She knelt before Richard Chambers Sr. and pleaded—begged him to give me more time. She said she believed in me, believed that I could bring the Cole family back to life. Later, she even sold her own assets to build a private laboratory just for me.
So even when the formula patent was rejected ninety-nine times, I never once thought of giving up. I held on—for Vivian's unwavering belief in me.
But now I know—it was all just a beautiful wedding dress she stitched for Gabriel.
That realization hit like a cold wave. I wiped away my tears, forced myself up, handed the flowers to a passing staff member, and turned to leave.
With every step I took away from that place, a part of my love for Vivian faded.
Until my feet were blistered from walking, I reached the room she held most dear—and opened it in silence.
In that moment, every last trace of love vanished.
The door creaked open, revealing a hand-drawn portrait.
Its lines had blurred, its luster dulled—clearly worn from being touched too often.
The walls were covered with photos of Gabriel, each one arranged in chronological order.
The very first photo? The day of our wedding.
So for five whole years, whenever she said she needed to be alone in this room to deal with “important matters,” she was simply hiding in her memories of Gabriel.
There was a small safe in the corner. I typed in Gabriel’s birthday—and it clicked open without resistance.
Inside, there were no valuables—just stacks of love letters Gabriel had written to her.
Each time he got his hands on one of my formulas, he’d write her a letter, thanking her, professing his love, and reminiscing about our time as friends.
Even though I had already discovered the truth—that everything between us had been a carefully spun web of deceit by Vivian—my heart still cracked open.
She had always acted like she supported me unconditionally. Every time I failed, she would bring in experts, consult professionals, and offer solutions.
I had once believed—completely—in her love, completely. I had let myself fall, unafraid, because I thought she would catch me.
But everything she did was only to better funnel my work to Gabriel.
At the very bottom of the pile was a letter—one that she hadn’t sent yet.
My hands trembled as I opened it.
Tears streamed down my face as I read.
In it, Vivian detailed her plan: after obtaining my final set of data, she would propose to Gabriel. Even if the Chambers family never allowed her to marry him publicly, she wanted to give him a private wedding—something just for them.
As for me, she’d once told me, since I had recently lost my parents, it wasn’t appropriate to celebrate.
And so, I had nothing but a marriage certificate—no ceremony, no rings, no vows.
I wiped my face with a bitter smile, took out my phone, and snapped photos of every single letter.
They weren’t just evidence of Vivian’s betrayal—they were proof that Gabriel had stolen my work.
After documenting everything, I quietly restored the room to how it was.
I shut the door and pulled out my phone.
“Mr. Cole,” the voice on the other end said, “have you made your decision?”
“Yes,” I answered. “I agree to sell all my formulas. But I get to decide when they’re made public.”
The moment I hung up, I heard a voice behind me—a voice I once cherished.
“Ethan, who were you on the phone with just now? What are you going to announce?”
I tucked away my phone quickly and replied with forced calm:
“Oh, nothing important. Just some updates from the lab, I need to arrange for an announcement.”
She smiled, clearly satisfied with the answer.
“Do you like the flowers?” she asked. “Let me put them in water.”
She didn’t press further, just gently placed the roses in my hands, her fingertips grazing my palm.
“Hubby…” she said softly, “let’s have a baby.”
My hand, still clutching a rose, froze mid-air.
She gently took the rose from me and looked straight into my eyes.
“You went to visit the kids at the welfare center the other day, didn’t you?”
“I used to be afraid of having children. But when I saw you there… I wasn’t scared anymore.”
“Let’s have two—one who looks like you, and one who looks like me. Okay?”
