"Mmph..." Vivian Quinn’s eyes widened, the drunken haze in them mingling with bewildernt, a look both vivid and endearing.
THUD. The man toppled from his wheelchair, but his lips never left the girl’s.
The two of them lay on the soft, white carpet, locked in a kiss, their position exceptionally intimate.
Vivian Quinn felt her breath being stolen away, bit by bit. Her senses were flooded with an unfamiliar, purely masculine scent—overpowering yet crisp.
She tried to say sothing, but the mont she parted her lips, the man pressed his advantage, conquering her defenses. She was completely overwheld, utterly defeated.
Her long lashes trembled. She raised a hand to push him away, but he caught her wrist, easily pinning her down.
She felt like a fish on the chopping block, completely at his rcy, with no power to fight back.
As she was robbed of her breath, the nausea in her stomach churned even more violently. Vivian Quinn felt she was at her limit and began to struggle with more force.
Jett Sterling rolled over, pulling her on top of him. He continued kissing her for a while longer, only releasing her reluctantly when he saw she was genuinely unwell.
The next second, with a retching sound, the girl threw up all over him.
Jett Sterling’s eyes darkened. "Vivian Quinn!"
Having thrown up, Vivian Quinn felt much better. She rolled onto her back and muttered to herself, "Thank goodness. I feel human again."
An irresistible wave of drowsiness washed over her. She closed her eyes and instantly fell asleep.
"Vivian Quinn, wake up! Don’t you dare fall asleep!"
The girl on the floor didn’t stir.
Jett Sterling pinched the bridge of his nose, lifted her from the floor, and placed her on the sofa.
The mont the man closed the door and left, Vivian Quinn’s eyes flew open. She lurched toward the trash can and threw up again.
There was mineral water nearby. She chugged two bottles, finally managing to sober up a bit.
Vivian Quinn slipped out of the wine cellar, took the stairs at the far end of the corridor, and erged into the back garden.
Night had fallen, and the garden was unguarded. Vivian Quinn tiptoed away.
But before she could make it out of the garden, a maid’s startled cry rang out from behind her. "Miss Quinn, where are you going!"
Vivian Quinn bolted.
"Soone, help! Miss Quinn is escaping!"
Vivian Quinn glanced back as she ran, seeing several bodyguards closing in on her.
Vivian Quinn ran to the edge of the sea. Squeezing her eyes shut, she steeled herself and, with a SPLASH, jumped into the water.
"Quick, go inform Master Sterling! Miss Quinn jumped into the sea!"
...
Vivian Quinn swam to shore with every last ounce of her strength. Without a mont’s rest, she rushed to the hotel where her engagent party with Austin Grant was being held.
Inside the banquet hall, which was decorated like a sea of flowers, there were no guests—only a man and a woman, lost in a passionate kiss. The scene was picturesque.
Vivian Quinn’s already bleeding heart was ripped open anew. The excruciating pain was suffocating.
SMACK!
Vivian Quinn strode forward and, before either of them could react, raised her hand and slapped Rachel Quinn across the face.
"Rachel Quinn, have you no sha!"
Rachel Quinn clutched her face, looking as if she were on the verge of tears, the very picture of a wronged, delicate flower.
"Vivian, I’m sorry, I didn’t an to..."
"Your legs were wrapped around his waist just now, and you’re telling you didn’t an it?" Vivian Quinn was trembling with rage. "Were you born a slut? Why do you have to steal everything from !"
"It’s not her fault." Austin Grant pulled Rachel Quinn protectively into his arms. "Vivian, I started it. If you want to hit soone, hit ."
SMACK! SMACK!
Vivian Quinn landed two sharp slaps across his face.
"Did you think I’d let a scumbag like you off the hook?"
Austin Grant took a deep breath, as if he had co to a decision. "Vivian," he began, "since it’s co to this, it’s ti we put an end to things. I’m sorry. I tried really hard to fall in love with you, but I just couldn’t do it."
Through the ringing in her ears, Vivian Quinn heard Austin Grant’s voice, as gentle as ever. "I can’t lie to my own heart. The one I love has always been Rachel."
"Always?" Vivian Quinn stared in disbelief at the refined man before her. "So you two have been seeing each other behind my back all this ti? Then why did you date ? Why did you ask to marry you?"
She had always held onto a sliver of hope for Austin Grant, but now, that final hope had beco a sharp blade, plunging rcilessly into her heart.
"My grandfather forced ." Austin Grant’s face tightened, a flicker of hatred in his eyes. "He was always threatening . He said if I didn’t marry you, he wouldn’t let beco the heir to the Grant Group."
Vivian Quinn’s mind went blank. "So you being with , being so good to ... it was all an act! And as soon as Grant died and you beca the heir, you couldn’t wait to turn on , is that it?"
"That’s right. I was sick of him constantly forcing to marry you." Austin Grant’s expression grew colder. "Just look at yourself. How could I marry a crippled, ugly woman to be the Young Madam of the Grant Family?"
"Crippled and ugly?" Vivian Quinn tried to hold onto her last shred of dignity, but when she heard those three words, she couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down her face. "Austin Grant, don’t you forget how I beca like this."
"I know you sacrificed a lot for . Your leg was crippled and your face was disfigured saving . By all rights, I should take responsibility and marry you, but a lifeti is too long. I want to be with the person I love."
Vivian Quinn laughed, a bitter and desolate sound. "Austin Grant, after all these years... I gave you my whole heart. I would have even given you my life. And in return, I get nothing but your deception and betrayal from start to finish. How could I have been so blind to fall for you!"
"Vivian, I gave you a chance. You never showed up to the engagent party tonight. Doesn’t that prove we just aren’t ant to be?"
"That’s because—"
"Ah!" Before Vivian Quinn could finish, Rachel Quinn suddenly gasped. "Vivian, what is that on your neck?"
Austin Grant looked closer. All over Vivian Quinn’s pale, elegant neck and even her shoulders were prominent hickeys.
Realization dawned on Austin Grant. Without a word, he yanked down the collar of her still-damp dress. The marks weren’t just on her neck—they covered her shoulders, too!
"Vivian Quinn, and you have the nerve to accuse of betrayal? Tell ! Who’s the bastard you were fooling around with?!"
Vivian Quinn shoved him away, adjusting her clothes. "None of your damn business!"
His embarrassnt turned to fury. "Vivian Quinn, you’re completely shaless!"
"You’re too modest, Master Grant. When it cos to being shaless, if you two claid second place, no one would dare claim first!"
Austin Grant looked at her with disgust. He pulled a check from his pocket and threw it at her. "This is your paynt for saving back then. From now on, we don’t owe each other anything."
Vivian Quinn looked down at the check that had fluttered to the floor and sneered. "Five million. How generous of you, Master Grant. But you should keep it. What you owe can’t be paid back with money. One day, I will make you both pay for everything that happened today!"
Like a proud peacock—defeated but refusing to admit it—Vivian Quinn turned and walked away with her head held high.
Just as she stepped out of the hotel, two n who looked like bodyguards surrounded her. "Miss Quinn, Master Sterling requests your presence."
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