Chapter 511 The Woman He Could Never Win Back

Chapter 511: Chapter 511 The Woman He Could Never Win Back

The very next second, a hand clamped around Diana’s wrist.

It was ice-cold and trembling. The grip was tight enough to keep her from slipping away, yet somehow hesitant, as though the man holding her was afraid that if he squeezed too hard, he might hurt her—and if he loosened his hold, she might disappear.

Diana felt the blood drain from her face.

Her entire body froze.

Slowly, she looked up.

Her eyes met a pair of bloodshot ones.

Nine months had passed since they’d last seen each other. Liam was still Liam, but something about him had changed. The vitality that had once defined him was gone. His eyes and features were shadowed by a lifeless despair, as though he’d lost the will to care about anything.

And now, as he stared at her, his expression was filled with such overwhelming heartbreak that it was almost frightening.

His breathing came fast and unevenly. Disbelief flashed through his eyes, followed by a rush of desperate relief, as though he’d spent months searching for something he’d thought was lost forever and had finally found it.

“Didi...” His voice shook. “You’re not dead. You’re not dead?”

Before Diana could react, Liam pulled her into his arms, heedless of the people around them.

“It’s really you, isn’t it? This isn’t a dream, is it? Didi, my Didi... you’ve come back, haven’t you?”

He couldn’t believe it.

The woman he’d mourned as dead was standing right in front of him.

For months, nightmares had haunted him. Every night, he relived the day Diana had supposedly died—holding her cold body, crying out in helpless despair, unable to do anything to bring her back.

Every morning, he woke to the same unbearable truth: his Didi was gone forever.

He’d returned to the apartment they’d once chosen as their wedding home day after day, lingering there as though the familiar surroundings were the last place he could still feel her presence.

He’d been living in a daze for so long that he could barely remember what it meant to look forward to anything.

Without Diana, life had lost all meaning. The world seemed bleak and empty, and every day felt like another stretch of punishment he couldn’t escape.

But today...

His father, a lifelong womanizer, was on his deathbed. That was the only reason Liam had been forced to return to Washington.

He’d never imagined he would see Diana again.

For one fleeting moment, he wondered whether his grief had finally driven him to hallucinate.

Then he felt the warmth of her body in his arms.

His entire frame began to tremble.

He clung to her more tightly, no longer caring who saw him lose control. Tears streamed down his face.

“Didi, you’re back. I was wrong. I’m the one who hurt you. You can punish me however you want, just don’t—”

His voice broke.

“Please don’t ever scare me like that again. Please.”

He was utterly humbled by desperation.

He could accept his own death, but he couldn’t bear the thought of Diana dying before him.

The agony of losing her had tormented him so relentlessly that there had been moments when he wished he could simply stop existing.

It wasn’t that he’d never wanted to go after her. Every object she’d left behind, every trace of her presence, only made him want to find her more desperately.

But Diana had told him she didn’t want to see him again.

She’d made it clear that he wasn’t to look for her.

And he’d obeyed.

Sebastian hadn’t expected someone to suddenly rush in and grab Diana like that.

What surprised him even more was that he recognized the man.

He’d met Liam briefly before.

Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles were connected by frequent flights, after all. The distance between them was hardly insurmountable.

Still, he’d never imagined that the man who’d appeared out of nowhere would be the same person connected to Diana’s past.

And now the woman he’d been considering building a family with was sobbing uncontrollably in another man’s arms.

For a moment, Sebastian couldn’t make sense of what he was seeing.

Meanwhile, the storm of emotions inside Diana gradually began to settle.

She’d always known this day might come. She’d never believed she could avoid Liam forever.

Yet standing face-to-face with him again, she realized something unexpected.

The pain was still there, but it no longer consumed her the way it once had.

She took a slow breath.

“Let go of me.”

Her expression was cold and unreadable. She enunciated every word clearly.

The icy tone struck Liam like a blade.

He froze.

Diana looked directly into his eyes.

“My name is Aurora, not Didi. If you don’t let go of me right now, I’ll call the police.”

“Didi...”

Liam’s throat tightened painfully.

His eyes were bloodshot, filled with a grief so raw it was almost unbearable to witness. Yet he refused to release her.

“I know you blame me. I know I hurt you. I’ll make everything right. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you. Didi, please don’t treat me like this. I’m begging you.”

“Can’t you understand what I’m telling you?”

Before Liam could answer, another voice cut through the air.

“She told you to let her go.”

Sebastian’s expression had turned cold.

He caught Diana’s wrist and pulled her free while forcefully shoving Liam back. Then he stepped in front of her, placing himself between them.

He wasn’t about to let Liam come anywhere near her again.

The movement finally seemed to bring Liam back to his senses.

His gaze, already darkened by months of grief and desperation, turned menacing as it settled on Sebastian.

Seeing another man holding Diana’s hand was more than he could bear.

He lunged forward, seized Sebastian by the collar, and snarled, “This is between me and my wife! What the hell does it have to do with you?”

Diana stared at him in shock.

Sebastian didn’t retreat.

“Has she ever said she’s still your wife?” he asked coldly.

“Whether she admits it or not, she’s still my wife!” Liam roared. “Who the hell are you? What right do you have to stand beside her?”

He’d been unraveling for months. Now, faced with the possibility of losing Diana all over again, the desperation he’d been barely containing erupted into something fierce and reckless.

He couldn’t bear the thought of her disappearing from his life a second time.

He would do anything to keep her close.

Her sudden reappearance had dragged him back from the depths of despair, giving him hope when he’d believed there was none left.

He still didn’t understand what was happening. But he could guess that Diana’s apparent death might have been part of her plan to escape him.

The thought tore through him.

And Sebastian’s presence made everything worse.

Liam looked at him as though he were facing a formidable enemy, his emotions collapsing into chaos. It was as if the ground beneath him had given way, leaving him trapped in a storm he couldn’t control.

The pain was unbearable, consuming him from the inside until he could barely think straight.

“Miss Sinclair can answer that question herself,” Sebastian said, his voice cutting and composed. “But judging by the way she’s looking at you, I’d say you mean nothing to her anymore.”

Sebastian had never been a particularly gentle man when it came to confrontation. He knew exactly where to aim his words.

He wasn’t about to invent a relationship with Aurora simply to provoke Liam. Whatever existed between them was for Aurora to explain.

But he certainly wasn’t going to stand by while Liam grabbed and threatened him.

The name Miss Sinclair struck Liam like another blow.

He wasn’t foolish enough to fail to recognize the woman he’d loved for years simply because she’d changed her name and identity.

He would recognize Diana anywhere.

She had always been the most important person in his world. Even if she’d transformed herself completely, he believed he’d still know her at a glance.

And yet, this man—an outsider who knew nothing of their years together—was telling him that he no longer mattered to her.

Liam’s eyes grew even redder.

He turned back to Diana, his grip tightening as he struggled to swallow the painful lump in his throat.

“Didi, please. Let me explain. I’ll make it up to you. I’m begging you—just give me one more chance.”

Diana drew a deep breath.

She understood now.

Ever since Liam had entered her life, she’d known that eventually she would have to face him again.

But she didn’t want to go back.

She didn’t want to be dragged into his life, his regrets, or his promises ever again.

She wanted nothing more to do with him.

She raised the hand Sebastian wasn’t holding and gently touched his shoulder.

“I’ll talk to him.”

Sebastian looked down at her.

Damian had wrapped both arms around Diana’s waist, holding on tightly as though he, too, wanted to protect her from the man in front of them.

Diana looked at Liam.

He seemed on the verge of losing control, his desperate eyes fixed on her as though her answer would determine whether he had anything left to live for.

She spoke slowly, leaving no room for misunderstanding.

“It’s impossible.”

Liam went still.

Tears continued streaming down his face.

Diana didn’t look away.

“Between you and me, there’s no possibility of reconciliation. Not in this life, not in another, not ever. I will never tolerate betrayal—physical or emotional. Once that line is crossed, there’s no going back.”

Her voice remained steady.

“What were you thinking? Did you really believe I was so desperate that I’d take back a man who’d already betrayed me and destroyed everything we had?”

Her words were sharp enough to cut.

Liam almost forgot how to breathe.

Even drawing air into his lungs felt like another form of torment. His chest tightened, and pain spread through him until he felt he might collapse.

Destroyed.

That was what he was to her now.

A man who had ruined everything.

And as Sebastian watched Diana, he began to understand something important.

This was her line in the sand.

Betrayal was the one thing she would never forgive.

Diana didn’t cry. She didn’t look heartbroken or conflicted.

She spoke as though she’d already stepped away from the entire situation, leaving the pain behind her.

“Liam, I find you disgusting. I’m not going to spend the rest of my life feeling sick because of you. You’re not worth that much of my time.”

She paused, looking him straight in the eyes.

“You’re not worthy of me.”

She’d said everything she needed to say.

Her expression didn’t change.

It was as though she’d shed all the tears she could ever cry for him long ago.