Chapter 9

"This is my home. I don't want to go anywhere else." Vivian pulled her hand free and sat back down. Logan watched the faint, mocking smile on her face, irritation prickling under his skin. He kept his voice low. "Vivian, do you really have to stay mad at me in your grandma's house?" The look on his face made it clear he thought he'd done enough. He had already explained himself. What more did she want? If he had said his piece and she still wouldn't let it go, then the problem was hers. Why had she ever thought Logan was different from other men? A trace of irony touched Vivian's lips. She took the crystal bracelet out of the velvet box and idly turned it in her palm. Logan's gaze flickered. Vivian lifted her eyes to his, smiling. "You came for this, didn't you?" Logan glanced down at the smile he didn't like and stopped bothering to hide it. "Yes. Mrs. Wembley Senior is hosting a birthday banquet soon—" Vivian cut him off. "This bracelet is mine now. If you want it, buy it." Logan's face hardened, a flash of anger surfacing in his eyes. "Vivian, we're getting married. Do we really have to split everything down to the penny like this?" Vivian's expression didn't change. Why did he think she would marry him after he cheated, as if nothing had happened? "We do," she replied, calm and firm. Logan stared at her, his brows knitting tighter. Vivian met his stare and didn't back down. When two people locked eyes like that, one of them always gave in first. In the end, Logan pulled out his phone. Vivian's phone lit up on the table with a deposit notification. She didn't reach for it. Logan looked at her with faint contempt. "You're not even going to check if it's enough?" Vivian picked up her phone and opened the message. Logan's expression darkened. "I didn't realize money mattered this much to you now." Vivian didn't look at him. Her tone stayed flat. "Then, you really were blind. After seven years, you still didn't understand me at all." Logan's expression went cold. Vivian smiled. "It's fine. I'll make sure you understand me completely before I'm done." As she spoke, she held the crystal bracelet out to him. Logan reached for it with a cold face. The moment his fingertips touched it, Vivian let go. A crisp crack snapped through the room. Vivian held back a smile and spoke first. "Why didn't you hold it properly?" Logan looked down at the shattered crystal, then back at her, his eyes dark and cold. "You did that on purpose?" Vivian shook her head. "I've already taken your money. What do I gain by doing that?" Logan stared at the smile she couldn't quite hide, his eyes darkening completely. "If you're this angry, we won't see each other before the wedding. Stay here and cool off," he said coldly. Vivian's gaze stayed perfectly calm. Logan frowned, then turned to leave. "Wait." He'd just reached the door when Vivian stopped him. Logan's expression softened slightly. If she was willing to admit she was wrong, he could give her a way out. He turned back, his mood lifting slightly. "What—" Vivian didn't let him finish. "You broke it because you didn't hold it properly. I'm not refunding the money you just paid me." Logan froze. The anger that had barely settled flared again. He forced the words through clenched teeth. "You'd better stay this obsessed with money forever. Cling to it for the rest of your life!" Vivian answered, "From your mouth to God's ears." The room went so quiet it felt like breathing would make noise. In the dim yellow light of the old house, Logan stared at Vivian, who remained calm and unmoved, his face terrifyingly cold. His lips tightened into a thin line. After a long time, he finally spoke, as if giving in. "How did you turn into this?" Vivian looked at him calmly. "You should ask yourself what you've been doing." Letting go of a seven-year relationship wasn't easy for Vivian. It felt like flesh being carved from bone, piece by piece. Every bit of that pain came from Logan. He was the one who cheated, and he still had the nerve to ask her why she'd changed. It was absurd. He'd been the one to throw away what they had, and he still tried to push the blame onto her. It made her sick. "Vivian! Are you really going to keep fighting over something that isn't even real?" Her calm, detached tone only stoked him further. Vivian simply raised a finger to her lips. "Shh. You're going to wake my grandma." Logan went quiet. After a moment, he forced himself back under control. "I'll come pick you up tomorrow. I'll push everything aside and stay home with you." Vivian didn't answer. In the silence, Logan turned and left. The next day, Logan didn't come. Vivian saw Sloane's newest post on a social app. "Girls, this is a mess! I'm pregnant! We were supposed to break up in 14 days, but now there's a baby. I don't know what to do. Please give me some advice. Go easy on me." Above the caption was a photo of a pregnancy test with two pink lines. The post had gone up an hour ago. The comments were already piling up, full of insults. A moment later, Sloane pinned her own comment to the top. "I told him about the baby. He told me to go to the hospital for a checkup first. From how he put it, it sounded like he wanted me to keep it." Vivian's hand trembled slightly. There was no way she could feel nothing at all. But she steadied herself quickly, rubbed her temples, and closed the app. Outside, a thin rain had started to fall. She set her phone down and noticed a small woven basket her grandmother had made sitting in the yard, getting soaked. She stood and hurried out. Moss had spread across the yard, and the rain made it slick. Vivian slipped. She hit the ground hard, and the jolt of a dislocation shot through her so violently her face went pale. The nearby neighbors had moved away long ago. She couldn't call for help. She forced herself up through the pain, but it was too painful. Her face drained of color as she collapsed back down, letting the rain drum against her. After a while, when the pain eased enough for her to move, she dragged herself inside. She found her phone on the table and called for an ambulance. While she waited, Logan called. Vivian answered and held the phone to her ear. "Vivian, something happened at the company. I—" He was lying again. She ended the call before he could finish. Logan didn't call again. Vivian closed her eyes. The disappointment in her eyes couldn't be hidden anymore. She'd given him chance after chance to tell the truth, but all he ever gave her was another lie.