She awoke from a long dream and saw light from the window shining into the room. Ethan was waiting to take her to Dominic's mansion. In the four years of knowing each other, this was the first time she had set foot in his mansion. It is said that it is the place where he and his late fiancée used to live together. That must be why he didn't allow anyone to go there, not even Vivian.
Even so, coming to Dominic's mansion for the first time did not make Vivian happy, she just had a bad premonition.
She awoke from a long dream and saw light from the window shining into the room. Ethan was waiting to take her to Dominic's mansion. In the four years of knowing each other, this was the first time she had set foot in his mansion. It is said that it is the place where he and his late fiancée used to live together. That must be why he didn't allow anyone to go there, not even Vivian.
Even so, coming to Dominic's mansion for the first time did not make Vivian happy, she just had a bad premonition.
Ethan personally drove to pick Vivian up to Dominic's mansion.
"Is your health better?" Ethan asked while driving.
"Not dead yet." Vivian said, eyes fixed on the front. Thinking for a moment, she continued. "Why did Dominic suddenly allow me to go to his mansion? He's never been like that before."
"I don't know what the boss's intentions are, ma'am." Ethan answered briefly. "I have the kindness to remind you one thing, don't go beyond the line the boss has drawn between you and him."
"What do you mean?" Ethan's words caught Vivian's attention and made her look at him.
Ethan is Dominic's closest confidant, most of the time he's quiet and follows Dominic's every command. Ethan is often referred to as Dominic's faithful dog. A person who never betrays his boss is definitely a trustworthy person.
"Just a reminder from me, ma'am." After Ethan finished speaking, he decided to keep quiet and did not continue to talk to Vivian.
After that, no matter how much Vivian tried to convince or question Ethan about anything related to Dominic, he would not answer.
When Vivian arrived at the mansion, Dominic was already waiting. He and Kenelm were talking to each other, the atmosphere between the two of them was unusually harmonious.
"Kenelm, why are you here?" Vivian frowned at him.
"Kenelm, I asked Ethan to take you on a tour of the city. Now it's time."
Dominic looked at Kenelm intently, he seemed to understand that Dominic wanted him to leave for the time being, so he did.
After Kenelm left, Dominic turned his gaze to Vivian and motioned for her to sit across from him. Vivian hobbled slowly and sat down on the chair.
"It's been a few years, but the sequelae from that bullet still make it difficult for you to walk?"
"Ah, yes. It's a little difficult, but it's okay." Vivian pursed her lips and answered.
"Why do you say it's fine? Obviously you need treatment. I know a doctor in Poland, he's a real expert." Dominic wrote a phone number on a piece of paper and gave it to Vivian. "The treatment time is quite long, but if you persevere, the sequelae will be much less. Besides..."
"So you want to push me away." Vivian smiled faintly, her appearance was like a lost soul, her eyes no longer had any energy.
Vivian took a deep breath, then covered her face with her hands. Tears flowed between her fingers and fell onto the carpet at her feet. Dominic was completely silent, he sat with his arms crossed and leaned back in his chair, his gaze far away from the window. He seemed to be waiting for Vivian to regain her composure.
But his silence kills Vivian's hope. If this was Dominic from a month ago, he wouldn't have ignored her when he saw her crying so hard. He would ask why she cried, who made her cry, ask if she needed his help. But now, he has changed.
Vivian sniffled and wiped her tears.
"Is it because she's coming? Are you in such a hurry to take me abroad, make me disappear from your life for Esther Ambar?" Vivian couldn't continue to act sweet and lovable anymore, she got angry and glared at Dominic.
"You're always smart and understanding, that's why I value you." Dominic clasped his hands above his knees, his whole body leaning slightly forward. "If you already know what I mean, then there's no need to continue asking me such ridiculous questions, right? Now prepare your luggage. As soon as Kenelm returns, it's time for you to leave."
Vivian sat frozen in her chair and couldn't react. Her tears were dry but the rims of her eyes were still red and looked pitiful.
"I see. It's just that I don't agree, I thought you had feelings for me, even just a little." Vivian shook her head in disappointment.
"Sorry. I've never been in love with you." Dominic uttered a cold sentence, then he got up and went out into the hallway to smoke a cigarette.
Dominic always acts thoughtfully unconsciously towards Vivian, such as his very limited smoking in front of her. Her health was very weak, after being shot in the leg for Dominic it got worse. So Dominic always pays special attention to her health.
Could the actions that Vivian thought were "special" for her were actually nothing at all?
Vivian is disillusioned when she realizes that for the past four years she has been a substitute, a shadow of Dominic Arnold's deceased fiancée. As she reminisced about her time with Dominic, she eventually slowly became disillusioned.
After being shot in the leg by a bullet, she had many surgeries. When she regained consciousness, the first person she saw was Dominic. The man's unintentional gaze seemed to waver when he looked at her, she could feel it.
She became his benefactor to save his life, life seemed to turn to a more glorious and brilliant new page. Her whole family became rich, for her, he paid all the tuition to attend an expensive aristocratic school in England. Dominic considers her as a woman close to him, he is willing to do any request she wants, as long as she asks. However, Vivian knows that she shouldn't be complacent with his indulgence, so she rarely seems overbearing and makes excessive demands.
Because she likes him, she is always careful in her words so as not to offend him. Once, she asked him why he was so nice to her, was it because she saved his life or not. At that moment, she received an unexpected answer.
"You remind me of her. I wish I could make up for her."
At that time, Vivian did not know who 'she' was. Thanks to Ethan's revelation, she learned that Dominic had a fiancée. She's dead, why Ethan refuses to tell Vivian. Just know, Dominic's fiancée is a lady of a prestigious family, beautiful and meek, even a great ballet dancer.
Curiosity and insecurity arose in Vivian's heart, and then from time to time, Vivian imitated the model of that deceased woman. She changed the way she dressed and made up, adjusted her gestures to be graceful and gentle, and her fashion style was also full of expensive and luxurious dresses. Thanks to that, she also achieved what she wanted. It was to get Dominic's eye.
"You've been getting more and more beautiful lately. If you need anything, tell Ethan."
Just a fleeting compliment from Dominic was enough to make Vivian ecstatic. Gradually, she also forgot that she used to be a girl from a middle-class background, she was trying to transform herself into someone else.
Vivian thought that as long as she kept trying, one day Dominic would notice her. She just didn't expect it, it turned her into a substitute for Dominic's ex-fiancé.
She should have realized sooner, that Dominic only complimented her when he saw her in a white swan-like dress, he was only comfortable with her when she was quiet, and he only looked at her when he missed that woman.
"I got it."
Vivian whispered softly, her head bowed deeply.
About half an hour later, Ethan brought Kenelm back to Dominic's mansion. Kenelm was full of toys in his hand, running to his bedroom without paying attention to anyone. Dominic followed the boy, eyes filled with tenderness and love. After he withdrew his gaze and looked at Vivian, the warmth in his eyes was gone, but instead a calm look.
"Go back home and pack your bags quickly. Ethan will take you to the airport."
"Dominic." When she got to the door, Vivian still turned her head to look at him. "Why can't I be with you but Esther Ambar can? Because she's more like your late fiancée than me?"
"You've gone too far. There are things I don't tell you, because you're not allowed to know. You should pay attention to the line between us." Dominic spoke coldly to Vivian. "Besides, you can't put yourself on an equal footing with Esther. Esther is the only woman I love."
Dominic's assertion completely dashed Vivian's hopes. It turned out that it wasn't because Esther Ambar was so similar to Dominic's dead fiancée, that she was that woman. She came back after four years. And easily robbed everything that Vivian had so hard to get.
In the moment of realizing that, Vivian's gaze seemed to have changed. She raised her eyebrows slightly, then quietly left with Ethan.