All Chapters of Tale of Two Lives: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Horace yanked away the study materials from my hand roughly before leaving with VIvian's hand in his.They ended up going to the backyard garden, which was right in view from my window, so I had a perfect view of them reading books together.That evening, Agnes, the nanny, told me to go downstairs to eat after she finished cooking.I sat across the table from Horace and Vivian as they fed each other throughout the meal, and I didn't so much as raise my head, focusing on eating the meal in front of me.I was scared that I'd get caught in some sort of trouble if I met either of their eyes.Vivian tried to strike up a conversation with me multiple times, but I didn't notice it because I was too focused on the meal in front of me. Seemingly agitated by this, her eyes became red, and she set down her cutlery, her voice taking on a sad tinge, almost sounding like she was sobbing, "Horace, I think I'll go back to school."Horace slammed down his cutlery. "You're not the one who should b

I couldn't comprehend what this man was thinking.He didn't like me, so I left. He hated that my existence affected his relationship with Vivian, so I disappeared without a trace. Was this not what he wanted?"Horace—""You're not allowed to go overseas with that man!" He shouted, veins bulging on his forehead and his eyes bloodshot.And so, I finally understood what he was mad about.It was because of Carl Xavier.Carl and I were classmates ever since we were in primary school, and we'd planned to go to Paris for our postgraduate studies.In the past, Horace had always been extremely bothered by the fact that I'd known Carl longer than I'd known him. After he found out that I wanted to go to Paris, he tried to stop me multiple times, to the point where he once smashed a gift from Carl to bits in front of everyone during my birthday party.Carl, not wanting to make things difficult for me, just smiled and said that he'd give me another gift later. He had even solemnly warned

The disgust in Horace's eyes was completely shattered by my words. Not caring that everyone was still there, he suddenly grabbed my arm tightly."Take back those words. I'll pretend I never heard them."On one hand, this man acted like Vivian was the love of his life, willing to take everything I had from me for her sake.On the other hand, he wasn't willing to let go of me.Was he bipolar?I ripped my hand away from him, dusting off the spot he had touched like it was dirty."From the moment I moved out, our ties were already severed. I'm not rejecting the recommendation or leaving the academy out of guilt—I'm doing it simply to repay your family for raising me"As for Vivian…"I tapped on my phone to send the email I prepared earlier, and a notification dinged on the dean's computer. As soon as he laid his eyes on it, his expression changed immediately, and he stood up quickly."Miss Reeds, how dare you do something so horrible? Our academy will never tolerate something li

The academy reinstated my recommendation spot, and I went about preparing to go abroad with peace of mind.Occasionally, I'd go back and visit Horace's parents. They were worried about letting me go overseas by myself, and wanted to arrange for someone to accompany me.I didn't know how to refuse, so I went to find Carl.His face flushed the moment he heard my request—red creeping up from his neck all the way to the tips of his ears.I hurriedly explained, "I didn't mean it that way. They're just worried that I'll get into trouble by myself, so I'm asking you to help give them some peace of mind. It's just to reassure them!'I wasn't sure if I was imagining it, but my explanation seemed to make the redness on his face fade."Alright, I'll help you."When I brought Carl back with me, I unexpectedly ran into Horace, who hadn't been home in a while. The moment he saw me holding Carl's hand, his expression darkened.Pretending not to notice, I said, "Mr. and Mrs. Newton, this is my

By the time I heard news of Horace and Vivian again, a year had passed.After Vivian was expelled, she became a disgrace to her family. Her grandparents, thinking of her as an embarrassment, ended up marrying her off to an old man in the village.Apparently, that man was impotent, so he found pleasure in tormenting her in bed in other ways.Later on, in order to carry on his family line, he even forced his younger brother on Vivian.Vivian tried to escape multiple times, but she was always brought back to him each and every time, even if she fled to her grandparents.Her grandparents said, "What woman hasn't experienced this sort of thing? You're the one who was a disgrace who couldn't even finish university, so what can you do other than give birth?"One rainy night, Vivian finally managed to flee, and ended up going to Horace."Horace, save me! I don't want to go back to that hellish place. They're treating me as nothing more than a baby-making machine! I'll die there!"Horac