Evelyn dropped her head even lower and mumbled, "I'm a klutz, and Mr. and Mrs. Williams don't like me anyway. I can work anywhere; it's all the same to me."
Diana, seeing Evelyn spill her guts like that, thought she was being real and asked, "If you wanna stay, then stay. What's your name?"
Evelyn was shocked that Diana, who'd already canned three people on her first day, was so chill. She got even more eager to please. "I'm Evelyn. Ms. Spencer, have some soup. I made it just for you; it's good for your stomach."
Diana nodded. She hadn't eaten in three days, just sipped some water and nibbled on a few snacks in the hospital. Her stomach was aching a bit, but the smell of the soup made her hungry again.
As Diana was eating, Robert walked in with a stack of papers. Seeing her awake, he was happy but then remembered something, and his face turned serious.
Diana paused, wiped her mouth, and asked, "What's up, Robert?"
Robert didn't answer, just dropped the stack of papers on the dining table. Evelyn, sensing they needed to talk business, wisely left the room.
"How's your leg?" Robert asked, looking worried.
Diana swung her leg while sitting in the chair. Her knee still hurt, but it was way better than the day before. She replied, "I'm fine. Robert, do you have something to say?"
Seeing Diana still eating, Robert decided to give her the short version. "Here's the deal. You left in a hurry that day, and I didn't get to tell you. The Spencer Group got bought out by the Percy Group two years ago. They own 55% of the shares, and due to Mr. Williams' crappy management, the Spencer Group's been bleeding money and is about to go under."
Diana paused, then said, "So you're saying that even though I got my mom's share, the company is actually run by my ex-husband, right?"
Diana put some extra sting on "ex-husband."
Robert nodded. "Yep. Even though they bought it, the Percy Group hasn't really done much with it. And Mr. Williams' investments have mostly tanked, leaving the company in debt."
Diana laughed bitterly. She thought being reborn would mean inheriting a big fortune and living the high life. She didn't expect the Spencer Group to be such a dud.
Charles had spent a ton of money to buy the company, not because it had potential, but because of the original Diana.
Back then, Bianca had saved Juniper by accident, which helped Diana too, so she could marry Charles.
Despite Charles' lack of desire to wed Diana and his inability to oppose Juniper's wishes, he resorted to purchasing the Spencer Group at a considerable cost. To onlookers, it appeared as though the Spencer Group was exceptionally fortunate.
However, Charles exploited this acquisition by ensnaring the original Diana in a two-year marriage contract. The Spencer Group represented three generations of the Spencer family's hard work, and the original Diana cared about it a lot.
Now inhabiting Diana's body, Sophia was simply grateful to be alive once more. Yet, after numerous confrontations with Charles, she found herself feeling rather powerless in her present circumstances.If the Spencer Group was gonna crash and burn, so be it. For Sophia, the most important thing was to find the two jerks who killed her and get her revenge.
So Diana poured herself another bowl of soup and told Robert without looking up, "Let it crash. I'm no good at business. We can't beat Charles."
Robert felt pretty stuck. He knew they were screwed. But the Spencer Group was Bianca's life's work, and Diana just giving up like that left him feeling kinda lost. "Maybe we could talk to Mr. Percy?"
But as soon as he said it, Robert regretted it. Charles wasn't gonna bail out a sinking ship just 'cause someone asked him to, especially not his ex-wife's company.
Diana stopped what she was doing and gave Robert a long, hard look without saying a word.
Robert finally threw in the towel, packed up the documents, and left. He only said, "The Percy Group's gonna liquidate the Spencer Group soon. Be ready."
With everyone gone, Diana happily dug into her meal. She thought she'd be swamped, but with the company about to go belly up, she found herself with nothing to occupy her time.
So Diana finished eating, climbed back into bed, and knocked out. She needed to recharge to handle things better.
In her dream, Diana suddenly heard someone calling her. The voice was all teary and full of sorrow. "Sophia, Sophia..."
Sophia opened her eyes, knowing she was dreaming. Suddenly, Diana appeared before her, tears streaming down her face. She was crying her heart out.
Seeing Sophia, Diana quickly wiped her tears and walked over to grab her hand. This was freaky; in the real world, Sophia was getting used to Diana's identity, but in the dream, Diana was right there, clear as day.
Diana said, "Sophia, I'm Diana. Please, you gotta help me get back the Spencer Group."
Sophia pulled her arm away and didn't answer Diana's plea. Instead, she asked, "You've been in this body all along, haven't you? Are you dead or what?"
"I am dead, but I haven't left. I've been here all along. I watched you go toe-to-toe with Charles, saw you reclaim my mom's house. Thank you, Sophia," Diana said.
Diana's tone was sincere. She was genuinely grateful to Sophia, who was way tougher than her. Sophia had always kinda felt Diana's presence, especially when dealing with Charles. This feeling was super strong.
Sophia wanted to kill Charles with her own hands for everything he'd done recently, but Diana's heart ached.
Sophia felt helpless. 'Why is Diana still in love even after death? She's such a fool in love.'
But Sophia didn't say that out loud. After all, Diana's death had given her a second chance and an opportunity for revenge. Sophia was more grateful than anything.
So Sophia asked Diana about the details of her death. If Charles had indeed strangled her, she would avenge her when she got strong enough.
But Diana gave an unexpected answer. "I wasn't strangled by him. I had a drug allergy. Clara drugged Charles to sleep with him and gave me sleeping pills. However, I and Charles happened to stay together that day, I suffocated shortly after taking the pills. My soul never left, and then you came."
Sophia fell silent. When she was reborn, she had felt groggy, thinking it was a side effect of rebirth. But now it seemed it was due to the sleeping pills.
Sophia seethed with anger towards Charles. The fact that he engaged in sexual activities with her while she was unconscious felt akin to violating a lifeless body. When the effects of the drug subsided, he erupted in a fit of rage, almost choking her. What a bastard.
Seeing Sophia silent, Diana smiled slightly. "I am fine. Being with you these days, I don't like him as much anymore. Sophia, you gave me the courage to realize that love can't be fulfilled only by my own wishful thinking."