Nlna 301-360

Never Late, Never Away Chapter 301
“Ashley, don’t you accuse me! You actually did it on purpose!” Vivian felt a flash of irritation
and would have lost patience with her if it was not for the fact that she was Finnick’s savior.
“I did it on purpose?” Ashley shot her a murderous glare. “Well, let me show you what you
meant!”
She raised her arm abruptly and was going to slap Vivian in the face.
Right then, the door opened when the slap was about to fall on Vivian’s face.
Noah entered the villa, together with Finnick in his wheelchair.
Their attention was instantly drawn to Ashley with her arm raised. They looked at her in
wide-eyed surprise.
She immediately retracted her hand and tidied her hair with that hand. Ashley then greeted
Finnick with a cheerful smile, “Hello, Mr. Norton!”
However, he stared at her with a cold expression. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m waiting for you, Mr. Norton. You have finally come back!” Ashley laughed drily.
Finnick then glanced at Vivian and noticed her expression darkened. He guessed the two
women did not get along well whenever they were alone at home.
Though he sneered and remained silent, his cold-eyed gaze had already revealed his
displeasure. Upon seeing the three cups on the table, Finnick felt strange and asked, “Vivian,
has someone else been here?”
She lowered her head and answered, “Yeah, grandpa was here. He brought us some gifts.”
“Grandpa?” Finnick was taken aback. After knowing Vivian was pregnant, his grandfather
was so pleased, but Finnick did not expect him to visit her personally and bring her some
gifts.
It seemed that elder Mr. Norton had accepted Vivian as his granddaughter-in-law.
At the same time, Ashley was jealous to learn that the old man visited Vivian.
Though she got pregnant earlier than Vivian, elder Mr. Norton only complimented her and
had never cared about her so much, let alone visiting her in person. She received nothing
from him, not even a gift box!
Ashley responded jealously, “Wow! Elder Mr. Norton treated you differently! The Norton
family made a fuss over your pregnancy!”
Upon hearing that remark, Finnick stared at her, and his expression darkened. “Ashley, why
are you looking for me?”
“Mr. Norton, I came to see you for something, but of course, I also came to visit my dear
sister too!” Ashley replied with a forced smile.
Vivian could not help but feel funny after hearing her words.
Suddenly, Ashley was so impudent that she ordered, “Vivian, pour me another cup of tea.
Don’t spill it this time!”
Vivian frowned as she was reluctant to do so. Still, she bent down to pick up the teapot just
because she did not want Finnick to feel awkward in front of his savior.
All of a sudden, Finnick stretched out his arm to stop her from pouring the tea.
Vivian was stunned. She then raised her head and stared at Finnick.
He looked impassive, but his eyes had darkened in controlled anger. Rage flowed through
him like lava.
All of them could sense his anger!

Noah tried to ease the tense atmosphere immediately. “Let me pour the tea! How dare you
order Mrs. Norton to do that! You don’t deserve it!”
Though Ashley was annoyed, she did not dare to lose her temper. She could only justify,
“Vivian, is that how you treat me? Finnick, why are you so worried? She’s just pouring a cup
of tea and you’re being overprotective! One should express one’s gratitude, or else we’d be
mocked for being ungrateful. Am I right, Mr. Norton?”
Noah was exasperated. “Ashley, how dare you talk to Mr. Norton like that!”
“Shut up! Who do you think you are?” Ashley continued relentlessly, “Don’t take yourself too
seriously! You’re just an assistant!”
Noah’s face turned pale, and he was rendered speechless.
Finnick finally lost patience with her and uttered, “Ashley Miller!”
He then sneered, “I’m going to ask you one last time. What are you doing here? If you’re here
to pick on my wife, I’m sorry that you are not welcomed!”
Finnick toned down his voice, but it sounded even more frightening. He shot Ashley a
warning glare, and his eyes were blazing murderously.
His words and expression startled Ashley. However, she felt embarrassed and vented her
anger on her sister. “Vivian, look at you! You’re turning your back on me! Do you really think
you can sever your relationship with the Miller family? You’re Harvey Miller’s daughter! Don’t
ever think of breaking this relationship off!”
She then turned to look at Finnick and continued, “Mr. Norton, I heard Vivian is pregnant, so I
purposely came to visit her and see if she is doing fine.”
Ashley thought Finnick would treat her politely after she came up with that excuse.
Much to her surprise, Finnick sneered and warned her with an icy tone, “Ashley, you’d better
not go too far! I can repay you for saving my life, but you don’t seek trouble against Vivian as
she owes you nothing!”
His voice hardened ruthlessly. Again, Ashley was startled by his austere warning.
However, she mocked him after a while. “Mr. Norton, are you trying to confront me? Don’t
forget that I’m your savior!”
Ashley was sitting on the couch with her arms crossed. She was so confident that Finnick
would think of her kindness and endure her rudeness after hearing those words. Therefore,
she continued, “Don’t you want to repay my kindness? You even said that husband and wife
shall unite and face everything together, didn’t you? Are you now going back on your words?
Can’t I ask your wife to pour me a cup of tea since I’m a guest? She became more precious
after she got pregnant, didn’t she? After all, she’s just an illegitimate…”
“Ashley!” Finnick interrupted her before she could finish her words.
She was taken aback. When she raised her head to look at Finnick, his stony stare and
disdainful expression froze in place.
He then uttered coldly, “Get out!” It was apparent that he could not be bothered to talk to
Ashley anymore.
She was completely stunned.
Ashley then sprang up from the couch, feeling annoyed. “What do you mean? How could you
treat your savior…”
“I don’t care if you’re my savior! I won’t forgive you if you offend Vivian!” Finnick interrupted
her again and shot her a frosty glare.
Ashley was utterly shocked at Finnick’s words and his cold stare. She felt like she was
trapped in a dungeon.
She regarded Finnick as someone who valued friendship and loyalty highly. Thinking that he
would appreciate her kindness as his savior; hence, she seized the chance to make things
difficult for Vivian.
Unfortunately, things did not turn out the way she desired.
Damn it! I’ve underestimated the significance of Vivian to Finnick.
Wait a minute—no, I can’t fall out with him! I can still take advantage of him!
When that thought crossed Ashley’s mind, her expression changed abruptly. While caressing
her stomach, she responded stubbornly, “Ah, I’m so sorry! It’s normal for a pregnant woman
to have mood swings and become easily irritated, but I believe Vivian is tolerant so she will
definitely forgive me. After all, she is pregnant too!”
Ashley emphasized the word “pregnant” to remind others that she and Vivian were both
pregnant and they deserved the same treatment.
Meanwhile, Vivian was utterly dumbfounded to learn that Finnick was so protective of her.
Knowing that he cared so much about his savior, she had prepared to endure the insults
hurled by Ashley, even though she was aggrieved.
Much to her surprise, Finnick defended her.
Vivian was touched and was not bothered by those nasty provocations anymore. She then
glanced at Ashley coldly and warned, “Since you’re pregnant, you’d better quickly tell us why
you’re here, then go home and rest after sorting it out!”
Ashley stared back at her with an expression of sullen resentment and scoffed, “I’m here to
see Mr. Norton. Those who are not involved can leave now!”
Immediately, Finnick felt a flash of irritation. However, Vivian did not want to get into an
argument with her, so she took the initiative to back off. “Alright, I’ll go back to my room and
get some rest!”
She did not bother to spare Ashley a glance and left immediately.
Finnick’s expression turned stony and his eyes darkened in pent-up anger. He glared at
Ashley and questioned her, “What are you doing here?”
“I’m short of money recently. Give me some money!” Ashley requested unceremoniously.
“You are asking for money again?” Noah grumbled.
In fact, Finnick had given Ashley a lot of money. How could she be so greedy?
“Why can’t I ask for money?” Ashley made a sarcastic remark. “I saved your life before. Are
you not going to save me when I’m now in trouble? Oh well, Mr. Norton left his first love
behind in the fire and didn’t save her, let alone a kind passer-by like me!”
Finnick’s expression darkened after hearing her remark. “How much do you want?”
“At least thirty million!”
Finnick was absolutely disgusted by that greedy face. He turned his wheelchair and ordered
Noah to send Ashley out, with his back facing that woman. “I’ll transfer the money to your
account.”
After achieving her goal, she couldn’t suppress a triumphant smile and stood up to leave.
When Ashley walked toward the door, a cold warning came from behind. “You’ll pay the
price if you ever disturb Vivian again!”
Her legs went jelly with fear, and she nearly fell to the ground.
Well, Fabian is soft-hearted and amenable if compared to this guy. I may have to go through
shit to take advantage of Finnick’s weakness!
Luckily, I’m his savior and shall remain safe! Oh well, I can still reap a lot of benefits as long
as I don’t cross the line or harm Vivian!
Thinking of that, Ashley once again held her head up and walked out.
After she left, Finnick called Noah over and instructed, “Transfer forty million to Ashley’s
account.”
Noah stared at Finnick anxiously. “Mr. Norton, how could you accede to her request? This
woman is so greedy!”
“It’s nothing so long as I can repay her kindness with money,” Finnick replied indifferently.
“Ashley is so unreasonable and wilful. Are you sure she is the kind-hearted girl who saved
you before?” Noah could not help but doubt her.
“Oh well, maybe she lost her kind spirit over the years, or maybe this is her true self, but she
took pity and rescued me at that time by coincidence!” Finnick was tired and continued, “No
matter what, she is the one who saved me undoubtedly.”
Still, Noah wanted to express his grievance “I…”
“That’s enough! You may leave now!” Finnick stopped him while moving his wheelchair.
“Alright!” Noah had no choice but to leave.
Meanwhile, Ashley was in a cab, looking at the bank deposit notification on her phone with a
satisfied smile on her face. She knew she could always demand Finnick for money. Ha! I
can’t go wrong with this!
She then raised her head and ordered the cab driver, “Take me to Belfast Hospital.”
Upon hearing that, the driver frowned and replied, “Miss, that’s far! Why don’t you go to the
hospital nearby?”
“No! I want to go to Belfast Hospital!” Ashley’s expression darkened.
During a breezy autumn night ten years ago, a slender figure staggered out of a warehouse
at the foot of a barren mountain, leaving bloodstains on the ground wherever he stepped.
That boy forced himself to move quickly, even though he was weak. The wound on his leg
was bleeding, and his leg was getting cold and numb. He knew he could not save his leg if
the wound kept bleeding.
Still, he had to run and look for Evelyn.
That boy was yelling and searching around desperately in a vain attempt to locate Evelyn. In
the end, he was exhausted and fell on the grass field, losing his voice.
At that moment, he was drowned in despair.
It was late at night and most people would not come to this deserted place, let alone saving
him.
That boy did not have much food and water the entire day. He lost so much weight that any
not-so-strong adult could pick him up effortlessly.
Staring at the pitch-black sky, he sank in thought.
I would probably die here!
Oh well, maybe Evelyn is waiting for me! I can accompany her, but I’m going to let grandpa
and the others down.
Thinking about that, Finnick slowly closed his eyes, gave up the struggle, and waited quietly
for death…
“Hey, wake up! What’s wrong with you?”
Being in a muddle, Finnick felt a pair of small and tender hands were slapping his face.
Spending the last ounce of energy, he raised his arm and grabbed that pair of hands.
Then, he slowly opened his eyes. Dehydration caused him to have blurred vision after
keeping his eyes closed for too long. He vaguely saw a little girl in a red princess dress with
two ponytails, squatting by his side and looking at him anxiously.
“Hey, you woke up!”
That little girl grinned cheerfully and clapped her hands with joy, narrowing her eyes into
crescents.
A moment later, she screamed suddenly.
Much to her surprise, there were some obvious bloodstains on her red princess dress,
which was visible under the moonlight.
Looking along the bloodstain, that little girl immediately saw the wound on Finnick’s thigh.
“My goodness! That’s a lot of blood. What’s wrong with you?”
She then looked around vigilantly and whispered in Finnick’s ear, “Are the bad guys chasing
you down?”
Finnick could feel the warm breath in his ear. Staring at that little girl in wide-eyed surprise,
he did not expect her to trust him so much and treat him as a good guy.
“Yes!” Finnick replied instinctively, gazing into her eyes.
While patting her chest, she promised, “Don’t be afraid! I’m here to guide you and won’t let
the bad guys hurt you again!”
Finnick felt calm for no reason and stared blankly at the little girl who was busy moving
around in front of him.
Although he had not eaten or drunk for a long time and his body weight had been lost due
to dehydration, his weight was obviously not something that a girl of his age could bear.
She was struggling, staggering, and carrying Finnick on her back.
That little girl could barely sustain his weight, and they almost fell to the ground. Gradually,
she stabilized herself and moved forward.
The path was so long that Finnick thought it had no end.
Still, he thought he would die there. While dragging an enormous burden, the girl kept
chattering to prevent him from falling asleep.
“Hey, don’t fall asleep! Let me… tell you a story or sing you a song?”
“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall…”
Finnick could not stand it any longer. He remarked weakly, “Shh, you’re so noisy!”
However, that little girl seemed to be immune to his occasional scolding. She continued
entertaining him and keeping him awake for fear that he would never get up once he fell
asleep.
Though Finnick appeared to be disgusted by her chitter-chatter, he actually appreciated her

kindness. After finding grandpa and the others, I want her to stay. If she is gone, I will find
her wherever she goes.
I want to repay her!
“What’s your name?” Finnick suddenly asked.
“Me?” That little girl turned to glance at him. When she was about to answer, they saw the
car’s headlights coming toward them all of a sudden.
That little girl shouted excitedly, “Yes! There’s a car coming! You’re safe now!”
Next, Finnick’s memory was in a muddle as he was extremely weak at that moment.
However, he could still recall that his grandfather thanked the driver who sent him to the
hospital when he woke up. Then, Finnick was told that the little girl rushed home
immediately after sending him to the hospital when he asked the driver about her.
From that day onward, he could not find her.
…
Finnick was sitting on the balcony in the villa and thinking about the incident ten years ago
until Noah’s message interrupted him.
He looked at the message: I’ve transferred forty million to Ashley.
Thinking of Ashley, Finnick suddenly lost interest in remembering the past.
He had nightmares every day over the past ten years, dreaming about the kidnapping
incident.
That kind of fear and despair had taken root in his heart.
However, every time in the darkest moment of the nightmare, he would hear that crisp
voice…
“Hey, wake up! Wake up!”
In the past ten years, looking for that little girl had become his habit. It was even more
obsessive than looking for the mastermind of the kidnapping. He was unsure whether that
obsession was just for repaying her kindness or what.
Finnick only knew that little girl was his only hope in those countless nightmares. She was
the light shining in the darkness and had a special meaning to him.
Unfortunately, that so-called meaning had turned into ridicule.
Finnick was disappointed when he realized Ashley was that little girl.
He did not expect the girl whom he had been searching for to turn out to be a disgusting
woman.
“Finnick!” Vivian’s voice came from behind suddenly and interrupted his thoughts.
He turned and saw Vivian coming out of the bathroom after her shower.
Looking at her blushing cheeks, the worries in his heart vanished.
Finnick then smiled bravely and set aside those cranky thoughts in his mind.
Ashley? So what? She’s nothing to do with me!
He no longer required the phantom from a decade ago to save him from those nightmares
anymore because he had someone who was more important.
It was a weekend the following day.
Finnick went out for a meeting, and Vivian was going to visit Rachel during her rest day.
Much to her irritation, she saw an unexpected visitor when she arrived at the small
apartment, carrying bags of stuff, including fruits and supplements.
Vivian’s expression turned frosty on the spot while Rachel’s expression darkened like
thunderclouds.
“What are you doing here?” Vivian asked angrily.

It was Harvey!
He looked at Vivian and greeted her with a friendly smile, “Hi, Vivian, you’re here!”
“What are you doing here? Who asked you to come?” Vivian questioned him in annoyance.
“Oh dear, don’t get angry! This is bad for the baby!” Harvey immediately held Vivian by her
wrist and brought her to the couch, finding topics to chat with her.
“You knew about it?” Vivian’s expression was still frosty. She had never enjoyed chatting
with Harvey whom she regarded as an “insignificant” character in her life.
Apart from the fact that Harvey raped her mother and being her biological father, he was
nothing but a stranger to her.
“Yeah!” He poured Vivian a cup of tea and continued, “You should have told me this good
news!”
“Oh really?” She could not be bothered to chat with Harvey. “Are you done talking? If there’s
nothing else, you can leave now!”
“Vivian, how could you talk to me like that?” The look of irritation crossed Harvey’s face.
However, knowing that Finnick would not let go of him if he offended Vivian, he immediately
softened his tone. “Hey, I was too agitated! I’m sorry to have frightened you!”
Looking at Harvey’s fickle expression, Vivian was utterly disappointed.
“Ahem!” He cleared his throat and said, “Well, since Emma has left and Rachel has almost
recovered, I want to bring Rachel back to our home. Finnick can also save the cost of
getting a housemaid. After all, we can provide much better care to your mom. Vivian, what
do you think?”
“No need!” Vivian rejected him without hesitation, as she was unsure of his intention. She
then continued, “We appreciate your kindness. Mom is doing great here and you don’t have
to worry. Why don’t you take good care of Ashley if you have the time? After all, she’s your
precious daughter and I’m nothing to you!”
“Vivian, what are you talking about?” Harvey did not expect Vivian to refuse his good
intention resolutely, and the rhetoric that he had prepared long ago became futile.
Vivian ignored him and questioned him in return, “By the way, are you not going to care
about Emma? She’s suffering abroad!”
Harvey turned and snorted. “Vivian, I’ve never fallen for Emma. I’m always in love with
Rachel, but I’ve married Emma because of her family background. Since they are no longer
in power, and I don’t have to rely on them anymore, I want to be with your mom.”
Looking at Harvey incredulously, Rachel was really upset with his words.
Though Vivian knew Harvey was a heartless man, she did not expect him to treat Emma in
such a way.
How I wish I could drain all the blood from my body so that I could sever ties with this
scumbag!
“You are a heartless man!” Vivian remarked sarcastically.
Harvey disagreed and responded, “What’s wrong with that? Isn’t that what you wish for?
How dare you scold me!”
Vivian did not bother to speak anymore and ordered, pointing at the door, “Get out now!”
Harvey was bursting with anger. “Vivian, no matter how much you hate me, I’m still your
father!”
“I don’t care if you’re my father. We don’t want to see you. I’m asking you to leave now!”
Vivian replied in an agitated tone.
It left Harvey no choice but to leave sulkily, as he was afraid of Finnick and tried to avoid any
conflict with Vivian.
Looking at Harvey’s back, she had a lingering sadness in her eyes while recalling the past.
Vivian hated him for being such a coward and despicable man.
When she was young, Harvey did not stand up for her whenever Emma bullied her.
He just watched her being bullied and was always on Emma’s side. Harvey even scolded
and beat her.
If I didn’t meet Finnick, mom and I would still be bullied by them and live a hard life.
Meanwhile, Rachel’s eyes were prickling with tears after she saw a glint of sadness in her
daughter’s eyes.
Vivian comforted Rachel and put her to bed before she left.
When she got home, Finnick was not there.
Suddenly, Vivian received a message from Finnick: I’ll be working overtime. She then
grabbed some food and chatted to Peggy on WhatsApp while lying on the bed.
Peggy was her classmate, who was working in Sunshine City as well.
She was the only person who believed in Vivian when the latter was framed and despised by
the others in the university.
Peggy sent Vivian a text message: Hey, what’s your schedule like tomorrow?
After thinking for a while, she replied: Nothing much to do. Peggy then invited Vivian to her
house.
Vivian thought it was time to get together and relax, so she agreed.
When she arrived at Peggy’s house, the latter was playing with her daughter.
The one-year-old had grown up and was no longer a baby. Her arms and legs had grown and
her face became more chubby. Still, she was young.
As soon as Vivian entered the house, that toddler greeted her with a crisp and sweet voice.
“Hello!”
“Aww, darling!” Vivian was ecstatic and let go of her sadness instantly.
She stroked the toddler’s hair before she took a candy from her bag and gave it to that girl.
“Thank you!”
The little one then ran to the other side and continued playing.
“Hey, Vivian! It has been a while.” After Peggy got married and gave birth to her daughter,
she became slightly plump, but she looked blissful and lived a happy life.
Looking at Peggy, Vivian sighed, “How time flies! We haven’t seen each other for so many
years. Your daughter has grown up so much! That’s amazing!”
Peggy teased her in return. “Pretty good, huh? You got married to Finnick and didn’t tell me
about that. You’re something else!”
They continued chatting happily. Peggy really cared about Vivian. After hesitating for a
while, she could not help but ask, “By the way, did Finnick know about… that incident…”
Vivian replied with a faint smile, “Of course.”
Peggy was happy to learn that. “He’s so generous. Naturally, a good guy won’t mind that.”
Vivian smiled and responded, “Of course, he doesn’t mind because… he was the man!”
She explained the entire story to Peggy.
“My goodness! Both of you are destined to be together!” Peggy was amazed and smiled
from ear to ear.
“That’s true! I didn’t expect that too. After going through all these ups and downs, I find that
fate works in a miraculous way!” Vivian continued, caressing her stomach, “Now, I’m having
his baby!”
“You’re pregnant?” Peggy stared at her in surprise.
Indeed, Vivian had been going through a lot of complicated or inexplicable experiences,
which normal people could not understand.
“Yeah, I’m one-month pregnant.”
“Hey! My husband is a gynecologist. Why don’t you see him for a check-up?” Peggy asked
with a mysterious look.
“That’s wonderful!” Vivian replied in pleasant surprise.
After waiting for half a day, Steve finally came back. He was a bespectacled and
honest-looking man. It was obvious that he loved Peggy a lot, which put Vivian’s mind at
ease.
After Peggy explained to him Vivian’s situation, he agreed without any hesitation.
“How do you feel recently?” he asked before checking her pulse.
“Still alright.” Vivian gave it some thought. “It’s just that my morning sickness is really bad.”
“Bad morning sickness?” Steve looked at Vivian in surprise. “You are only one month
pregnant. Hence, it’s impossible to have such a huge reaction. Let me take a look. Perhaps,
you have a problem with your stomach instead. It would be troublesome if that was the
case.”
Just as he spoke, he placed his hand on her to check. The moment he did, his expression
changed.
“What’s wrong?” Peggy asked when she saw the change in her husband’s face.
Vivian’s heart skipped a beat as she began to worry.
“You…” Steve looked up at Vivian but seemed to hold back his words. “From what I can see…
you don’t seem to be pregnant.”
“How is that possible?” Vivian and Peggy exclaimed in shock.
“I’ve been going for checkups at the Norton Hospital…” Vivian mumbled to herself.
However, the way she saw it, there was no reason for Steve to lie. Hence…
Vivian suddenly realized the problem lay with the hospital.

Given what had happened, Vivian no longer had any mood to stay any longer. Taking her
leave in a hurry, she hailed a taxi and headed to a nearby hospital for a checkup.
When the results came out, it was just as predicted…
Walking out of the hospital with the medical report in her hand, Vivian was in a sullen mood
as she thought about what the doctor said.
She wasn’t pregnant at all. Instead, she had accidentally ingested a drug that would delay
her period. Furthermore, it even harmed her stomach and caused her to throw up.
Therefore, someone was trying to make it look like she was pregnant. That person even
bribed the doctors in Norton Hospital to give her a false pregnancy report.
Thinking about Samuel’s concern and Finnick’s joy, along with how delighted everybody was,
Vivian suddenly felt heartbroken as if she had let them down.
Sitting on a bench at the bus stop and scrolling through her contacts repeatedly, she finally
gave Finnick a call after having thought it through.
Finnick happened to be in his office when his phone rang. When he saw it was from Vivian,
he answered without any hesitation.
“Hello?”
“Finnick…”
Finnick began to panic when he heard Vivian’s sobbing voice over the phone.
“What happened?” he quickly asked.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” Vivian choked as she explained, “I’m not pregnant with your child. I
have let everyone down.”
Finnick was stunned.
There’s no baby?
Despite being suddenly filled with disappointment, he quickly set it aside as Vivian’s sobs
were breaking his heart.
“Where are you?” he answered quickly, “I’ll come and see you.”
After letting him know the hospital’s name, Vivian ended the call.
Meanwhile, raindrops began to fall and slowly got heavier, just like the tears streaming out
of Vivian’s eyes and the devastation she felt in her heart.
Without an umbrella, Vivian couldn’t go back, and neither did she feel like moving. All she
did was sit at the bus stop feeling dejected while the wind blew rain all over her body
without her noticing.
Thinking back to how happy everyone was, Vivian felt as if she had been mocked and
blamed herself for it.
Suddenly, she was swept off her feet and fell into a warm embrace, causing the cold she felt
to dissipate.
Turning to look, her eyes locked with Finnick’s angry yet heartbroken gaze.
She had assumed that he was angry because she wasn’t pregnant. Curling up in his arms,
she apologized repeatedly, “I’m sorry… I’m really sorry…”
However, it only served to break Finnick’s heart further.
“Silly gal, it’s not your fault. You don’t have to blame yourself.” He hugged her tightly on his
lap.
“But everyone was so happy and now, I will be disappointing them.” Vivian’s voice grew
increasingly meek as she spoke.
Sensing something was amiss, Finnick put his hand on her forehead and felt that it was
burning hot.
With no time to lose, he got Noah to send her home as quickly as he could and called the
family doctor.
After prescribing her some flu and fever medication, the doctor advised her to get some
sleep.
After she fell asleep, Finnick instructed Noah with a darkened expression, “Investigate what
happened with Vivian’s pregnancy!”
It wasn’t until the next day evening that Vivian finally awoke.
Finnick helped her up and fed her the medications prescribed by the doctor.
Hanging her head, Vivian began to blame herself again.
“I’m sorry, Finnick. I’m not pregnant and I have let everyone down.”
Finnick sat beside her and hugged her while she was still covered in her blanket. He
whispered, “Silly gal, it isn’t your fault. So there’s no reason to blame yourself. Getting
pregnant has always been up to fate.”
Although she still felt sad about it, she nodded at Finnick’s words as they did make sense
after all.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get to the bottom of this,” Finnick promised as he looked at her.
“But what about Grandpa and the others…” Vivian couldn’t control the guilt she was feeling
when she thought about how Samuel was supposed to be enjoying his time with his
great-grandchild. But now, he had to contend with disappointment after getting his hopes
up.
“I have told you, it’s not your fault.” Furrowing his eyebrows, Finnick held Vivian’s chin and
forced her to look at himself. “Grandpa is someone reasonable. Once we get to the bottom
of this, I’m sure he will understand and not hold it against you.”
Finnick then kissed the tears on her cheeks one by one before licking them away. Finally, he
planted his lips on hers as if to give her as much comfort as he could.
Feeling reassured by Finnick, Vivian began to calm down. With her breathing slowing, she
gradually fell back into sleep.
After putting her down and tucking her in, he wheeled himself out to the living room.
Noah had returned with the results of the investigations.
“Mr. Norton.”
“What have you found?” Finnick asked coldly.
“I have got the answer. After checking with the Norton residence and Norton Hospital, they
said that this was Ashley and Mark’s doing. They had switched the supplements that elder
Mr. Norton had given Mrs. Norton, creating the illusion that she was pregnant. However, the
drug used was a slow-acting poison. Long-term ingestion would affect Mrs. Norton’s ability
to bear children. They had even conspired with the hospital to give her a fake pregnancy
report.”
After Noah had completed his report, Finnick was outraged and hated Ashley and Mark for
their cruelty.
“Very well.” Despite being furious, Finnick remained exceptionally calm as he tapped the
armrest in a constant rhythm. “Noah.”
“Yes.”
“Bring Ashley to the warehouse. I want to teach her a lesson.”
When he saw Finnick’s expression, Noah immediately understood…
Mr. Norton is outraged and won’t be held back by the debt he owed her anymore.
Meanwhile, caught by surprise, Ashley was kidnapped and thrown into a basement.
Filled with terror, she didn’t understand who would brazenly do this to her, until…
Noah pushed Finnick on his wheelchair and appeared before her. As they approached her
step by step, she felt as if the Devil himself was silently coming to claim her life.
Ashley began to feel an inexplicable panic. However, she knew she had to remain calm and
find out what was going on. She shouldn’t show any weakness.
“Finnick, why did you kidnap me?” She struggled. “How dare you do this to your savior?”
Finnick ignored her question until he stopped his wheelchair in front of her. He got straight
to the point. “Are you the person orchestrating Vivian’s pregnancy?”
Ashley panicked but recovered her composure quickly. She replied, “So what if it was me.
All I did was make her look like she was pregnant while causing her to lose her ability to
have children. However, you can’t do anything to me because you owe me your life.’
Ashley looked at Finnick in a haughty manner. She loved it when others resented her but
couldn’t do anything about it.
She enjoyed the rush that came with it. The rush of tormenting her enemies and that of
revenge.
Finnick sneered, “Don’t think just because you have saved me that you can do whatever you
want. I told you before that my gratitude comes with the condition that you don’t harm
Vivian.”
Finnick was especially serious when he said those words, his gaze was so sharp as if it
could pierce the depths of her heart, giving her no place to hide.
Ashley suddenly panicked and began to be afraid. Staring back at him, she asked, “Finnick,
what are you planning to do to me?”
“Noah,” Finnick ordered, “lock her up first.”
Four burly men appeared and pinned Ashley to the ground.
Finnick turned around and remarked to Ashley with a smile, “Ashley, you are indeed my
savior and I will repay my debt to you. However, for what you did to Vivian, I will have to
exact revenge on her behalf. For the time being, just stay here and treat it as time for
nurturing your baby. Meanwhile, I need to deal with someone more important. By the time
I’m back, we will continue to resolve the issue between us.”
“Finnick! You can’t do this to me!” Ashley grew extremely anxious. “I’m your savior. How can
you treat me this way? Do you know you will receive divine retribution for this?”
Loss for words, all Ashley wanted to do was call for Finnick to return.
“Finnick, come back! You can’t do this to me!” Ashley tried hard to struggle free and grab
onto Finnick. However, she was pinned to the ground by the burly men. “Fabian and Mark
will never forgive you for this!”
Finnick didn’t bother to even answer as he left right away.
When Ashley saw him leave, her heart sank and she was overwhelmed with terror.
Once she was held captive by Finnick, she knew there was no escape.
Furthermore, the reason he hadn’t harmed her was that he assumed she was his savior. If
he knew…
Ashley didn’t dare think any further as she curled into a ball in fear. Trembling, she mumbled
to herself, “Fabian…”
Meanwhile, at Mark’s office.
Suddenly, Harry barged into it frantically, forgetting to even knock.
“Mr. Norton, something has happened!”
“What is it?” Mark furrowed his brows.

“The Norton Corporation subsidiaries under our control have had their share prices drop
massively, to the extent they have been suspended. Furthermore, they are going through a
hostile takeover and the party responsible is Finnor Group.”
Mark expression changed drastically.
Finnick… Is he going to war with us?
Mark sent men to prevent the takeover immediately. But they soon reported back that it was
a futile effort.
“Why did it turn out this way?”
Mark slumped in his chair while watching his screen gradually filled with green numbers
until it was the only color left.
Suddenly, his phone rang on this office table, causing the desk to buzz along with it. In
Mark’s ears, the usual melodious ring had triggered a sense of frustration and mockery in
him.
Picking up the phone, he fumed when he saw that it was Finnick’s caller ID. He almost
smashed it and threw it out the office window.
Answering the call, Finnick’s deep voice rang out from within it.
“Mark, are you happy with the present I sent you?”
“Finnick!” Outraged, Mark roared at the phone, “Why are you doing this? What do you want?”
“Nothing much.” Finnick sounded languid in contrast to Mark’s desperation. “You had sent
me a present earlier. Therefore, as your brother, it would be improper of me not to return the
favor.”
Mark was stunned as he wondered if Finnick had found out about what happened to Vivian.
However, he tried his best to maintain his composure. “Finnick, you realize that by doing this
you will be making enemies of me?”
He was still confident that Finnick feared him as Finnick never challenged him for the
shares of the Norton family.
Unfortunately, he was wrong.
Finnick sneered over the phone, “Don’t think that I haven’t done anything to you because I’m
afraid of you just. If you hurt Vivian again, I will make you lose everything.”
With that, all Mark heard was the call end tone when Finnick ended the call. He was left
stunned holding the phone in his hand.
The next moment, Mark smashed his phone in anger.
Ever since they were young, Finnick was more capable than him and was always Samuel’s
favorite.
No matter what he did, he would only receive a cursory response. However, things were
different when it came to Finnick.
Finnick would always get everything first. As his elder brother, he was constantly reminded
to give way to Finnick.
However, no matter what it was, everything would go to Finnick instead of him. Even when
he stood by the side watching, he would be accused of being petty.
Therefore, disgruntled over the situation, he planned both the accident and kidnapping that
resulted in Finnick becoming a cripple.
He assumed that by doing so, he could finally keep Finnick in check. However, he did not
expect Finnick to remain in the center of attention while he continued to be sidelined by
those around them, as if he was a worthless existence.
He couldn’t help but admit that Finnick was indeed the more capable one among the two of
them. But, he still felt indignant that Finnick was still everyone’s favorite while he was being
cast aside.
Therefore, he was not going to let Finnick beat him this time.
Meanwhile, Vivian had just woken up after her long rest and coincidentally received a call
from Fabian.
Surprised at why Fabian called, she answered at once and heard his frantic voice over the
phone.
“Vivian, is Finnick taking over my dad’s company on purpose? What happened? Has he gone
mad? At the end of the day, we’re still family. How can he be so ruthless?”
Vivian was surprised by his words and couldn’t believe them.
She didn’t know what to say and ended the call after responding to him in a cursory manner.
Checking her phone, the news was plastered with reports of how all Mark’s companies were
in trouble. It was as if there was an invisible hand strangling Mark’s companies by their
throats.
At that moment, Finnick returned home.
As he came into the room with Vivian’s medication, she raised her phone and asked, “Did
you do this?”
Finnick had no intention of denying. “Yes.”
He was calm as usual and not afraid of anything.
“Why?” Vivian was puzzled.
“Because it was Mark and Ashley who schemed against you by faking your pregnancy.”
Vivian was stunned.
It’s Ashley again!
No wonder she seemed to know something when I mention that I was pregnant.
“What about Ashley?” Vivian asked.
“I have locked her up. You can do whatever you want to her.”
Vivian looked at him in surprise, “Don’t you owe her a debt of gratitude?”
“If she wants to harm you,” Finnick asserted, “I’m willing to be labeled as an ingrate.”
Touched by Finnick’s words, Vivian gave him a thoughtful look.
“Forget it, just lock her up for the time being. After all, she did save you before.”
As Vivian was still weak, Finnick didn’t disturb her any further and let her rest.
Now that he had dealt with Mark, it was Ashley’s turn.
As he wheeled himself into the basement, he stayed outside and could hear Ashley’s
hysterical screams from there.
“Finnick, you ungrateful b*stard! Did you forget how I painstakingly dragged you to the
hospital then?”
Suddenly, Finnick froze while his expression drastically changed. He quickly wheeled
himself toward Ashley. “What did you say? You dragged me then?”
Unaccustomed to Finnick’s sudden approach, Ashley fell onto the ground in fright.
Despite feeling guilty, she retorted defiantly, “Why? Are you trying to repay my kindness by
harming me?”
With an exasperated expression, Finnick lifted Ashley’s chin and stared into her eyes. He
demanded, “Describe to me again what exactly happened then.”
“I… I…” Ashley stuttered as she lowered her to avert his gaze. “I can’t remember anything
now.”
Sensing something was amiss, Finnick grabbed Ashley.
“You’d better not lie to me, or else I’m going to make you suffer further!”
Ashley became fearful but she was already in an untenable situation. There was no way she
could back down now.
“I really have forgotten.”
After pushing Ashley away, Finnick wheeled himself out.
When he left the basement, Noah enquired about what happened. Finnick replied, “The little
girl from then carried me on her back instead of dragging me. I suspect Ashley isn’t the girl
from back then. Noah, send men to investigate what happened.”
“Right away.”
After a few days, Vivian was fully recovered and went back to the office.
When Sarah and the others saw her, they quickly came over and inquired, “Vivian, is the
baby alright?”
Vivian expression darkened as she replied, “The baby is gone.”
They assumed that Vivian had a miscarriage. After all, when Finnick helped Vivian apply for
her emergency leave, everyone figured that something must have happened to her. Hence,
they gave her a sympathetic look.
During lunchtime, everyone went out to eat. When Fabian came out of his office, he saw
Vivian working on some documents alone.
“Vivian, how are you feeling?” Fabian asked after a long hesitation.
Vivian wasn’t bothered to look or even answer him.
Sensing the animosity, Fabian probed further.
“Vivian, do you know where Ashley is? And why Finnick has her locked up? Also, why did
he attack my dad’s companies…”
Amidst Fabian’s incessant questions, Vivian snapped, “You should ask your dad yourself!”
Fabian was stunned as he tried to connect the dots. Does this have something to do with
the baby?
He gave Mark a call immediately, “Dad, did you do something to Vivian’s baby?”
“So what if I did?” Mark replied with an exasperated tone.
Fabian was outraged. “But you promised not to harm Vivian!”

“She chose the wrong side by standing with Finnick!” Mark was already feeling irritated and
Fabian’s call just made it worse. With that, he ended the call abruptly.
Fabian felt dismayed by his dad’s response.
He could feel the gulf between him and Vivian growing wider. Not only could they no longer
be lovers, but they were also slowly turning into enemies.
Meanwhile, in the president’s office at Finnor Group.
Noah barged into the room with a distressed expression. He reported softly, “Mr. Norton, I’m
sorry.”
Finnick looked up, “What is it?”
“I have dug further into the girl that rescued you ten years ago. When you were kidnapped,
Ashley was in summer camp. Therefore, there’s no way she could have saved you.” Noah
felt ashamed of himself. “I got way ahead of myself when I found the clothes and forgot to
verify further. It was my mistake.”
Finnick had long felt that Ashley wasn’t the person from then and wasn’t surprised at all.
Nevertheless, he still heaved a sigh of relief.
Luckily, it wasn’t Ashley.
However, Ashley was the only one who bought that piece of clothing in the whole of
Sunshine City. If it wasn’t her, who else could it be?
Could it be that she had lent it to someone else? Or perhaps, it was an imitation?
Finnick felt that he had to start from scratch again.
Just when Finnick instructed Noah to continue his investigations, Vivian called to inform him
that she wanted to visit her Mom. However, she didn’t know how to break the news to her.
Hence, she wanted Finnick to accompany her there.
“Alright,” Finnick readily agreed. He got Noah to drive home and pick Vivian up before
heading to Rachel’s small apartment.
In the end, Vivian told her mom about the pregnancy including the part where it was a lie
and how Finnick had exacted revenge.
When Rachel thought about her own terrible experiences and saw that Vivian’s
circumstances were equally complicated, she couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by sadness
and cried in disappointment.
Rachel nagged, “How many times do I have to tell you that the rich lead complicated lives.
Given your temperament, you would be easily swallowed up if you don’t watch out.”
Rachel turned to Finnick and reprimanded, “Mr. Norton, I let my daughter be with you
because I believe you will be responsible and take good care of her. But, if you can’t protect
my daughter, please leave her alone then.”
“Mom!” Vivian snapped at her mom.
Vivian felt what her mom said was too much as it was hardly Finnick’s fault at all.
However, Finnick apologized to Rachel sincerely, “That’s true, Ms. Rachel. This time, it was
indeed my fault as I was careless to have let this happened to her. I’m very sorry about it.”
“Finnick…”
When she saw how sincere Finnick’s apology was, Rachel glared at him for a moment
longer but didn’t say anything.
“Finnick, why don’t you have a seat next door. I’ll have a chat with Mom.”
Vivian asked Finnick to leave on purpose so that her mom would stop admonishing him. He
listened and headed to the study, leaving the room to the two ladies.
Although Rachel stayed alone in that apartment, the study had everything one expected of
it.
Scanning the room, Finnick noticed a stack of photo albums in the corner.
The one of top piqued his interest specifically.
When he opened it, he realized it contained pictures of Vivian when she was little.
Since he had nothing better to do, he flipped through them and felt Vivian looked adorable in
the photos.
Suddenly, when he saw a particular picture, his expression drastically changed.
Meanwhile, Vivian reassured Rachel about how well Finnick had treated her, easing her
concerns a little.
Once she was done, she went upstairs to the study and noticed Finnick’s strange
expression.
“What’s wrong?”
Vivian was surprised to see Finnick looking through pictures of her younger days. However,
she didn’t think too much of it.
Finnick took out a photo and asked, “Is this you?”
Vivian glanced at it and casually replied, “Yes.”
Suddenly, Finnick’s eyes glistened as he sprang up from his wheelchair and pulled Vivian
into his embrace.
Vivian was stunned feeling how forcefully he was hugging her. “Finnick, what’s gotten into
you?”
He didn’t respond as he continued to squeeze Vivian for a long while before releasing her.
Lowering his gaze, he asked softly, “Vivian, do you know that I have been searching for you
for ten years?”
Knitting her brows, Vivian was utterly confused. “Ten years? What are you talking about? Are
you being mistaken?”
“Definitely not,” Finnick added. “Looking at this picture, I can recognize that it was you from
all those years ago.”
When he saw that Vivian was still baffled, he reminded her softly, “Ten years ago in the
outskirts of Sunshine City. Try and recall.”
Sitting on Finnick’s lap, Vivian tried hard to remember and looked at him in shock when she
finally got it. “It was you! The boy then was you!”
Ten years ago, Vivian was staying at the Miller residence. Ashley had gone to summer camp
while Harvey and Emma were at work.
Being alone at home, she couldn’t stop herself from wearing Ashley’s red dress and ran out
to play.
After all, no one was bothered about her.
She didn’t dare head to the city, so she chose to visit the outskirts with which she was
familiar. However, she didn’t expect to meet a youth covered in blood who now turned out to
be Finnick.
Having never seen anything like that before, Vivian was utterly frightened. However, filled
with a sense of justice, her petite body was suddenly bursting with boundless strength.
She carried him on her back all the way to the hospital.
It was during that time that Vivian tore Ashley’s dress.
Worried that Emma would notice she had stolen it, she quickly rushed home after dropping
Finnick off at the hospital.
As the dress was covered in blood, she tried to wash it away by herself, hoping that it would
go off.
However, she had accidentally torn it while doing so. After putting it back discreetly, she
didn’t dare talk about it.
As time passed, she slowly forgot about the incident.
Only when Finnick brought it up that she finally remembered.
Pecking her gently on her lips, Finnick whispered in her ear. “I’m really happy that you were
the one who saved me then. It seems fate has brought us together earlier than we thought.”
Vivian blushed as she was in awe of the mysterious beauty of fate.
When Finnick saw how embarrassed she looked, his heart softened.
What a relief.
The girl who saved me then is still as how I remembered her, kind and tenacious, instead of
turning into a b*tch like Ashley.
The thought of Ashley caused Finnick’s expression to darken again.
When he had assumed Ashley to be his savior, he restrained himself against her on the
account that he owed her his life. Hence, he let Vivian decide what to do with her.
But now that he knew the truth and Ashley didn’t save him, there was no need for him to
hold back out of gratitude.
He planned to personally deal with her.
Vivian asked, “What do you plan to do?”

“You no longer have to concern yourself with this,” Finnick replied.
Vivian had no intention of doing so either.
Back at home, she rested for the night. When she woke up the next morning, she received a
call from Harvey. He screamed over the phone, “Vivian, are you trying to get the whole Miller
family killed?”
Vivian furrowed her brows. “What happened?”
“I’m shocked you have the cheek to ask me still? Why don’t you check the news yourself?”
Checking her phone, Vivian realized the Miller family had been declared bankrupt. Harvey
was hundreds of millions in debt and the Finnor Group was behind it all.
Harvey berated Vivian, “You ungrateful wench! How dare you conspire with a Norton to
terrorize us? What are your true intentions? Even if your surname isn’t Miller, you’re still my
daughter and carry my blood. Now that your sister and I are suffering while your mom has
fallen sick, not only do you not care about us, you even pushed us to the brink. What are you
trying to achieve by doing all this? You’re a despicable woman and an ingrate…”
As Harvey’s words grew more vulgar, Vivian’s hands began to tremble in anger.
At that moment, Finnick just came out of the bathroom and could hear Harvey’s voice
thundering out of the phone. He was stunned briefly, then he snatched Vivian’s phone away
from her and ended the call.
“Why did you do that?” Vivian looked up at him and asked, “Why must you destroy the Miller
Group?”
“To exact revenge on your behalf. Not only for this time, but for all they have done to your
mother and you for over twenty years.”
“What about Ashley?”
“I want to send her to an army labor camp in some backward country,” Finnick quipped.
Vivian was stunned and quickly understood what he meant. It wasn’t hard to imagine what
would happen to a beautiful girl in such a camp.
Her heart wavered as she felt Finnick was going overboard with it. However, Finnick replied,
“Don’t concern yourself with this. Just leave it to me.”
Vivian hesitated for a moment before nodding reluctantly.
She wasn’t a saint. After all that Ashley had done to her, she had no intention of intervening
on her behalf.
Everyone chooses their own fate. If not for Ashley’s repeated schemes against me, she
wouldn’t have landed herself in this situation.
Just when Vivian and Finnick were still talking, they suddenly heard a commotion
downstairs.
Mrs. Filder came up frantically and informed them that Mark and Fabian were at the door.
Finnick instructed Vivian to rest in the room while he went downstairs alone.
However, Vivian was still worried and couldn’t help but walk to the top of the staircase.
There, she saw Mark and Fabian’s faces flushing red while pleading with Finnick.
They hoped that Finnick would let Ashley go as she was still a lady after all.
Furthermore, she was pregnant and the baby was also a member of the Norton family.
Therefore, they just couldn’t stand by and watch her being shipped away to some labor
camp.
This time, Mark was especially remorseful.
Despite his ruthlessness, he still couldn’t bring himself to harm one of his own. The reason
he had gotten Ashley to poison Vivian was that he assumed Ashley was Finnick’s savior and
he would never harm her.
However, he didn’t expect that Vivian was Finnick’s red line. Once someone harmed her, his
gloves would come off.
Moreover, Ashley had now been exposed for not being Finnick’s savior.
“Finnick, can’t you let it slide this time?” Mark gritted his teeth. “After all, we are all family!”
“Uncle Finnick, please, I’m begging you,” Fabian pleaded, “even if you want to fault Ashley,
please let her go on the account of the child she is carrying.”
“No!” They didn’t expect Finnick to stonewall them. “When you tried to harm Vivian, you
should have been prepared for such consequences.”
All Mark and Fabian felt was despair.
They knew how ruthless Finnick was. Since he had decided not to free Ashley, she was as
good as dead, and that unfortunately included the child she was carrying.
Having heard what three of them had said from the staircase, Vivian suddenly had an idea.
Just when Mark and Fabian had lost all hope, she gradually descended the steps and
suggested, “It’s not entirely impossible for Finnick to release Ashley, but I do have one
condition.”
Mark and Fabian looked at Vivian in shock. They had not expected her to be willing to
release Ashley.
“What is it?” Mark asked at once.
“Transfer half the shares in Norton Corporation over to Finnick,” Vivian demanded.
She remembered elder Mr. Norton had told her that Mark prevented Finnick from owning
any shares in Norton Corporation. Therefore, she wanted to use to opportunity to Finnick’s
advantage.
“That’s impossible!” Mark declared.
“In that case, you can forget about Ashley and the child.” Vivian declared with conviction.
Her words caused Mark’s expression to change drastically.

Even Finnick was shocked to hear Vivian’s proposal.
He didn’t expect her to be aware of such matters let alone taking his interests into account
during such a time.
After hesitating for a while, Mark seethed as he replied, “Fine. I agree. Finnick, release
Ashley quickly.”
At the end of the day, Ashley and her child were simply too important to lose.
However, Finnick ignored them and furrowed his brows at Vivian instead. “Ashley deserves
to be punished for what she has done to you. You don’t have to accommodate my interest at
your own expense.”
Vivian smiled. “It’s not a problem for me at all. I really want to do something for you.”
Finnick was touched.
Although Ashley was saved, the Miller Group wasn’t. Vivian quickly received news that
Harvey, who was drowning in debt, had fled the country.
The next day, elder Mr. Norton arrived. It was the first time he came since the fake
pregnancy incident.
He was more concerned about Vivian’s health and didn’t mention anything about the
pregnancy.
The more considerate he was, the greater Vivian’s guilt became.
Sitting opposite him, Vivian apologized repeatedly.
“Grandpa, I’m sorry… I have disappointed you.”
“Poor child.” Elder Mr. Norton gave her a sympathetic look. “This isn’t your fault. I know that
Ashley and Mark were behind this. Damn it, I didn’t expect that b*stard Mark to do
something as horrible as this. He has really brought shame upon the Norton family.”
Not wanting to depress Vivian further, elder Mr. Norton changed topics. He praised Vivian
for what she had done about the Norton Corporation shares.
“Thanks to you, the cloud hanging over me has been lifted.”
Having heard his words, Vivian cheered up and replied, “There’s no benefit in keeping Ashley
locked up anyway. Since they desperately want her back, we might as well exchange her for
the shares in Norton Corporation. That way, Finnick will get the recognition he deserves.”
“Good girl.” Elder Mr. Norton was touched. “You are just too kind and generous to everyone,
always taking care of the interest of the others. Have you ever thought about yourself?”
“Me?” Vivian was briefly stunned before she replied with a smile, “What’s there to think
about?’
“Aren’t you afraid of Ashley coming back for revenge?” Elder Mr. Norton shook his head. “No
matter what, you have to be more careful going forward.”
After the elder Mr. Norton left, Vivian thought back to what he had just said.
Afraid of Ashley of her revenge?
So what if it comes, all I need is Finnick.
After the incident had passed, Mark, Fabian, and Ashley no longer caused any trouble for
Vivian. Hence, she could finally have some peace.
After being forced by Finnick to rest at home for a few days, there was hardly anything she
could do as a reporter. All she did was surf through social media.
In the midst of going through it, she posted on her Twitter account: What I thought I had was
all but a fleeting shadow.
Just when she was about to log off, she suddenly received a private message.
It was from “Back to the Past”, the Twitter account that previously posted about Evelyn’s
situation.
Why is that person messaging me in private?
Vivian clicked into it.

Back to the Past: Don’t be sad. Anything that doesn’t belong to you will leave sooner or later.
Don’t be too bothered by it.
Vivian: Mmm-hmm, thank you.
Back to the Past: It’s alright. I just felt like saying something.
Vivian: Thank you for your comforting words. I will stay strong.
Vivian had a hunch that the opposing party was female. She couldn’t help but feel curious
when she thought about the comments she saw previously.
Vivian: I’m sure you’re a girl. How did you know about Finnick and his ex-girlfriend?
Unfortunately, she didn’t receive a response after that.
It was as if the other party was avoiding the question by not replying.
Vivian found the situation strange but there was no way for her to ask any further as the
other party seemed to have logged off.
She decided to chat again the next time they met.
After all, Vivian was curious as to who she was.
Meanwhile, at the board meeting in Norton Corporation.
After suffering at the hands of Finnick and Vivian, the position that Mark had secured was
now gone in a blink of an eye. As the subsidiaries under him were on the verge of
bankruptcy, he had no choice but to call for a board meeting to calm the markets and
public’s nerves.
He figured that this was a foreboding sign of Finnick’s plan.
The realization made him feel extremely edgy, as if Finnick was a snake in the grass whose
body had blended in with its surroundings. He was quietly watching Mark and would launch
a deadly attack just when Mark was at his weakest.
Just that thought alone caused Mark to break into a cold sweat, as paranoia seemed to
slowly creep into him.
However, his concerns were not without basis.
Just when Mark was giving a spirited presentation, the meeting room doors suddenly flung
open.
With that, in came Noah wheeling Finnick into the room.
Mark was caught by surprise before feeling outraged. Why can’t Finnick just cut me some
slack?
To hide his panic and not let the board be aware of his incompetence, Mark slammed on the
table and stood up at once. He sneered, “Finnick, what are you doing here? We are having a
meeting and it’s extremely rude of you to interrupt. Even if we are members of the Norton
family, it doesn’t mean that you, as a chairman of other companies, can waltz in as you
please and listen in on proprietary information.”
When they heard Mark’s words, the members of the board that were on Mark’s side voiced
their support for him.
When Mark saw that he still wielded significant influence among the board members, he
heaved a sigh of relief and waited to watch Finnick embarrass himself.
Meanwhile, Noah couldn’t stand it any longer.
Are these bunch of old fogeys all blind? It’s obvious Finnick is the more capable one. But
they prefer to stand by Mark because he is easier to manipulate.
Despite Noah’s indignation, Finnick remained expressionless as he declared, “I now have

half of the shares in Norton Corporation. So, why am I not qualified to join the board
meeting?”
Just as he spoke, many of the directors’ expressions changed drastically.
Finnick ignored them as he took his place beside Mark in his wheelchair. Skimming through
the plan Mark was presenting, he sneered, “Mr. Norton’s proposal may sound perfect, but…
it’s impossible to execute.”
As Noah wheeled Finnick toward the screen, Finnick picked up a laser pen from the table
and circled a few portions of it.
“Here… here… and here…”
“These plans might seem wonderful, but they are all within extremely competitive areas
which are difficult to break into.”
Finnick added, “Furthermore, this proposal doesn’t factor in the resistance from our
competitors. Perhaps it was devised hastily and there wasn’t made for the long term, but
there are no countermeasures to how our competitors react.”
Finnick continued, “From what I can see, this isn’t even a hastily put together plan, it is more
of an impractical proposal from someone who doesn’t have real experience. Therefore, Mr.
Norton, if your plan is really this simplistic, you might as well just give the company up.”
Mark was infuriated by the pressure that Finnick was piling on him but there was nothing he
could do about it.
However, Finnick wasn’t done with him yet.
“Oh, wait.” Finnick let out a faint smirk. What he was going to say next would cause Mark to
break down.
“If I recall correctly, Mr. Norton, you recently did give your company up.”
“You…”
Unrestrained, Finnick continued, “Recently, the company’s profits and stock price have both
taken a dive, to the extent I can acquire them without much effort.”
Finnick’s words rendered the others speechless.
He spoke nothing but the truth. There was nothing they could say to refute his argument.
If only Finnick was as easy to manipulate as Mark… The board members sighed deeply in
their hearts.
With Finnick’s exceptional intelligence, there was no doubt that Norton Corporation would
achieve greater heights.
Alas, he acted for the Finnor Group. Unfortunately, that connoted the two companies would
have to coexist as rivals.
When Finnick left, everyone held their breath. No one dared to utter a word. They were
overwhelmed by Finnick’s overpowering aura.
Of course, some rejoiced while others were worried.
After the board meeting concluded, Mark returned to his office.
Upon seeing the desk full of documents waiting to be signed, he began boiling with rage.
With a swing of his hand, all the items on the desk went flying and landed on the floor. His
secretary, who heard the noise, could only tremble in fear.
At that moment, Ashley showed up.
She had nowhere to go after she was released, so she took shelter temporarily at Fabian’s
place.
When she caught wind that Finnick went to Norton Corporation, she grew anxious and
rushed over.
“What are you doing here?” Mark huffed.
“I’m here to see if anything happened.”
“Of course there is!” Mark bellowed, “It’s all thanks to you and your foolish plans. That’s why
Finnick was able to barge in on our board meeting! If it weren’t for the child in your womb, I
wouldn’t have to give up my company shares. You’re an incompetent idiot! How dare you
come to see me?”
All those scolding only made her detest Vivian more.
All of a sudden, a new plan came to mind.
“Calm down,” said Ashley as she attempted to appease Mark. “I’ve thought of a new plan.
I’m confident this will deal a heavy blow to Vivian and Finnick. Listen…”
Ashley leaned over to whisper in Mark’s ear and revealed her new plan.
Mark’s expression softened. Reluctantly, he agreed to her scheme. “I’ll trust you one last
time. This time, there would better be no mishaps.”
On the other side, Finnick arrived at his new office in Norton Corporation. It was
well-furnished and looked as though Finnick had already settled in long ago.
Xavier walked in and casually plopped himself onto the sofa, then turned to look at Finnick,
who was seated on the chair.
“Look at your smug attitude earlier on. You’re not afraid Mark would devise a scheme
seeking vengeance?”
“Xavier, how long do you think I’ve been hiding?” Finnick abruptly questioned, staring at him
earnestly.
Xavier thought hard about it and answered, “It’s been close to a decade.”
“Yeah. It’s been almost ten years,” Finnick sighed. “It’s time for me to do something.”
His response stunned Xavier.

As he studied Finnick’s expression, he began to wonder to himself. Mark’s done for this
time…
On the other end, Vivian was feeling much better.
She felt it was time for her to return. So, she informed Finnick, then rescinded the leave she
took from Fabian earlier.
The next day, Finnick instructed Noah to drive Vivian to the magazine company. After he left,
Vivian took the elevator up on her own.
“Morning, Vivian. Are you here to report to work?” The receptionist Jeanette hurriedly
greeted her, albeit in shock.
“Yes. Since I’m almost fully recovered, I thought it better to resume work. So, I’m back.”
Vivian flashed Jeanette a small smile and entered the premises.
“Vivian!” exclaimed Sarah, who was the first to notice her arrival.
Her shrill voice alerted everyone to Vivian’s presence. They paused the work on hand and
diverted their attention to the entrance.
The scrutiny made Vivian instantly feel like she was an animal trapped in an enclosure. With
all eyes on her, she endured the awkwardness and said, “Hi everyone, I’m back.”
However, they only shot her a glance before they returned to their work.
The only reply came from Shannon, who was eager to insult her.
“Wow! The esteemed wife of the Finnor Group’s president is here to report to work. How
kind of you to grace our humble magazine company with your presence. Why didn’t you just
remain at home and revel in your extravagant lifestyle?”
“At least I love my work and I yearn to return,” Vivian snapped back without hesitation.
“Whoa, you almost had me there! If you were really that capable, why don’t you secure this
interview?” Shannon challenged.
She had faith that the latest interview assignment would be hers.
Just then, Vivian noticed that everyone was working unexpectedly hard.
It is not the season for interviews and there are no major headlines of late. Why is everyone
so occupied?
As she pondered about it, she turned to find out more from Sarah.
“What have you guys been busy with?”
Vivian’s question unleashed Sarah’s inner chatterbox as she began to prattle on about the
latest assignment.
“Vivian, your return could not be more timely. You’ve heard of Elaine—the renowned designer
who just got back from abroad, right?”
With all her time and energy fixed on dealing with Ashley, Vivian hadn’t had the mood to care
about all these.
She racked her brains for an answer to no avail. Despondently, she replied, “Um… I haven’t
been keeping up with the news… I don’t know much.”
“It’s ok,” said Sarah with a smile. She was in a cheery mood despite Vivian’s unenthusiastic
response. “Let me tell you all about this Elaine person. Even though she was born and bred
locally, she overcame all sorts of hurdles and went on to clinch top prizes in many
international competitions. She truly has a flair for design!”
When it came to gossip, Sarah could ramble on for days.

“Unfortunately, she’s always been hiding in the shadows. To date, no media company has
ever secured an interview with her or even taken her picture! However, she recently
announced that she is open for an exclusive interview. One magazine company of her
choice will stand to win a chance at obtaining this special scoop! This is an opportunity of a
lifetime that all our industry rivals are fighting for. Look, even the Chief Editor is working
hard to get hold of this interview.”
Sarah muttered as she pointed in the direction of Fabian’s office.
Just as the entire office was buzzing with anticipation, Fabian stepped out.
“Everyone, please be quiet. I have some good news.”
The Chief Editor’s order stopped everyone in their tracks. Silence filled the air as everyone
turned to look at him, their eyes glistening with hope.
He coughed lightly and began to speak, “The good news is that Elaine has agreed to accept
an interview by our magazine company.”
Everyone cheered upon hearing his announcement.
Then, they began speculating who was the lucky interviewer.
Shannon haughtily lifted her chin to look at Fabian while imagining how bright her future
would be after the interview.
“The person who will be in charge of Elaine’s interview this time…” Fabian’s voice began to
trail as he surveyed the office. Next, he looked straight into Vivian’s eyes and announced, “Is
Vivian.”
His words were like a slap in the face for Shannon. She felt mortified by his declaration.
That interview was already in the bag! Why? Why did this great honor go to Vivian the
moment she returns? Ugh!
“Chief Editor, I object!” Shannon cried out snobbishly. The whole office turned to glance at
her.
“There’s nothing to object about. This is an order and the final arrangement. Unless you
want the whole magazine company to go downhill because of your discontent, I suggest
you keep your emotions in check,” Fabian chided.
That silenced Shannon. She bit hard on her lower lips and glowered at Vivian. Her eyes were
filled with resentment and indignation.
Vivian felt a pair of eyes glaring at her and turned to look, but Shannon had already regained
her composure.
When everybody heard the news, they all heaved a sigh. The atmosphere grew tense as the
staff members looked bemused.
Why is Vivian chosen for the interview?
If it is based on qualifications and experiences, she is definitely unqualified.
Could it be because of her notable identity as Mrs. Norton of the Finnor Group?
At the thought of that, everybody began to look at Vivian with jealousy and disdain.
Yet, due to her being Mrs. Norton, everyone felt compelled to congratulate her. “Wow, that’s
wonderful. We’re counting on you, Vivian.”
“Congrats, Vivian!” exclaimed Sarah as she beamed from the bottom of her heart.
To her, Vivian was a much better choice as compared to those colleagues who were
absolute hypocrites.
“Thanks,” Vivian murmured in response. However, all she could think about was the abrupt
announcement.
What is Fabian scheming? Why would he give me this opportunity?
“What’s the reason you did that?”
Vivian followed Fabian into his office. With a frown, she questioned, “Fabian, are you pulling
my leg?”
She didn’t mean to think ill of him, but her recent assignments had proven that Fabian
always had an ulterior motive when it came to her tasks.
“What?” Fabian was perplexed by her sudden interrogation, only realizing what she meant
when he saw her defensive expression.
He found the situation comical.
Has it come to a point where everything I do or say is going to warrant suspicion? Am I no

longer worthy of her trust? I suppose I only have myself to blame for the regression in our
relationship. I hurt her far too deep…
However, an explanation was still necessary.
“You’ve misunderstood me,” Fabian chuckled bitterly as he explained, “Elaine was the one
who specifically asked for you.”
Afraid his words were not going to be enough to prove it, he fished out his phone and
showed Vivian the text messages between Elaine and himself.
Vivian reached out to take his phone and started to scroll down the conversation. When she
realized she misjudged him, she awkwardly uttered, “I’m truly sorry for the mistake.”
“It’s fine. To be honest, even I’m clueless as to why she specifically asked for you. She asked
if you were from our magazine company. When I confirmed it, she instantly consented to the
interview. I found it odd but I couldn’t find a reason why. So, just be careful.”
In all honesty, Fabian himself was unaware of why Elaine did all that.
But the magazine company had been in a slump for a while. Elaine’s interview was their best
bet at resurgence, so they had to take it seriously.
No matter the reason, it was a must for Vivian to attend the interview.
Should they offend Elaine, the future of the magazine company would be even bleaker.
“Fine,” Vivian replied. She understood the significance of the interview and her role in it.
However, she remained puzzled. I don’t even know this Elaine person. Why did she even ask
for me?
Even though Fabian didn’t publicize Elaine’s preference, the news still traveled. By the end of
lunch, the whole office was in the loop.
That confounded everybody further. They couldn’t comprehend what it was about Vivian
that the mysterious and elusive Elaine had to designate her as the interviewer.
Several colleagues still attempted to flatter Vivian.
“Wow, you truly live up to your title as Mrs. Norton. What special connections you have…”
Another person chimed in, “Yeah! Run-of-the-mill folks like us could never have achieved
that.”
Despite having reservations about Elaine’s intentions, Vivian still felt the need to fulfill her
duties and attend the interview.
So she decided to put in the effort to prepare for it.
To ensure she was well-prepared for the interview, Vivian specially searched the Internet
about her.
Sarah’s disclosure was accurate. Elaine was indeed very secretive.
There were no photographs of her, neither was her real name reported. The only information
that she could find was the many pages detailing her exceptional work.
She hailed from a prestigious alma mater and possessed an honorable degree. Elaine is
practically flawless!
Not only that, after her graduation, she went on to win numerous accolades in her field.
According to rumors, Elaine was young and beautiful.
Such ambiguous details made Elaine all the more enigmatic. It piqued Vivian’s interest
further as she pondered about Elaine’s choice.
She grew even more excited about the interview set to take place in three days.
When she returned home after work, she noticed “Back to the Past” was still chatting with
her.
Vivian: You’re still here?
Back to the Past: Yep.
Vivian: Hey, can’t you just divulge your identity?
Back to the Past: Nope.
Vivian: But why?
Back to the Past: The time is not ripe.
Vivian: Since you know who I am, I must know who you are as well. Why can’t you just tell
me?
Back to the Past: You’ll find out soon enough. I’m going offline now. Remember, cherish all
that you have at present.
Vivian: What does that mean?

Back to the Past: Nothing, I just think you’re very blessed right now.
Vivian: So…?
There was no response.
In the days that followed, their conversations were largely the same.
What bewildered Vivian greatly was the reply that “Back to the Past” gave every single time
she asked a question: You’ll find out soon enough.
It was like being given candy. She was told there would be a surprise, yet there were no
details on what it was going to be like.
She felt the words “Back to the Past” said were always bizarre and unfathomable.
This “Back to the Past” user on Twitter seems to be someone living around me. It’s as
though they have eyes on me at all times. They know everything about me like the back of
their hand…
She gathered that it was probably someone she knew personally. Despite racking her brains
hard, she couldn’t think of anyone.
While she was bemused, she had an unsettling feeling that something terrible was going to
happen sooner or later.
It was as though something of significant importance to her was going to be robbed from
her. Regardless of how much she struggled to salvage it, it still slipped out from her hands.
“Who is this person?” Vivian mumbled to herself.
Just then, the entrance lit up. Finnick removed his shoes and placed them in the cabinet
before changing to slippers.
“Finnick, you’re back!” Vivian stuck her head out from the kitchen and patted her hands dry
on her apron.
She placed a dish on the table and instructed, “Go wash your hands. Dinner will be ready
soon.”
There were only the two of them at home, so there was no need to prepare so much food.
Without Mrs. Filder around, Vivian casually whipped up two dishes.
Although Finnick wasn’t picky about food, Vivian tried her best to avoid serving him
leftovers.
After dinner, Vivian proceeded to do the dishes. She thought of “Back to the Past” again.
I wonder if Finnick knows the person?
It didn’t hurt to try. After she was done with the dishes, she took out her phone and showed
Finnick the Twitter page of “Back to the Past.”
“Um… Finnick, do you know this person?” Vivian enquired with hesitation.
He took her phone and carefully scrutinized the profile before shaking his head.
“Nope, I don’t know him,” Finnick answered and patted Vivian’s shoulder gently.
“Back to the Past” didn’t post much on Twitter, so it was understandable that Finnick would
not have much clue.
Based on the picture and biography section alone, there was no way they could discern the
identity of “Back To The Past”. As someone who had been chatting with the person for a
long time, Vivian hadn’t even come close to uncovering his identity.
At night, when she was bathing, Vivian accidentally dropped her phone into the water.
She hurriedly wiped her phone dry and attempted to reboot it to no avail.
“Finnick!” she called out.
“Yes? What’s the matter?” Finnick responded from the other side of the door. He thought it
unusual that she suddenly asked for him while bathing.
Vivian turned the tap off and speedily slipped into her clothes. Then she walked out with her
broken phone.
As she dried her wet hair, she handed the phone to Finnick and mumbled, “It fell into the
water and I can’t switch it on anymore. Can you fix it?”
Finnick pulled her onto his lap and replied, “How clumsy of you.”
He inspected the phone and shook his head. “I can’t.”
Since Finnick usually ferried her to work, Vivian didn’t see the need to fix her phone
immediately. So she decided she was going to the repair shop after work the next day.
Unfortunately, Murphy’s Law befell her that very day.
The next day, the moment she stepped into the office, she could feel something was off.
“Morning, everyone.”
Vivian greeted everyone as usual, but no one gave her any response.
She then realized that everyone was looking at her with an inscrutable emotion.
Sarah rushed over and examined her peculiarly. Then, she comforted her by saying, “Vivian,
don’t be too upset. After all, love is more important than a child.”
“What…?”
It was baffling that Sarah was saying all these.
A period of time had passed since Vivian discovered the loss of her child.
It’s been so long. Why is everyone consoling me all of a sudden?

Just then, Shannon appeared beside her. With a disparaging smile on her face, she began to
mock Vivian, “My, my. The audacity of you… Hats off to you, really. Whose child was that?
The Chief Editor’s? Or some other man’s? Or do you yourself not know who the father of the
child was?”
Vivian gaped at her in disbelief. There was no enmity between them. Who gave Shannon the
right to talk to her like that?
Meanwhile, Fabian walked out upon hearing the commotion.
“It’s still office hours. Enough with all the gossips and get back to work!”
Finnick’s stern warning prompted everyone to move, but their eyes never left Vivian.
There was a hushed murmuring as they chattered amongst themselves. Vivian could make
out their tones, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying.
“I can’t believe she has the nerve to show up for work. If it were me, I would lie low after
being humiliated so badly.”
“Look at her all haggard… Maybe it’s all a ploy to win Mr. Norton back… Tsk…”
“A pitiful person is always detestable in some way.”
“When we first got to know her, I’ve always thought she was a kind person. Who’d know
she’s like that…”
“I know, right? Looks can be deceiving.”
“Hope she learns from her mistakes and changes for the better…”
Fabian noticed that Vivian was being ambushed by everybody’s harsh remarks. Out of
goodwill, he decided to come to her rescue. Letting out a light cough, he said, “Vivian, please
come to my office.”
“Alright.” Desperate to figure out what was going on, Vivian followed behind him. He’s
probably the only one who can tell me the truth right now.
Fabian summoned her to the Chief Editor’s office and took one look at her careworn visage.
He instantly assumed it was due to the incident that morning.
Worried for her, he glanced at her tenderly and inquired, “Vivian, are you alright? I didn’t
expect things to turn out that way. I didn’t think Uncle Finnick would…”
He hesitated before continuing. “I mean, of course, I believe you. Still, they’re not wrong.
Some matters must be hard to explain… Be that as it may, the child’s already gone. Just let
the past remain as it is. I’m sure Uncle Finnick will understand. He’ll definitely forgive you…”
Fabian paused for a moment before continuing, “Also, I apologize if Ashley has created
more trouble for you during this period. Please accept my apology on her behalf. At the end
of the day, she’s still your sister. Don’t take it to heart.”
“Fabian, what exactly are you talking about?”
His words were baffling to her.
“Fabian, tell me what exactly you mean by all that.”

“Is there something wrong with everyone today? You’re all being so weird. All the things
you’re saying are out of the ordinary. Am I missing something?”
“What? Vivian, do you not know?” Fabian glanced at her in shock.
“Is there something I should know?” She looked back at him in bewilderment. Could there be
something that everyone knows and I don’t? Something related to me?
“Did you not look at your phone today?” Fabian found it bizarre. According to Vivian’s daily
routine, scrolling Twitter in the morning was first on the list. How could she be unaware of
the news?
Is she feigning ignorance? At the thought of that, Fabian shook his head. How could that
be?
“No, my phone spoilt after the water went in last night. I tried switching it on to no avail. I’ve
yet to get it fixed. I was actually planning on going later after work. Why?”
“I see.”
Everything made sense now.
Because her phone was down, she didn’t get to surf Twitter in the morning. That was why
she didn’t know what happened.
Maybe that’s for the better. If she sees the news, she is going to be devastated.
Despite feeling that way, Fabian still felt she had the right to know about the issue. There
was no good in keeping her in the dark.
He took his phone out and pulled up the news that was published that morning. Then he
passed the phone to Vivian.
She reached over to take it. Her brows furrowed upon realizing the reason behind
everybody’s strange looks and occasional sighs.
Breaking news!
Mrs. Norton committed adultery! The president of Finnor Group, Mr. Finnick Norton, lost the
ability to have children after becoming disabled. He’s been made into a cuckold!
As it turned out, somebody posted on Twitter that morning saying that the president of the
Finnor Group, Finnick Norton, was infertile due to his disability. There was a chance he
wouldn’t be able to bear offspring.
What a preposterous claim. Even though people see him seated in a wheelchair, they can’t
possibly think that way. Vivian felt it was incredulous that people had such wild conjectures.
The post continued to say: More importantly, Vivian Norton was once pregnant.
Unfortunately, everyone was unaware that her pregnancy was bogus. It was all a scheme
that Ashley plotted.
Everybody bought into that and really thought that Vivian was truly pregnant and had a
miscarriage.
People then put two and two together. The news of Finnick’s sterility along with Vivian’s
pregnancy led people to believe that she actually went and conceived a child with some
other man.
When she reached the comments section of the post, she saw that the majority of the
people were hurling insults at her and feeling unjust for Finnick.
One random user: Mr. Norton is so pitiful! Vivian Norton, why won’t you treasure his
unconditional love?
Another random user: Stupid b*tch Vivian Norton! How dare you trample his love for you?
Can’t believe you even cheated on him.
Another random user: I hate you, Vivian Norton! Shameless s*ut.
The spiteful comments were incessant. Every comment was harsher than the previous one.
Vivian looked at the comments in shock and felt enraged. She turned to look at Fabian and
asked, “Oh my goodness. How could they talk about us like that? Fabian, do you know who
the culprit behind the original post is?”
Fabian shook his head. “I still don’t know yet. This is from an anonymous forum that’s
well-known in the industry. They’ve never revealed their sources. I’ve tried checking their
webpage and hacking into the system to no avail. There’s really nothing I can do.”
Fabian wanted to clear Vivian’s name so badly from all those nasty comments.
All of a sudden, an idea flashed into his mind.
“Vivian. Uncle Finnick… Is it true that Uncle Finnick is impotent? Then, you and him… “
Before Fabian could finish his sentence, Vivian interrupted sternly. “Bullsh*t! Of course, it’s
not true!” Vivian gave Fabian a death stare.
It suddenly dawned on Vivian that what Finnick had been through for the past ten years.
Those rumors had given him a really hard time. He suffered a great loss of dignity as a man.
However, he swallowed his pride to protect the people around him as well as to take
revenge against the people who had insulted and abused him. All those years, he had been
struggling emotionally. Yet, nobody was there for him. He was there to face those
challenges all alone.
Vivian felt the need to see Finnick at that moment. She wanted to hug him and give him
strength so desperately.
You’ve been through a lot for the past ten years!
She couldn’t wait any longer. All Vivian wanted was to be in front of Finnick right then.
She had no intention of talking with Fabian anymore. No matter what she said, nobody was
going to believe her or Finnick anyway.
“There’s something I need to take care of, so I might need to take the day off.”
After her speech, she left his office angrily.
Right after Vivian left, everyone in the magazine company erupted into a fierce discussion.
“Hey, did you see that? Someone is ashamed…”
“Perhaps her attempt to get Mr. Norton to rescue her had failed. Hahaha…”
The crowd stopped their discussion when Vivian gave them an angry stare. However, they
couldn’t help but give Vivian an odd stare. Vivian couldn’t even stay at the magazine
company a minute longer.
She decided to rush to Finnor Group as soon as possible and ask Finnick for answers
immediately. She had to figure out who was the mastermind behind everything.
After she went downstairs, Vivian took a taxi to Finnor Group. As expected, everybody in the
company strangely looked at her. They must have seen the news.
“Look! There she comes. Mrs. Norton is here. She seems to be rushing. Do you think the
news is true?”
“I think so. After all, Mr. Norton is a cripple. It’s hard to tell.”
“I thought she was pregnant before? So, who’s the father? I remember Mr. Norton was quite
happy at that time. It shouldn’t be… “
“Who knows? You should know that cats hide their claws.”
“Stop it. She’s getting closer. What if she overheard our conversation?”
They gathered in small groups and discussed amongst themselves. They kept looking at her
occasionally as if they were afraid that she would find out.
She had no time to take care of the way they looked at her and all those rumors. In no time,
Vivian took Finnick’s private elevator and went to his office right away.
Finnick…
At that moment, the only thing in her mind was to see Finnick… She didn’t care about any
other things.
Even the secretary outside his office was unwilling to greet her and let her in directly. Vivian
didn’t mind that either.
The secretary couldn’t help but think of the news as she saw Vivian walking in anxiously.
She must be here to explain herself to Mr. Norton. I feel so sorry for him…
Even though Finnick was disabled, he was a good man. He had been treating his employees
well all the time, even towards a low-ranking staff like her.
The last time when he found out that Vivian was pregnant, Finnick was thrilled. It seemed to
be against his cool image. Mr. Norton must be heartbroken to know this!
As she thought about that, she couldn’t help but gave Vivian a dirty look.
Meanwhile, Finnick was signing some documents when Vivian stepped in.
Seeing Finnick being hard at work, Vivian felt a sense of relief all of a sudden. So what if
nobody is going to believe us? Nothing matters as long as we trust each other.
As if Finnick was telepathic, he looked up and saw Vivian standing at the door.
Vivian was panting at that time. Finnick was surprised to see her and quickly wheeled
himself to her side. He took Vivian’s hands and asked, “What are you doing here? Why are
you looking so anxious?”
“Have you seen the news this morning?” Vivian asked tentatively as she wasn’t sure if
Finnick was aware of it.
“Are you referring to the news about you and me?” Only then did Vivian realize Finnick had
already seen it. But, he didn’t seem to panic at all. It was in contrast to Vivian, who rushed to
his office immediately.
“Yes. You don’t know this. They…” Seeing that Finnick was calm, Vivian felt sorry for him.
How could they spread rumors like that when they knew nothing about the situation?
Finnick was not a cripple at all. He was only pretending to be one. The claim that he was
impotent was even ridiculous!
Finnick merely chuckled, as if he wasn’t bothered by those rumors at all.
Finnick got up from the chair. He wrapped his arms around Vivian and sat down on the sofa.
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Do you know what the most effective way is to refute
rumors?”
Vivian raised her head and looked at him in confusion. What does he mean? Has he thought
of a solution already?
“Hmm… Tell me! What is it?” Vivian panicked. She didn’t mind about herself, but she couldn’t
tolerate how they thought of Finnick.
Over the years, he had been living a hard life for acting like a cripple. It killed her to see him
being vilified like that.
Finnick came closer to Vivian. He tucked her hair behind her ears, gently caressing her face
with an affectionate look in his eyes.
Initially, Vivian was very worried. However, her face slowly turned red by his touch.
“Didn’t you say you’ve got a plan? What is it?” Vivian asked in an awkward tone. She felt her
heart skipped a beat by the way Finnick looked at her.
He noticed that Vivian was shy. Looking at her blushing face, Finnick couldn’t help but feel
love overflowing from his heart. He kissed Vivian gently on the corner of her lips and held
her waist tightly. Then, he put his entire body weight right on top of Vivian and pinned her on
the sofa.
“The plan is… You’re going to have my baby now.” After whispering softly in her ear, Finnick
kissed her passionately. At the same time, he ran his hands all over her body and slowly
removed her clothes.
His warm lips kissed their way down her neck and all the way down…
Vivian wasn’t expecting that at all. She pressed her hands softly against Finnick’s chest and
turned her head to look at the door. She was nervous. “We’re in the office. This is not a good
idea.”
“Don’t worry. It’s soundproof here. Now, focus.”
After saying that, Finnick nibbled her neck as if he was punishing her for being distracted.
How could she still think about those things at this moment?
“Ugh…”
Vivian couldn’t help but moan softly. His nibble was so seductive that it made her toes curl.
Finnick was aroused by her moaning. He started becoming more aggressive. He reached
out to grab the remote control on the coffee table, switched off the lights, and pulled the
curtains. His series of movements were swift.
Finally, Vivian gave up struggling and immersed herself in the feeling of his touch gradually.
She hooked her arms around his neck and let her body responded to his.
Their clothes were all scattered on the floor.
The room was filled with a romantic atmosphere.
Vivian’s worries were all gone. Finnick had successfully distracted her from all her anxious
thoughts.
Finnick is right. So what if rumors spread like wildfire? As long as we have faith in each
other, we shouldn’t worry about how those clowns thought about us.
Vivian hugged Finnick tightly at the thought.
After they finished everything, they cuddled on the sofa.

Meanwhile, Vivian’s face turned as red as a cherry. She felt so embarrassed that she wanted
to bury her head in the sand. How could I do that… We did that in Finnick’s office! What if
people find out about that? How am I going to face them? How embarrassing!
Looking at the way Vivian buried her face in his chest and was reluctant to look up, Finnick
knew that she felt embarrassed. However, he couldn’t help but tease her.
Finnick jokingly said, “Isn’t it too late to be embarrassed? Who was the one that… “
“Shut up, Finnick!” As she heard that, Vivian quickly covered Finnick’s mouth with her hands
to stop him from saying anything.
Finnick wasn’t like that before. She used to think that he was an elegant and well-mannered
gentleman. Never did she expect that he could be the opposite in private.
However, Vivian couldn’t deny that she actually liked this side of Finnick. Nobody would ever
have the chance to see that side of Finnick. It only belonged to her exclusively.
Finnick really enjoyed looking at how nervous and annoyed Vivian was. He felt a rush of
warmth in his heart, like warm sunlight hitting him on a cold winter’s day. His mind was at
ease.
After that, he left a kiss in the palm of Vivian’s hand and looked at her with a smile.
Vivian couldn’t help but feel her heart pounding at Finnick’s action. She lowered her head in
embarrassment and avoided his gaze.
Finnick knew her very well. He understood that if he kept on messing with Vivian, she might
get mad. Hence, he didn’t say anything further but held her close in his arms with a gentle
smile.
After a long while, Vivian was able to calm herself down. Suddenly, she remembered the
reason she came.
She lifted her head and stared at Finnick seriously. “Do you have any idea about what’s
going on with the morning news?”
Finnick had been calm since she got there. Thus, she thought Finnick might know what
happened.
He mulled over it for a while, thinking whether he should let Vivian know the truth. Finnick
didn’t want her to be worried about all those things. He only wanted her to be happy by his
side, but not being hurt by rumors.
However, Vivian had the right to know as she was involved in it. Furthermore, if he told her,
she would be extra cautious in the future. It was actually a good way to prevent her from
getting hurt by people with bad intentions.
As he stared at Vivian’s curious look, he said, “I guess I know who is behind all of these.”
“You really do? Who is it? Why is he spreading such rumors?” Upon hearing Finnick’s words,
Vivian got agitated immediately. She desperately wanted to know who was the one that
slandered them.
Finnick smiled at her. He loved the way she worried for him. It showed that he was an
important person in her life.
Finnick didn’t answer her question. Instead, he asked, “Who could it be? Who has been
making all the effort to destroy us all this while?”
Vivian thought about it for a while. Finnick’s words meant that the person who did this
wasn’t targeting them for the first time. Could it be…
Even though she was unwilling to believe it, she guessed tentatively. “Could it be Ashley and
Mark?”
“I suppose so. I can’t think of anyone else except for them,” Finnick sneered.
Did they think that I wouldn’t find out? Ha! They are clearly underestimating me! There is
nothing in this world that I couldn’t find out if I wanted to.
Last time, he was kind enough to let them off easily and decided to drop the whole thing.
Not only were they unrepentant, but they also became worse. Hence, he would not go easy
on them anymore.
He would never again let them hurt Vivian and himself.
Upon hearing Finnick’s words, Vivian couldn’t hold in her anger anymore.
So it is them again. How can they do this to me and Finnick repeatedly? What is their
purpose? One is Finnick’s biological brother, and the other is my biological sister. How can
they do this to their sibling? Do they only care about their personal benefits?
Vivian was truly mad. Finnick held her hands and comforted her, “To be frank, I knew they
are not going to give up so easily. Based on Mark’s personality and his style of doing things,
he will not let us off easily. They will definitely think of ways to take revenge against me. But,
I’m ready now. They are not going to cause any harm to us anymore. You don’t have to
worry.”
“What have you prepared?” Vivian asked. How could she not worry even if Finnick told her
not to? Finnick was the man she loved the most. She could not just watch Finnick being set
up like that and do nothing.
Finnick purposely kept her in suspense. He asked with a cunning expression, “Ashley has
been mean to you. Do you want to take revenge against her?”
Vivian was stunned. She didn’t understand what Finnick was trying to say. Besides, it was
her first time seeing Finnick like that. His eyes twinkled with mischief like a boy who was
going to play some tricks. He looked totally different from his usual self.
She was confused. “Didn’t we already agree to let Ashley go?”
“That was because Ashley is pregnant. After all, the child is a Norton. Even if he wasn’t, I
would never do anything to a kid. However, what if she isn’t even pregnant?”
What? Ashley is not pregnant! How is that possible? So, Fabian…
Vivian looked at Finnick in complete shock. She couldn’t believe what he just said.
“Are you saying that Ashley is pretending to be pregnant?” Finally, Vivian came to a sudden
realization and said, “It can’t be. Have you checked? Are you sure?”
Vivian hadn’t recovered from her shock. She was dumbfounded.
“I’ve gotten Noah to look into this.” Finnick stared at her in amusement. “Absolutely true.”
Vivian knew that Noah was reliable. Since Finnick said so, it must be true.
She never expected that Ashley had the guts to fake her pregnancy.
Finnick couldn’t help but chuckled lightly to see her shocked expression.
She looked indescribably adorable.
He tapped her nose affectionately and said in a low voice, “Come on. Let’s get ready for a
good show.”
“Show? What show?” Vivian asked with a puzzled look. Did he plan something secretly?
Vivian was confused. Finnick patted her head gently and assured her, “Don’t worry. I’m going
to make them pay the price.”
Finnick’s eyes were filled with love. Vivian’s face became red as she looked him in the eye.
She reached out her hands and hugged him tightly, leaning into his arms.
“Why are you so kind to me?” She was on the verge of tears. Vivian was so thankful to God
for bringing Finnick to her side. “Thank you so much… “
“I’m the one who should be thanking you.” Finnick’s eyes flickered slightly. He lowered his
head and looked at her.
Vivian gave him a perplexed look. “What are you thanking me for?”
Thank you for appearing in my life.
Finnick had an answer, but he only spoke those words in his heart.
After what happened ten years ago, his life was full of darkness. He once thought that he
was not going to love or care for a person anymore. From then onwards, his heart turned
completely cold. He once thought that there would be no happily ever after for him.
However, Vivian was like a ray of sunlight, appearing in his life and walking him through the
dark. How could he not be grateful for having such a person in his life?
Finnick didn’t tell Vivian his thoughts. Instead, he simply lowered his head and gave a kiss
between her eyebrows. “Let’s go.”
As he spoke, Vivian wheeled him out of the office.
The secretary couldn’t help but roll her eyes when she saw Vivian coming out. However,
Finnick gave her a cold-eye stare. She was scared and lowered her head immediately.
As they walked away, a cold voice came from the elevator. “If you dare disrespect Vivian
again, then please be prepared to leave Finnor Group.”
“Yes, yes, yes! Mr. Norton, I promise I won’t do that again. Mrs. Norton, please forgive me,”
she said in fear.
“It’s fine. Let’s go,” Vivian replied.
After that, Finnick brought her to a restaurant.

When they arrived at the restaurant, Vivian helped Finnick to get out of the car. The usher
outside the door welcomed them warmly as soon as he saw them.
“Mr. Norton, are you coming for a meal with Mrs. Norton? We have a private room upstairs.”
The usher quickly asked when he saw Finnick’s wheelchair, “Do you need help? I’ll get
someone right away.”
Upon speaking, the usher tried to push his wheelchair.
“It’s fine. I’ll take care of it.” Vivian tilted her body to avoid the action.
The other guests couldn’t help but sigh as they saw the way those ushers treated Finnick
and Vivian. They had never experienced such warm reception before. However, those ushers
didn’t care about how they thought.
After all, he was Finnick Norton. If he were happy, the revenue of the restaurant would be a
few times higher. Thus, their pay would definitely be a few times higher as well. So, how
could they not be friendly towards Finnick?
“It’s alright. We’ll just stay on the first floor for a while,” Finnick answered calmly.
“Sure, sure! This way, please.” The usher bowed politely and welcomed them.
Vivian wheeled Finnick into the restaurant. In fact, she still didn’t quite understand the
reason for being there. They didn’t come here for a meal often. Furthermore, it wasn’t
mealtime then.
But she was feeling a little bit hungry. Perhaps… I’ve used up all my energy back in the office.
Vivian’s face blushed at the thought. It reminded Finnick what happened earlier as well
when he looked up and saw the red blush on Vivian’s face. His lips curled into a smirk.
Finnick told Vivian to push him to a table at the corner of the restaurant. It was a quiet and
private area with a partition screen there.
“Finnick, why are we here?”
“You’ll find out soon.” He looked at the other side with his dark eyes.
Vivian was confused. She followed his gaze and saw the people on the other side. Instantly,
the anger in her chest started burning.
Mark, Fabian, and Ashley were sitting somewhere not far from them and eating.
Vivian wanted to step forward and question them at that moment. She desperately wanted
to know why they did such a thing. I don’t understand. After all, we are a family. How could
they be so heartless? Did they have to drive Finnick up to the wall?
Finnick grabbed Vivian right in time. “Calm down. They will begin to quarrel among
themselves in a bit.”
“Huh?” Vivian didn’t understand what he was trying to say, but she trusted Finnick.
Therefore, she stopped and waited for Finnick’s instruction.
Finnick grabbed her hand and made her sit beside him. “Soon, you’ll know.”
Vivian looked at Finnick’s confident expression. Then, she turned and took a glance at
Fabian, Mark, and Ashley. She sat beside Finnick silently and waited patiently for what was
going to happen next.
On the other side, Fabian was obviously unhappy. The last thing he wanted to do was to let
Ashley have a meal together with his father.
Meanwhile, Ashley looked extremely happy. She was trying so hard to please both the father
and son.
“Mr. Norton, have a taste of this. It’s delicious.” Ashley passed Mark the dishes attentively.
“Fabian, have a try too.”
She was in a good mood that day after seeing those angry tweets about Vivian on Twitter.
Hence, she was having a good appetite.
On the contrary, Mark appeared calm.
Mark and Ashley were having a discussion. They couldn’t imagine how embarrassing
Finnick would be once the news was released.
Fabian’s face was full of worries, “Will it be too much to Vivian?”
“What do you know?” Mark reprimanded upon hearing Fabian. “You’re so soft-hearted! How
are you going to achieve something great?”
Fabian wanted to refute his words. After much thought, he decided to swallow his words.
He knew that it’s useless to say anything. However, he had made up his mind to protect
Vivian.
Meanwhile, Vivian and Finnick remained seated at the hidden corner. Fabian and the rest
couldn’t see them, but Vivian and Finnick could see them very clearly.
All of a sudden, Fabian received a call.
“Hello, what’s the matter?” The person on the other line said something to Fabian. His facial
expression changed instantly. “What? Is that true? Are you serious? Are you sure? It can’t be!
What exactly is going on? Did you check properly? Are you sure it is not a mistake?”
“I see.” Fabian’s grip on his phone tightened. “Thank you for informing me.”
Ashley looked on apprehensively, sensing that the man was growing livid. Grabbing onto his
arm, she asked nervously, “F-Fabian, is something wrong?”
Fabian hung up the call and directed a glare so cold that it sent chills down the lady’s spine.
Then, shrugging her arm away, he boomed, “Ashley Miller, how much longer are you going to
lie to me!”
At the side, Mark was taken aback by the outburst. “Calm down Fabian! You’re going to
scare the baby! Ashley, are you good? Does your stomach hurt?”
“I’m fine, Mr. Norton.” But mentally, she was nowhere close to being fine. Her heart was
thumping wildly, and she feared for the worst.
“What’s with the tantrum, Fabian!” Mark bellowed.
“Tantrum? Do you think I’m that childish? Oh, speaking of “child,” do you have anything you
want to explain?” The question was directed at Ashley.
The lady’s heart skipped a beat as a surge of fear overtook her. “H-Huh? What do you mean?
Is this some prank?”
She really hoped it was an April Fool’s joke.
“Really! You’re still not going to admit the truth till now? Do you really want me to go as far
as to produce the medical certificate that you’re not at all pregnant? Now then, you’re going
to ask how I know this. Well, the lovely doctor you’re in cahoots with has left the hospital!
Some other doctor took his place, and luckily has some form of respect for the Doctor’s
Oath to tell me everything!”
Fabian was fuming as he continued his tirade, “I seriously can’t imagine how you manage to
live with the guilt every day while others show so much affection to the so-called “baby”
inside of you. I hope you’ve had fun fooling the entire family and me.”
“I-It’s not…” Ashley tried to defend herself, but words failed her.
Instead, she broke down on the spot, drowning out the flurry of emotions with her pouring
tears. Her mind was in a chaotic mess. On one hand, she cursed at the doctor’s betrayal. I
gave him so many incentives, and yet he has the audacity to walk out on me like this…
On the other hand, extreme fear overwhelmed her as she felt Fabian’s cold gaze lingering on
her.
She was also terrified that all her efforts all this while would just go down the drain in an
instant.
Fueled by desperation, she picked herself up and scrambled towards the man, begging for
his forgiveness.
“I lied because I love you! I can’t live without you! Please, Fabian… Don’t leave me…”
“Get your filthy hands off me!” came his merciless response as he struggled to unlatch the
lady from his body.
But the lady refused to budge. Hanging onto him like a drowning passenger hanging onto a
buoy, she continued exclaiming, “When you wanted to break up with me that time, anxiety
overtook my rationality. I loved you too much to let you go. I’ll die if you’re not with me!
P-Please… Fabian… Please forgive me this once and don’t leave me… “
Back then, Ashley really did wish she had gotten pregnant when she drugged Fabian.
Unfortunately, things did not go her way following the night at the hotel.
Ever since then, Fabian had been cautious around Ashley, and thus the lady had no other
means to try again.
When Fabian asked for a breakup, Ashley was out of playing cards. No matter how pitiful
she acted, the man was determined to leave her. Out of desperation, she conjured a playing
card herself, and that was how the whole pregnancy saga began.
Ashley knew Fabian too well. She knew that the man would soften his resolve to leave
because of the child. Moreover, so long as Ashley carried his child, the man would always
accommodate to her and any of her follies.
And the lady knew very well that Fabian was a man who valued the virtue of responsibility.
Therefore, carrying a child was also equivalent to earning a marriage certificate.
She had everything planned out for the future. While Fabian was by her side, she would
make him fall for her bit by bit, and hopefully, try to become legitimately pregnant.
But now, everything was all for naught. Before her was a seething partner who hated her,
along with a fuming Mark who equally detested her lies.
Mark was willing to give up part of his shares thinking that he could use the child to gain
more authority in the board of directors, and subsequently earn the elder Mr. Norton’s trust
and inherit more rights.
Now that Ashley’s façade was revealed, he could not help but feel utterly foolish for all the
needless investments he made.
Out of a moment’s rage, the man delivered a harsh slap to Ashley’s cheeks, sending her
flying to the ground.
Consequently, blood seeped from the side of her lips, mixed with her tears, and dripped off
her chin.
Despite so, Ashley was relentless in her pleads. Crawling over to grab Mark by the hems of
his pants, she begged, “Mr. Norton, I-I shouldn’t have lied to you! But please give me another
chance. I’ll get pregnant this time around. Please forgive me! Don’t make me leave Fabian!”
“Scram!” bellowed Mark as he lifted his leg and kicked her in the stomach, causing the lady
to double over once again.
A shriek echoed throughout the room, followed by a series of uncontrollable sobs.
For a moment, Fabian felt bad for her. “Let’s just leave her be and go.”
But then it hit him. If not because of Ashley, I may just be living a blissful married life with
Vivian by now. Thinking of that made his blood boil, and he contemplated lashing out at the
lady once again.
But like Mark, he was too mentally exhausted by then to argue with Ashley any longer.
As the pair took their leave, Ashley scrambled to make them stay once more. The words that
came from her were the same as before. “Don’t leave me alone,” “I love you Fabian,” and “I’m
sorry.” They were also as ineffective as before.
Vivian watched on at the side as Ashley wept her eyeballs out. Unlike the other customers in
the restaurant who watched the scene unfold like it was an entertainment show, Vivian’s
feelings bordered on being nonchalant.
She could not feel sympathy for the lady. Instead, watching her go from being the spoilt little
princess in the Miller family to the damsel she was only brought a sense of woefulness.
Ashley, do you feel the pain? Let this pain be carved into your heart forever so that you can
understand the agony I have gone through for the past two years because of you. Vivian
sighed as unpleasant memories came flooding back. Back then, her life plummeted
overnight because of Ashley. Walking on the school campus, all she got was onlookers’
judgmental stares and hushed gossips.
Worst still, Fabian disappeared without a trace, plunging her further into an abyss of
negativity.
Unlike me, you brought this predicament upon yourself, Ashley. Why did you have to inflict
so much pain on me? Do you know how close I was to losing it back then? If my mother
wasn’t around, I may not even be standing here today.
But in a twist of fate, her pain also brought her and her future husband together.
She smiled upon realizing this, thinking how lucky she was that Finnick appeared at the right
place and at the right time two years back.
Across her, the said man sniggered at the saga that had just unfolded. “This is just the
beginning. I’ll be sure to deal with Mark too and make him pay.”
“Mm,” Vivian responded with relief that she was on the same side as Finnick. After all, the
man was merciless when it came to revenge, as evident.
“Okay, the show’s over. Let’s dig in!” There was no trace of sympathy or guilt in the man’s
countenance. It was almost as if executing all these ploys was a mere walk in the park.
The waiter noted Finnick’s signal and came over to take the couple’s orders. “… And we’ll get
this. Thanks. Also, do you mind getting that hysterical lady out of the restaurant? It’s kind of
annoying.”
“I’ll see to it, Mr. Norton.”
In a moment’s time, Ashley was evicted from the premise despite great reluctance. The lady
screamed her lungs out like a patient from the mental hospital—a stark contrast from her
usual elegant appearance.
Vivian’s mind wheeled in a flurry of emotions as she had her meal. On one hand, she wanted
Ashley to feel the agony she felt in the past. On the other hand, she could not help but feel
taken aback by how cruel Finnick could be. After all, the man took away what Ashley needed
the most. It was equivalent to switching off her life support.
By the time she reached home, Vivian felt nothing but lethargy.
On the following day, Vivian had an errand—conducting an interview with the popular
designer, Elaine.
Elaine had her own work studio in a small alley located in the bustling city center, where the
land was considerably expensive to purchase.
When Vivian arrived, the first thing she noticed was the workplace’s classy décor. The sleek
design exuded a sense of sophistication. The next thing she realized was how relatively
empty the studio was that day.
She was soon directed to the meeting room upon arriving. Not before long, the star of the
interview arrived.
“Apologies for the wait, Ms. William.”
Elaine stepped into the room and greeted her. The designer boasted a clean shoulder-length
hairstyle that complemented the outline of her face aptly. Her outfit for the day was a simple
white formal top and wide-cut black pants, giving off an air of elegance that resembled the
workplace’s interior design. To top it off, the lady had a pleasant voice that suited her
unmatched beauty.
Vivian was awed by how she looked even more charming in real life as compared to the
photos she saw online. No compliments could sufficiently justify the living perfection she
was seeing.
And her portfolio is amazing! Whoever marries her in the future must be extremely lucky. If I
were a man, I would marry her without hesitation too. She’s simply the cream of the crop
amongst all the beauties there are out there.
Though, an odd sense of déjà vu bothered her. Vivian thought Elaine looked familiar, but she
could not pinpoint how she could have ever met her before.
Moreover, if Vivian did meet Elaine before, she would definitely have an impression of her,
given how unforgettable she looked.
I need to stop my overthinking.
“No worries, I’ve just arrived. Nice to meet you, I’m Vivian William.”
“Glad to meet you too, Ms. William. I’m very honored to be interviewed by you. Do call me
Elaine.”
“It’s more of my honor to be able to talk to you, Elaine.”
Following the courteous exchange, the pair settled down. Vivian quickly got down to work
by fishing out her notepad of questions and began the interview.
It was a short question-and-answer kind of interview. The questions ranged from asking
about her recent achievements, her ideal type, and how satisfied she was with her life
currently.
Elaine answered every question thoughtfully without a hint of impatience, unlike some other
celebrities Vivian had interviewed before. This made Vivian even more certain that Elaine
was the definition of perfection.
When the questioning ended, Vivian took out her camera, intending to snap some shots. It
was a common practice.
But Elaine refused. “Sorry, I have to decline.”
“Why?” Vivian was perplexed, though she still kept her camera away out of respect and
professionalism.
“Now is not the time yet,” came her cryptic reply. Her tone sounded different when she said
that. The smile plastered on her face seemed less genuine than before too.
Vivian immediately felt a sense of foreboding, as if something was going to go terribly

wrong and rob her of her happiness soon.
But she was unable to read between the lines to figure out what the lady was implying. Or
perhaps, she subconsciously refused to read deeper into her response, fearing that the truth
might break her.
“Why did you specify me as your interviewer?” Vivian finally could not contain her curiosity
any longer.
Elaine smiled at the inquiry as if she long expected her to ask.
With tell-tale honesty, she replied, “I’m interested in the president of the Finnor Group, and
heard that you’re his wife.” Her polite smile never left her face.
“Ah. I see.”
Vivian twitched slightly at her answer. Interested in Finnick? What does she mean? A love
rival? Vivian shuddered at the thought. If so, there’s no way I can compare to her.
But she quickly caught herself and her spiraling thoughts. What are you thinking? Finnick
loves you. Don’t ever doubt that.
Vivian took a quick breath and recollected her thoughts. Maybe she just admires Finnick for
his charm and capabilities, that’s all.
Before Vivian could continue, Elaine asked, “Are you guys doing fine? How’s the marriage?”
“We’re doing well. Finnick is very nice to me. I love him, and he returns the affection without
qualms.” For a moment, Vivian felt like she was a teenager talking about her first boyfriend.
“I see. I’ve heard of the V.M Fund set up by the Finnor Group. He must really love you.”
Vivian noticed a lace of sadness when she said that. “Elaine, I believe you have someone
who loves you as much. You’re so lovely after all.”
Elaine looked up and noticed Vivian with a smile that was meant to be comforting. But
unbeknownst to the lady, all Elaine could feel was a sense of irritation. Nevertheless, she did
not let it show. “Actually, I do have someone like that. I love him a lot, and he’s very nice to
me.”
“Who is it?” asked Vivian almost instantly out of immense curiosity. This was news to her.
“All I can reveal to you is that we’re temporarily not together for now. But I’m certain that I
still have a place in his heart. I would like to believe that I’m irreplaceable and that I would
always be his true love. Do I sound really inane saying this, Ms. William?” Elaine responded
with a smile that did not reach her eyes.
Vivian sensed her reluctance to elaborate further. Nevertheless, she offered her
reassurance. “You’re an amazing lady. I believe that your partner still loves you deeply.”
“I hope so. You’re so lucky, Ms. William. I believe many other ladies, myself included, are
really envious of what you have.”
Vivian chuckled at her seemingly playful tease. “Everyone will meet their Mr. Right one day.
Trust the workings of fate.”
Elaine sighed, “Everyone may be able to meet their Mr. Right one day, but not everyone can
go on to have a blissful relationship afterward. Unlike you, Ms. William.”
“But I believe that what’s yours will be yours. Everyone will get their deserved happiness
eventually.”
Vivian smiled amusedly at the statement. “I sure hope so.”
When the interview officially ended that day, Elaine gifted Vivian an exquisite bottle of
perfume as a note of thanks. It had no label on it, but Vivian could tell that it was likely very
expensive.
There was no way she could take such a costly gift.
“It’s too much, Elaine! I can’t accept it.”
The designer patted her shoulder. “Treat it as me showing affection for a newfound friend.
Unless you don’t want to be acquainted with me?”
“Of course I do!” Then, after some hesitation, she continued, “If that’s the case, I’ll take the
gift. Thank you very much for your generosity.”
“It’s more like I’m glad that you’re willing to be my friend,” replied Elaine.
“No, it’s my pleasure instead.”

Elaine laughed. “Alright, this conversation would never end if we continue like this. By the
way, do you mind if we exchange numbers?”
“Of course! And please call me Vivian.”
And thus, Vivian headed home that day with a new number saved in her phone.
When she was home, she took out the bottle of perfume and looked at it more closely, but
there was nothing more she understood about it besides the fact that it probably cost a
kidney.
Though, after tentatively spraying it on herself, she immediately fell in love with the alluring
yet mild scent. Truly the infallible taste of a talented designer.
In the evening, Finnick returned home to a busy Vivian working in the kitchen, trying to cook
up a big feast.
“Welcome back,” she greeted from the kitchen as she prepared the last dish on the menu.
Finnick admired the apron-clad lady from afar as a surge of happiness warmed him from
within. To return home to someone who would be there for you, to take care of you, was a
luxury that Finnick cherished greatly.
Spurred by his sudden joy, he strode into the kitchen, wrapped his arms around Vivian’s
waist, and buried his head into the crook of her neck like a child.
But all of sudden, Finnick jolted and pushed the lady away.
“Hey! What are you doing?” Vivian was bewildered by the response.
“Why do you smell like that?”
Vivian frowned apprehensively. “Like what? I simply wore some perfume.”
Finnick asked in an even more serious tone, “Why the sudden perfume? I thought you didn’t
indulge in such things?”
“The perfume is a gift from an interviewee today. I thought it seemed pretty nice, so I tried it
on. What’s wrong?”
Finnick asked another question instead, “What brand is the perfume?”
“I don’t know… I’m not an expert on this,” Vivian said, cocking her head to the side and
glancing at Finnick with a pout.
“Alright,” Finnick began, forcing himself to stay calm for Vivian’s sake. “I don’t really like this
smell. Can you wash it off?”
Vivian could tell that something was off with him, but she decided not to point it out.
When she disappeared into the bathroom, Finnick raised a hand to pinch his brows together
before looking into the distance with a sigh.
Meanwhile, Vivian freshened herself up with a shower and stepped out to look at herself in
the mirror. The sight of Finnick pushing her away replayed in her mind, and she was beyond
disappointed.
What’s up with him today? He’s never been so cold towards me…
Is there something wrong with the perfume that Elaine gave me? Why is he reacting like
that?
She took a deep breath to calm herself down as the questions poured into her head like a
tsunami. Should I ask him about it? What if he doesn’t want to tell me?
She splashed some cold water onto her face to clear her thoughts. Maybe I shouldn’t… it’ll
only sour our relationship. I’ll find out the truth soon enough.
She walked out of the bathroom to put on a set of pajamas and noticed that Finnick was no
longer standing in the living room.
“Finnick? Finnick!” she called, only to receive no reply.

Panicking a little, she rushed to the balcony and found him standing there while staring into
the distance.
He stood with his back facing Vivian and his hands in his pockets, looking completely lost in
his own world.
Vivian’s uneasiness only grew at the sight of him acting like that. Is something bad going to
happen?
After a moment of hesitation, she walked up to face him and held his ice-cold hands to
warm them up. “What’s wrong? It’s cold out here. You should go in before you catch a cold.”
Finnick blinked in surprise and met her eyes. “It’s fine. I’m just worried about the company.”
Vivian could tell that he was lying. Since when did he ever face any difficulties at work?
“Can you tell me what happened today? You seem… “
“I’m fine, Vivian,” Finnick said, cutting her off. “It’s time for dinner. Let’s see if your cooking
skills have gotten any better!”
Vivian grimaced, but she decided not to probe any further.
As the days passed after that, Vivian’s life returned to normal. She was not a celebrity, and
most people forgot about her as quickly as the rumors came.
However, she could not help but wonder where Ashley had gone after that encounter with
her at the restaurant.
That’s strange… she should have gone to the magazine company to find Fabian and throw a
temper tantrum by now! Whatever. Nothing’s better than having a peaceful life.
That afternoon, Vivian noticed a man staring at her as she waited for a cab by the roadside.
The man looked away hurriedly when she noticed him, and shuffled into a nearby coffee
shop as quickly as he could.
Vivian raised an eyebrow. I don’t think it was an accident. Is he stalking me?

She shook her head vehemently. No… stop thinking so much, Vivian! You don’t even know
him! Why would he follow you out of nowhere? It must have been a coincidence…
Vivian looked away when her cab came and decided not to think of it any further.
The next day, she woke up to Finnick putting on his tie in front of the mirror, already awake
and freshened up.
“You’re up early today,” she said with a hint of bewilderment. Usually, Finnick would wake up
at the same time as her and take her to work in his car.
He walked over to the bedside and sat down. “I need to go to the office early today for some
urgent matters. Can you go to work by yourself?”
“Sure. Go ahead,” she said.
Finnick smiled and planted a light kiss on her forehead. “Sweet dreams,” he said before
walking out of the door.
Vivian managed to get another hour of shut-eye before she got up to go to work.
Much to her surprise, a cab was already waiting for her outside the gates when she exited
the neighborhood.
Cabs were a rare sight in the high-end neighborhood, and she could not help but smile at
how lucky she was.
She raised an arm to signal to the driver that she wanted to get on. “Subway station, please.”
After a while of cruising along the road, Vivian began to notice that something was wrong.
“Sir, this isn’t the way to the subway station…” she said, only to receive no reply from the
driver.
She gasped. I’m in danger!
“Sir! Let me out! Stop the car!” she screamed, but the driver ignored her completely.
She tried to pry open the door, but the driver had locked it before they even set off.
“Hey! Let me out!” she screamed, reaching forward and grabbing the steering wheel in a
desperate attempt to escape.
However, the driver simply sighed in exasperation and whacked her head with a stick. A
white-hot streak of pain coursed through her veins just before she passed out.
Vivian woke up after what seemed like ages to her muscles screaming in pain. The wound
on her head seemed to have scabbed over, but it was still immensely painful whenever she
moved. Not only that, her hands and feet were bound tightly, making it impossible for her to
stand up.
She looked around frantically, trying to make sense of her situation. The place she was in
seemed like an abandoned building’s rooftop, which confused her.
Vivian tried to break free of her restraints. I need to escape… something bad might happen
to me here if I don’t!
Suddenly, the door to the rooftop opened, and she froze the moment she caught sight of the
person who walked in.
“You again? What do you want?” she snapped at the person.
“What do I want? What do you think I want after you ruined my life? I just want revenge! I
want you to suffer, my dear sister!”
The person who came in was none other than Ashley, and she was the one who sent the cab
to bring Vivian here.
Ashley had turned into a disheveled mess since their last meeting, and Vivian wondered if
she had even bothered to shower over the past few days. Her face was a ghastly white, and
she had since lost the elegance she used to have.
Vivian blinked to stay calm as she stared into Ashley’s dim eyes. “Let me go. You’ll never
hear the end of this from Finnick if you don’t.”
However, Ashley simply threw her head back and burst into laughter the moment she heard
her words.
After a while, her laughter died down, and she lowered her head to glare at Vivian. “Tell him
to come at me, Vivian! I’m not scared of him! You’re the one who ruined my life and took
everything away from me! If not for you, Mom would still be safe at home, Dad’s company
wouldn’t have gone bankrupt, and I would still be the renowned young mistress of the Miller
family! Fabian would still love me!”
“That’s irrelevant. I’ve already broken up with Fabian,” Vivian blurted instinctively.
“It’s not! It’s your fault Fabian is so head-over-heels in love with you! Why else would he
abandon me?” Ashley screamed. “Everyone I love is gone! What’s the point of living
anymore?”
With that, she stumbled onto the railing, much to Vivian’s horror. “What are you doing? Stop
that right now!” she shouted.
Ashley had been immensely mean to her over the years, but they were half-sisters after all.
The last thing Vivian wanted was to watch her sister fall to her death.
Ashley stopped for a moment upon hearing Vivian’s voice, and she turned around to glare at
her with much hatred in her eyes. “Oh, how could I have forgotten about you? You’re the
reason for all my suffering! I’m dragging you down to hell too!”
With that, Ashley strode over like a predator, and Vivian began to struggle against her
restraints to no avail.
In the end, Ashley scooped up Vivian in her arms and walked back to the railings. “We’re
going down together, Vivian!” she shrieked maniacally.
Her voice attracted the attention of passers-by on the streets below. A man looked up and
pointed them out to his friend. “Hey! What are those two people doing up there?”
“Huh? Why would there be people on the roof?” his friend scoffed before he looked up and
gasped. “Wait… what are they doing there? Could they be… “
“Call the police!” the man shouted as he whipped out his phone. “Hello, is this the police?
Someone’s about to jump off a building here. Please hurry!”
As he barked into the phone, more people began to gather under the building where Ashley
and Vivian were at.
“They look pretty young. What happened to them? Young people nowadays are so
weak-minded… “
“Wait… the girl on the left looks like she’s dragging the other girl along!”
“What? Is she trying to murder her? Where’s the police?”
“She looks pretty familiar.”
Suddenly, a girl in the crowd screamed in shock. “Isn’t that Vivian William, the wife of Finnick
Norton? Is it really her?”
The crowd gasped in unison.
“Finnick Norton? The one from Finnor Group? That’s his wife?”
“It sure does look like her… “
“Someone contact the news station! This is urgent!”
Within minutes, journalists and cameramen from various news stations have arrived at the
scene and were pushing and shoving to get to the front of the crowd.
Netizens were shocked by the news as well, and people began to speculate Ashely’s motive
behind Vivian’s kidnapping. Some said that she was Finnick’s mistress who wanted to
overthrow Vivian, while others insisted that she just wanted to extort money from Finnick.
Meanwhile, Noah rushed into Finnick’s office looking panicked. “Mr. Norton! Mrs. Norton is
in danger!”
“What?” Finnick yelled. He stood up abruptly from his chair, making the documents in his lap
spill onto the floor.
He brisk walked to Noah’s side and grabbed his shoulders. “What happened to Vivian? Tell
me now!”
“Mrs. Norton was kidnapped by Ashley Miller this morning, and she’s threatening to jump off
a building with her,” Noah reported.
Finnick was already walking out of the door before he could finish his sentence, and Noah
had to grab his hand to stop him before he could walk out without his wheelchair. “Mr.
Norton! You mustn’t let anyone find out that your legs aren’t injured!”
“Whatever,” Finnick spat as he broke free of Noah’s grasp.
“Mr. Norton!” Noah yelled after him, but Finnick was already entering the lift. He could only
sigh and chase after him with the wheelchair in tow.
Finnick clenched his fists tightly. Ashley… how dare you hurt her! You’re going to pay for this!
Meanwhile, the police have arrived at the scene.
“Listen to me, girl. Can you come here? It’s dangerous over there,” a policewoman said
tactfully. “Think about your family. They would want you to be home safe, wouldn’t they? Be
a good girl and come here.”
However, her calming words seemed to have the opposite effect on Ashley. “My family?
What family? I’m the only one left! No one cares about me anymore!”
She gripped Vivian’s waist tightly and started to drag her over to the railing. “You’re the one
who took everything away from me! You’re going down with me!”
“H-Hey! I’ve never taken anything from you before,” Vivian protested weakly. “Dad and your
mother loved you, and you’ve got all the pretty clothes and toys that I don’t. I’m jealous of
you, don’t you know that? Anyway, I can ask Finnick to help you and Miller Group rise from
the ashes again. You can get everything back!”
She peered over the railing at the hundred-meter drop to the ground and shivered violently.
Even so, she tried her best to calm Ashley down so that neither of them would end up falling
to their deaths.
“That’s right. I had everything that you didn’t, but what about now?” Ashley yelled. “You’ve
become the wife of Finnor Group’s president, while I’ve lost everything! How could you?”
With that, she shoved Vivian onto the railing, leaving half her body dangling from the side of
the roof dangerously. Screams could be heard from down below as Vivian tried her best to
keep her balance.
That was the first thing Finnick witnessed when he rushed onto the roof, and he could feel
his heart clench in fear. Noah followed him closely while lugging the wheelchair along, and
he finally managed to grab Finnick just before he could emerge from the stairwell.
“Mr. Norton! You can’t let others see you like this! Think about how far you’ve come!” Noah
said desperately.
Finnick hesitated before he relented and sat down on the wheelchair.
As Noah wheeled him onto the roof, Finnick gasped in shock at just how perilous Vivian’s
situation was.
Her entire upper body was hanging off the railing, and she was holding on to a metal ring
protruding from it for dear life.
However, it was rather obvious that she could not hang on for much longer.
Finnick could feel his throat tighten and face paling from fear.
He had never been so scared for someone else’s life before, and he could not fathom how
he was going to live without Vivian around.
It reminded him how desperate he had been when he could not find Evelyn in the fire a
decade ago, but the fear in his heart as he watched Vivian grapple for her life was much,
much stronger.
I can’t lose her! I can’t let her leave me like this!
He pushed himself forward and yelled at Ashley, “Calm down! I’ll do anything for you as long
as you let her go!”
Ashley whirled around upon hearing his voice. “You! I hate you! You took everything away
from me!” she shrieked.
“Yeah, that’s right, I was the one who ruined your life. She’s got nothing to do with this,”
Finnick said, gesturing to Vivian. “Let her go, and I promise I’ll invest in Miller Group and
restore their former glory. I’ll also send someone to bring your mother back. I’ll do anything
you ask as long as you let her go!”
“Are you serious?” Ashley asked tentatively.
If she had her mother by her side, her life would take a huge step towards normalcy again.
She began to wonder if Fabian would return to her side once that happened.
“Of course. I never make empty promises. Besides, everyone is watching us here. Can you
come here for a moment?” Finnick said reassuringly.
“I want to meet Fabian! Now!” Ashley demanded.
“Alright, alright. I’ll call him right now,” Finnick said. “Don’t move.”
He took out his phone and dialed Fabian’s number. “Where are you? Get over here now!”
“Huh?” Fabian said, confused. “What’s wrong?”
He was not feeling well that day and decided to take a day off from work, so he had yet to
hear of the kidnapping.
“Ashley kidnapped Vivian and threatened to jump off a building with her. She wants to see
you, so you’d better come soon!” Finnick shouted into the phone.
Fabian jumped when Finnick raised his voice, but there was no time for questions. “Alright,
I’ll be there soon,” he said, before hanging up the phone and dashing out of the house.
Twenty minutes later, Fabian arrived at the scene by car, and he shivered when he saw
Vivian dangling from the railing dangerously.
He still loved her, and he had broken up with her because of certain misunderstandings.
Now that he knew the truth, he regretted everything. Ashley must have kidnapped Vivian
because of me…
He grimaced. Am I only capable of hurting you, Vivian?
“That’s enough, Ashley. Can you let her go? We can go home after this,” Fabian said gently.
“Can you promise me something, Fabian?” Ashley asked, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Can you marry me and love me forever? Don’t you know how much I loved you from the
moment I set my eyes on you? Vivian is nothing but an illegitimate child, so she’ll never
compare to me or you. I will do whatever it takes to keep you by my side, Fabian. No one
else loves you as much as I do, Fabian!”
Everything she had done was for his sake, but he somehow refused to acknowledge it.
Fabian hesitated as he glanced at Vivian, who was just minutes away from plunging to her
death. “Alright, fine. Let’s get married.”
“Really, Fabian? Really?” Ashley chirped.
“Yes, I promise. I just need you to let Vivian go,” Fabian said.
Ashley’s face fell the moment he spoke those last few words. “You’re lying, Fabian. You’re
lying to me! You just want to save Vivian, don’t you? You still love her, don’t you Fabian?”
Fabian fell silent, and to Ashley, silence meant consent.
She stared at him desperately as tears ran down her cheeks.
“What’s so good about her? She’s not worthy of you, for goodness’ sake!” Ashley yelled as
she inched towards the railing. “Alright then, I’ll drag her down to hell with me!”
“Stop!” Finnick yelled in horror as Vivian’s fingers began to slip off the metal ring she was
holding on to. Why didn’t you settle this once and for all, Fabian? Why must you leave her
behind like this?
He turned to Ashley and said, “Take me hostage and let her go.”
Everyone turned to stare at him in shock.
“Mr. Norton! You can’t do that!” Noah yelled as his heart raced.
He was worried for Vivian, but the last thing he wanted was for something bad to happen to
Finnick too. What if something happened to him? He can’t just sacrifice himself for Mrs.
Norton’s sake!
Finnick glanced at Noah as a signal to stop talking.
“What? You’re willing to take Vivian’s place?” Ashley said in mild confusion. She stopped
trying to push Vivian over the railing to stare at Finnick.
“Yes, that’s right. I’m the president of Finnor Group and the second son of the Norton family.
I’m worth much more than Vivian. You can ask for anything from Finnor Group and the
Norton family if you take me hostage. Trust me!” he pleaded. “Besides, didn’t I say that
everything that happened to you had nothing to do with Vivian? Didn’t you say that I was the
one who ruined your life?”
As Finnick spoke, he slowly wheeled himself over to the two women. “You can ask for
anything you want once you take me hostage. You can even throw me off this building if you
want to take revenge. See my legs? I won’t be able to fight back even if I wanted to.”
Ashley stood rooted to the ground in shock and failed to notice how Finnick was just a
couple of steps away from them.
As for Vivian, she was equally bewildered by Finnick’s words.
The last thing she had expected to see was Finnick panicking for her sake and putting her
life above his own.
What did I ever do to deserve him?
“Do you love her so much that you’re willing to sacrifice yourself for her?” Ashley muttered
before she threw her head back and let out a laugh. “Why do all of you love her? She’s just a
mere bastard!”
She reached out and pinched Vivian’s neck between her fingers. “Are you trying to save her?
Do you really think I’ll let you succeed? She’s dying with me today, and you’ll live in regret for
the rest of your sorry lives!”
Ashley looked up to meet Fabian’s eyes, her gaze ablaze with hatred. “All I ever wanted was
to become your wife, but what about you? All you think about is Vivian William! I’m going to
kill her right now!”
With that, she grabbed Vivian’s arm and pulled her over the edge of the railing.
“No!” Fabian yelled as the police rushed forward to grab them before they could fall.
Unbeknownst to Ashley, Finnick had gotten within grabbing distance when she was too busy
being shell-shocked, and he stood up from his wheelchair the moment they toppled
backward to pull Vivian back to safety.
By the time Vivian managed to stand up straight, Ashley was already gone from their view.
Finally relieved of Ashley’s iron grip, Vivian began to cough violently in a desperate attempt
to breathe.
“Are you alright? Are you hurt?” Finnick asked frantically as he untied the ropes around
Vivian’s arms and legs.
He held her close as he tried to calm himself down as well.
“I’m… fine…” Vivian stammered between coughs.
As they shared an intimate moment together, the onlookers stared at Finnick in shock and
disbelief.
“Who pulled Vivian away from the railing just now?” “Is it Finnick?” “I thought his legs were
injured?” “How was he able to stand up and run?”
The onlookers fell into a confused silence.
Vivian and Finnick noticed the strange silence around them as well. Noticing that everyone
was staring at his supposedly injured legs, Vivian began to worry for him. “Finnick, your
legs… “
“It’s fine, don’t worry,” Finnick said quietly. “No need to worry about me.”
Vivian could feel her heart filling up with warmth, but a look at the streets below was made
it go cold again.
Even though Ashley had been the source of her suffering over the years and even tried to kill
her just moments ago, Vivian was devastated by her death nonetheless.
She recalled how Ashley had looked down upon her all those years ago, clad in a frilly,
sparkly dress like a princess.
Those memories remained fresh in her mind even after so many years, yet she could not
bring herself to celebrate her despicable half-sister’s death.
Just seconds later, she went boneless in Finnick’s arms, overwhelmed by grief and shock.
“Vivian! Vivian, wake up!” Finnick yelled desperately, but she did not respond to his pleas.
He grimaced and picked her up bridal style before heading towards the exit. “Noah, get the
car! We’re going to the hospital!”
“Yes, Mr. Norton!” Noah replied. He must have had his own reasons to stop acting crippled…
After Finnick and Vivian disappeared from view, the onlookers began to chatter amongst
themselves loudly.
“Wasn’t Finnick crippled? Since when he could walk on his own?”
“How ridiculous! There’s no way his legs healed that fast!”
“Is that wheelchair just a prop? Man, I wish I knew how what’s going on in all those rich
people’s minds… “
The media personnel, on the other hand, were going crazy from excitement. Not only did
they manage to catch a kidnapping on live TV, but they also found out that Finnick Norton of
Finnor Group had not been handicapped after all. Both news would send a massive
shockwave across the country, and there was no reason why they should not report on
them.
Within just a few hours, Finnick and Vivian’s names were trending on Twitter and other
online platforms, and almost everyone from Sunshine City had heard of the news.
By the time Vivian woke up, it was already midnight. She looked around and realized that
she was in the hospital.
She glanced to the side to see Finnick sound asleep with his head resting on her bedside,
though it was rather obvious that his inner demons were coming out to haunt him in his
dreams. His brows were locked in a deep frown and his lips were tightly pursed together.
Vivian tried to raise her hand to smooth them out, but she could not summon the strength to
do so.
The last thing she wanted was to wake him up from his slumber.
“Vivian, Vivian… “Finnick muttered in his sleep, obviously shaken by the events of the
previous day.
“It’s fine, Finnick,” she cooed, reaching out to stroke his hair. “I’m right here… “
However, Finnick’s eyes flew open the moment her hand came into contact with his head.
They made eye contact for a second before Finnick pulled her into his embrace.
The hug was gentle at first, but as time passed, it began to get suffocating. Vivian could feel
her ribs digging into her lungs, and she had to claw at his chest in an attempt to break free.
“Finnick, let me go… “
Unfortunately, he simply held on tighter.
“Finnick… it hurts… “
Finnick let go of her slowly the moment he heard those words.
She leaned into his chest in silence, noticing how he was still trembling.
“What’s wrong, Finnick?” she asked.
He was silent for a moment before he said, “Promise me you won’t leave me ever again.”
He looked up to meet her eyes, and the amount of love and affection in his gaze made her
heart ache.
It was as though he was pleading for her to stay by his side, and there was no way she could
bear to let him down.
Before she knew it, she had already planted a light kiss on his eyelid. “I promise I won’t leave
you ever again.”
Just as her lips left his eyelid, he lunged forward and pressed his lips against hers, albeit a
little hurriedly. It was as though he was trying to consume her and keep her safe inside of
him.
Instead of flinching away, Vivian reciprocated the kiss passionately. Both of them felt much
better after that.
Vivian was suddenly reminded of how he had stood up from his wheelchair to save her, and
she frowned at him worriedly. “How are you going to tell everyone that your legs aren’t
injured? It’s all my fault that… “
It’s all my fault that Ashley managed to kidnap me and drag us both into that mess. If not for
her carelessness, Finnick’s secret would have remained a secret.
She could not imagine what Mark would do to Finnick if he heard of the news.
Finnick seemed to read her mind, and he pulled her into his embrace. “It’s fine. I’ve been
wanting to make it public anyway. I can’t keep faking it, can I?”
He smiled as he gazed into her eyes. “Don’t worry, I’ve planned this out. I won’t let them take
advantage of me.”
“What are you planning to do?” Vivian asked.
“I’ll call for a press conference tomorrow to explain everything,” he said.
“Do I need to be there?” Vivian asked. She wanted to support him through the process.
“No need, you need time to rest and recover. I’ll go there myself,” he answered. “I just want
you to be safe, not swept up in my messy matters.”
“I’m feeling fine, really!” Vivian said hurriedly. “I was just a bit scared, that’s all.”
“Take care of yourself and don’t worry about me,” Finnick said. “You can watch the
livestream tomorrow.”
“Alright then,” Vivian said with a nod. She did not want him to worry about her too, and she
decided to stay put.
The next morning, they had breakfast together in the hospital room before Finnick left to go
to the press conference.
Meanwhile, Vivian’s colleagues from the magazine company arrived to visit her.
“Are you alright, Vivian?” Sarah asked the moment she entered the room with worry etched
on her face.
“Shush! You’re being too loud!” Jenny chided. “Vivian needs to rest!”
“That’s right, Sarah. I’m sure you don’t want Vivian’s condition to worsen, right?” another
colleague said with a chuckle.
Sarah turned red in the face. “Was I being too loud?” she whispered to Vivian.
“You’re not, don’t worry,” Vivian said with a light laugh. “I’m fine, everyone. Thanks for
coming all the way here to visit me.”
“We’re really sorry for badmouthing you, Vivian,” a colleague who spread rumors about her
cheating on Finnick said sheepishly. “Please forgive us. We were misinformed.”
“Yeah, Vivian, please forgive us! We used to have our misgivings about Mr. Norton, but now
that it’s revealed that he wasn’t crippled to begin with, those rumors won’t last! We’re all
really happy for you!” Sarah said.
Vivian stared at Sarah in confusion. “Hm? How did you know about that?”
“Wait… haven’t you heard? Everyone’s going crazy on Twitter!” Sarah said, whipping out her
phone to show her the trending hashtags of the day.
Vivian took Sarah’s phone and scrolled through the posts, only to be shocked by the sheer
number of comments on Finnick’s non-existent disability.
Vivian tapped on a random hashtag to take a look, and she was met with millions of love
confessions from Finnick’s fans.
One comment read: Oh my god! He’s not handicapped? He’s perfect!
Another read: I feel so sorry for Mrs. Norton… can I marry him in my next life?
The reply to that comment was: Don’t be sad! Let’s pretend that we’re Mrs. Norton tonight!
There were also several comments from men that pleaded with Finnick to stop stealing the
ladies’ hearts.
A smile spread across Vivian’s face as she scrolled through the comments. The rumors
might have been baseless, but they have hurt her deeply nonetheless.
Now that the truth had been unveiled, she felt as though a weight had been lifted off her
chest.
“Oh, isn’t Mr. Norton having a press conference this morning? The livestream should be
starting soon,” someone blurted.
Vivian glanced at the time and noticed that there was only half an hour left to the press
conference. “Yeah, it should be starting in about half an hour’s time.”
“We’ll watch it with you!” Sarah said before picking up the remote on the bedside table and
switching on the TV. “Hey! Look! It’s starting!”
“Is he your husband or something?” someone scoffed, making everyone burst into laughter.
“I’m not as lucky as Vivian, you see! Can’t you let me indulge myself for a while?” Sarah
protested.
Vivian shook her head with a smile, and the laughter soon died down as Finnick walked
onstage.
Finnick, clad in a grey suit, stood up straight in front of the cameras, sending surprised
gasps bouncing through the crowd. Vivian’s colleagues stared at him with wide eyes.
“He’s so handsome! You’re so lucky, Vivian!” Sarah exclaimed, winking at Vivian.
“Yeah! Why don’t you tell us about how cool he is?”
Vivian’s face turned red as her colleagues teased her playfully. That was the first time she
saw him standing in public, and she was struck by how tall and lean his body looked.
Finnick was led to his seat by his bodyguard, and he picked up the microphone placed in
front of him on the table.
“Greetings, everyone. The purpose of this press conference is to explain some things
regarding myself and my wife, so as to dispel the rumors that have been circulating around
recently,” he began. “Firstly, I’m sure everyone’s very curious about my background, which I
did not intend to hide from the public eye in the first place. I chose not to disclose it
because I did not want to attract unnecessary attention to my family, and most importantly, I
did not want my intentions to be misunderstood. As for the truth, I am actually the second
son of the Norton family.”
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“Why did you fake your disability then, Mr. Norton?” a journalist asked out of curiosity.
“We would like to know why too!”
“Has it got something to do with the fire ten years ago?”
The journalists could tell that there was a reason behind Finnick’s fake disability, and they
were dying to know it.
Usually, no journalist would dare to take the initiative to speak during press conferences
with Finnor Group, but the journalist who spoke first gave other journalists the courage to
speak up as well.
Finnick seemed rather calm despite the onslaught of questions. “Yes, I am indeed healthy,
but I have my own reasons for faking my disability. I do not wish to discuss this in public,
and I hope you understand.”
The journalists nodded in acceptance, but as experienced reporters and writers, they knew
perfectly well what the possible reasons were.
However, they also knew that they did not have the right to get themselves involved in the
business of prominent families.
Finnick cleared his throat and continued his speech. “There’s another thing I would like to
talk about. Those rumors from two years ago are all baseless, malicious claims. Ashley
Miller was the one who made them up to ruin my wife’s reputation, and I’ve submitted the
relevant evidence to the police. I’m sure justice will be served soon.”
He chuckled as something popped into his mind. “By the way, we’re doing well as husband
and wife. The pregnancy rumors were untrue, but we’ve been trying nonetheless. Thank you
for your concern and your presence today.”
With that, he stood up and bowed to the journalists before leaving without another word.
Meanwhile, Vivian was going to combust from the second-hand embarrassment.
“Oh, what did he say? ‘We’ve been trying nonetheless?’” Jenny teased as Vivian buried
herself in her sheets.
“Jenny!” Vivian shouted, tossing a pillow at Jenny.
“We’re all adults anyway. What’s there to be embarrassed about?” someone said as the
crowd chuckled in unison.
After the press conference, netizens began to flood the Internet with awestruck comments
all over again.
Wow, he’s so protective of his wife!
I was going to lose hope in men, but he proved me wrong! Vivian William is so lucky!
I wish I could be his wife!
By the time Finnick returned to Vivian’s hospital room, she had already finished dinner and
was getting ready to go to sleep.
Instead of sleeping on the cot beside her bed, Finnick decided to share a bed with her.
Vivian chuckled as she thought about his closing statement during the press conference. “Is
Mark going to explode from anger because of what you said? Now everyone thinks he’s
getting you into trouble just to get the inheritance. I heard from my colleagues that his
company’s stocks plummeted after the press conference!”
“Of course,” Finnick said gently, though his eyes had a sharp glint in them. “Serves him right,
though.”
“Do you really hate him that much?” Vivian asked out of curiosity. “He’s your brother, after
all.”
“Of course I do. I’ll never forgive him for what he did to me a decade ago and for what he did
to you.”
“What?” Vivian exclaimed. “What did he do to you a decade ago?”

Was he responsible for that fire ten years ago?
Vivian’s face flushed scarlet. She felt a little awkward when Samuel said that in front of the
doctors.
At the same time, she was doubtful as well. Since she and Finnick were long married, she
should’ve gotten pregnant by now.
Actually, she had always wanted to have a baby with Finnick. To her, they would only be
complete as a family with a child’s presence. Thus, she readily agreed with Samuel’s
suggestion.
Half an hour later, Vivian was done with the check-up with the assistance of three doctors.
One of the doctors told them, “The result will only come out a few days later. Please give us
a moment.” He bowed at Samuel before leading the rest of the doctors out of the ward.
Seeing that there were only the two of them left, Vivian spoke up, “Grandpa, I need you to do
me a favor.”
“Oh? What is it that you want me to help you with? Just say it, I will do anything for you,”
Samuel agreed to her request without any hesitation.
“Thank you, Grandpa. Actually, I wanted to ask you to look into the kidnapping incident that
happened ten years ago. I think there must be something we don’t know about it.”
Samuel’s face turned grim. “Why do you say so?” he asked seriously.
“Grandpa, you’re the one who raised Finnick; you know him better than anyone else. Do you
think he is someone who would abandon Evelyn, leaving her to die? I don’t believe it. That’s
why I hope you can investigate the incident. I don’t want Finnick to live his life with guilt, and
I wish to help him to let go of his past.”
Hearing that, Samuel was overwhelmed with mixed feelings. “You’re right. Finnick hasn’t
moved on after all these years. Don’t worry, leave it to me. I’ll get to the bottom of it.”
…
Vivian stayed in the hospital for two more days. After receiving positive check-up results,
Samuel finally agreed with her discharging herself from the hospital.
Vivian was bored to death during her stay in the hospital. It was a great pleasure to be
outdoors under the sun, breathing fresh air.
She was in such a good mood that everything around her seemed to look livelier. With a
light heart, she posted a tweet: Finally, I escaped from the hospital and got a taste of
freedom!
It wasn’t long after she posted the tweet when she received a call from Elaine. Why is she
calling me?
“Hello, Elaine? What’s up?” she asked.
“It’s nothing, actually. I saw your tweet just now, and I’m thinking of asking you to go
shopping. Are you free?” Elaine invited her over the phone.
“Yes. Actually, I’m thinking of going shopping as well. Where do we meet up?” Vivian
accepted Elaine’s invitation as that was exactly what she had in mind.
In no time, the two agreed on the meeting time and venue. Soon, they arrived at the largest
mall in the city.
“Vivian, do you like this dress?” asked Elaine, showing Vivian a white dress. “I think it suits
you a lot.”
Vivian turned to look at the dress Elaine was holding. Its cut was simple and elegant,
matched with a vintage cinch belt. Overall, the dress looked fashionable. However, there
was a deep-V at the back of the dress. Isn’t this low-back dress a little too revealing?
“I don’t usually wear this type of dress. I think it won’t look good on me.” Vivian had never
worn this type of princessy white dress before; she tended to wear a more conservative type
of clothing.
“Try it on. I believe you’ll look beautiful in it.” With that, Elaine pushed her toward the fitting
room.
Having no choice, Vivian gave in and took the dress from Elaine. “Fine. I’ll try it on.”
When she came out of the fitting room in the dress, Elaine exclaimed in awe, “Vivian, this
dress suits you perfectly! It’s like it’s custom-tailored for you. You must buy it, or I won’t let
you leave the shop.”
“Really?” Standing in front of the cheval mirror, Vivian felt weird to see herself in the dress.
The style of the dress didn’t suit her temperament at all. She felt like a weirdo in it.
“Of course! Don’t forget I’m a professional designer. Don’t you trust my opinion? I’ve picked
a few more dresses for you just now. Go and try them on!”
Elaine shoved a few dresses, in which their styles were similar to the one she was wearing,
into her arms.
Unwilling to dampen her spirits, Vivian agreed, “A-Alright.”
Elaine’s eyes followed Vivian as the latter entered the fitting room. At that instant, she curled
her lips into a mysterious smile while the mirth in her eyes disappeared.
Vivian tried the dresses one by one. Elaine commented that all of them looked nice on her
and asked her to purchase them, or she would buy them as gifts for her.
In the end, under Elaine’s persuasion, Vivian bought all the dresses that she tried on earlier.
After that, Elaine led her to the cosmetics store to shop for cosmetics.
She halted Elaine and said, “Elaine, I don’t need that many products. Usually, I only apply
light makeup.”
Elaine continued to pull her forward, disregarding her reluctance. “Oh, Vivian, it’s woman’s
nature to pursue beauty. How could you not spruce yourself up? “Besides, you’re Finnick’s
wife! Do you know how many young and beautiful ladies out there are throwing themselves
at your husband? You need to have some sense of awareness!”
Vivian shook her head in amusement. If Finnick only cared about looks, he wouldn’t even
marry her in the first place. Nevertheless, she was tempted by Elaine’s words. Every
woman would want to look their best for the man they loved; Vivian was no exception.
Under Elaine’s recommendation, she bought many cosmetic products that she wouldn’t
even consider buying in the past. Elaine even personally helped apply makeup for her.
Looking at Vivian’s reflection in the mirror, Elaine commented, “Vivian, you’re beautiful. I
was right; this makeup really suits you a lot. In the future, you can spruce yourself up like
how I taught you today. I guarantee Finnick will be stunned, and he’ll love you even more.”
The sales advisor concurred, “That’s true. Miss, your features are beautiful, and the makeup
has further accentuated your beauty.”
After shopping for the whole afternoon, Vivian bade Elaine goodbye and went home with a
handful of shopping bags.
Finnick hadn’t gotten off work when she arrived home. In the bedroom, she thought for a
while and decided to put on the white dress.
The belt was loosely tied around her waist, highlighting her slim waistline. One could catch
a glimpse or two of her back through her hair that cascaded down around her shoulder. She
looked innocent yet sexy. The exquisite makeup that Elaine helped apply on her face
matched perfectly with the dress.
The woman in the mirror looked so different from her usual self. Yet, Vivian must admit that
she looked gorgeous.
She couldn’t help taking another glance at herself in the mirror, her face flushed. Letting out
a deep breath, she went downstairs in cheerful steps.
As the clock pointed at half-past six, Vivian was growing anxious. Finnick usually comes
home before six. Why is he not back yet?
Just as she was about to give him a call, she heard the sound of the door unlocking.
“You’re back! Why are you so late today?” she asked.
Finnick, who was changing into slippers, let out a chuckle. “There’s a last-minute meeting
today. Why? Did you miss me?” he teased.
She retorted smilingly, “You wish!” Then, she approached the man to take his suit from him.
Although she could already guess Evelyn must be a stunner from Benedict’s charming
features, she was still struck by Evelin’s beauty in the video.
Vivian was not a stunner nor a talented person. In fact, she was an illegitimate child.
She was streets behind Evelyn in terms of their looks and family background. Everyone
could tell that the latter and Finnick were a perfect match. Now even she became doubtful
as well. Back then, what did Finnick even see in me?
To maintain a good working relationship, the other colleagues didn’t make any spiteful
remarks. Still, Vivian seemed to have seen the scorn and mockery hidden beneath their
eyes.
At that moment, she felt like a cheap imitation, unknowingly making a fool of herself.
She could take it no more, so she grabbed her purse and fled the office.
Soon she arrived home like a lost soul.
Finnick was still in the office while Mrs. Filder took a day off that day; she was the only one
in the empty house.
She threw herself onto the couch and wrapped herself in a blanket. Staring blankly into
space, she didn’t move for a long time.
After some time, she grabbed her phone and clicked on Twitter.
The first few trending topics all concerned Finnick, Evelyn, and her.
She found Finnick and Evelyn’s video and started playing it again and again. Their
interaction made her heart ache, but she just couldn’t move her eyes away from the screen.
As her finger accidentally swiped the screen, the netizens’ comments came into sight.
“Is this young lady Finnick’s ex? She looks beautiful!”

“Wow! She’s way more beautiful than Finnick’s wife. His taste in women sure has changed
a lot. Perhaps he’s sick of dating a goddess, and now he prefers an average woman?”
“Only a beauty like her makes a perfect match with Finnick. Vivian is only a gold-digger who
married Finnick to climb the social ladder!”
“Vivian should leave Finnick! Click like if you agree with me.”
Almost all comments were negative comments about her, saying she was not good enough
for Finnick.
It looks like to them, only the beautiful and smart Evelyn would be worthy of Finnick.
Unwilling to read more of those negative comments, Vivian decided to log out of Twitter.
Just then, she suddenly caught sight of a familiar profile picture and username.
She quickly clicked into Twitter again to see that the poster of the video was “Back to the
Past”.
Who is this account holder? Why does he have this video? From the viewpoint of the
camera, this video is surely not secretly recorded. Could he be Finnick and Evelyn’s friend?
But why is he targeting me?
With strings of questions in her mind, she sent a message to “Back to the Past”: Who are
you? Why did you post this video?
Soon, “Back to the Past” replied: Things are just about to get started. It’s time to set things
right.
Vivian was clueless as she sent another message: What do you mean? Who the hell are
you?
“Back to the Past”: You’ll find out soon. Be patient.
With that, “Back to the Past” went offline. Vivian continued sending messages, yet she
received no reply.
She threw her phone onto the couch in anger. At that moment, she felt like she was living
under surveillance. That person knew everything about her, but she had no idea who that
person was.
Restlessness crept onto her heart. It felt like she was about to lose something.
Right then, the sound of the door unlocking rang out.
She instantly knew it was Finnick. Instead of coming up to him to greet him as usual, she bit
her lip while remaining seated on the couch, her entire body trembling.
Finnick had the impression that no one was at home because the lights were off when he
opened the door. As he switched on the lights and walked to the living room, he spotted
Vivian on the sofa, sitting on her knees.
“What’s wrong?” He sensed that she seemed rather out of sorts.
Lowering her head, she ignored his question. Neither did she look at him nor give him an
answer.
He thought that some problems at work had caused her to be feeling blue. When he was
about to console her, he realized that she was still wearing the newly bought clothes from
the day before.
Finnick frowned and did not utter any comforting words. Instead, he commented, “Why are
you still wearing this kind of clothes? Don’t buy them ever again, the style doesn’t suit you at
all.”
Upon hearing that, Vivian could no longer hold back the anger and grievances buried in her
heart.
Big droplets of tears that she had been fighting back streamed down profusely from her
cheeks, forming a puddle on the leather sofa.
Turning to Finnick, she stared daggers at him. Her eyes were filled with rage and an
obstinate expression settled on her face.
“Does it not suit me?” Vivian said in a contemptuous tone, “Then, who do you think should
be wearing this? Evelyn?”
Finnick’s eyes flickered a little when he heard Evelyn’s name. Instead of answering her
question, he asked while wiping off the tears from her face, “What’s wrong with you today?”
“Those are the clothes that Evelyn likes, right?” Vivian pushed his hand away and stood up
from the sofa abruptly. “That’s why you said they don’t suit me.”
“What on earth is going on?” Annoyed and completely baffled as to why Vivian reacted that
way, Finnick raised his voice.
“You still like Evelyn, don’t you?” She looked at him straight in the eyes.
Upon being questioned, Finnick’s expression dimmed. He fell silent for a moment and then
locked eyes with Vivian. “That was in the past. The person that I like right now is you.”
“Why don’t you like me wearing this outfit? Wasn’t it because I look somewhat like her when
I put it on?”
So, it’s about the clothes. He pacified her patiently, “If you like that kind of fashion, I won’t
comment on it anymore. I’m sorry, okay?”
Ironically, Vivian did not accept his apology but was further enraged by it. “Finnick, do you
really think that it’s just about the outfit? You’ve never forgotten about Evelyn and always left
a place for her in your heart. Am I right?”
Seeing that she was not going to drop the topic easily, he looked at her, pressed his lips, and
kept quiet.
Finnick had never seen Vivian being so unreasonable before and had no clue how to
respond to the situation. In his mind, she was always a gentle and thoughtful girl.
It was Finnick’s first experience to have someone pointing fingers at him and putting words
in his mouth for no apparent reason. As an exceptionally proud man with high self-esteem,
he felt wronged but subconsciously would not humble himself to stoop any lower.
Following his lack of response, the room plunged into a pin-drop silence as the tension grew
thicker.
Buzz! Buzz!
The sound of a cell phone vibrating broke the stillness in the air. After taking a glance at his
phone, Finnick answered Noah’s call in an extremely low voice, “What is it?”
“Mr. Norton, it’s been reported that someone with ill-intentions is trying to acquire the
overseas branch. The manager would like you to make a trip there and discuss
countermeasures.” Noah sounded rather anxious and did not notice Finnick was in a bad
mood.
Moments later, he replied, “All right, you can come pick me up now.”
Perhaps it’s best to separate for the time being and let each other cool down.
Hanging up the phone, Finnick saw that Vivian was still glaring at him. He faltered and then
said, “The branch overseas is facing a problem which needs my immediate attention.”
Minutes passed, yet, she did not give him any response.
He opened his mouth and wanted to say something but changed his mind at the end. He
headed to the bedroom and packed his luggage.
Subsequently, he went downstairs, grabbed his jacket and strode to the door.
Putting on his shoes as he got ready to leave, Finnick turned to Vivian with a heavy heart.
“Vivian, Evelyn is already dead.” He left after leaving her with those words.
I have only you by my side to walk with me for the rest of my life. Evelyn was my past but
you’re my present and future. Don’t you understand all these, Vivian?
He did not express it explicitly to her.
Thereafter, Vivian collapsed onto the floor, crumbled on her knees and wailed her heart out.
That’s true. Evelyn’s dead. Why am I making her my imaginary rival?
She realized that she was being ridiculous. Finnick had never hidden anything from his past
from her. Moreover, Evelyn lost her life due to Finnick, so she should not have behaved the
way she did.
However, all of the things relating to Evelyn kept creeping up in her life. From her favorite
perfume, flower, fashion, to the news all over the Internet, the frequency of Evelyn appearing
in Vivian’s life was too high. She was going insane thinking about all these, especially
Finnick’s attitude toward the matter.
She frantically removed the clothes and chucked them into the trash can. She darted into
the bathroom and scrubbed herself harshly under the running shower. Hot or cold matter
felt nothing to her. All she wanted was to wash herself thoroughly clean from her tears
along with any possible traces of the impact Evelyn had on her.
Vivian came out after an hour. Dressed in her pajamas, she curled herself into a fetal
position. Scanning the spacious but empty room, she buried her head in between her knees
and broke down, wailing uncontrollably.
Not knowing how she fell asleep the night before, she was awoken by a series of phone
calls the next morning. None of it had a caller ID shown.
She picked it up and answered in a coarse voice, “Hello…”
“Vivian, is that you?” the other party tried to confirm her identity.
She propped herself up and cleared her throat before answering. “Oh yes, it’s me, Grandpa.
Anything?”
“Did you fall sick? You sound terrible.” Mr. Norton was worried.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, Grandpa.”
“Good to know that you’re fine. Young people must always take good care of yourself, all
right?” reminded Mr. Norton.
“I have some answers to what you wanted me to investigate. It’s hard to talk over the phone.
Why don’t you come over to my place so that I can tell you everything in person?” Mr. Norton
said in a serious tone.
Vivian was anxious to learn that more information about the kidnapping case had been
discovered. “Sure, Grandpa, I’ll be there in a jiffy.”
Hanging up the phone, Vivian pulled herself together, washed up, and rushed to the Norton
residence.
At the study room, Mr. Norton passed an envelope to her. “Have a seat and take a look at
this.”
She hurriedly emptied the envelope and scrutinized the information.
To her disbelief, she found out that there was evidence to show another person leaving the
fire scene besides Finnick.
However, there were only two of them at the scene. If Evelyn was dead whereas Finnick
made it out in time, then who was the other person?
“Grandpa, what’s going on?” She looked at Mr. Norton in confusion. “Why was there a third
person?”
He looked at Vivian and said, “Actually, the fire caused an explosion at that time and Evelyn’s
body was completely destroyed beyond recognition. It was also challenging to verify via
DNA testing. In the end, they confirmed that it was her from some remaining hairs found at
the scene.
“Therefore, it’s likely that it wasn’t Evelyn’s corpse that was found.”
His stare became sharp and resolute. If that’s the case, then it wasn’t just a clear-cut
kidnapping case ten years ago. There must have been more to it. I’ll find out who wanted to
harm my grandson deliberately and make them pay for it.
Post navigation
Vivian was shocked to the bone when she heard Mr. Norton’s suspicions. She wanted to say
something but did not know what to respond exactly. It was very hard for her to digest his
meaning.
Could it be that Evelyn is still alive? That’s impossible. If so, why did she disappear for so
long, allowing everyone to believe that she died in the fire?
But… what if she’s not dead? Will she return to Finnick if she’s still alive? When that happens,
what will Finnick do? What should I do? Multiple possibilities ran through Vivian’s head.
“It’s still under investigation. These are just speculations.” Seeing her lost in a daze, Mr.
Norton could roughly guess what was on her mind. “Don’t think too much. I’ll make them dig
deeper…”
Vivian was so distracted in her own thoughts that she did not hear what Mr. Norton had
said. When she regained her senses, she had already left the Norton residence.
On her way home, she felt so disturbed and wanted to call Finnick.
She took out her phone and scrolled to Finnick’s number but hesitated to dial him due to the
fact that they just had an argument the day before. She contemplated for a long while
before deciding to just switch off her phone.
Moments later, she switched it back on again and made a call. I can’t think of anyone else to
discuss this besides him.
“Vivian William? What’s up?” Benedict was surprised to receive her call.
“Where are you now? I’ve got something to tell you.”
“I’m at the company. What is it about? Very important?” He could sense the seriousness and
urgency in her tone.
“I’ll tell you when I see you. I’ll go look for you now.”
“Do you know the place or should I go pick you up?”
“It’s ok, I know the location. You can wait for me at the café downstairs. See you in a bit.”
As soon as she hung up, she set off to Benedict’s company. When she arrived, she found
him waiting for her at the café.
He smiled as she took her seat. “I don’t know what’s your regular coffee choice, so I ordered
Blue Mountain. Is that ok?”
“It’s fine, thanks.” She returned him with a smile.
She felt better after taking a sip. The bitter aftertaste calmed her uneasy heart and helped
her hold herself together.
“What’s the matter?” Benedict knew that Vivian would not call him up for nothing.
After a short moment of silence, she told him everything that she had heard from Mr.
Norton.
Benedict was rendered speechless to learn the unbelievable news.
“Could it be that your sister escaped the fire and managed to save herself?” Vivian struggled
to ask that question.
“If she’s still alive, why didn’t she look for me all these years? After all, I’m her one and only
family member in this world.” Benedict was dumbfounded. Why didn’t she return to me?
Vivian could not figure that out either. Both of them sunk into deep thought and did not utter
another word.
After what felt like forever, Vivian broke the silence with a mumble, “Evelyn’s death
anniversary is just around the corner…”
She lifted her head to look at him, only to find him engulfed in great sorrow. She felt like he
could really use a hug.
No words were exchanged. Then, Vivian left.
Returning to an empty villa made her feel miserable.
She sat on the sofa for a while and then went upstairs to look for a small suitcase to pack
some clothes. She had decided to move to her mother’s small apartment.
Upon arriving, she pressed the bell. Mrs. Filder, who had been taking care of her mother,
answered the door.
“Vivian, why are you here?” Mrs. Filder was astounded to see her suitcase. “This is…”
Benedict, that’s right! With his identity and status, he would surely know someone from the
hospital.
Although Vivian did not want to bother Benedict, she had no choice given the current
circumstance.
“Hello, Vivian. What happened that you’re calling so late at night?” Benedict’s voice gave
her some comfort and made her feel safe.
As she felt slightly relieved, she burst out crying. “Benedict, my mom… she fell down and
accidentally knocked herself on the head. She’s losing a lot of blood. Can you help me to
contact the hospital…”
She wept and wept.
When Benedict learned what happened, he jumped up from his bed, put on his clothes
hastily and sped off. “Don’t be too anxious. Where are you now? I’ll go over right away.”
Without further delay, Vivian reported her location, “We’re on our way to the Pinnacle
Hospital. We’re almost there.”
“All right, don’t panic. Take good care of your mother. I’m going to call the hospital now and
make the necessary arrangements.” Benedict rushed to his garage.
“Thank you, Benedict.” She hung up after expressing her gratitude.
Holding on to Rachel’s hand, Vivian prayed hard. Mom, please be okay.
When they arrived at the hospital, there were doctors waiting at the entrance. Subsequently,
Rachel was sent to the emergency ward. Not long after, Benedict showed up.
“How… how’s your mother?” Benedict panted for breath.
Shaking her head, Vivian could not control herself and started crying. “I don’t know, I…”
“Rest assured that everything will be fine,” Benedict comforted her and patted her back.
She nodded.
The indicator at the operating room remained lit. Vivian felt so restless as she stared at the
tightly shut door.
Suddenly, the door was pushed open and a nurse walked out in a haste. Urgently, she
asked, “Who’s related to the patient?”
“Me! I’m her daughter!” Vivian presented herself.
“The patient’s condition is quite critical and she needs a blood transfusion. Unfortunately, we
don’t have sufficient quantity in the blood bank. Which of you has the same blood type as
the patient?”
“You can use mine! I’m her daughter.” Vivian rolled up her sleeve.
“Do you know what’s your blood type?”
“I don’t…” Vivian had never hated herself so much at that point for not knowing her own
blood type.
“Okay, please follow me to get yourself prepared.” The nurse quickened her footsteps and
led Vivian to the lab. Benedict followed suit.
To her dismay, she was told that her type was A whereas Rachel’s was O. Their blood types
were not compatible to each other’s and therefore, Vivian could not donate hers.
She was stupefied. How could this be? Why am I type A? I remember both Mom and Dad
were type O? Why then, is mine A?
There was no time for her to pick on these details. She thought maybe she remembered it
wrongly.
“What else can I do?” She was troubled by the newly learned fact and lost her objectivity.
“I’m a Type O”. Benedict was delighted to find out that his blood type matched Rachel’s. “I
can donate to her.”
A genuine smile appeared on Vivian’s face. She looked at him thankfully. “Oh really? That’s
great. Thank you so much, Benedict.”
He patted her shoulders and then followed the nurse to get ready for the blood transfusion
process.
After two unbearable hours, the indicator on the operating room was finally switched off. As
soon as the doors flung open, Vivian ran to the doctor and asked about Rachel’s condition.
Looking quite tired, the doctor removed his surgical mask and informed Vivian, “The
operation was very successful. The patient is fine now and will be out soon.”
“Thanks doctor. Thank you so much…” she could not stop thanking the doctor. At last,
Vivian felt relieved.
Rachel woke up the next morning.
“Mom, you finally woke up.” Vivian was happy and worried at the same time. “How are you
feeling? Does the wound still hurt?”
“I’m fine. Sorry for causing you so much worry.” The feeble Rachel sounded very breathy.
She felt bad at the sight of Vivian’s concerned face and struggled with all her might to pat
her hand. I’ve never contributed much to her life but keep on troubling her and making her
feel so unsettled to the extent of sacrificing her blissful marriage.
Actually, Rachel could see through Vivian. Although Vivian did not mention Finnick, she
always brushed the topic off whenever Rachel brought it up. The way she changed the
subject immediately gave her away. Rachel suspected she had fought with Finnick.
As she thought about the reason behind Vivian and Finnick’s marriage, Rachel felt that she
had owed her daughter too much.
Vivian stayed back at the hospital to take care of her mother for the next couple of days.
Rachel realized that Vivian was not being herself ever since she regained consciousness
after the surgery. Whenever Rachel inquired, Vivian would answer that nothing was
bothering her. It made Rachel even more ill at ease.
When Benedict came to the ward for a visit, he noticed that Rachel would take a peek at him
from time to time. Her eyes conveyed grief and sadness. She looked as if she wanted to say
something but faltered each time she opened her mouth.
Bemused by her expressions, he took the initiative to test waters. “Ms. Rachel, you… have
something you want to tell me?”
Faced with the unexpected question, Rachel kept quiet. She took a glance at Vivian,
doubting her decision to speak.
Vivian sensed Rachel’s strange gaze. What’s wrong with Mom? Does she want to say
something to Benedict but felt awkward because I’m around?
After much contemplation and struggle, Rachel got it out of her chest. “Eve… Evelyn’s death
anniversary is approaching, right?”
Benedict lowered his eyes. “Yes, it’s the day after tomorrow.”
There was nothing on his face but misery.
“I’d like to visit her. May I?” Rachel asked carefully in a very meek tone.
Vivian was stunned. Why does Mom remember Evelyn’s death anniversary? Oh right, she’s
served as a helper at the Morrisons. Perhaps she used to take care of Evelyn.
Benedict was moved when he heard Rachel’s request. “Of course, you may, Ms. Rachel.
Evelyn would be delighted if she knew you wanted to visit her.”
It seems like there’s another person in the world who misses Evelyn besides myself.
Then, he recalled she had just undergone a surgery. “Ms. Rachel, can your body cope
considering you’re still recuperating from the operation? Don’t strain yourself.”
“No problem, I can make it.” Rachel replied instantly in fear that Benedict would reject her
wish.
Cough… cough… cough..
She spoke too fast and choked herself, which triggered a series of coughs. Vivian quickly
patted her back to soothe her.
Seeing that her coughs persisted, Vivian advised, “Mom, you haven’t fully recovered. Shall
we cancel the plan? In case…”
Rachel interrupted her before she could finish her sentence, “I’m really fine! Hack… hack…
hack…” Her throat was irritated and her cough turned severe.
Vivian dared not say anything further, with the hopes that her mother would stop coughing
and not affect her wound.
Vivian’s heart wrenched after seeing how Rachel was so eager to attend Evelyn’s death
anniversary albeit her current health condition. That explains why Mom has been dazing off
so much lately.
Mom didn’t visit me when I was hospitalized after being kidnapped by Ashley, even though I
did I tell her not to trouble herself. Vivian was rather jealous and felt a surge of emotional
imbalance that her mother was more concerned for Evelyn.
If anyone who has just taken care of Evelyn would like the girl so much, one can imagine
what a pleasant girl she was.
At that moment, an image surfaced in Vivian’s mind. It was a scene she had seen from a
video; a grinning Evelyn closing her eyes and making a wish.
Indeed, who wouldn’t like such an angelic girl? What more for the guy who grew up with her,
Finnick. He probably will never forget her…
Vivian felt bitter that Rachel insisted on going to the grave, but she caved into her anyway.
“All right, I’ll go with you. I can’t leave you to go on your own.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll arrange for a doctor to go along.” Benedict was surprised that Rachel cared
so much for Evelyn.
Hearing that they both agreed to her request, a smile appeared on Rachel’s face. Vivan
urged her to rest more.
Two days later, Vivian accompanied her mother to Evelyn’s grave. Benedict picked them up
from the hospital early in the morning and set off together.
Nestled in lushes of green where birds’ chirping was heard all day long, the cemetery was
nothing but a tranquil place. Yet, it did not make the undead feel relaxed, but heavy hearted.
Evelyn’s grave was at the very end of the cemetery. The group walked for quite a bit before
arriving at hers.
Vivian placed the white roses on in front of the tombstone. A beautiful photo of Evelyn
caught her attention.
Stepping backward, she found Rachel sobbing non-stop.
She attempted to wipe Rachel’s tears with a handkerchief. Within a split second, it was
soaking wet.
Looking at the weeping Rachel, Vivian had no idea how to console her. She could only stood
by her side and accompany her.
When Vivian was in a daze looking at Evelyn’s photo, a group of reporters came from
nowhere and surrounded her. Each of them pointed a long microphone at her.
“Mrs. Norton, why are you here at Evelyn Morrison’s grave? Does Mr. Norton know that
you’re here?”
“Please tell us if the viral video has affected the relationship between you and your
husband.”
“Mrs. Norton, could you share with us your impression of Evelyn?”
“Mrs. Norton, how do you feel right now? Are you jealous that Finnick and Evelyn were a
couple?”
“May I ask…”
They continued to bombard her with a list of questions while shining bright lights at her
face. Not knowing what to do, Vivian felt so helpless. Why are there so many paparazzi here
today?
“I…” She had no idea what to say. Although she had always been interviewing people, it was
her first time being ambushed by the reporters. Her mind went blank and her heart raced
rapidly; her body even trembled a little.
The reporters had no intention to let her go, seeing that she remained silent.
They knew it was Evelyn’s death anniversary and had been scouting at the cemetery since
morning. At first, they only wanted to take a few photos of the tombstone to satisfy the
curious netizens who were still following on the news about the viral video. In a way, that
could help boost the sales of their magazines.
Unexpectedly, they got what they bargained for when Vivian showed up! With news and
photos of Vivian, the sales of their magazines would definitely increase multiple folds.
Consequently, these reporters would receive credits in terms of a promotion or a raise.
In fact, they had already come up with various catchy headlines!
What’s Finnick’s Wife Ulterior Motive For Visiting His Former Girlfriend’s Grave?
A Love Battle Between The Living And The Dead.
Finnick Misses Ex-girlfriend. Wife Sends A Challenge At The Grave!
The stories continued..

In conclusion, it was all marketing gimmicks to attract readers’ attention. Whether Vivian
said anything, regardless of what she said, and even if she merely opened her mouth, the
reporters had their means to create a selling point and lead the readers on.
“Mrs. Norton, could you respond to our questions please?”
“Say something, Mrs. Norton. Everyone is so curious.”
“That’s right. Mrs. Norton, what are your comments on the video which went viral?”
The reporters approached her closer and closer, causing Vivian to take a wrong step and
lost her balance. The people continued to squeeze in and pushed her around, resulting in
her dishevelled look. Vivian’s nicely tied up hair turned messy and she lost one side of her
heels. Her feet were stepped on umpteen times…
“Move aside!” Benedict yelled as he pushed the crowd away and got himself next to Vivian.
Protecting her in his arms, Benedict shot an angry stare at the paparazzi. “Today’s Evelyn’s
death anniversary. Vivian is here for a visit with no other agenda. I’ve agreed to her visit.”
“Mr. Morrison, why would you agree to allow your sister’s former boyfriend’s wife to visit her
grave?” Benedict’s response piqued the interest of a reporter and he directed a microphone
in front of Benedict with much excitement. “Don’t you think that Ms. Morrison would be
upset since they are rivals?”
The rest of the reporters followed and moved their microphones to Benedict, waiting
patiently for his answer.
“Which magazine company are you from?” Benedict turned hostile. “Should I pay your
company a visit too?”
Catching the hint, the noisy group gradually quiet down and stopped asking any more
provocative questions.
Though the Morrisons were no longer as influential as they were in the past, they were still
more than capable to destroy a small magazine company.
“Today is my sister’s death anniversary.” In an infuriating voice, Benedict scanned the

people’s faces from left to right. “I don’t want her to be disturbed. Please leave this place
immediately.”
Although they did not achieve their sole objective, the reporters did not want to bring
troubles upon themselves either. As much as they were reluctant to give up the golden
opportunity to create juicy news in exchange of attractive rewards, they would rather leave
than to lose their jobs.
“Are you all right?” Benedict was concerned about Vivian.
The woman standing in front of him looked rather pitiful. Her hair was tousled whereas her
clothes were so crumpled. Her bare foot was trampled on and bleeding slightly. There were
black footprints mixed with blood and dust…
She shook her head and plastered a smile on her face. “Thank you.”
Right when both of them heaved a sigh of relief, a reporter on his way to the exit shouted,
“It’s Finnick Norton!”
Vivian lifted her head and look toward the direction where the familiar name was uttered.
She could hardly believe whom she saw. The welled-up tears in her eyes started to roll down
her cheeks.
Afar stood a slender yet upright figure who was dressed in a full grey suit and a black trench
coat. Although he looked tired, the prominent facial features were still as captivating as
ever. His presence demanded everyone’s attention. He was none other than Finnick.
Seeing him from afar, Vivian felt her a tinge of heartache and an urge to cry out loud.
He wasn’t here when I was feeling aggrieved and jealous. I had to hide under the sheets and
cry myself to sleep. He wasn’t here too when I heard that Evelyn might still be alive and
needed someone to discuss the matter. Neither was he here when Mom hurt herself and
was hospitalized. He wasn’t present when I felt so helpless.
Now, the travel-worn Finnick rushed back on the day of Evelyn’s death anniversary. This
goes to show who’s his priority.
Vivian mocked herself. Is there anything that I could compete with Evelyn?
Finnick almost blew a fuse when he saw the hand on Vivian’s waist. He clenched his fist and
cast a furious look at both Benedict and Vivian.
Considering the injury on Vivian’s foot and how she was harshly pushed around by the
reporters, Benedict wanted to protect her. So, he remained his position which appeared to
be hugging Vivian sideways, with his hand resting on her waist.
Anger rose in Benedict’s heart instantly the moment he saw Finnick.
How dare he steps foot onto Evelyn’s grave! She wouldn’t have lost her precious life in her
prime years if it wasn’t for Finnick.
Although the reporters witnessed the two men staring down at each other, no one dared to
step forward and raise a question. If they did, it would have fetched them a ton of juicy
tabloids.
In addition to his icy and intimidating appearance, his identity as a young Norton, coupled
with the title President of Finnor Group would make anyone avoid him like the plague.
Unlike Benedict who was barely maintaining the status of the Morrison family, Finnick was a
class above all. Even if they had the courage, they would choose to revere him instead.
The men had their eyes blazing with anger; Vivian was biting her lips while looking at Finnick
with glistened eyes. On the other side, none of the reporters had mulled up any courage to
step forward. Time stood still as the entire place sank into a tensed and awkward
atmosphere.
Suddenly, a lady appeared in front of everyone.
“Oh my heart!” All those who saw her could not help but gasped with amazement.
Her knee-length white tulle dress perfectly completed her curvy figure. Pairing it with a pair
of pink heels, a small segment of her exposed calf looked very attractive. She held a silver
palm-sized clutch in her hand. Her short and silky hair brushed through both sides of her
cheeks.
She was wearing a thin diamond necklace, which was so dazzling. It enhanced the beauty
of her neck and made her look exceptionally elegant.
Her features were so well-defined as if they were perfectly chiseled by hand. Even without
any make-up on, her brows looked nicely embroidered and her lips were crimson red. It was
a face that no one would ever forget.
Some reporters started photographing her beauty to record each of her action and smile.
More joined in and suddenly the place was filled with camera flashes flickering continuously
as if a famous celebrity was present on site.
The lady remained composed and continued to walk forward with a steady smile on her
face.
Vivian removed her gaze from Finnick after noticing that the reporters were sent into a
frenzy again. She wanted to see what was going on.
Elaine? Why is she here? Vivian was perplexed. Also, Vivian realized that Elaine looked
completely different from any other day.
Usually, she’s always dressed in professional attire, complemented by an exquisite make-up

and a sleek hairstyle, giving the impression of a capable working lady.
Today, Elaine is carrying a teenage girl look. It was very similar to the clothes she has picked
out for me at the mall. In addition, she’s only put on very light make-up and portraying
herself as an adolescent.
Vivian could hardly recognize her!
Even in two different looks, one can’t deny Elaine’s charm and beauty. Vivian felt that her
new look suited her more, depicting a simple and clean personality.
Vivian looked at Elaine who was walking toward her. She had a deja vu and felt that Elaine
gave her a familiar feeling, but she could not tell who did Elaine look like.
As Benedict released her hand behind Vivian’s back, she felt a bit unsteady and lost her
balance. In order not to fall, she quickly exerted force onto the injured foot to stabilize
herself.
“Ouch!” A streak of pain coursed through her veins as she inhaled sharply.
She turned to Benedict, only to find him looking blankly at Elaine with his jaw dropped. He
was downright stunned with a mixed expression settling on his face.
She then turned to Finnick and noticed that he too, had his eyes widened and staring at
Elaine with disbelief. The indifferent expression which he usually wore on his face was
replaced with a rare shocking look.
Rachel rubbed her swollen eyes as she mumbled to herself. Faintly, Vivian could hear her
say phrases like ‘that’s impossible’ and ‘how could it be’.
Vivian was totally mystified by their expressions and reactions. Elaine is indeed gorgeous
but why are their responses so weird?

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Never Late, Never Away Chapter 301

Noah entered the villa, together with Finnick in his wheelchair.

All of them could sense his anger!

Noah’s face turned pale, and he was rendered speechless.

Never Late, Never Away Chapter 302

She was completely stunned.

Damn it! I’ve underestimated the significance of Vivian to Finnick.

Much to her surprise, Finnick defended her.

“You are asking for money again?” Noah grumbled.

Never Late, Never Away Chapter 303

“At least thirty million!”

Still, Noah wanted to express his grievance “I…”

“Alright!” Noah had no choice but to leave.

“No! I want to go to Belfast Hospital!” Ashley’s expression darkened.

Still, he had to run and look for Evelyn.

At that moment, he was drowned in despair.

Staring at the pitch-black sky, he sank in thought.

I would probably die here!

Never Late, Never Away Chapter 304

“Hey, wake up! What’s wrong with you?”

“Hey, you woke up!”

A moment later, she screamed suddenly.

“My goodness! That’s a lot of blood. What’s wrong with you?”

“Yes!” Finnick replied instinctively, gazing into her eyes.

She was struggling, staggering, and carrying Finnick on her back.

“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall…”

Though Finnick appeared to be disgusted by her chitter-chatter, he actually appreciated her

I want to repay her!

“What’s your name?” Finnick suddenly asked.

From that day onward, he could not find her.

He looked at the message: I’ve transferred forty million to Ashley.

Thinking of Ashley, Finnick suddenly lost interest in remembering the past.

Never Late, Never Away Chapter 305

“Hey, wake up! Wake up!”

Unfortunately, that so-called meaning had turned into ridicule.

Looking at her blushing cheeks, the worries in his heart vanished.

It was a weekend the following day.

“What are you doing here?” Vivian asked angrily.

Looking at Harvey’s fickle expression, Vivian was utterly disappointed.

“You are a heartless man!” Vivian remarked sarcastically.

When she got home, Finnick was not there.

Vivian replied with a faint smile, “Of course.”

She explained the entire story to Peggy.

“You’re pregnant?” Peggy stared at her in surprise.

“Yeah, I’m one-month pregnant.”

“That’s wonderful!” Vivian replied in pleasant surprise.

“How do you feel recently?” he asked before checking her pulse.

Vivian’s heart skipped a beat as she began to worry.

“How is that possible?” Vivian and Peggy exclaimed in shock.

Vivian suddenly realized the problem lay with the hospital.

When the results came out, it was just as predicted…

“What happened?” he quickly asked.

Finnick was stunned.

However, it only served to break Finnick’s heart further.

Hanging her head, Vivian began to blame herself again.

Noah had returned with the results of the investigations.

“What have you found?” Finnick asked coldly.

“Bring Ashley to the warehouse. I want to teach her a lesson.”

When he saw Finnick’s expression, Noah immediately understood…

Never Late, Never Away Chapter 309

Four burly men appeared and pinned Ashley to the ground.

Finnick didn’t bother to even answer as he left right away.

Meanwhile, at Mark’s office.