Chapter 5

"Thanks a lot." Vivian looked up, her face beaming with a bright smile. That’s her man—Alexander. Yeah, he had his flaws, and their past life was a mess. But as long as he’s still breathing, he’ll never let anyone mess with her again. "Mm." Alexander glanced down at the girl in his arms. Her smile was just too pretty, an almost dangerous kind of beautiful—it made him want to lock her up at home, just for himself. But then… Would that smile still be there? Vivian saw the hesitation in his eyes, grabbed his arm playfully, and said softly, "Would you pretend to be my boyfriend for now?" How could he say no? Especially when she looked at him like that. "Okay." Their flirty little exchange didn’t go unnoticed—people at the engagement party started turning their heads. "Vivian! What’s the meaning of this?" Richard Grant stormed over, face like thunder. Margaret Lane followed close behind, but she clearly didn’t want to say a single word to Vivian. Everyone knew Vivian was adopted into the family. Back then, Richard and Margaret had been married for five years without having kids, so they adopted a baby girl around one year old. That baby girl was Vivian. They really had loved her—for a while. But just a year after bringing her home, Margaret got pregnant. Then came Daphne, the daughter they had themselves. Once they had their biological kid, Vivian—the adopted one—was barely more than a shadow in their lives. And Daphne never liked Vivian being her "sister." So, of course, Richard and Margaret packed her off to some distant countryside to live with a great-aunt. And she stayed out there for years. If it weren’t for Logan Harris recovering from illness near that same countryside—if he hadn’t taken a liking to Vivian and even wanted her as a granddaughter-in-law—there’s no way the Grants would’ve brought her back. Facing Richard’s angry questioning, Vivian just smirked. "The photos on the big screen are still playing, and the side chick of Mr. Harris already made a scene. Yet you’re yelling at me?” "I’m asking about that guy right next to you!" Richard’s voice rose. "Who is he? What’s your relationship with him?" "Oh, him?" Vivian glanced at the guy next to her, who stood there with an aura that screamed ‘boss-level.’ She shrugged. "I don’t really know him. I just thought he looked really hot, so I asked him out… and he said yes." She paused for a second like she was really giving it some thought, then added seriously, "So we’re probably… boyfriend and girlfriend now?" Boyfriend and girlfriend... She said it loud and clear, and the room had gone so quiet just then that pretty much everyone caught her words. And right away, the whispers started echoing around the hall. "Did she get triggered by those scandal photos of Mr. Harris and decide to randomly pick a guy and confess?" "No way! She actually pulled it off?" "And the guy's even better-looking than Mr. Harris!" “Wait a sec… he looks kind of familiar, doesn’t he?” “Pfft, every handsome guy looks familiar to you.” “No, I’m serious, I swear I’ve seen him somewhere before—OH MY GOD, I remember now! That’s Alexander! The heir to Brooks Group!" “What?!” "Hold up, for real? Alexander? Where? Where is he?" The room instantly tipped into chaos. People started buzzing, and several business bigshots rushed toward Vivian and Alexander’s direction like their life depended on it. This was a once-in-a-lifetime shot—had to take their chance! Even just getting Alexander to notice them? Major win.