Windsor Corporation, it'll be too late."

Diana watched Derek's disgusted expression and couldn't help but mock the soul she had once been.

How had she been so blind to such obvious revulsion?

Looking at this familiar yet strange face, Diana smiled slightly.

Her lipstick had smeared grotesquely toward her ears, and with that small movement, she looked ready to lunge forward and tear out Derek's throat.

Derek wanted to step back but forced himself to stay put. "Diana, trust me. Just sign this and I can save the Windsor family. I won't let Nicholas destroy Windsor Corporation."

Just then, Diana couldn't resist another strike.

Derek instinctively moved to hit back, but froze when he saw that demonic face grinning at him.

"Nicholas is my fiancé. If I hear you say one more word against him, I'll beat you so badly your own mother won't recognize you!"

Nicholas wasn't just her fiancé—he was the man who had jumped to save her in her past life without hesitation.

And Derek was the last person who had any right to slander Nicholas!

Derek swallowed his rage, forcing down his disgust as he grabbed Diana's hand. "Diana, I know being raped by Nicholas must have traumatized you. You're only treating me this way because you don't want to drag me down, but I'm not afraid."

Thinking of Windsor Corporation within his grasp, his words carried a hint of genuine emotion.

"Diana, let's leave right now. My driver's waiting outside. Even if it costs me my life, I'll get you away from that monster Nicholas."

This was his Plan B.

Originally, he'd only needed Diana's signature to legitimately take over Windsor Corporation. But since this Diana remained unmoved, he'd have to take her by force.

Once she was in his hands, he had plenty of ways to make Diana sign.

On the second-floor balcony, hidden behind the trees, Nicholas watched with cold detachment.

His assistant Bruce Davis was a nervous wreck.

This Diana was nothing but trouble. If she actually eloped with Derek, everyone would face punishment today.

Thinking of his boss's ruthless nature, Bruce shuddered.

Just as he was praying to every deity he could think of, Derek's agonized scream echoed from below.

With Derek gripping her right hand, Diana couldn't move it, so she drove her foot hard into his groin. He collapsed to the ground.

"Diana!" Derek finally snapped, roaring in fury.

Seeing Diana raise her foot again, he quickly rolled away.

His pathetic state clearly satisfied Diana immensely. She wiped her Derek-contaminated right hand on her clothes with disgust. "I'm at my fiancé's house. Why would I leave with you? And technically speaking, you should be calling Nicholas 'cousin,' shouldn't you?"

She looked down at Derek with contempt.

His gel-slicked hair was now matted with dirt and grass, his expensive suit wrinkled and disheveled. One hand clutched his groin while the other tried to support his weight.

Diana stepped on his hand, and thinking of her past life, she wished she could kill this demon.

She sneered, "What makes you think you're worthy of asking me to elope?"

"Diana, has Nicholas brainwashed you? He's not a—AHHH!" Derek's agonized cry pierced the air as Diana pressed down harder, her eyes ice-cold.

"Nicholas is leagues above you. One more insult, and I'll make sure your line ends here!"

She raised her foot again, and Derek rolled away frantically to escape her range.

Diana snorted coldly and turned to leave.

Derek looked at the scattered contract pages and struggled to his feet. "Diana, I know this is PTSD. I don't blame you—I only blame myself for not protecting you."

Diana was ready to laugh at his audacity. Still playing the devoted lover?

She turned back with a mocking look, though her grotesque makeup only showed Derek another glimpse of her gaping maw.

Derek swallowed hard and continued his false performance. "You have to elope with me. Windsor Corporation's project is about to be shut down. How could Nicholas possibly let Windsor Corporation continue to grow?"

He added, "He wants to control you, so he can't let you have any independence. Don't you see? He's going to take everything from you."

Diana's smile grew wider, though her eyes filled with sorrow.

In her past life, she'd believed Derek's half-truths and spent a lifetime opposing Nicholas.

Yet in the end, only Nicholas had truly cared for her.

"He's going to be my husband. So what if he takes everything from me?" Diana laughed coldly. "You, on the other hand—I remember you've taken plenty from the Windsor family. I'm giving you three days to return everything you've stolen from me, or I'll call the police and make sure you spend the rest of your life in prison!"

Diana walked away without looking back, cursing her past self. She'd been the ultimate fool, stupidity incarnate.

Every time Derek had taken a fancy to something from the Windsor family, he'd claim to "borrow it for a couple days" and never return it. She'd privately considered them gifts to him.

Now she realized that feeding an ungrateful parasite had been the beginning of her tragic fate.

On the second floor, Nicholas's gaze remained fixed on Diana's slender retreating figure. The pen in his hand had snapped in two, but his expression was unusually pleased.

Nicholas casually tossed the broken pen into the trash. "Bruce, spare the families of Derek's driver waiting outside."

"Yes, sir. Your mercy is appreciated." Bruce exhaled in relief, casting a sympathetic glance toward the entrance.

Derek's driver probably wouldn't see tomorrow's sunrise.