After hanging up the phone, Vivienne pushed open the window, staring at the blue sky outside with a cold expression. "Mom, who did you piss off?"
She left the Hawthorn family when she was only nine. All she remembered was her mother being bullied by Beatrice, but her mother always put up with it.
At that time, she didn't understand why her mother, who was clearly a smart and capable person, would be bullied and not fight back. It wasn't until they left the Hawthorn family and found themselves pursued by various parties that she understood her mother's mysterious Muay Thai. Her mother wasn't ignorant of resistance, she was evading those who were after them.
Until one day, her mother received a call. She noticed her mother's unusual expression, but due to her young age and multiple escape experiences, she thought someone was after them again.
But that night, her mother committed suicide. Her mother ended her life with a poison she developed.
Before leaving, she told Vivienne to go to the Emerald Monastery to find Finnian, to learn Muay Thai from him, and warned her not to leave the there for ten years and to hide her abilities. Her mother made a special request that after her death, she should be cremated, and there was no need to erect a tombstone.
Ten years later, she was to return to the Hawthorn family to find her father, Dorian, and fulfill her engagement with Percival.
She did everything else. The only thing she didn't do was marry Percival.
For the past ten years, she lived in the shadow of her mother's death, she had to seek revenge, and couldn't let marriage hinder her. But now she found out that Percival was also involved in the events back then.
The engagement was cancelled, so to find out the truth about the past, she had to find another way.
A burst of urgent knocking interrupted Vivienne's thoughts. She opened the door, only to see Beatrice barging in with a bunch of people.
About ten people squeezed into the small living room, including Beatrice's eldest son, youngest son's family, and Arabella.
Their faces were filled with rage, especially when they saw Vivienne, as if they couldn't wait to tear her to pieces.
"Vivienne! You irresponsible girl! Who gave you the right to break off the engagement with the Ellington family? You ungrateful child! Do you even care about me anymore?"
The moment Beatrice saw Vivienne, her old and blurry eyes almost spit fire. She couldn't believe that Vivienne would unilaterally break off the engagement. If it wasn't for Richard's call, she wouldn't even know.
Since Vivienne just returned, the Hawthorn family hadn't publicly announced her identity, so Richard didn't know that the person to be married to Percival was Vivienne, not Arabella. But Beatrice didn't care, as long as Richard wanted to get engaged with the Hawthorn family's daughter, as long as Vivienne went there, the Hawthorn family wouldn't lose anything. But Vivienne actually broke off the engagement!
Vivienne's gaze was icy, and an aura of coldness emanated from her. She stared at Beatrice for a long moment without saying a word.
"It was me who let Vivienne break off the engagement." Dorian shielded Vivienne behind him and spoke with a stern expression. "If you have a problem, take it up with me."
Beatrice slapped him, her anger bursting. "You're the one who betrayed the family. Do you know what this marriage means to the Hawthorn family?"
She didn't want Arabella to marry Percival before, but she didn't really cancel the engagement. She just wanted to find a way that could get the Ellington family's investment and protect Arabella. But with Vivienne's move, if it caused the dissatisfaction of the Ellington family, the Hawthorn family's company wouldn't get a penny.
"What does it mean?" Dorian sneered. "Isn't it just for your pride? You look down on Vivienne, so you're willing to sacrifice her?"
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