Chapter 5 Nicholas Faints

"Wait!" Derek snarled through gritted teeth, ignoring the pain as he lunged after Diana.

He grabbed her wrist in a death grip. "Diana, you can't give up on yourself like this. Come with me now—I'll take care of you, I promise."

Time was running out. If Diana wouldn't listen to reason, he'd have to take her by force. Once Nicholas discovered their meeting, both he and his men were as good as dead.

On the second floor, Nicholas froze mid-step, his eyes burning with murderous intent as they fixed on Derek's hand wrapped around Diana's wrist.

'How revolting. I should hack it off and feed it to the dogs,' he thought.

Sensing the killing aura radiating from his boss, Bruce quickly intervened, "Sir, perhaps we should let Ms. Windsor handle this herself? They're not going anywhere anyway."

Derek's men were already neutralized—escape was impossible. But if Nicholas made his move now, blood would definitely be spilled.

Everyone knew Diana was head-over-heels for Derek. Nicholas had been holding back precisely because of her feelings.

If he struck now and Diana had another meltdown, wouldn't that defeat the purpose?

Nicholas's jaw clenched, fury blazing in his eyes. Finally, he closed them briefly and forced himself to remain still.

He knew Diana too well. When it came to Derek, she'd always choose his side without question.

Today's protection had probably stemmed from their intimate moment yesterday—or worse, it was just an excuse she'd concocted to avoid dragging Derek down, exactly as Derek had suggested.

Diana looked into Derek's earnest yet disgusted eyes and let out a cold laugh. "Take care of me? Then return everything you've taken from my family. That money could last me several lifetimes."

"Diana! Is money all you ever think about?" Derek's grip tightened as he glared at her in fury.

'What's gotten into this stupid woman today? Why won't she just obey? First the contract issues, now demanding back the things she'd given him. Those items were "borrowed"—that made them mine by default. Why should I return them?' he grumbled to himself.

But remembering his precarious position with the Spencer family, Derek's eyes finally showed a flicker of genuine emotion. "Diana, I'll return what I borrowed, I promise."

"Then return them now." Diana was done wasting words. She pried his fingers off one by one. "Three days. If you don't return them, I'll have my fiancé personally collect them from your house."

She turned away with a flourish, rubbing her wrist in disgust.

Derek claimed to love her, yet he was either sleeping with her friends or hurting her.

'I hope someone loves him exactly the same way someday,' she cursed inwardly.

"Diana, you'll regret this! You will!" Derek's impotent rage echoed behind her, but with time running out, he had no choice but to flee.

If Nicholas actually caught him meeting with Diana, that would truly be the end.

Diana rolled her eyes as she walked away.

Derek and Mandy deserve each other—a match made in hell.

When Diana returned to the villa, every servant instinctively lowered their heads. Remembering her current appearance, Diana felt a wave of embarrassment.

As a child, everyone had called her a delicate little angel. Throughout school, she'd been the campus beauty. But she'd foolishly believed Mandy's lies that Derek preferred cosplay characters—specifically dark, gothic ones. Every day, Diana had transformed herself into something neither human nor ghost.

Strangers couldn't recognize her, and even close friends needed time to figure out who she was.

"Um..." She turned to a maid scrubbing the floor nearby.

The woman looked like she'd seen a ghost and scurried away, head down.

Diana caught her reflection in the polished floor and jumped back in shock. 'Even real ghosts would be terrified of me,' she thought wryly to herself.

She tried wiping her face with her sleeve, but whatever makeup Mandy had used wouldn't budge—if anything, she looked even more horrifying.

As Diana debated between a hot shower or calling professional makeup removal services, Nicholas descended from the second floor.

"Diana, let's go. I'll take you to dinner." He spoke as if he couldn't see the war paint on her face, his voice carrying a note of indulgence.

Looking at the tall, handsome man before her, Diana's mood plummeted.

"I don't want to go."

Taking her out looking like this would land her on trending topics within minutes: #Mr. Spencer Dines with Mystery Ghoul

The internet would have a field day with at least a hundred variations. Of course, Nicholas would ruthlessly suppress any negative coverage—any platform that dared mock her would face his wrath.

Thinking of how good Nicholas had always been to her, Diana turned back. "How about having them bring dinner to the room? We can eat together."

'Better not traumatize the staff any further. I'd like to keep the good cooks around,' she thought.

"Perfect." Nicholas gazed at her tenderly, then shot the nearby servant a cold glance.

The woman immediately nodded with understanding. "Yes, sir. I'll prepare Ms. Windsor's favorites right away."

Ever since learning Diana would be staying, the entire staff had been on high alert, stocking all her preferred ingredients to ensure any request could be fulfilled within thirty minutes.

Nicholas's demands left no room for failure, but his bonuses for success were equally generous.

Today, with Diana being unusually cooperative, everyone was eager to please her and earn some extra money.

Diana reached her bedroom door just as Nicholas caught up. He suddenly pressed his hand against the door handle with a loud thunk.

"What's wrong?" Diana looked at him with concern.

"Nothing." Nicholas pushed the door open, and Diana followed him inside.

The moment she closed the door behind them, Nicholas collapsed straight down.

"Nicholas!"

Diana lunged forward but only caught his jacket. His million-dollar jacket tore in her grip as he hit the floor.

Diana didn't care about her frightening appearance anymore. She flung the door open and shouted, "Someone help! Nicholas has collapsed! Get him to a hospital!"

Everyone stared at her in horror before springing into action. Some called for medical assistance, others prepared ice packs, while a few rushed upstairs to carry Nicholas to bed and remove his shoes...

After the flurry of activity settled, Diana remained frozen in place, struggling to process what had happened.

The butler, Mike Scott, entered and closed the door behind him. "Don't worry, Ms. Windsor. Our family physician will arrive in ten minutes."

"Why not take him to the hospital?" Diana's voice was tight with anxiety. "He just collapsed out of nowhere—he needs a full medical examination."

Scott studied the girl whose features were indistinguishable beneath the makeup, but he could hear the genuine worry in her voice.

He sighed heavily. "Ms. Windsor, since you clearly care about Mr. Spencer, I'll be direct."

He tapped his temple. "Mr. Spencer has a brain tumor. He faints from time to time."