They found Madam Konstantin in the third hospital. The old lady had suffered a stroke. She had had a stroke in the past, and this time, it hit her even worse when she heard about the death of her granddaughter. Even though the doctor managed to rescue her from the clutches of death, her condition was not promising. When Vivian arrived, the old lady was still in a coma. A person who seemed to be her relative sat on a chair beside her bed. When the relative saw Vivian, she asked, “Is there anyth
Vivian was exceedingly calm. In a short period of time, she had come up with countless methods on how to get rid of the pea-sized embryo inside of her. However, just as she was contemplating which method she should use, a voice popped up in her mind. There was a better way to use the little pea inside of her. She intended to use it as her bargaining chip to get what she wanted from Edward, and then she would get rid of it in front of him. The thought was getting stronger and stronger to the
With a calm face, she raised her head and asked, “So, am I still not allowed to return to work?” “Just consider these two days as a break from work. We’ll discuss your work later on,” he replied, holding her gaze. “I’ve consulted the doctor. He said you might be having some cold symptoms during the early stage of your pregnancy, so you mustn’t simply take any medicine.“ Truth be told, Edward did not expect such obedience from her. He looked at her with a strange expression for a while befor
Joan Konstantin had indeed regained consciousness except she couldn’t move at all. She couldn’t even speak. Vivian rushed towards her but stopped at the doorway of her ward. Then, she turned around and shot Edward, who had been following closely behind her, an icy glare. Edward was momentarily taken aback before he understood what she meant. He curled his lips in self-mockery and stopped at the doorway. “I’ll wait for you outside,” he calmly said.Vivian walked in on her own. She stood at the s
Joan didn’t provide any further reactions. She closed her eyes in exhaustion, displaying an ashen look on her face. Vivian also didn’t say anything to disturb her any more. She looked at the Konstantin relative, then waved at her after a bout of hesitation, motioning for her to step outside for a private conversation.The relative was already filled with suspicion when she watched the exchange between Joan and Vivian. She followed Vivian out since she had asked for her. Once the pair stepped ou
Edward did not react at first, as if he didn’t hear her clearly. He raised his brows ever so slightly and simply stared at her in a daze.Vivian smirked and asked, “Are you stupefied from happiness?”He had been hoping that she would get pregnant and that she would give him a child so that she would never be able to sever ties from him. To achieve this, he had come up with a hundred different schemes, sweet-talking her continuously, and even resorting to ridiculous methods like piercing the co
Vivian was surprised. She turned around and shot Edward, who was sitting quietly by the side, an astonished look. He wore a deadpan expression on his face as he chimed in apathetically, “This constitutes a crime. You can’t just settle it privately on a whim. However, if the other party can afford to provide adequate compensation and gain understanding from the victim’s family members, the sentence will be lenient.”“I see.” The Konstantins’ relatives nodded, seeming to understand his statement
“What do you want?” he asked her as he smiled, “I’ll give you whatever you want.”“A wedding ceremony. The bigger, the better,” she replied calmly.“Alright,” he replied and stared at her intently, then carefully asked, “Shall I get your parents to come back? If they find out that you’re alive, they…”“I’ve died long ago!” Vivian cut him off shrilly, only realizing that she had sounded too harsh after the words had left her mouth. She paused for a moment, then calmed herself down. “Their daug
Did you know, Vee?I’ve thought of this more than once. If only our beginning from that night wasn’t so unbearable, how wonderful would it be?… The light from the setting sun spilled towards her from the side, casting a glow on the piece of paper, illuminating the words on it, and giving them a slight shimmer. Just like last year, when she emerged from the ultrasound room in the maternity hospital, weak after a mere two steps, she had to lean against the corridor. She covered her mouth with
Vivian arrived home a little late. She parked the car at the side of the road first, then collected her subscribed newspapers and magazines from the mailbox at her gate. She flipped through the mail as she walked in. To her surprise, she found a letter. It was an envelope made from kraft paper with her name on it.It was a rare handwritten letter with the faint print of a bamboo tree, drawn with Chinese calligraphy ink. The bamboo was tall, straight, and fierce just like the script on the lette
“It’s been three months now, why isn’t the little one moving? When will the baby quicken?” he asked her, “Can it hear me? Will it remember my voice?”He even asked, “Who do you think it’ll look like, Vee? Will it be a girl or a boy?”She knew very well that he was harboring evil intentions, but she gave into him and crumbled anyway. She sobbed and screamed, “Kill me, Sean Jackson. Kill me. I will never give birth to this child even if I die! Never!”He soothed her, “Alright. Don’t give birth
His lower jaw tightened. The lines on his face stiffened icily like the cold edges of a knife. In reality, he had given up long ago. His heart was as dead as ash. However, refusing to accept this, he grasped at everything, hoping to find a straw that could save a life, not to save himself but to save his child’s life. That was how well he knew her. He knew that once she escaped, she would never spare his child. Did he hate her? Yes. He hated how he couldn’t shoot her dead. Love triumphed over ha
“Then, what should we do?” his aide asked.A hero’s end was, inevitably, death. He wasn’t afraid of death, but he was simply plagued with remaining grievances. After a bout of silence, Edward calmly said, “Do something for me. Once that’s done, just slip away. There are no lives in your hands and you aren’t in the cops’ database. No one will notice you.”This aide had received a great debt of gratitude from Edward once, so he was solely loyal to him. He became distressed when he heard this, so
“You deserve it for all of the crimes you’ve committed!” Vivian screamed, losing control. Her emotions felt strangely steady after that scream. She threw the gun away as her sparkling, dark eyes were filled with renewed determination. She stared at him and spoke, enunciating every word, “Sean Jackson and those brothers of yours, you’ve all got your justice. Beaten to death, right? Arrested, was it? But when you willfully hurt others and view their lives as nothing more than weeds, you should hav
She hadn’t slept the entire night, and she was extremely high-strung. However, she was feeling slightly fatigued. Perhaps because of the comforting glow from the brightening day outside, she lay down on the bed with her clothes on after a bout of hesitation. She had only intended on taking a nap but unexpectedly fell into a deep sleep.Vivian suddenly woke up, startled. She had lost track of how long she had been asleep. She found a figure standing in front of her bed when she awoke and was gre
Vivian was taken aback by his question. “You haven’t caught him?” she exclaimed in astonishment. She thought that they had already apprehended Edward based on the expression on Jake’s face.“Our men have surrounded the condominium,” he answered simply, “He and Wade seized a hostage and hid inside the study. Both sides were caught in a deadlock for a while, but when they burst the study door open, they only found Wade and that hostage inside.”Vivian trembled uncontrollably as she listened to h
The wedding day was drawing to a close. Vivian stayed at the condominium until the day before the wedding. Then, she moved to Edward’s villa by the lake to wait for the wedding ceremony. Edward drove her there himself, feeling reluctant before he left. He turned around and looked at her, then softly said, “Wait for me. I’ll come for you tomorrow, first thing in the morning.”Vivian didn’t respond and simply stood at the doorway, quietly watching him.For some reason, the sight of her like this