20 A Demand for an Explanation

When Christian came back to Diane with a small smile yet to fade from his lips, she became curious to know who this Ashley was.

"I will be leaving for the office in a few minutes. The housekeeper will be coming to clean and before noon, lunch will be delivered to you. As for dinner, I will bring some on my way back," Christian revealed.

Diane blinked. "I'm going to my family's house this evening, I will have dinner with them," she said before turning to go back to her bedroom.

***

Christian took his job seriously after his recent appointment as the CEO of Heir's Hotels; one of the biggest hotels in the world with many branches scattered on three continents.

His job was very demanding and allowed him to travel out of the country occasionally, so he was always busy.

Just like today, since he arrived in his office, he has been engaged in very different virtual meetings, speaking to all their regional managers and by the time George came to inform him of Ashley's arrival at the private premium restaurant at the rooftop, he was exhausted.

Ashley, a beautiful petite woman with profound cheekbones, raised brows and a defined chin. She was everything a perfect model should look like. She had full lips and thick hair and each time she smiled, heads turned.

She was cute in her own way, but Christian seemed immune to her charms having been with her for a while.

"You are five minutes late," she complained as she feigned disappointment the moment she saw Christian coming her way. "How can a gentleman keep a lady waiting?"

Christian smiled and apologized as he reached out to give her a side hug. "I'm sorry. I had to tidy up my meetings just for you Princess."

Ashley chuckled softly as they separated and took their seats. "I can't believe that you are busier than me after resuming your new position. Why do I feel bad about it?" she asked and then crossed her leg over the other. "Should I tell my Dad to dismiss you from this CEO position so you can have time for me?"

"I thought you liked hardworking men? Have you changed your mind again?" Christian asked with a small smile hanging at the corner of his lips.

He did not feel upset by the younger woman's jokes since they were very good friends who chatted a lot.

"I almost forgot about that," Ashley sighed. "Even my father misses you. Do you think you can make it to dinner with us tonight, just us three?"

Christian was going to respond with 'I don't think that's feasible' almost immediately but he suddenly held back.

He quickly ran through his schedule for the day in his mind and recalled that Diane was going to be having dinner with her family, so he changed his response.

"Let's see how that will go."

Ashley smiled satisfactorily. "My Dad will be excited if you show up; One a Chairman of Heirs Holdings and the other a CEO of Heirs Hotel in one dining."

"Plus another who is the heiress to Heirs Holdings and all its subsidiaries," Christian added.

A proud smile lingered on Ashley's face as she picked up the menu from the table. "Don't make me cocky by praising me too much. But what do you say about this rooftop restaurant?" she suddenly asked.

Christian looked around each spacious glass capsule with fresh flower decor and nodded. "It's calming and at the same time very distracting from real-life problems."

"Yes, I am a helpless romantic who is still single, so I can't help it," Ashley admitted with a smug smile. "You should praise me for my brilliance with the décor idea," she chided him.

---

Over at the Smiths residence, there was a heavy tension in the atmosphere with the Sanders' arrival.

There was Mr. Sanders along with his wife, Mrs. Sanders. Then there was Phillip in a grey suit with his two sisters walking beside him in their fashionable outfits and expensive designer bags.

Who knows if they had come for the meeting or to show off their wealth?

Being a good host who knew everything about ethics and manners, Celine let them enjoy a very awkward dinner before moving over to the shade in the gardens to discuss.

Dr. Smith was the one who opened the floor for the meeting as Diane's gaze remained on her fingers which rested on her thighs.

She refused to meet anyone's gaze as a great turmoil filled her heart.

"A few days back, Phillip reached out to me…" Dr. Smith started by recounting how Phillip broke the news about his divorce to Diane and talked about Diane's reason for the divorce before mentioning the prenup issue. "Their divorce is not the issue here rather, it is the prenup," he said as his gaze moved from one Sanders family member to the other.

Vivian exchanged glances with Phillip before speaking up. Today, she was putting on red lipstick to match the fire she would be spitting out today.

"Apart from the prenup, Diane and Phillip's reason for the divorce is important. Diane has revealed that my brother's cheating was the reason she filed for divorce, but did she tell her family the reason my brother cheated?"

Just as Vivian asked that question, Dr. Smith and Celine exchanged surprised glances before shifting their gaze to Diane whose heart was running wild with tension.

"If I may ask, what reason is worthy enough for a man to cheat on his wife?" Dr. Smith asked with his gaze directed at Phillip.

Even if his daughter did something wrong, he didn't think that should be enough reason for Phillip to disrespect her, so he wanted to know the other thing they weren't telling him.

Vivian stole a glance at Diane as a smug look appeared on her face. That was a smile of victory for being the one to reveal her embarrassing shortcomings in front of everyone.

"For example, something like Diane being unable to perform her wifely duties to my brother since they got married and by that, I mean bedroom duties."

Vivian dropped the bomb and folded her arms to watch the drama begin.

All eyes strayed to Diane but in this case, her parents were the only ones shocked, courtesy of Phillip having already spoken to his parents long ago.

It took a while for Celine to find her voice after she almost lost her composure and when she did, she turned to Diane. "What does she mean by that?"

If there was a word worse than embarrassment, that's what Diane was currently dealing with. The shame she was feeling right now could not be compared with the one she felt when she saw Christian that morning.

She wanted to duck her head under the table instead of talking about such a private issue with both families present.

Diane's face burned red with shame as she finally lifted her head. "Vivian is right. The two years we were still together, Phillip and I did other things except sex because there is something wrong with my body that I can't explain."

"And what could that be?" her mother urged with a dark gaze. There was a thought going on in her mind and she didn't want to think that Diane's past relationship had anything to do with this otherwise, she would not spare her.

Diane fumbled with her words and finally being unable to take it, she got up and apologized before dashing out with teary eyes and now, Phillip was left to do the explanation of what that meant.

---

With Diane gone, the Sanders family spoke ill against her without holding back but in the long run, something surprising happened.

Celine's maternal instinct kicked in. She could no longer condone outsiders badmouthing her daughter, so she stopped them right in their tracks.

"Phillip, you two had a big problem like this in your marriage yet never cared to involve the family or see a doctor about this, so the blame is on your two. But that is not the reason this meeting was called today. Your marriage with my daughter is in the ending process, so let bygones be bygones."

Phillip was stunned to see Celine defending Diane when that was usually not the case. If the mother was going to be on Diane's side, who would be against her from her own family?

Celine took in everyone's facial expressions before demanding an explanation, "Before Diane and Phillip got married, a prenup was agreed upon by both families so we want an explanation as to why Phillip went behind everyone's back to transfer his entire assets to his elder sister, Vivian just before the wedding?"