I grew up in an orphanage. It was only last week that my birth parents finally found me.
They were billionaires in Ashford City, people with real power and influence.
The day we met, my mother was dressed elegantly, poised and refined, but the moment she saw me, she broke down crying so hard she lost all composure.
I hadn't told her I was married yet. I'd been planning to bring Vivienne along to the press conference.
But now, I felt nothing. Just hollow.
The door was kicked open with a “bang.”
Vivienne grabbed me and dragged me out.
It wasn't until I was bundled into a hospital room that I realized she hadn't been joking.
The moment I saw Bertram lying on the bed with that smug grin plastered across his face, I tried to run.
They pinned my arms and legs down. When the cold metal instruments came close, my heart nearly hammered out of my chest.
In the same room, Vivienne was murmuring sweet nothings to Bertram, whose complexion was rosy and healthy.
Meanwhile, I was drenched in my own blood, held down so they could take my kidney.
I thrashed in desperation, but all it earned me was a vicious slap across the face.
Before I blacked out from the searing agony, I saw every ounce of Vivienne's attention fixed on Bertram.
Tender. Adoring. As if she were gazing at something priceless.
When I woke again, Vivienne was sitting by my bed.
She was holding an apple. For a disoriented moment, I thought everything had gone back to the way it used to be.
I'd been bullied in the orphanage since I was small. When I got older and went to school, the other kids shut me out because I had no parents.
I'd swallowed so much cruelty in my life, but then I met Vivienne at my first job.
When coworkers ganged up on me and made my life miserable, Vivienne was the one who fought for me, who warned them to back off.
The way she shielded me, standing between me and the world, I truly believed she was an angel.
She'd carefully prepare medicine for my stomach problems, remind me to take care of myself even if I was alone.
When she'd laugh softly and curl up in my arms, making me promise to love her forever, my heart melted completely.
So why had everything turned into this?
Vivienne saw me wake and reached over to help me sit up. I flinched away.
Her expression hardened.
“Everyone thinks you and I are married. Bertram has borne all that public criticism for years because of it, and he's never once complained.”
“You should say thank you.”
I looked toward the doorway. There stood Bertram, his wound neatly bandaged, already barking orders like he owned the place.
All I felt was the absurdity of it. And an exhaustion so deep it hollowed me out.
But the look in Vivienne's eyes, so matter-of-fact, so absolute, made my blood run cold.
I forced out three words：“Thank you.”
Bertram didn't even glance at me. He just took Vivienne's hand and whined：“Why do you keep coming to check on him~”
“What's worth looking at? The man's useless.”
The contempt in Bertram's eyes cut straight through me. Half a lifetime of sweat and sacrifice, and all of it had been spent building someone else's fortune.
Now even my body was no longer whole. What was the point of staying alive?
Every last shred of will drained out of me. Maybe it would be easier to just die.
Hot tears slid down my face, and two faces surfaced in my mind.
My birth parents. They were still waiting for me.
I had never known an embrace that warm. Love from family.
I refused to die one moment before dawn.
Vivienne stroked Bertram's head lovingly. “I promise you won't have to suffer any more after this.”
“At tomorrow's press conference, I'm going public with our relationship.”
Bertram smiled shyly. “You know me, Vivienne. I'm not like other people. I don't care that much about titles or status. I just want you to love me a little more.” Then he shot me a pointed look.
Vivienne's face softened with satisfaction. “The love is yours. The title is yours too.”
