Substitute Bride: Utterly Pampered by Her Billionaire Husband-Chapter 1165: Do You Still Love Him?

Mort Thorne and Dianna Hollis went back, Mort went to prison, and Dianna first returned home to see Jodie Young.

The villa’s gate opened, and the maid trembled when she saw Dianna, "Miss? Miss, you’re back? This... this is wonderful, come in quickly!"

Dianna walked inside, glanced at the living room, but didn’t see Jodie Young, "Where’s my mom?"

"Miss, the madam is at home. I’ll call her now. Madam, madam, come look, Miss is back!" the maid called out happily.

Dianna looked upstairs, "Is my mom upstairs?"

"Yes, Miss, you don’t know, the madam got sick while you were away and needs infusion every day."

"What, my mom is sick, what illness?"

"Miss, the day you ran away from the wedding, the whole City of Crestfall was abuzz, and the madam fainted on the spot. Later you disappeared without a word, the madam was both angry and anxious, angry that you ran away, but worried for your safety. She sent many people to trace your whereabouts, secretly wiping tears every night, scared you might face danger or be bullied outside. She lost a lot of weight, relying only on some nutritional infusions daily."

Dianna’s heart suddenly ached, she knew Jodie Young loved her, especially after taking her home three years ago, showering all her love on her.

Actually, thinking from another angle, Jodie Young had an unspeakable past marriage, afraid, really afraid, so when her beloved daughter chose the same path, she would be intensely emotional and opposed.

"Miss, listen to me, when the madam comes down later, be softer in your attitude. No parent can win over their child in this world, you’re still young now, love is everything to you, but once you’re married and have children, you’ll deeply understand the challenges of being a mother. We can’t abandon our mothers for a man, can we?"

Dianna lowered her lashes, nodding, "I understand."

At this moment, hurried footsteps sounded upstairs, Jodie Young hurried down, "Dianna! Dianna, you finally came back!"

Jodie Young was in pajamas, unmade-up, shedding the incisive intensity of a female CEO, looking pale, having lost a lot of weight recently, appearing extremely sickly and haggard.

Jodie Young rushed over, holding Dianna to see her carefully, "Dianna, have you been well lately? You really scared mom. You’re such a disobedient child, you shouldn’t have run away from home under any circumstances."

Jodie Young choked with emotion, crying tears of joy.

Dianna reached out, gently hugging Jodie Young, "Mom, I’m fine. I’m sorry for worrying you."

Jodie Young wiped her tears, hardening her resolve, she pushed Dianna away with a firm hand, "Don’t play this game, you think I’ll forgive you like this? Tell me, what do you and Cain Shaw plan to do?"

Jodie Young sat on the sofa, face cold, looking like she intended to settle scores afterwards.

"Mom, I won’t marry Yuric Thatcher. I want to marry Cain Shaw in this life," Dianna said honestly.

Jodie Young immediately got angry, "You shouldn’t be saying this to me, where is Cain Shaw? Why didn’t he come with you?"

"He... he has something to deal with..."

Hearing Cain Shaw hasn’t come, Jodie Young’s face turned ashen, "What could be more important than your issue? You ran away from marriage for him, now it’s gossip all over the City of Crestfall, what about your reputation as a young woman? You abandoned everything for him, even if he has urgent matters, he should come with you, instead of leaving you to face this alone!"

"Dianna, how can I agree to anything between you and him? I see no sincerity from Cain Shaw, nor any promises. He just lets you be alone now, and you’re not even married yet. When you get married, when you have a baby, when you’re sick or hospitalized, others have family reunions, will he be absent from every important moment in your life? When time erodes the passion of a young love, will you start yearning for the most ordinary happiness and the longest companionship? Dianna, you’re too young now, I’m your mother, I really can’t watch you walk down a path of no return with open eyes. I’m afraid you’ll regret it someday!"

Dianna’s clear eyes rested quietly on Jodie Young, she asked softly, "Mom, do you still love Dad?"

What?

Jodie Young stiffened.

"I saw it, your drawer still locks your picture with Dad."

Jodie Young’s heart suddenly ached, she interrupted Dianna coldly, "Don’t mention him, I don’t want to talk about that person ever again in this life!"

"Mom, I know, you still love Dad deeply inside."

"You always said Dad brought you only despair and loneliness, then why, after all these years since your divorce, are you still alone? You’re most afraid of solitude, yet you hold it the most. Perhaps then, you thought leaving Dad would bring you to meet someone better, but after all these years, you slowly realized, you indeed met better ones, but you couldn’t love anyone again. Actually, the ones we love in our youth are for a lifetime, he might not be the best, but irreplaceable."

"Mom, I grew up by Dad’s side, so I’m different from you. Now, neither are you me, how do you know whether I can finish the path you didn’t complete back then? Didn’t you ever wonder what you’d see if back then you didn’t flee halfway, but finished that path? Now I can take your place to see."

As Dianna said these words, the entire villa plunged into silence, not a sound could be heard.

Jodie Young’s eyes reddened, tears brimmed over and fell heavily. She understood now, her daughter truly grew up, not clueless but actually comprehending everything.

Over the years she’s remained alone, not due to lack of choices, rather too many choices. Each night when all is quiet, she often thinks she was wrong from the start. If only she’d never met Jason Hollis.

Yet, often she wonders if... if she didn’t leave halfway, and instead, stayed strong, what would she see at the end of the road?

She always feared her daughter would walk her old path, but her daughter was right, plainly... her path was only half-trodden.

She initially believed leaving him would bring her happiness, yet realized later, she never felt happy again.

All her happiness remained locked in the drawer with that photograph, those old times were her entire happiness.

Jodie Young took out her phone, "I’ll give you both a chance. Call Cain Shaw now, I want to see him immediately."