The Million-Dollar Heart novel Chapter 11

Percival didn't see it coming that the person he'd been searching for would turn out to be in the Hawthorn family. What was her connection with the Hawthorns?

Vivienne was also taken aback to bump into the guy she'd helped out before right here.

"Mr. Ellington, meet my granddaughter, Vivienne." Beatrice introduced them, pointing at Vivienne.

Percival's fingers, which were resting on his wheelchair, stopped abruptly. His deep gaze fell on Vivienne and his handsome face revealed a look of surprise.

She was the heiress of the Hawthorns? Vivienne?

A smile unconsciously spread across Percival’s face. If his fiancee turned out to be her, then that’d be...

Beatrice then introduced Vivienne to the rest of the guys. "This is the head of the Ellington family, Richard, and the guy next to him is his grandson, Percival, your fiance."

Upon hearing Percival’s name, Vivienne looked a bit shocked. Her eyes moved to his legs and she let out a small smile. Percival caught her meaningful gaze and rubbed his temples in resignation. The person he wanted to call off the engagement with turned out to be his lifesaver. And she even knew he wasn’t really disabled.

Vivienne moved her gaze away from Percival and greeted them politely, "Nice meeting you, Mr. Richard, Mr. Ellington."

Percival responded politely. Then, he suddenly spoke up, "Ms. Hawthorn, I think you might’ve misunderstood me. What I said that day was, don't call off the engagement."

Vivienne was taken aback. What a cheeky guy!

Leopold and Thomas were also speechless. Mr. Ellington's change of attitude was truly astonishing. They'd clearly heard him say that he wanted to call off the engagement.

Richard looked at Percival and burst out laughing. To get Percival to agree to an engagement with the Hawthorns' daughter, Richard had used all sorts of tricks to barely lure him here to the Hawthorns’ place. Now after finding out that the Hawthorns' eldest daughter was Vivienne, he wasn’t throwing a fit anymore. He was even willing to marry her himself.

Richard looked at Vivienne, a meaningful smile playing on his lips. This real daughter of the Hawthorn family was much harder to deal with than Arabella. If his grandson dated her, he'd probably get a taste of her tough side.

Richard snapped out of his thoughts and got up with a smile. "Vivienne, we came here today to discuss whether we could possibly not call off the engagement?"

Compared to Arabella, Richard obviously preferred Vivienne, and admired her more.

Because when she entered the room and saw Percival, and found out who he was, there was no contempt in her eyes. She was straightforward. He could even tell that her calling off the engagement had nothing to do with Percival being disabled.

Arabella was different. All she had for Percival was contempt and disgust.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Richard. I'm too young and I'm not ready to think about marriage yet. Mr. Ellington is so outstanding, I'm sure he'll find someone who's perfect for him." Vivienne said calmly. "Let’s just call off this engagement."

"I'm disabled and can't find a good partner. Now I have this great opportunity for marriage, I can't give up. Ms. Hawthorn, would you accept me?" Percival spoke very slowly, his voice slightly weary.

Vivienne was silent.

Leopold and Thomas had their eyes wide open, staring at Percival in disbelief. What??!! He could actually speak so bluntly one day?

Richard's eyes were narrowed into slits from laughing. His grandson finally got it.

Vivienne had been through a lot, but she quickly said, "Then let's get engaged in five days. But I hope this marriage can be arranged by the Hawthorn family. I don’t know if you guys have any thoughts?"

"We'll go with your arrangement." Percival was in a good mood and his tone was somewhat cheerful.

After that, they all left. As they were leaving, Leopold felt someone's gaze on him. He looked up and met Vivienne’s clear eyes, which made his face turn red. It wasn’t until they left the Hawthorn family that Leopold snapped back to reality. He turned to Percival and said, "Percival, did you notice that Miss Hawthorn was staring at me the whole time?"

Percival cast a glance at him, "I noticed."

Hearing that, Leopold got all excited, "Do you think she might have feelings for me?"

Percival's eyes narrowed, and a sharp gleam passed through them, like a sharp knife.

Leopold shrunk back a bit, but still asked bravely, "So why do you think Miss Hawthorn was staring at me?"

"Because you're not good-looking." Percival said, his face expressionless.

Leopold was speechless.

Back at the Hawthorn family's mansion.

After Percival and the others left, Dorian turned to Beatrice, "Mom, who gave you the right to decide for Vivienne? I told you that she won’t marry Percival."

Beatrice slouched back in her chair, throwing him a casual glance. "Don't say I'm not considerate," she said nonchalantly. "There are still five days until the engagement. I'm giving you time to think it over."

She looked up, her voice calm and composed. "Don't blame me for not warning you. Without the protection of the Hawthorn family, I have no clue how you would survive. By the way, Thaddeus's kindergarten was arranged by me. I heard their school is having some sort of assessment this year. Kids with mediocre abilities like Thaddeus might not be on their enrollment list."

Dorian suddenly looked up, "He's your own grandson. Mom, do you really have to be this ruthless?"

"That's why I'm giving you time to think," Beatrice replied. She took a sip from her tea cup, "Alright, I'm tired. You can leave now."

Dorian tried to say something else, but Beatrice had already started to ignore him. He had no choice but to leave with Cordelia and Vivienne.

After they left, Arabella came over to Beatrice's side, lightly massaging her shoulder. "Granny, do you think dad will agree?" she asked in a low voice.

Beatrice closed her eyes, enjoying the soothing sensation on her shoulder. "He will," she replied lightly. "Without a place to live or a job, how would he provide for his family? Arabella, you should know that no matter how proud a person is, they have to bow their head to survive."

A cold light flashed briefly in Arabella's eyes. "What if dad has got a place to live?"

“Well, do you think with the money he had, he could find anywhere to live?” Beatrice sneered, “Also, I’ve sent the words out. Most people in this city wouldn’t dare to go against me.”

Arabella felt a bit relieved inside.