Chapter 15: It Turns Out Last Night Wasn't a Dream

Vivian Hale composed herself, dialing up a sweet, syrupy tone before answering the phone.

"Hello, honey? Why are you calling me so suddenly? Did you miss me again?"

Faced with her acting, the person on the other end didn't show much reaction.

This time, Adrian Cross’s tone carried a hint of gloomy coldness as he asked bluntly, "Several projects at the company have been suddenly suspended. The partners are saying that God Island isn't refined enough now—it fails to highlight all the details of their products—"

At this point, the man paused.

Invisibly, he shifted into a gentle tone.

"Vivian, I know you’ve been working on an upgrade for that patent you signed over to the company. You can bring it over now."

The abrupt change in attitude was telling.

If this had been the past, when Vivian’s heart and soul belonged to Adrian, she wouldn't have noticed a thing.

Only now, with her heart thoroughly shattered, did she perceive the calculation and chill hidden behind that tenderness.

She let out a light laugh, masking the coldness in her heart.

She then put on a troubled voice: "Huh? How did that happen? But honey, Pearl and I have already set out, and we’ve run into a typhoon. All flights are grounded; I can't get back for the time being."

As soon as she finished, Adrian spoke without hesitation.

"Send me your location. I’ll send someone to drive over and pick you up."

Vivian’s heart sank, and her hand tightened over her lower abdomen.

After relaxing for a few days, she had forgotten that Adrian was never that easy to deal with.

She thought frantically about how to stall for time without arousing his suspicion.

Right then, a knock sounded on the other end of the line.

Tiffany Rose’s voice followed immediately.

"Adrian, who are you talking to..."

The following sounds became muffled; Adrian had clearly covered the receiver.

While Vivian sneered inwardly, an idea formed.

She intentionally asked loudly, "Honey, is Miss Rose there?"

There was a second of silence before Adrian’s deep voice returned: "Yeah, she’s here to deliver some documents."

"That’s great!" Vivian suddenly sounded excited.

She reminded him cheerfully, "Miss Rose is so talented, a technical upgrade would be a breeze for her. Even if you send a car for me, I wouldn't arrive until tomorrow night. Honey, why don't you let Miss Rose try her hand at it?"

Adrian remained silent, evidently considering it.

Vivian struck while the iron was hot: "Besides, it just requires switching to a new algorithm and plugging in the recent code. Miss Rose is the creator of the upcoming new patent; a small matter like this will surely be no problem for her."

This time, before Adrian could speak, Tiffany’s eyes lit up.

She suddenly thought of the folder she had accidentally discovered on the laptop; it seemed to contain solutions for exactly this...

She immediately chimed in.

"That's right, President Cross. It's just swapping code, isn't it? I can do that too. Just leave it to me."

Hearing this, Vivian couldn't help but curl her lips.

She knew that with Tiffany’s greedy nature, she would never pass up an opportunity to show off.

And because she held the upcoming new patent in her hands, Adrian’s suspicion eased slightly.

The man thought for a moment before finally nodding in agreement.

"Fine. I'll leave it to Tiffany then. You..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Tiffany leaned into his embrace, her fingers lightly stroking the man's Adam's apple.

She kept her voice extremely low.

"Adrian... do you want to do it while you're on the phone?"

Even so, Vivian heard it.

Adrian also let out an uncontrollable, muffled groan.

Vivian simply asked the obvious: "Honey, what’s wrong? Why did you make such a strange sound?"

Adrian looked at the enchanting Tiffany in his arms, and with the project issues resolved, his guard dropped significantly.

Although Tiffany’s beauty couldn't compare to Vivian’s, she provided so many things Vivian couldn't—like emotional value, and... that aspect, which left him incredibly satisfied.

Moreover, in this moment, she looked remarkably like a younger Vivian.

And both of these women belonged to him.

Adrian narrowed his long eyes, stroking Tiffany’s hair as if rewarding a favorite pet, while still replying to Vivian.

"It's nothing. My throat just felt a bit uncomfortable. I'm hanging up now."

Vivian, of course, wasn't going to spoil their fun and gave a cheerful reply.

After hanging up, Vivian let out a long sigh of relief. Looking down at her abdomen, her mood lightened considerably.

She casually added some "new material" to the folder she had placed on Tiffany’s computer.

That night.

Perhaps due to handling too many problems during the day, Vivian did not sleep peacefully.

She dreamed again of the car accident years ago that had killed her parents and bankrupted her family overnight.

The fire raged, and the vehicles were burned down to skeletal black frames.

Her parents were burned beyond recognition; they were quickly covered with white sheets.

In an instant, she was at the villa.

The place had been stripped bare, and all her relatives avoided her like the plague.

The uncle who once doted on her took all the family assets, counting the trust funds her parents had left for her right in front of her face.

His greedy face looked like a demon in the fires of hell.

"They're finally dead. We're all family; now all of this belongs to me!"

Vivian wanted to rush forward, wanting to tell everyone to get out.

But she couldn't say a word, nor could she move a single step.

Her whole body felt bound, and even her cries were suppressed.

Only her heart throbbed with a suffocating pain.

It was a living death.

Vivian forced her eyes shut, only to be forced open again for some reason.

The view was now a sterile white; the lights of the hospital operating table made her eyes ache.

She smelled the scent of disinfectant and heard the mechanical voice of a doctor.

"To prevent the cancer cells from spreading and endangering her life, we are performing surgery now to remove one of the patient's breasts."

Vivian was shaking all over.

She wanted to run, realizing it was a dream, but she couldn't wake up.

Until a pair of hands gently encircled her.

Vivian froze instantly.

The scene changed again; she was in her current apartment.

The person beside her carried a faint scent of cedar, and his voice was deep and familiar.

"I'm here. I'm right here."

With just that simple sentence, Vivian actually felt at peace.

She wrinkled her delicate face, tears streaming down uncontrollably.

Like an abandoned cat.

It wasn't until that person kissed away all her tears, moving down the bridge of her nose until his soft touch met her lips.

The coldness in Vivian’s body gradually faded.

In its place was the shiver of arousal.

Waves of heat flushed over her face.

The unease in Vivian’s heart was replaced by passion.

That night, she finally fell asleep.

The next morning.

Sunlight spilled into the room through the curtains, warm and soft.

Vivian, however, only felt an intense soreness throughout her body, yet it was accompanied by an unusual sense of satisfaction.

She slowly opened her eyes, and a familiar face suddenly came into view.

Thick, long eyelashes, a high bridge of the nose, and thin lips that remained tightly pressed even in sleep.

Vivian bolted upright.

Cold sweat broke out on her back as she realized she wasn't wearing any clothes.

Her body was covered in the marks of lovemaking; it was obvious what had happened.

It turns out last night... wasn't a dream!

But who was the person in front of her!

For a moment, she actually couldn't tell!